The National Deer Association is the leading conservation organization dedicated to conserving North America’s favorite game animal.
We are hunters from all walks of life who share a passion for wild deer. We believe it is our responsibility to ensure the future of wild deer, wildlife habitat and hunting. As the authority on all things deer, we blend the art of hunting with the science of management to create better deer and better deer hunting.
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Versatile. Rugged. Productive. Attractive. Nutritious. Resilient. Persistent. These are some of the characteristics that come to mind when I think about crimson clover. Maybe that’s why it is one of the most popular species of clover ever planted for deer and other wildlife over the past several decades. In fact, I have a co-worker who …
In this episode of the Coffee and Deer podcast we are joined by outdoor writer and accomplished deer hunter Josh Honeycutt of Kentucky. Josh has written for more than 50 publications and has also been a contributor to NDA’s content library. He has a knack for telling the stories behind some of the best deer …
One thing we are certainly seeing a lot of these days are parallels drawn between COVID-19 and other aspects of what was our pre-pandemic “normal” existence. It’s our way to try and make sense of what the past year has really meant by relating the experience to traumatic circumstances we’ve previously felt prior to March …
The Southeast Deer Study Group meeting was one of the last in-person gatherings I attended in 2020 before the pandemic hit, and it looked for a while as if COVID-19 would prevent the 2021 meeting. For over 40 years, the largest national gathering of deer researchers and professional deer decision-makers was hosted in rotation …
In this week’s episode of the Deer Season 365 podcast, we are talking with Dr. Marcus Lashley of the University of Florida Deer Lab about how small scale fires — or bow-range burning as he often refers to it — can improve habitat for white-tailed deer and improve your odds of deer hunting success in …
The Summer 2021 issue of Quality Whitetails magazine is on the way to National Deer Association (NDA) members, featuring a cover photo by wildlife photographer Steve Gulledge. If you’re not a current member, you can join by July 20, 2021 and still receive this issue in a second mailing, plus a full year’s worth of great deer …
Got the itch for deer season? If not, this recent photo of a doe with mange ought to get you scratching. The photo above, taken on July 1 in Alabama, shows a classic case of deer mange, which is caused by a species of mite that lives only on whitetails, Demodex odocoilei. These mites are …
One of my favorite summertime activities leading into deer season is running trail-cameras. And while I keep a few out on my small property where I live, the bulk of my trail-camera efforts take place on public land. Unlike private land where I can put out corn or other forms of attraction to get deer …
On this first episode of the Coffee & Deer podcast, hosts Nick Pinizzotto and Mike Groman talk with Lindsay Thomas Jr. about how he was introduced to hunting and the great outdoors, his role with the National Deer Association, and how deer hunting media has changed over his career. Thank you so much for …
In our very first episode of the Deer Season 365 podcast, we talk to Michigan hunter Andy May about how he consistently kills big, mature bucks on short DIY public land hunts. Andy dives deep into his entire process from choosing potential public land tracts, how he e-scouts properties, his boots-on-the-ground scouting process, and finally …
A lot of deer behavior is pre-programmed, not learned. The way they react to certain stimuli is instinctual as a result of millions of years of testing, with death serving as an effective cancellation of deer that made poor choices. Survivors passed on superior programming, and on rare occasions these natural algorithms produce surprising, grim, …
“Keep the Fun in Hunting!” – that’s how Ed Spinazzola of Michigan, a former National Board member of this organization and a good friend of mine, ends every letter and e-mail he sends. I’ve always taken that advice to heart, and I wrote an article a few years ago on how to Make Deer Hunting …
As hunters, we all know the importance of a hot, home-cooked breakfast after a long, cold morning in the woods. For many, this is another integral part of the deer hunting experience and camaraderie that we look forward to every year at deer camp. Some of my best memories from deer camp come from not …
How the global pandemic led to more productive conversations with non-hunters – through online dating. If the year 2020 had one overarching theme, it was that no one is immune to change. Although some of the pandemic restrictions put in place had silver linings, such as getting people outdoors and teaching them the commitment it …
In a previous article— 5 Herbicides Every Deer Steward Should Know — I covered what I believe to be five of the most common herbicides used by habitat managers, with a specific focus on those used for creating and maintaining food plots. That article included glyphosate, which is often used to kill all vegetation in …
I’m not a huge 007 fan. However, like the heart of every Bond heroine, I downright “stole” the title for this post from my colleague and NDA’s Deer Outreach Specialist, Cheyne Matzenbacher. Why would I do such a thing? Because it helps me visualize a key aspect of one of the newest methods that we can …
The author and his brother have spent 15 years targeting public-land deer both close to home and out of state. Follow them for DIY public-land success. I couldn’t believe my sleep-deprived eyes. A mature Missouri 10-point was on a steady trot in our direction! My heart jumped to my throat, and my knees started that …
As the Director of Policy at the National Deer Association (NDA), it’s my job to make sure that deer hunters and managers are aware of policy and advocacy initiatives that impact deer, wildlife habitat and our hunting heritage. If you’ve been following along with our Action Alerts so far in 2021, you know that we’re …
For decades now, bowhunters have seemingly been on a quest to own the fastest shooting bow possible. During that time, manufacturers often touted their bows’ IBO or ATA speeds above all other features, and hunters gladly handed over their hard-earned dollars for whichever models posted the highest numbers for that year. The quest for speed …
So, you found an abandoned fawn and you’re wondering what to do with it. You may have even rescued it, and now that you brought it home you are wondering who to call. Is there anyone who will take it to raise? What does it eat? Can you house-train it? I know you mean well …
If you are an avid female hunter, then you know proper hunting gear can make or break your hunting experience. I grew up hunting in my dad’s hand-me-downs. They worked just fine… for sitting still in a treestand under fair-weather conditions. But my hunting obsession has taken me from simply sitting to taking long hikes …
If hunters are willing, the easiest part of a deer management program is to produce mature bucks. It’s quite simple. If young bucks are not harvested, most will get older and provide hunters with an opportunity to improve the adult sex ratio and buck age structure of the deer herd, as well as provide opportunities …
In December 2020, I shed some light on the substantial economic importance of deer hunting in the southeastern United States by highlighting a few interesting facts from a project called the Southeast Deer Partnership. As a quick refresher, the Southeast Deer Partnership (SDP) is comprised of state and federal governmental agencies, non-governmental organizations such as …
My latest affair with a beautiful and wicked-smart female came to a bittersweet end on December 26, 2019. I won’t forget Blondie, the lessons she taught me, and the experiences we shared. Don’t worry, my wife knows all about this affair and approves. More accurately, she puts up with my annual obsession. It started in …
When I first began deer hunting, I would often head to the woods with a few two-by-fours, a pocket full of nails, and a hammer to erect my treestands between closely grown trees. Then I’d sit, stand or squat for hours waiting for my quarry, which more often than not never appeared. I was uncomfortable …
According to Southern Appalachian folklore, blood “falls” in the winter and “rises” in the summer. Come spring, in order to force one’s blood to start percolating again, a spring tonic was necessary. I’m not sure about the validity of my ancestors’ medical theories, but I do believe that a spring tonic salad is a marvelous …
Many concerned sportsmen and women report “unhealthy” or raggedy looking deer in the spring because they see or get trail-camera images of deer with notable hair loss. A common misunderstanding is that these deer have something wrong with them like mange, an injury, or even some kind of disease. Often, the simple truth of the …
Late in the Georgia hunting season on December 30, 2020, NDA member Keaton Smith saw a buck that was in bad shape. It was extremely thin, and it was hobbling along as if it could barely walk. He made the decision to use one of his buck tags to put the deer down. Later he …
I had never read a comprehensive article with shed-hunting strategies for specific regions of the whitetail’s range. So, I wrote one! I interviewed six shed-hunting nuts from the Midwest, Mississippi River Valley, Deep South, Appalachian Mountains, Northeast, and the Northern Great Plains. Let’s look at what Jesse Ross of Saskatchewan had to say about shed …
We got our first trail-camera photo of the three-legged doe we ended up calling “Tripod” back in May 2014 on my family’s hunting land in northwest Minnesota. I knew deer were tough, but how long could one really survive on three legs? Tripod would end up providing an answer. Deer can lose legs from a …
I had never read a comprehensive article with shed-hunting strategies for specific regions of the whitetail’s range. So, I wrote one! I interviewed six shed-hunting nuts from the Midwest, Mississippi River Valley, Deep South, Appalachian Mountains, Northeast, and the Northern Great Plains. Let’s look at what Ray Purdy of New York had to say about …
Even as we are hunting for and collecting them this winter and spring, new ones are already growing for us to hunt next year – although we’re all hoping to collect some of those new antlers well before then, still attached to the buck. I got to thinking about this process recently when looking …
I had never read a comprehensive article with shed-hunting strategies for specific regions of the whitetail’s range. So, I wrote one! I interviewed six shed-hunting nuts from the Midwest, Mississippi River Valley, Deep South, Appalachian Mountains, Northeast, and the Northern Great Plains. Let’s look at what Doody Cook of West Virginia had to say about …
It’s difficult to overstate the value of this chart for anyone trying to improve their deer hunting. It was produced by New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) for their annual deer harvest summary, and it shows gross antler score by age for nearly 3,000 bucks killed by New York hunters from 2015 to 2017, …
