January and February for a deer hunter are the months to reflect on what went right and wrong during the recently-completed season when it’s still fresh in one’s mind.
What deer do one year won’t necessarily be the case the following season. Landscapes can change, but there’s also many situations that are repeatable.
Eric Morken: Gear that stood out from the 2024 bowhunting season Read More »
A common refrain DNR wildlife managers hear from a segment of Minnesota deer hunters is the desire to see more mature bucks, as well as a more balanced age and sex structure in the state’s whitetail herd.
There are biological advantages to a deer herd that has a balanced age and sex structure. Social order works better. It helps ensure a synchronized breeding period, some experts say.
That balance leads to more competition for breeding, which means bucks tend to be more visible to hunters during daylight over longer stretches of a season.
A large buck-doe harvest gap in Minnesota this year Read More »
Hunters who took part in the Minnesota muzzleloader deer season that ran Nov. 30 through Dec. 15 saw somewhat similar success to what hunters had during the regular firearms season – an increase in the deer kill from 2023, but still down from the five-year mean.
Muzzleloader hunters registered 8,253 deer this year. That’s up 1% from a year ago and down 11% from the five-year mean (about 9,200).
Most whitetail media coverage regarding late-season deer hunting is centered on food sources such as food plots or crop fields.
Deer will flock to these areas to fuel up for winter. But what if you don’t have those classic late-season food sources on land you hunt? You’ll have to search a little, but you can still have success in mid- to late December with a bow or muzzleloader. Here are a few things to consider.
Classic food sources missing? Try these alternatives to punch your December deer tag Read More »
I was set up in my hunting saddle on a crisp Nov. 4 morning as a light wind blew my scent over the river from a tree that was overlooking a funnel between bedding areas.
It was a perfect scenario for the whitetail rut, but my heart was not in this hunt. The day before, I had rushed a shot on a good buck, and that’s what I was dwelling on. That buck came to the base of my tree, smelled my ground scent and spooked. He ran out in front of me and stopped in my shooting lane less than 20 yards away.
Video: Rebounding from a bad shot during the whitetail rut Read More »
Dr. Bronson Strickland sees firsthand how difficult it is for some students to know exactly what it is they want to do with their professional lives once they reach college.
Strickland, the St. John Family endowed professor of wildlife management at Mississippi State University, did not experience the stress of that unknown himself. He was in junior high when a friend told him about another friend whose dad was a deer biologist.
“When I heard that, my question to my friend was, ‘There’s a job where you can be a deer biologist’” Strickland said. “I knew from that point on.”
A quick chat with Dr. Bronson Strickland of the Mississippi State University Deer Lab Read More »
The relatively warm and mostly snow-free winter was a welcome reprieve for whitetails, especially in parts of far northern Minnesota that experienced severe winters in each of the prior two years. Most deer should have come into spring 2024 in good condition.
It’s well known that heavy rains can be tough on young pheasants and turkeys. But how does abundant precipitation affect fawn survival in the earliest stages of a whitetail’s life?
Minnesota researchers didn’t set out to answer that question exclusively, but they may have shed some light on the topic during some work this past spring. Researchers with the Minnesota DNR placed GPS collars on newborn fawns as part of a study in the south-central portion of the state for a fourth straight year in 2024.
Heavy rain has impact on 2024 fawn survival in south-central Minnesota study area Read More »
I bumped a couple of bucks off their beds during a late-summer scouting trip two years ago. The weather and habitat conditions then were similar to what we typically see during the early archery season.
It was hot, with high humidity and temperatures in the 70s by early morning. My first goal was to find exactly where the biggest of the bucks was bedded.
Sure enough, it was in a location many bucks seem to prefer. A deadfall that arched over a low spot in the terrain created the ideal area for a whitetail to safely and comfortably hunker down. It featured great shade cover above, and the air was cooler there than it was in the surrounding area.
Key ingredients to up your odds for success on early-season morning hunts Read More »
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