Hunting white-tailed deer is not only challenging, but it is exciting as well. For centuries, hunters have gone whitetail hunting for food, but more recently deer hunting has also involved sport hunting. In addition to recreational hunting, hunters and landowners have begun to implement intensive whitetail deer management programs to improve the health and quality of the deer and habitat found on their properties. When it comes to whitetail deer hunting, all hunters are looking for techniques that will make them more successful. Whether it be bagging a deer or bagging a mature buck, whitetail deer hunting is a challenge.
The white tail deer is the most sought after big game animal in the world. Whether you are a bow or gun hunter, you are always looking for things you can do to increase hunting success. The savvy hunter will look for these little bits of information to better his or her odds at bagging that all important game animal. Most of us think of deer season all year long. Some of us live it all year long, and some only live it during deer season.
Whitetail hunting tips range from simple to complex, and often times do make a difference in ones hunting ability. However, the most important tip in the world will only make a difference, if the hunter can understand the relevance to the hunt and why it makes a difference. In all my years of deer hunting the best advice and tip that I could give any hunter, is to get first hand experience of how and why these animals live and react to the circumstances around their natural habitat.
Although a hunter learns the most when out in the field, the information presented on this site will help you better understand whitetail deer and whitetail hunting. Whitetail deer are creatures of habit, and once the habits are learned, the hunt usually is more exciting and often times more successful. Learn all you can at every encounter and you will become more successful at whitetail deer hunting.
Question: I have just recently received permission to whitetail hunt a piece of property but it has livestock on it, goats in particular. What I was wondering was if goats would affect the whitetail deer hunting a lot or would they be able to co-exist. I am looking to find out if it’s worth my time to look at hunting this ranch property?
Answer: Personally, I would not waste my time deer hunting a property that is stocked with goats, especially a ranch that is heavily stocked. And let’s face it, all ranches with goats are heavily stocked and offer poor deer habitat. If you are looking to put some deer meat in the the freezer then you can probably shoot some deer if you set up a feeder in one corner of the ranch. This will allow you to lure deer from the neighbors, but the neighbors won’t like you. Read More…
Question: I am at a lose with regard to what I need to do for a deer hunting blind this deer season. I don’t know if I want to build a ground blind or just buy a pop-up blind. If I decide to go with a pop-up blind, do I need to leave it up or can I put it up the night before I am going to hunt and leave it for the weekend?
I just got on a whitetail deer lease and do not know if I will stay on it, so I do not know if I want to worry about building and setting it up to take it down. Also what are the benefits of a pop up and how far from my feeder should I set it up? I will be rifle hunting for deer and hogs.
Answer: There are a lot of choices when trying to select a hunting blind for whitetail hunting and it can be a little overwhelming. For your situation I would suggest getting yourself a good sturdy pop-up that is big enough to move around in and find a good looking spot and set it up. This will also allow animals in the area to become familiar with your blind.
Hunters can leave a pop up blind up all season if they take the necessary precautions. Those precautions would include making sure you have the pop-up anchored down and tied off to trees or nearby brush. Those blue northers will destroy a blind that is not anchored down and may even blow it into the next county–which happened to me once in North Texas. Read More…
Question: I am not a whitetail hunter, but I just love to feed the deer in my greenspace neighborhood. I have a battery operated feeder and have been feeding them deer corn and was told this is not as healthy as soybeans. Is this true and will soybeans work in my feeder?
Answer: First, let me say that the feeding of any wild animal by people should be considered purely supplemental. White-tailed deer should be no different. First, there are many arguments surrounding the feeding of whitetail deer, whether in rural hunting woods or in suburban areas such as the greenbelt around your house.
Whitetail are really neat critters that all sorts of people like for many different reasons. However, deer are fairly simple animals that require food, cover, water, and space. The food part is what we are talking about today. Read More…
White-tailed deer are very adaptable animals, but good deer habitat usually includes a mixture of trees, shrubs, vines, forbs, grasses. High quality deer habitat will also contain important foods such as fungi and even sedges. Of course, specific plants within each of these categories benefit deer more than others. If you really looked at a deer’s mouth, you will notice that it’s quite small and relatively pointed. This is because deer are highly selective with regards to their diet.
Palatable plants should be well interspersed throughout an area, so that the whole area functions as deer habitat. Over much of the whitetail’s habitat, adequate woody plants should be present to provide food, shelter and concealment. The enroachment of woody plants into areas that were once dominated by grasses is an important reason for the expansion of the whitetail deer. In addition to browse plants, some sort of water source should be available about every mile for deer watering. Put all these habitat requirements together—food, cover, water, and space—and you’ve got whitetail habitat.
When it comes to deer habitat, plant diversity is an important because deer require a variety of plants to provide their various needs. Many plants are utilized during only one season (when they are growing/available) or a portion of a season. Keep in mind that each plant that is eaten provides only a portion of a deer’s nutritional requirements. However, many plant species are not consumed by deer. These plants are also important, serving as cover and concealment for traveling and loafing animals. Read More…
Question: I am on a 2,000 acre property in Eastern Oklahoma with several other guys that we lease for white-tailed deer hunting. We have started doing deer surveys to estimate the number of deer on the land, but we are not sure how we should go about managing the bucks on the property? Any suggestions?
Answer: First, everyone always emphasizes the importance of providing optimum nutrition throughout the year. This is important so that the bucks in your area can reach their genetic potential. However, there is much more to whitetail management than nutrition, and there is more to whitetail hunting than just pulling the triger. It’s true that hunters make a number of important decisions with their trigger fingers, so what you shoot and what you pass up has a big affect on future hunting. Read More…