Being an avid hunter with an interest in both fowl and four-legged game, both large and small, I’ve enjoyed following the NDA through the years. Living and mainly hunting in Finland, it strikes me that I’ve never come across articles about whitetail populations outside North America. White-tailed deer have been exported to several locations through …
I had never read a comprehensive article with shed-hunting strategies for specific regions of the whitetail’s range. So, I wrote one! I interviewed six shed-hunting nuts from the Midwest, Mississippi River Valley, Deep South, Appalachian Mountains, Northeast, and the Northern Great Plains. Let’s look at what Brady Bradley of Arkansas had to say about shed …
I had never read a comprehensive article with shed-hunting strategies for specific regions of the whitetail’s range. So, I wrote one! I interviewed six shed-hunting nuts from the Midwest, Mississippi River Valley, Deep South, Appalachian Mountains, Northeast, and the Northern Great Plains. Let’s look at what Evan Lawler of Missouri had to say about shed …
In the first 6 months that the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency offered a new “Report Sick Deer” button on their website, the hotline netted one of the weirdest sick whitetails in history, one of only two known cases ever documented. I’ve reported on a lot of weird deer in my career as a hunting journalist, …
It’s winter, and soon it will seem like everyone is posting grip-and-grin photos on social media of massive shed antlers they are finding. This is an exciting time of year for avid shed hunters but an equally frustrating time if you aren’t looking for sheds in the right spot. I’ve learned that your shed-hunting strategy …
“What is the best thing to plant in my food plot?” Have you ever asked this question? As University Extension professionals and wildlife scientists, we get asked that question a lot. The search for the “magic bullet” plant has yielded many great discussions, but despite deer diets being heavily studied by researchers and observed by …
Deer season is over but that doesn’t mean your hunting adventures have to be, and for those with an adventurous soul, shed hunting can open up new country. Taking shed hunting roadtrips to various parts of the country can satisfy your thirst for adventure, add to your stack of sheds, and make you a more …
Removing surplus or non-native trees and shrubs to restore sunlight to the ground, fueling a rebirth of deer forage and cover, is a great way to rapidly improve deer habitat. Dr. Craig Harper of the University of Tennessee calls the technique Forest Stand Improvement (FSI), but it’s not as simple as cranking a chainsaw and …
If I ask you to imagine going outside today and creating some great deer habitat, what do you picture? Did you think of something you could add, like seeds or trees you can plant? Let’s be honest, adding things is what most of us think of first. But I’ve come to realize that great deer …
As deer hunting seasons close around the nation each year, some wildlife agencies in states that are fighting outbreaks of chronic wasting disease (CWD) gear up for an effort to fight the disease through a technique known as post-season “targeted removal” or “targeted culling.” There is much misinformation about this approach, and deer hunters need …
On December 30, NDA member Jay Thompson got a chance to pull memory cards from his trail-cameras in South Carolina, and the photo you see above stood out for obvious reasons. Taken a month earlier on November 30, a series of three photos showed a young buck hobbling along with a seriously maimed or deformed …
The bitterly cold, blustery winter morning in Virginia’s mountains had not been conducive to good hunting. No deer, turkeys, or even squirrels had been spotted. When I observed two black vultures ominously circling above me, I decided it was time to arise and prove to the duo that the shivering form [me] beneath them was …
While 2020 has been a difficult year in many ways, we hope your deer season was full of good times, great memories, and some success along the way. Our hope is that 2021 will bring better times and more special memories in the field with family and friends. As we reflect back on 2020, we …
New research shared at the 2020 Southeast Deer Study Group meeting held a lot of interesting new knowledge for deer hunters, and especially for deer habitat managers. Here’s a by-the-numbers look at some of the research I found most interesting and useful at the annual conference. By the way, to prevent this important annual gathering …
I remember being told in school, “You won’t always have a calculator in your pocket” whenever we would complain about having to work math problems out on paper. Not only do we always have a calculator in our pocket these days, but we have much more than that at our fingertips in this technologically driven …
I had the pleasure of giving one of the educational seminars at NDA’s Whitetail Weekend this spring, right before all heck broke loose with COVID-19. My talk led day one and was entitled the 20 Biggest Deer Research Discoveries of the Last Decade. I poured my heart into it, diving deep into the deer research …
Many deer hunters are familiar with a deer’s tarsal glands and the role it plays in communication during the rut. However, that’s not the only gland whitetails use to communicate with one another. The infographic below takes a look at the seven glands of a white-tailed deer, and one lesser-known organ, and the function of …
You’ve got a 5½-year-old buck standing broadside in your sights, and he’s yours to take home with you if you want him. He’s heavy-bodied, fully mature and carries a large rack of antlers. But as you prepare to pull the trigger, a question enters your mind: Will he grow larger antlers next year? Perhaps your …
We now know the guilty bacteria causing the condition that for at least 18 years has been transforming a few, rare, unlucky whitetails into Bullwinkle Deer. But that’s about all we know. Mannheimia granulomatis is confirmed as the bacteria that causes the inflammation, so the moose-like swelling of the faces of the victims is a …
They found me at the farmer’s market in Saratoga Springs, New York. Matt Ross, the smiling QDMA ambassador, asked if I’d like to try some venison. The samples stuck with toothpicks looked delicious, and having just recently decided this was the year that I was going to finally learn to hunt deer to get back …
No you didn’t click on the wrong website – this is the Quality Deer Management Association! We’re still talking about deer hunting, so don’t leave this page yet. In hunting, much like other things in life, sometimes having a fresh perspective is beneficial. Whether that entails hunting a new location or completely different species, learning …
You’ve probably heard all the talk recently about the decline in hunter numbers, with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service reporting approximately two million fewer hunters in 2016 than in 2011. One of the reasons often cited for this loss is lack of access to quality hunting land. And while there is no doubt it …
7 antlered bucks at one time. That’s what I was watching on the afternoon of November 17, 2018. One by one they entered a large food plot from different directions, all of them yearlings to 3½-year-olds, and fed and sparred with each other for almost an hour as I watched, fascinated. I’ve seen that many …
For me, one of the primary draws to public-land hunting is the freedom it provides to roam large tracts of land at a minimal cost. If one area doesn’t produce, I have seemingly unlimited opportunities to change locations and hunt a fresh spot. As great as it is to have that freedom to roam, approaching …
As a young hunter, I often puzzled over the depictions of the chest cavity in diagrams for hunters and on targets that displayed organs, because they were often at odds with my understanding of deer anatomy. The discrepancies I noted most often were the size and position of the lungs and location of the backbone. …
Identifying a white oak raining acorns in early bow season is a straightforward approach to putting backstraps on the grill, but this only works a couple short weeks of the year. Learn to play the acorn pattern all season long. The mid-January afternoon was hot, and mosquitos buzzed by my head as I leaned against …
Few discussions engage as many hunters as which rifle is the best – Remington or Winchester, .243 or .270, wood or laminate stock? One discussion that can rival it is crossbow use. Crossbows can be a polarizing topic in the archery world, but their use during deer season continues to expand. We’ve monitored crossbow use …
As professional white-tailed deer biologists, we are constantly prodded by friends and family for some type of insider information that could help improve their odds of encountering mature deer. It is always a tough question to answer, and it wasn’t until we began a collaborative research project between the University of Delaware and the Delaware …
Although they have long been used as a livestock forage, brassicas came on the scene as a deer forage about 20 to 30 years ago. There are numerous species that belong to genus Brassica, and the more commonly used forages are rape, kale, turnips and radishes. Although many hunters and food plotters typically refer to …
Many areas within the whitetail’s range have abundant deer herds. As amazing as whitetails are, they can unfortunately cause damage to forests, agricultural crops, landscaping and especially to vehicles. State Farm Insurance estimates drivers had over 1.9 million deer vehicle accidents (DVAs) from 2018-19. My home state of Pennsylvania routinely leads the nation in DVAs, …
Setting realistic expectations based on your personal experience and circumstances is key to keeping hunting fun and enjoyable. Here are some tips to ensure you are keeping it real this deer season. As communications manager for the National Deer Association, I spend my fair share of time on social media. More than I care to …
We’re already so many years into the trail-camera era of deer hunting that most of us who use them have forgotten what hunting was like without them – or don’t know what it was like because we weren’t born. While technological advancements have increased their user-friendliness and convenience far beyond the days of 35mm film, …
Enjoy turkey season — check. Plant Summer food plots — check. Hang trail-cameras — check. Oh yeah, when those items are checked off that means the next big thing on the horizon is deer season. Deer season is that wonderful time of year when you get together with family and friends at camp or wherever …
Last year was a good hunting season at Grace Acres, my family’s farm in Southeast Georgia where we have practiced Quality Deer Management (QDM) for many years. My brother-in-law Zack Clemons killed his first buck ever on opening weekend of gun season – a 2½-year-old 8-pointer. He said he felt like he’d never seen so …
In early July 2020, NDA member Robert Newcom of Kentucky saw a fawn hanging out in a quarter-acre clover patch, so he repositioned a nearby trail-camera to see if the fawn would come back. He ended up capturing the fawn and its mother on film – as well as the fawn’s untimely fate. “There was …
It’s no secret that cereal grains – wheat, oats, cereal rye, triticale – are popular choices for planting in food plots managed for whitetails. Cereal grains are highly attractive to deer, and they perform well under a wide range of conditions. With regard to deer preference, oats consistently rank higher than the other cereal grains …
I know I’m not the only one who has been guilty of assuming that any deer management I tried to accomplish would be negated when a deer crossed the fence onto the neighbor’s land. It turned out, however, that after meeting my neighbor and sharing my passion for deer hunting, we actually had similar interests …
Editor’s Note: Eight years ago this week, NDA member Phil Bancroft of Florida nearly died while preparing food plots for hunting season. After his recovery, he wrote this story for a 2013 issue of Quality Whitetails magazine. We are publishing it online here for the first time as a reminder to all our readers to …
One of the most basic characteristics of a deer forage that essentially lays the foundation of a food plot program is the time of year it is available and how long it lasts. When you understand the differences between annual and perennial forages, you’ll be better able to decide which is best and most cost-effective …
For many, summer weekends are spent on family barbecues, swimming, fishing and trips to the mountains or the beach. But for some, summer officially kicks off the countdown to deer season. While whitetail does are busy raising fawns and bucks’ antlers are starting to take form, many deer hunters turn their attention to preparing for …
Long ago, I made the decision to process my venison for the freezer at home, in my own relatively small kitchen. My basic tools and procedures have remained simple because they work and because I don’t have the room or the need to advance my home-processing equipment. So, I can help you learn how to …
I bring good news to all deer hunters who think they made some “mistake” last season or feel like “disaster” struck: The arrival of fawns each spring is the annual correction that makes it difficult for us to do long-term damage to deer populations. Some Quality Deer Managers believe they are supposed to be managing …
It was the morning of my first hunt, and the sound of gobbles cut through the silence. The mix of emotions I felt was a rush. My heart was pounding, and I didn’t seem to notice I was ill equipped for 30-degree weather. Sitting there under a tree half shivering from the cold and half …
What’s going on in the above photo? Do you see it? I snapped this over the weekend here where I live in upstate New York while trying to get some supplies for the family. It’s pretty blatant, I think. Hidden there behind the obvious, in that dusty little corner, is something every deer hunter should …
If you support QDMA; if you have donated to help us keep Working for Whitetails; if you are a member or a raffle-ticket buyer or in any other way stand behind this organization and our mission, then you need to see the photos of what you accomplished. Below are some of the adults you took …
The 2018-19 hunting season is one I won’t soon forget. It began with a bear hunting trip to Ontario and concluded while hunting whitetails in my home state of Pennsylvania with friends and family. Both experiences were wonderful, and each contained its own share of highlights, laughter, and memories. Sadly, however, neither is the focus …
The other day, I took a tour through our freezer and discovered a quartered gray squirrel from February, turkey wing meat from the fall of 2018 (yikes), and just two packages of roasts among our venison stash. The thought occurred to me that now would be a prime time to ask Elaine to prepare some …
Bucks. Does. Bobcats. Feral hogs. Coyotes. Turkeys. Even a fox squirrel. I was accustomed to seeing these and other sights every time I opened my Moultrie Mobile app to check the latest images on my wireless trail-cameras. I did not expect to see a Toyota Corolla, especially near noon on Christmas Day. Luckily, the image …
Have you heard of tree saddles? Have you hunted out of one or thought about trying it? A lot of QDMA members are curious, so we invited Matt Dye and Adam Keith of Land & Legacy to speak at our Whitetail Weekend in early March 2020. The video above includes most of their full seminar …
I began working for QDMA in 2002, and that fall we implemented a record-keeping program at our Pennsylvania deer camp. Over the next 18 hunting seasons, we shot 299 deer on 700 acres – 249 were antlerless (210 adult does and 39 fawns) and 50 were antlered bucks, and we collected harvest data from every …
Over his career as a wildlife biologist, Joe Hamilton of South Carolina has aged tens of thousands of deer jawbones, and whenever he encountered a jawbone that strayed from “normal,” he saved it. This article provides a tour through a few of the weirdest jawbones in Joe’s and NDA’s collection. Whenever you’re examining jawbones this …
There’s a quick way to look at a shed antler and tell whether the buck that dropped it was in good health back in the fall during the rut. No, it’s not mass. It’s not tine length or count. And it’s not beam length, color or character. New science from the University of Nebraska at …
Forest researchers in New York may have found a way to restore the once-dominant American chestnut that doesn’t involve non-native chestnut genes. You can help. Apple. Persimmon. Jujube. Pawpaw. Pear. Sawtooth oak. In the never-ending pursuit of the ultimate hunting property, mast production is common to the conversation. Spend just a little time around die-hard …
As wildlife managers, we must control pesky invasive plant species to improve habitat and promote native vegetation that serves as both cover and nutritious forage for deer and other wildlife species we wish to promote. Unfortunately, this often means spending a lot of time treating invasives and spending money on control equipment and herbicides. But …
In mid-to-late winter and early spring on the 38 acres Elaine and I live on, I perform many of the typical tasks NDA members do: look for sheds of the never-seen buck that made all those huge rubs, conduct various timber stand improvement (TSI) tasks, cut firewood, and do something atypical – gather two wild …
There are few, if any, wild game animals we know so much about as the white-tailed deer – that’s what makes it surprising when new information comes to light about this species with which we are fascinated. A large sample of shed antlers collected from my research site in south-central Alabama provided a great opportunity …
Acorns. If you are a deer hunter in a forested area of the eastern United States, it is likely you consider them a crucial factor in deer management. It is likely they influence your hunting strategy. In fact, you probably have killed lots of deer that were eating them, so there is logic as to …
When Charles Evans and I created the pilot project in 2016 that would become NDA’s Field to Fork program, we tried a novel approach for reaching non-hunting adults who might be interested in learning to hunt for food. We reserved a booth at the Athens, Georgia farmer’s market and set up an impressive spread of …
Many deer hunters must now consider potential impacts of coyote predation on local deer herds. Historically confined to the western United States, coyotes have expanded throughout the eastern states and are now common across most landscapes we manage for deer. This expansion has obviously generated a lot of interest from the public, and the coyote’s …
Deer season has barely ended, and I’ve already begun planning for next season… by going back in time and reviewing last year’s trail-camera photos. Winter weather in my home state of Pennsylvania is often less than ideal for spending time outdoors. And let’s face it, putting in some family time to bank brownie points for …
There’s still much we do not know about chronic wasting disease (CWD), but we uncover new secrets annually and provide managers with new insights to better manage deer herds afflicted with this devastating disease. One fact is becoming more prominent: Even though bucks contract CWD at higher rates than does, it is a mistake to …
No other habitat management practice can positively impact as many acres in such a short period of time and for as little money as prescribed fire. Many state wildlife agencies have been taking advantage of this cost-effective tool for years to improve habitat on public lands. As a former field supervisor for the Georgia …
Apple trees can provide an ample supply of quality food to whitetails and often retain fruit late into the season, continuing to drop apples into the winter. While establishing new food sources on your property can positively impact the herd’s nutrition, the abandoned, overgrown orchards that pepper the landscape in some regions can offer a …
I’ve been fortunate to be a wildlife biologist or researcher for the past 28 years, and a lot more than just the color of my hair and beard has changed during that time. During that time, many myths have been dispelled by researchers and numerous breakthroughs have been identified. A recent NDA Deer Steward class …
It’s crunch time: the end of hunting season. You may be trying to beat the buzzer and shoot that big buck you’ve been after all year, or you might just be trying to put meat in the freezer. Either way, the late season can still produce some great hunting. You just have to know what …
My wife Elaine and I enjoy venison year-round, and we also enjoy gathering and eating fruits and other foods that result from habitat improvements on our land. We’ve planted apple trees for deer nutrition, but we enjoy eating them too, and Elaine found they even work well combined in this apple venison roast recipe. The …
My wife Tes and I began our Quality Deer Management journey over 15 years ago with the purchase of a small farm in east-central Alabama. It had been in her family for over 20 years, and much had been done to improve it for native wildlife. When we took the reins we decided to implement …
Over the past few years, we have noticed that Field to Fork participants who were not born in the United States always have a similar curiosity about hunting, aside from their food interest. Usually, hunting is illegal or severely restricted in the country where they were raised. When Joerg Mayer, an associate professor of zoological …
If you’re a deer hunter who is active on social media, particularly if you consume hunting content on YouTube, you’ve likely noticed the increasing popularity in public land hunting and the sharing of public land hunting videos. This shift in hunting media has resulted in the rise of several popular YouTube channels like The Hunting …
Nothing about whitetails ever seems routine, does it? Just when you think you’ve got ‘em figured out, they seemingly throw another curve ball in the grand scheme of World Series play we call “hunting.” But that lack of certainty and the challenge that comes with it is a big part of why deer hunting is so …
You’ve likely heard advice about finding the does during the rut to find the bucks. Great advice, but let’s dig a little deeper into how you can put bucks in front of you during the rut. I have successfully used different types of bottlenecks or pinch points when hunting during the rut in different landscapes …
The vast majority of Americans approve of hunting according to Responsive Management, an internationally recognized survey research firm in natural resource and outdoor recreation issues. A recent survey in conjunction with the National Shooting Sports Foundation revealed the current approval rating of hunting by Americans 18 years of age and older is the highest it’s …
As I hoisted my bow up into the tree, I began reviewing my strategy for the evening’s hunt. A slight north wind was favorable for hunting a small funnel with tons of buck activity. My trail-cameras had documented several different bucks traveling the edge of a swamp, through the funnel I was hunting, and out …
Donnie Draeger used to believe in culling deer to improve antler genetics. Over his career as the wildlife biologist at the Comanche Ranch in southwest Texas, he’d spent a lot of time and the ranch’s money on such efforts. Then the results of a years-long scientific culling study at the ranch started to become available. …
It never fails. Around mid- to late October every year, my phone starts ringing constantly from concerned food plotters frantically explaining that they planted their food plots in early September but then watched them wither and disappear. Is it too late to replant? Food plots fail for a variety of reasons such as the onset …
To paraphrase Napoleon, “The Orange Army marches on its stomach.” After some major investigative reporting work, we can confirm most deer hunters enjoy treestand snacks. In fact, many hunters think success comes down to being comfortable in the stand, and what adds more comfort than food? In addition, eating in the stand can appease superstition, …
What does a deer with chronic wasting disease (CWD) look like? Most look as healthy as the buck in the trail-camera photo above. A few days after this photo was taken in November 2012, NDA member Bob Weiland of Wisconsin killed this buck, and the deer tested positive for CWD. Whitetails carry CWD for an …
Dr. Karl V. Miller and his wife Renee know their way around a whitetail about as well as any two people in North America, especially when it comes to preparing venison for the table. Karl, a professor of deer management at the University of Georgia and head of the UGA Deer Lab, has studied, hunted, …
Can we stop the insanity? Can we just get through one deer season without a family having to bury a loved one who fell from their deer stand? Yes, deer hunting is our passion, but is it worth risking permanent injury or death? The vast majority of deer hunting injuries and deaths involve treestand falls, …
When Georgia first legalized hunting deer over bait in the southern half of the state in 2011, my dad felt compelled to install corn feeders on our family farm simply to compete with the expected landslide of bait in the wider neighborhood. Dad placed some of his trail-cameras on the corn feeders. Meanwhile, I continued …
Three years ago in my native Missouri, I was headed toward my favorite stand when I stumbled upon a dead doe. She looked as if she had died in the last day or two, and there was no evidence of gunshot wounds or broken bones. She was lying next to a small watering hole on …
College football games should all be played at night so I can catch them after I’m back in deer camp. Seriously, why must two of our nation’s greatest pastimes – deer hunting and college football – collide like they often do? On Saturday afternoons in fall, I know I can check the score on my …
From falls while walking in the woods to shoulder injuries from dragging deer back to camp, physical therapists like myself tend to see a surge of hunting-related injuries in the weeks after deer season opens. As a hunter myself, I hate to see this, because in many cases an ounce of pre-season prevention can help …
I recently moved to Illinois where feeding or baiting deer is illegal at all times of the year, and getting pictures of bucks suddenly became much more difficult. For me, trail-camera pictures control future hunting decisions, and I simply could not accept getting so much fewer pictures. I need to know which bucks to hunt. …
If you’re a deer hunter, there is no doubt you have felt the rush of adrenaline when a deer is spotted heading your way. The feeling you get as you reach for your weapon and ready for the shot; your target unaware of the ambush waiting from above. Now can you imagine the rush you …
Balansa clover (Trifolium michelianum) is somewhat of a newcomer to the deer food plot scene. Historically, its primary use has been as a cover crop in the agricultural community, but it has many unique qualities that can make it an excellent choice as a deer forage depending on your food plot objectives and property features. …
For the past 30 years, I’ve helped bowhunters track white-tailed deer on the Naval Support Facility Indian Head, a military installation on the Potomac River just south of Washington, D.C., and in the surrounding southern Maryland counties. After the Natural Resources Office (NRO) on the Navy Base allowed bowhunters to use mechanical broadheads for the …
Find stand sites that combine these six features, then get ready to call your taxidermist. What makes one stand better than another when it comes to harvesting mature bucks? Why do some stands seem to produce year after year while others fail to yield a mature-buck sighting? When it comes to hunting, and more importantly …
As hunters, we tend to make hunting more complicated than it has to be. For hundreds of years, deer hunters got by with just a bow, some arrows in their quiver and a good, sharp knife. That’s all they needed to put fresh venison on the table. Fast forward to 2019, and many of us …
Looking back over themes from 42 annual meetings of the Southeast Deer Study Group reveals the evolving concerns of professional whitetail researchers over the last four decades of North American deer hunting. When the first meeting was held in 1977, goals still included restoring deer to a few last pockets of their former range. Quickly …
Faster than a speeding bullet? More powerful than a locomotive? Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound? While it may seem to the average deer hunter that whitetails have supernatural abilities akin to our favorite comic book hero, deer do regularly use their speed and agility to navigate dangerous situations; like escaping from …
I love foraging for blackberries. Every June in Georgia, I suit up in permethrin-treated, bramble-proof Carhartt overalls and wade into the briar patch with my bucket. I wear an old right-hand work glove with the fingertips cut off that protects most of my hand from thorns as I reach for the best blackberries. Since I …
Let’s face it. Not all of us have access to high-quality, low-pressure, private hunting land. In fact, for many of us — myself included — public land is where we spend the majority of our time in pursuit of white-tailed deer. For some it is a decision made for the challenge and freedom that hunting …
If you have ever read an article about planting and managing food plots, the author undoubtedly recommended collecting soil samples to determine the appropriate amounts of lime and fertilizer that are needed to maximize the quality of the forages you are managing. This is certainly the case in every food plot species profile that I …
Each one of us is the product of our ancestors, and more recent relatives have the greatest influence on who we are. But sometimes, through the weird acoustics of the sprawling genetic cave from which we crawled, an echo reverberates up from the depths to be heard more clearly than it should by those of …
Pursuing Quality Deer Management goals can be a year-round endeavor, but the importance of your management efforts are higher in spring and summer than perhaps any other time of year. Adults can lose 15 to 30 percent of their body weight during winter. This loss must be recovered quickly in time for a buck’s body …
To the hardcore deer hunter, summer can seem like an incredibly boring time of year, but a few summer afternoons spent scouting for deer may mean the difference between a slow deer season and your best ever. I spent countless afternoons last summer exploring Mississippi public land after moving to the state, and while some …
I’ve always had an affinity for helping new hunters. That likely stems from the struggles I endured as a young, aspiring hunter without a mentor. I sometimes look back and cringe at all the rookie mistakes I made along the way and my painfully slow evolution as a hunter. Many of those mistakes could have …
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently completed a required periodic review of glyphosate’s registration as a legal pesticide, and the product survived the process. Glyphosate remains legal and, according to the EPA, safe when used by the label guidelines. However, EPA is recommending a few adjustments to the label that some of its critics may …
When I told my close friends we were selling the farm and moving back to town to be closer to family and help with the family business, there were many questions. One of the most often asked was, “Where are you going to hunt?” I’d given that a great deal of thought and decided on …
I recently talked with a hunter who purchased a new rifle with a scope and two boxes of expensive hunting ammo. At the range, he used up the expensive ammo but did not ever once hit his 100-yard target. If he had bore-sighted his rifle first, his initial shot at 100 yards would have hit …
For years, a movement in modern agriculture has been pushing more and more farmers to use no-till or low-till farming practices as a way of improving soil and saving on fertilizer and fuel costs, and for the last few years we’ve been intentionally avoiding tillage in some food plots at QDMA Headquarters to achieve the …
Predators are one of the most widely discussed topics of deer hunting in the past few years, particularly in regards to population management and fawn survival. If you were to ask any hunter what factor is most limiting to fawn recruitment where they hunt, chances are they will say coyotes. It’s no surprise why. Nearly …
Because our messages and mission are founded on proven science, QDMA has built a reputation over 31 years for knowledge and credibility – which means, among other things, that our members turn to us when they encounter something they can’t explain. We could almost staff a full-time Department of Mysteries just to respond to queries …
White-tailed deer are the most important game species in North America. More hunters pursue whitetails than any other species, and whitetail hunters contribute more financially than any other hunter segment. Collectively speaking, whitetails are the foundation of the entire hunting industry. That’s why each year QDMA gathers data from state and provincial wildlife agencies, the …
One of the most interesting things about whitetails is the great variety in their appearance. Regional differences in size and anatomy, the seemingly limitless variations in antler characteristics and occasional abnormalities like vestigial ivory teeth have long fueled fascinating conversations around deer camp. Recently, I had the opportunity to check out a herd of deer …
It took awhile for all of the data to finally arrive, and when it did, it confirmed that 2017-18 was a historic deer season. That season officially ended in early 2018, and state wildlife agencies crunched harvest data during the following months. Many states use national survey companies to assist with their efforts, and all …
It’s time to plant and manage summer food plots! Here is a quick guide to all the useful information available on the NDA website to help you decide what to plant, and how to plant it. Editor’s Note: This page is updated regularly as new summer food plot content is added to the NDA …
If you follow the QDMA on social media or keep up with the content we share on our website and in our magazine, you know that we are putting a lot of emphasis on the seriousness of chronic wasting disease (CWD). We want hunters to understand the disease and the implications it could have on …
One of the more enjoyable late-winter activities for me is getting out with friends and family hiking in search of shed antlers. I wish I was fortunate enough to scour every square inch of the properties I hunt in search of them, but time just doesn’t allow that, and sometimes those pesky rodents beat me …
Like many NDA members and deer habitat managers, I have been targeting ash trees for removal by cutting, girdling, and hack-and-squirt to free up space around mast-bearing oaks and to increase sunlight reaching the ground for forage and cover production. I learned recently of a particular danger inherent in cutting down ashes, and your personal …
Which region and state have the most successful deer hunters? In 2017, the Southeast took top honors with South Carolina leading the way. We determined this by surveying every state and provincial wildlife agency on the percentage of hunters who harvested at least one deer and the percentage who harvested two or more deer during …
With shed antler season already underway, many deer hunters are already working on their goal of finding a large number of sheds or locating the antlers from a particular deer. Since I’ve never been particularly successful at racking up numbers or finding sheds from shooter bucks that survived the season, I take pride in finding …
For years I shot 3D archery — typically a few shoots each summer as a way to prepare for the upcoming deer season. And while I always enjoyed the chance to shoot my bow, as well as the camaraderie of competitive archery, for whatever reason I never got serious about it. It wasn’t until my …
I recently received a question from an NDA member that went something like this: “I just purchased some land, and I’m looking to turn it into a great deer hunting property. I contacted a forester who looked at the property and gave some advice, but I don’t think he understands what I’m looking for. My …
In the summer of 2014, I picked up a brochure produced by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources titled, “Wisconsin’s Deer Management Assistance Program, a partnership for healthy deer and healthy habitat.” Without opening the brochure, my initial thought was, “How do I sign up?” In hindsight that decision might seem hasty, but I’d like …
It’s the time of year when bucks are beginning to shed their antlers and hunters are beginning to grow impatient to go hunt those shed antlers. And every year as talk of shed hunting begins, we also encounter hunters who just don’t have much patience and want the bucks to bring the sheds to them. They …
As fall winds down, I’m sure you’ve seen many pics of happy hunters with their trophies. I am continually impressed with the size, growth patterns and color of antlers. Age and nutrition are mostly responsible for the size of free-ranging bucks’ antlers, with a side of genetics thrown in, but what about their color? Is …
Throughout our lives we seek challenges, whether that’s through sports, jobs, school, or harvesting a game animal. Yes, I said “harvesting a game animal.” Hunting is rewarding, enticing, fulfilling and at times challenging. Let me tell you my story and how I came to seek this challenge. My mother never took up hunting, so naturally …
Bucks expend a great deal of energy during the fall preparing for and participating in the rut. Depending on the buck:doe ratio, activities like scraping, rubbing, fighting, seeking and chasing can stretch over weeks or even months, and during this time bucks spend less time feeding than normal. Even in well managed herds with balanced …
On October 11, 2017, after a long day in the office, I left work in a rush to the treestand hoping to get set up as early as possible. I had planned on hunting the edge of a small clover plot tucked deep in the timber and wanted to get there before any deer worked …
Moving to Auburn, Alabama to begin graduate school last fall brought about quite a few changes in the way I hunt. It was the first year I was away from my family’s farm in North Carolina. While I was able to hunt the farm a couple of times during 2017, most of my hunting was …
This simple shot placement technique will help you make more effective shots this season. It happens to every hunter at some point in his or her hunting career. They hit a deer with a marginal or poor shot, and then must endure a long and difficult recovery, or worse yet, they’re unable to find the …
“Location, location, location” might be your motto when it comes to placing deer stands, and location is certainly important to your deer hunting success. In fact, I think many deer hunters focus so much on stand location that they fail to think about how they will enter and exit a stand undetected. I firmly believe …
Every year about this time, questions and concerns about the rut start popping up on social media. “Will the rut be early this year?” “Think this cold snap will get the deer rutting?” “I hope this warm spell doesn’t shut the rut down.” “Are we going to have another trickle rut this year?” It’s understandable …
Virtually every hunter I know gets excited when they see a big, active scrape. There’s just something mysterious about them that intrigues us and gets our hearts pumping a little faster. We know when we start seeing those scrapes that the most exciting part of the season is just around the corner. My love affair …
The button buck appeared first, as they usually do. A young doe, probably the sibling, emerged a little more cautiously. She was about the same size as the button buck and had the short neck, short face, enormous ears and other features of a late-season fawn, so I waited. My deer stepped out third: a …
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) in deer is a serious matter. While the long-term implications are concerning to QDMA, to other wildlife conservation organizations, and to the majority of wildlife disease experts, the situation is not hopeless. Each day we learn more about this fatal disease, and this knowledge will ultimately help us find solutions that …
Have you ever placed your trail-camera to monitor a rub without success? Many rubs are never visited again by the bucks that made them or by other deer. However, some rubs are a little more special and are visited by multiple bucks and even does. Deer even visit these unique rubs across multiple years. These …
Grotesque facial swelling on a deer, known as a food impaction and sometimes also called “lumpy jaw,” is one of the weirdest sights a deer hunter can encounter on their trail-camera images or in person while hunting. QDMA is often asked about the cause of this condition, and since we recently received new photos from …
Unbelievable, but it’s here. Deer season is actually here! Well, despite the fact it’s 86 degrees outside as I write this and my calendar says the current month starts with the letter “S”, my email inbox and the world of social media says it’s here. Sure enough, velvet whitetails are dropping in states like Tennessee, …
The 9th International Deer Biology Congress (IDBC) – which is held every four years and brings researchers and managers from around the world together to discuss and advance deer management and conservation – was held in Estes Park, Colorado, in August. Nearly 130 presentations were given at the meeting, and at least 20 of those focused …
Learning to deer hunt can be challenging. While there are lots of great resources available, such as QDMA’s Guide to Successful Deer Hunting ebook, there is no replacement for experience in the field. Having a good mentor really shortens the learning curve, and that’s one reason QDMA places such a high importance on being a mentor …
Questions about growing quality food plots are nothing new for NDA’s phone lines and e-mail in-boxes. But over time, new themes emerge among the questions, and for the last couple of years, one new theme has dominated: growing low-impact food plots. We are receiving more and more questions from hunters who want to grow food …
With archery deer season quickly approaching, there is no better time than now to make sure that both you and your equipment are ready for opening day. Summer is in full swing, which for many of us means archery deer season is just around the corner. Hopefully your bow has been getting a regular workout …
Science-based wildlife management gave us the abundant natural resources we enjoy as hunters today, and it can help ensure we keep them for tomorrow. That’s why QDMA’s new five-year mission goals include increasing our annual expenditures on deer research to help solve problems that whitetails and hunters now face. It’s also why we attend the …
What is “bow-range burning”? It’s part of a concept that is torching a lot of old rules about the use of prescribed fire and shaking things up in the world of deer habitat management. How appropriate that it’s an idea conceived by a man who goes by @DrDisturbance on Twitter. Dr. Marcus Lashley of Mississippi …
Chicory (Cichorium intybus) is a plant that is native to Europe but now exists all over the world. For centuries the leaves have been used as food and the roots used as a coffee substitute and additive. It also has several medicinal uses for both humans and livestock. Thanks in part to research conducted in …
Clinging to his climbing stick with one hand, David Jennings reached up and shook his hang-on treestand to test the nylon ratchet strap securing it to the trunk. The stand had been hanging in the tree for nearly four years, and David had not even hunted it the previous season, so on June 30 he …
In a previous post, we featured berseem clover (Trifolium alexandrinum) as a potential food plot species. The problem with berseem clover in food plots, however, is it is highly susceptible to winter kill. Many food plotters have turned their backs on the species simply due to its low cold tolerance. However, “frosty” is a somewhat new …
The year was 1999. We were on the cusp of a new century. The Yankees won the World Series for the 25th time. The Denver Broncos won the Super Bowl for the second time, and more importantly from a deer management perspective, hunters shot more antlerless deer than antlered bucks for the first time. That …
If you’re seeking to improve habitat for whitetails, there’s a good chance you’ve mailed in a soil sample for analysis before applying lime or fertilizer to your food plots. This is a smart move that will quickly reveal missing nutrients, but other factors like soil type, drainage and depth can also substantially influence the productivity …
If you hunt whitetails, you’ve probably already heard of chronic wasting disease (CWD). This neurodegenerative disease is caused by an odd sort of protein called a prion that develops in the brains of infected animals and causes abnormal behavior, loss of body condition and eventual death. Animals usually die from a variety of indirect causes …
Each fall, deer hunters see or harvest albino or piebald whitetails and discuss what a rare occurrence that is. But an even greater rarity exists: melanistic whitetails. Melanistic whitetails are a true gem of whitetail color morphs. With very low odds for this genetic mutation and low reported harvest, viewing a wild melanistic whitetail is …
“The grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.” George Washington Burnap gets credit for the quote, but I am here to help with the last part. We need all three to ensure happiness, but what really keeps me going is something to hope …
Prescribed fire brings a bonus to hunters in the South, where dense forest cover dominates most landscapes: Fire helps us find sheds. Most sheds in my personal collection are blackened by fire, and it was in a newly burned area that I enjoyed a successful morning of shed hunting a couple of years ago, finding …
QDM is a household name in the deer hunting world today. You’d be hard pressed to find a deer hunter who hasn’t heard of it, and surveys show the majority of hunters practice some form of it. A decade ago there was much personal and professional debate over the merits of QDM. Those arguments still …
For decades, the percentage of 1½-year-old or “yearling” bucks in the national harvest has been declining. Where yearlings once made up nearly 70 percent of the national buck harvest, today that number is around 34 percent and holding. However, yearling buck harvest remains high in some areas, and hunters in many areas are working to …
Every hunter likely has a friend or family member who is a non-hunter, if not several. You probably avoid hunting-related conversations with some or all of these folks for fear of getting into a debate that may turn sideways. However, sticking our collective heads in the sand and avoiding these types of conversations is the …
A lot of attention is being given to “young forest” in the QDM world lately. The volume of quality natural forage that is available to deer and other wildlife in a recently regenerated forest makes opportunities for cutting timber an important consideration before you think about creating more food plots. In locations where forest cover …
One of QDMA’s new mission goals is to recruit 1 million new hunters over the next five years. It’s an aggressive goal, but one we feel is achievable through our dedicated network of Branches, volunteers and members. One of the challenges these new recruits will face is finding a good place to hunt. Most states …
This map scares the hell out of me. Once you understand what it shows us about deer hunters and chronic wasting disease (CWD), it should alarm you, too. It’s a map of one of the ways we will lose the war against CWD unless we take action, and I hope it shocks us awake. In …
Last October a family friend encountered a buck on his property that had gotten tangled in a woven-wire fence. After being carefully freed from the fence, the deer stood around seemingly dazed and confused. At one point the buck even approached our friend, Neal, before dashing off into a nearby thicket (see the video below). …
I am a hunter. Before I was old enough to hunt, I longed to be a hunter. My Dad hunted, and I wanted to be just like him. My maternal grandfather hunted. My paternal grandmother hunted. My uncles hunted. My cousins hunted, and all of my friends’ families hunted. Being a hunter was the most …
I had just begun my first job with a forestry consulting company when, one late spring day, I followed my boss through the woods with a scale stick and a paint gun, prepared to mark timber for sale. As we neared the stand of hardwoods that needed our attention, my boss stopped suddenly in his …
You hear it commonly from all ranks of hunters, no matter their experience level. It’s the kind of thing grizzled veterans exclaim loud enough at the local coffee shop everyone within earshot catches it, or millenials openly share in a social media post that randomly pops up in your feed. Either way, the sentiment is …
My deer season had been over for three weeks, and many managers were already using prescribed fire, an age-old practice of enhancing wildlife habitat. Several days of rainy weather gave way to a blue sky, so on a mid-January day I decided to take a stroll in the temporarily blackened deer woods. It was a …
When discussing 3D archery with those unfamiliar with the sport, I often describe it as “golf for bowhunters.” That’s because 3D archery takes the challenge — and frustration — of golf and combines it with the fun and excitement of shooting your bow in various true-to-life hunting situations. What’s not to love? So I’m always …
Chronic wasting disease kills deer. In fact, a Mississippi hunter sat in his stand and watched one die of the brain-destroying disease on January 21. When a tissue sample from the carcass was tested, it delivered the state’s first-ever confirmed case of CWD, making Mississippi the 25th state to find the disease and the first …
Time is not kind to deer habitat. With each hour that passes, the plants growing where you hunt are losing their value to deer. Trees are rising, stretching upwards to fill vacant holes in the sky, spreading out branches to harvest sunlight. Shrubs, forbs and vines will soon be left in shade, which kills them. …
Deer season is over. Turkey season is on the horizon. That wonderful season between the two has arrived –– shed season! Social media is exploding with pictures of shed antlers, and Whitetail Properties’ annual Shed Rally has become a big event. Given that more outdoorsmen and women are picking up sheds today than ever before, …
This fall, tens of thousands of acres of clover food plots will feed deer and numerous other wildlife species. In addition, alfalfa, chicory, oats, and a suite of other species and mixes will be actively growing and feeding wildlife. Depending on your location, much of this acreage will have already provided food for one to …
Have you ever gone to great lengths to plant your food plots correctly, but they didn’t turn out as you had hoped? There are many potential explanations, but we want to cover one that is often overlooked. Let’s assume you used proper agronomic practices. You prepared an adequate seedbed and planted properly, and it rained …
A common question we get here at the National Deer Association goes something like this: “I hunt 150 acres in western Kentucky. It’s about 40 percent open with the rest in hardwoods. What can I do to improve the deer hunting?” Of course the location and details vary, but the underlying question remains the same …
On the average day, greenbrier vines (or Smilax) take it on the chin from whitetails, as this native evergreen vine is highly preferred deer forage and is usually being stripped of every leaf in reach of deer. But last fall in North Carolina, the greenbrier vines got the upper hand. The photos on this page …
There are many things you might find while roaming the woods this winter and spring, from shed antlers to potential new stand sites, just to name a few of the fun ones. Then there are things we don’t want to find, like deer carcasses. Maybe the carcass resolves the mystery of a deer lost …
A lot goes into preparing a wonderful meal, especially one that gives your taste buds that “wow” reaction. Isn’t it amazing that a single serving of “wow” can have 26 grams of protein but only 2.7 grams of fat in one 3-ounce serving? I am in no way a culinary expert, but I am fortunate …
Prescribed fire improves deer habitat, and if it’s practical where you hunt, you should learn to burn. That’s a message we have harped on for years, and as more deer hunters have begun to use this cost-efficient technique, I am hearing fewer questions about burning basics and more about next-level considerations. How often should you …
Can you name a fellow hunter who says that bucks with weird antlers should be “culled” for the benefit of the herd because they’re somehow “inferior”? Way too many of us can, so we should make sure our cull-happy friends get a good look at bucks like Pumba. Tom Mitchell, an NDA member from Missouri, …
When you harvest a doe late in a hunting season, you can measure any fetuses the doe is carrying using a special scale and determine when they were conceived. With enough fetal measurements, you can dial in on the timing of the peak of deer breeding where you hunt. But this method requires you to …
80 percent of hunters in the U.S. are deer hunters. We are the largest segment of the hunting population and contribute more to conservation efforts than all other types of hunters combined. Surprisingly, less than 1 percent of deer hunters belong to a deer-related conservation organization. Compare that to 41 percent of duck hunters and …
Do you believe the list of attributes a buck must possess to be a successful breeder is long or short? Does it change depending on where you are in the whitetail’s range? Much research has gone into this topic, and we now have some definitive answers on what leads to specific bucks winning the right …
Grunt-Snort-Wheeze: How and When to Use This CallWhat does a grunt-snort-wheeze sound like? Our founder Joe Hamilton spent years as a wildlife biologist researching and closely observing whitetails. Here, he teaches you how to imitate this call and explains when and why to use it in a hunting scenario. #RutRollCall Posted by The Quality Deer …
New research out of the University of Georgia Deer Lab is providing unique insight into the rate at which white-tailed deer process visual images and how they perceive their environment. It appears that deer actually receive visual information at a much faster rate than we do, making them more sensitive to movement. Any movement to them …
I found myself on a frosty January evening with a bowl of “buck tag soup.” You see, where I live, your hunting skill is judged by your ability to fill your buck tag – or so it seems. Some years no matter how hard you try, it just doesn’t come together. Like many soups, the ingredients …
The man who lived across the road from Ryan Furrer’s hunting land was also a hunter. Ryan knew that much because he could see deer stands on his neighbor’s Pennsylvania farm. Ryan thought about going over to introduce himself to his neighbor, establish a connection, and maybe ask if the neighbor had any interest in a neighborhood …
What do Beanie Babies, 8-track tapes and rotary telephones have to do with deer hunting? Not much of anything. What do they have in common? Nobody makes them anymore. Something else we can’t make any more of is our time. We can’t make more time, but we can be more mindful of how we manage …
As the buck edged along the creek, I tried to get a better glimpse of him. I had yet to see his body well enough to put an age on him. He turned toward me, thrashing a small sapling. I decided to call him over for a better look. Five or six years ago, I …
Whitetail antler growth is driven by photoperiod and regulated by hormones. In general, antlers begin growing in spring, grow through late summer, shed velvet around early September, fall off in winter, and start growing again a couple of months later. Most bucks cast their antlers in January to February and start new ones in March …
It’s a tried and true piece of advice you hear from deer hunters throughout the country. Save your best spots until the best time of the year. Don’t go in and muck up an area. Wait until the rut. Stay out of your favorite stand until November (or whenever the rut happens to peak where …
Each fall, many yearling bucks will strike out from the range where they were born, mostly in a straight line, onto ground they have never seen before. Mama is not coming with them, and they will in all likelihood never see her again or any other familiar or closely related deer. They don’t know where …
Growing numbers of Americans today are interested in becoming deer hunters but lack family members or friends who can teach them how. Whether they want to be self-sufficient in providing their own food, more fully enjoy the outdoors, or have other motivations, most of them do not come from traditional hunting backgrounds. Our e-book, QDMA’s Guide to …
It seems not a day goes by where I don’t hear of someone getting some piece of hunting equipment stolen. More times than not, it’s a treestand or trail-camera. Keeping your gear safe from thieves can be a challenge regardless of where you hunt, but public land hunters like myself have to be extra cautious. …
Follow Matt on Instagram. Not everyone practicing Quality Deer Management needs to take does. But everyone should ask themselves each year whether or not they need to. There are a number of factors to consider, so QDMA has compiled 24 questions that will help you decide whether to take more, fewer or zero does each …
I used to be the type who would sit in the same stand for nine days straight and half a day on the tenth. It didn’t take long for me to realize this was a major mistake. Needless to say, I corrected it quickly. Putting too much pressure on a given property is bad enough. …
Falling from a deer stand is the last thing seasoned hunter Tommy Brown had on his mind that crisp fall morning in 2005. Living in South Carolina his entire life, hunting came as naturally to him as eating grits with shrimp. Tommy has always been drawn to the land, and working as an appraiser has …
The second quarter of Super Bowl LI was not a pretty picture for the New England Patriots. They trailed the Atlanta Falcons by 21, and no team had ever overcome such a deficit to win a Super Bowl. But we all know the outcome, don’t we? Viewed out of context, any moment in time can …
Aging bucks on the hoof is not simple or foolproof, but I’ve got great news for you. The most important age to protect is the easiest to spot. Aging on the hoof really means determining which bucks you are going to green-light, which depends on your personal age-based goal for buck harvest. So the most …
When it comes to planting food plots for white-tailed deer, it’s hard to beat clover for several reasons. Clover is relatively easy to establish, readily available, affordable, and there are a variety of species to handle most any climate or soil type. To put it simply, clovers are a very versatile deer forage. Clover Species …
If there was ever a tough-man competition for deer forages, cereal rye would likely make the title bout. Cereal rye (rye hereafter) is a durable forage that can overcome adversity on many levels, such as extreme cold, drought, poor soil fertility, sandy soils, and heavy grazing pressure. Although rye may not always be the best …
Deer hunting is extremely popular. Approximately 80 percent of hunters in the United States pursue deer, and 60 percent of all days spent afield involve deer hunting. However, when it comes to mentoring new hunters – youths and adults alike – I’ll argue their first hunts should not be for deer. Rather, they should be …
Follow Matt on Instagram @mattrossqdma Every summer as velvet antlers sprout and take form on bucks across North America, a drone-like buzz begins to build in the backs of our minds. It’s a sure sign deer season will be here soon. That’s exciting and, at least for me, the volume button that controls my eagerness …
We are often told to get out of our “comfort zone” to make progress in life, but there are also times when we really need to stay in it. Bowhunting is one of those times. What I’m talking about is knowing your limits, and your equipment’s limits, and not shooting at deer beyond them. As …
The very first time I planted rape (Brassica napus) was in 2001 on a property that had a high deer density of 50 to 70 per square mile according to a trail-camera survey. To my surprise, deer used the plot sparingly throughout the fall and winter, as they spent most of their time foraging in …
I think most deer hunters would agree it’s much more difficult to gain access to good, private hunting land today than it was 20 years ago. What could once be handled with a knock on a door and a handshake has now become a much more complicated process. As a result, many deer hunters are turning …
As fellow QDMA member Bryce Clingenpeel and I are driving down a rural road in Botetourt County, Virginia on a late July day, he suddenly slams on the brakes, quickly parks his truck on the roadside, disembarks, leaps across a ditch, and shouts “Yes!” Over 20 years ago, I taught English to Bryce at Lord …
Over my 20-year career as a wildlife biologist, I have run across my share of odd and puzzling things in the woods. Possibly the oddest was a whole parachute I found in a deer’s stomach. Yes, I said parachute! While field-dressing a deer harvested on a military base, I noticed its stomach was abnormally large and …
What came first – the doe or the fawn? Following the “chicken or the egg” analogy, you need a doe to produce a fawn, and you need a fawn to produce a doe. In reality, who came first is irrelevant as long as deer hunters and managers fully realize the importance of both. In the …
Don’t be fooled by the name: This common tree will not be a valuable addition to your whitetail hunting land. Introduced to the United States for use along roadsides, hedgerows and, yes, in “habitat improvement projects,” common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica) has grown out of control. Today, this Eurasian invasion is found in most Mid-South, Midwestern …
Sorghums are classified into four groups – grass sorghums, grain sorghums, broomcorn, and sorgos. The grain sorghums are typically planted for deer and other wildlife because of their ability to produce grain. It is this grain, produced in a seed head at the top of the stalk (seen in the photo above), that deer eat. …
If you send off samples of your food plot soil for lab testing, you already know the benefits. You’ve seen the report that tells you exactly what type of fertilizer and how much of it to apply, as well as how much lime to adjust the soil pH – information that potentially saves you a …
Follow Lindsay on Twitter and Instagram. Whitetails require an estimated 6 to 8 percent of their body weight in green foliage and browse daily to thrive. For a 150-lb. deer, that’s 9 to 12 pounds. That’s a lot of groceries, but getting a good visual grasp of this statistic is tough, unless you want me …
Follow Matt on Instagram. White-tailed deer antlers are amazing appendages, aren’t they? Through the centuries, they’ve adorned walls of caves, huts, barns, camps and literally millions of homes across North America. Their mystique fills the minds of countless hunters every year. They’re also commonly used as a reasoning to kill. I’ll explain. Sure, most hunters …
Follow Kip on Instagram. Wildlife is a public-trust resource. That means wildlife belongs to the public, and its management is entrusted to our state and federal wildlife agencies, which are required to manage using scientific principles and the best available data. Given this, is it safe to assume our wildlife professionals have the final say …
Let’s face it, food plots are a lot of work. They can also be costly when you consider the seed, lime, fertilizer, as well as the fuel needed to keep the tractor or ATV running. The last thing you want is to invest your valuable time and hard-earned money on a food plot only to …
Eastern hemlock trees are a valuable part of whitetail habitat in much of the eastern United States. There may come a day, however, when hemlock trees are not so common, and that will not be a good day for deer. In its Northeast and Appalachian Mountain range, eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) offers fairly preferable winter browse, …
Preparing a quality food plot takes time, labor and money. If I am investing all of that, I want to ensure my food plot has the greatest chance of maximum production. Achieving this is as simple as a soil test. I have to admit that in the past I have been guilty of disking dirt, …
Follow Matt on Instagram. Finding evidence that deer are in a general area is a good thing for hunters, but finding evidence that deer are feeding in that area is even better. Deer are driven by few things in life, and perhaps the most influential is the need to eat on a daily basis to …
Young forest is an important cover type for whitetails. The dense thickets of shrubs, weeds, vines, seedlings and saplings in a young forest provide ample food and cover. For some, creating these conditions could be as simple as a single, strategic clearcut in your woods, or simpler yet, stop mowing that old field and allow …
Don’t you love that little thrill, that tiny psychological jolt you get when you first spot a shed antler? Especially a big one – but a very small one is exciting, too, simply because you are so much less likely to see it. Large or small, as the thrill subsides and I look at the …
Follow Lindsay on Twitter and Instagram. Persistent drought conditions in the Southeast that appeared in fall and have lingered into early spring are setting the table for a damaging insect that dines on pines – the ips engraver beetle (Ips spp). Forest landowners and deer habitat managers should be on the lookout for damage and …
When QDMA gives you advice on whitetail biology, deer behavior, or habitat management, it’s not an opinion. It’s not a guess. It’s not a rehash of old, accepted wisdom. It’s not even a strong suspicion based on experience. No, it comes from science. Among the ways we stay current with deer science is by attending several …
Hinge-cutting has exploded in popularity in recent years, and as with anything that explodes in popularity, some people take it too far, focusing too much on the technique while missing the bigger picture. It has happened before in deer management, and this time it has even become a point of tension in the wildlife management …
When spring rolls around, hunters everywhere gear up to begin establishing or “recharging” the mineral sites on their hunting properties. They know that deer typically begin using supplemental minerals around spring green-up and continue until early fall. Surely, the knee-deep depressions in the soil caused by repeated years of mineral supplementation are evidence of deer …
When my wife and I suddenly found ourselves managing her family farm, we learned we also inherited a deer population of epic proportions. Huge herds of deer ran through fields and marshes, eating everything in reach. We are on a peninsula in a large tidal stretch of the James River, and the deer population grew …
Follow Matt on Instagram. Winter Water Requirements of WhitetailsHow do northern whitetails quench their thirst in winter when all of the water is frozen? This was an #AskQDMA question we received from a QDMA member, and our own Matt Ross of New York provides the answer in this quick video. Posted by The Quality Deer …
Unless you hunt in portions of the Deep South, deer season is over. And for those who hunt in south Alabama and Mississippi, you have precious few days left. The end of the season can be depressing. Some of us turn to waterfowl hunting in January, and some enjoy an occasional rabbit or quail hunt …
ATHENS, GA (January 23, 2017) – U.S. whitetail hunters took more mature bucks than 1½-year-old or “yearling” bucks for the second consecutive year – and the second year ever in modern history – according to data compiled by the Quality Deer Management Association (QDMA) for its 2017 Whitetail Report, now available online. In the 2015-16 …
As a hunter and fisherman who enjoys clean water and clean forests, I despise a litterbug, Few things aggravate me more than physical evidence that someone was here before me and treated the land with disrespect. Litter also has a real impact on people and wildlife. When my children and I swim in rivers, I …
American jointvetch (Aeschynomene americana), or aeschynomene as some refer to it, is a warm-season annual legume that is used in pastures as livestock forage, for hay production, or as green manure. It is also an excellent summer forage for whitetails and can provide great brood-rearing habitat for wild turkeys and bobwhites. American jointvetch (I’ll refer …
One of the most common questions we get on social media and through our website goes something like this: “I have X acres where I hunt to plant a food plot. What should I plant?” And while I wish there was one “magic bullet” food plot mix we could share that would provide deer with …
Tim Donges, a QDMA Life Member from Kansas, is watching bucks die of an apparent outbreak of a disease known as “footrot.” Healthy bucks he had watched during the 2016 hunting season started appearing in trail-camera photos with crippling hoof problems in December. “I just put down a big non-typical on Christmas Eve, under instruction …
Most of the places I hunt are either public land or small, heavily pressured pockets of private land. Mature bucks (3½ to 4½ years old and older) aren’t making many daylight appearances in these areas — even during the rut. And when they do, it’s generally not going to be in the middle of a …
Should I shoot a doe with fawns? Ask QDMAWe are often asked if it’s okay to shoot a doe with fawns. Kip Adams, a wildlife biologist and QDMA’s Director of Education and Outreach, answers that question in this week’s #AskQDMA video. Posted by The Quality Deer Management Association on Tuesday, November 8, 2016 QDMA is …
When I ask people why they choose to pursue deer each fall, there are always a variety of replies. Some even struggle with the answer because hunting has become so ingrained in their lifestyle. However, a common theme across responses is “for the meat.” When it comes to speaking with those outside the hunting community, …
If you love to run trail-cameras over scrapes to inventory unique bucks where you hunt, then you’ve experienced the love/hate relationship of sorting and tracking the hundreds or thousands of photos that can quickly fill flash cards during the rut. I just picked up a super tip from a QDMA member that will help me …
I can’t speak for you, but buck fever is one of the reasons I go deer hunting. Of course, the main reason we go is to bring home nourishing food for our families. But we also like the thrill of seeing — and shooting — big bucks. It’s part of the experience. And the adrenaline …
I was struck recently when I uttered the word “potential” when describing a great up-and-coming young buck to a friend while perusing late summer trail camera pictures from a property we both hunt. I paused and thought, why did this particular buck have potential? Most hunters would use this adjective upon seeing a buck with …
As the communications manager for QDMA, I get to look at and work with a lot of deer hunting photos. I consider it a perk of the job. A great hunting photo can bring you right into that moment with the hunter — you can see the excitement in their eyes, and that big smile …
Do whitetails really go into a movement slump in the pre-rut? If not, what’s behind the “October Lull” phenomenon that many hunters say they witness? QDMA’s Kip Adams tackled these questions in a recent article in Quality Whitetails magazine. He reviewed four studies involving GPS tracking collars placed on bucks, and all four had similar …
I settled into my stand with favorable weather conditions and plenty of optimism for an early season September bowhunt in the rolling hills of Eastern Ohio. As the sun dipped below the horizon, I heard a branch crack to the right and behind me. It was a buck sporting a symmetrical 8-point frame, most likely …
In the early 1980s, I was one of three South Carolina wildlife biologists who consumed freshly killed venison for dinner following a day of processing several deer. The venison was cooked rare, the way we liked it. Two of us ended up hospitalized for nine days with fevers peaking at 104 degrees daily. Strangely, there …
When you’re practicing QDM, the most effective way to select bucks for harvest is by setting a minimum age, so throughout its history the National Deer Association has helped hunters learn to estimate the ages of live bucks. The advent of trail-cameras brought this conversation to the forefront of deer hunting, since now we could …
Brian Herring of South Carolina sent in this Ask QDMA query: “When is a buck mature enough to shoot? And, with a lot of it’s-brown-it’s-down hunters nearby, is passing the buck actually worth it? What’s not a trophy to one person could be a giant to another, so do you make them pass on their …
Joey Belmont recently contacted us through Ask QDMA with this great question: “I have 100 acres in Alabama and would like to improve my fawning habitat. What provides the best cover for fawns?” Brian Grossman, a wildlife biologist and QDMA’s Communications Manager, supplied an answer for Joey in the video shown below. Brian shares how providing early …
The QDMA promotes harvesting an adequate number of does to keep deer populations in balance with available resources like forage and cover. This leads to a discussion of how many does to shoot, since “adequate” could mean a lot, a few, or no does at all, depending on the situation. Once an appropriate doe-harvest goal …
I hate clickbait headlines as much as you do, but I’m not above using them to get you to read this blog. Don’t worry, I won’t disappoint: I’m definitely going to show you some whitetail bucks that have not aged well, and there’s a serious point to be made with this collection of photos. When …
Jonathan Dendy of Tennessee sent in this Ask QDMA query: “I have a question about keeping a good doe:buck ratio. What is the ideal doe:buck ratio for my hunting area?” Kip Adams, a certified wildlife biologist and our Director of Education & Outreach, supplied an answer for Jonathan in the Facebook video shown below. There …
I know you. You can’t help yourself. You’re that person who retorts on pretty much every message board or social media post about big bucks, quality bucks or just bucks in general with that predictable, five-word phrase: “You can’t eat the horns.” In as few words as possible, you shout volumes about where you stand …
Grant Kapinus recently contacted us through Ask QDMA with this interesting scenario: “I recently had two very good bucks show up on my trail-cameras. One buck seems to have a relatively small home range of 50 to 60 acres judging from trail-cameras positioned around the 1,000-acre property. The other buck showed up on multiple cameras …
Adjusting the cutting angle of the disks in your food plot implements can have a big impact on the results you get. Disks that are angled sharply against the direction you are pulling them will dig and cut more aggressively, while disks with a smaller angle will lightly chop or smooth the soil. Which is …
As deer hunters, we put ourselves at risk every time we hit the woods. I’m not referring to firearms or archery accidents as they are actually quite rare. We stand a much better chance of falling out of a treestand. In fact, research from Wisconsin shows treestand accidents are the largest source of hunting-related injuries …
There’s a wildlife disaster walking your way. Or, instead of walking, it may have wheels under it. I’m talking about feral hogs, and if you don’t have them where you hunt, give it time. Hogs are gradually expanding their range, as you can see in the map above released this summer by the Southeast Cooperative …
Antlers are like the beards on guys at hunting camp – they are secondary sexual characteristics that separate females and males but don’t directly contribute to reproduction. So, why exactly do bucks grow them? There are four main theories as to why bucks grow antlers. According to noted deer researchers Drs. Steve Demarais and Bronson …
In the 1980s, I read an article praising the resiliency of the white-tailed deer. No doubt, whitetails possess an uncanny ability to ward off, or at least endure, many diseases and parasites. They also have a well-deserved reputation for rebounding from seemingly life-threatening injuries. The author of that article fancied himself somewhat of an expert …
Radishes (Raphanus sativus) are somewhat of a newcomer to the food plot menu for whitetails. Native to Asia, radishes are produced for a variety of uses but are primarily grown for food. In the United States, forage radishes typically aren’t grown for food but instead as a winter cover crop that can bust through hard …
Herbicides can play a key role in your deer habitat management strategy. Their use can assist with creating and maintaining viable food plots, help control non-native, invasive species, and even control less-desirable brush and trees in your woodlands. But using herbicides can be intimidating. There are hundreds if not thousands of formulations on the market, …
It’s early June and social media is abuzz with photos of recently born fawns from across the country. While we love seeing these reports of successful whitetail breeding efforts, the ensuing discussion often leads to misinformation regarding whitetail fawns. So today we wanted to address five of the most prevalent fawn myths. A fawn is …
What do bell-bottoms, pegged jeans, parachute pants or in todays era, skinny jeans, have to do with deer management? Two words: peer pressure. Our friends wore them, so we wore them. Luckily, I have discovered the pegged-jean equivalent of a technique that will help improve your deer hunting this fall. In my experience working with …
Hunting mature whitetails is like a chess match: You have to plan several moves ahead and use each of the pieces at just the right time. As hunters, we all find ourselves trying to decide which stand to hunt at some point in the season. This year, try planning ahead and preparing treestands and/or ground …
The doe kicked and ran out of the food plot like a hard-hit deer, hunched with its tail tucked, and I heard loud crashing sounds not far into the thicket. Confident I had venison on the ground within easy reach, I watched the remaining light fade from the woods and waited on my hunting partner …
Here’s a fun and cool experiment in deer biology: the next time you sit down to a meal, first look around for any potential threats, like predators or fire or your loudmouthed Uncle Floyd who wants to join your hunting club. All safe? Next, bend your head down and press your nose to your biscuit, …
“Leafing through Quality Whitetails showed me there was more to QDM than a food plot and some minerals. My wife and I have made many great friendships through QDMA and the Deer Steward program, and we have enjoyed putting into practice what we have learned.” — Chris Phair, Level II Deer Steward, Ontario, Canada
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