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About Whitetail Deer: The Whitetail Deer is a medium-sized deer that can adapt well to a wide variety of habitats.

The deer can be recognized by the characteristic white underside to its tail, which it shows as a signal of alarm by raising the tail during escape. Typical antlers are symmetrical on both sides and the points grow straight up off the main beam. [Wiki]

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Whitetail Deer Biology: Class: Mammalia, Order: Artiodactyla. Family: Cervidae, Sub Family: Capreolinae, Genus: Odocoileus, Species: virginianus. The whitetail deer gets its name from its large white tail it flags when it senses danger and escapes.

Whitetail deer are of considerable economic importance as a big game mammal. Sportsmen prize this unique species for a number of qualities, including large body size, tasty venison, and the ability of mature bucks to develop an attractive and often massive set of antlers. Overall this mammal is one of the most hunted and most prized animals in North America today.

For the Indians and early settlers, deer provided food; hides for clothing, shelter and bedding; sinews for bowstrings and implements of war, fish lines and the stitching of bark utensils; brains for bleaching and tanning; and bones and antlers for awls, needles, scrapers, implement-making tools and ornaments.

Deer now provide us considerable food, sport and pleasure. Since approximately 57 percent of the live weight of a deer is edible, the venison acquired from legal hunting provides many pounds of meat. The tanned hide, or buckskin, has a limited use for sport jackets and gloves. Deer hunting has become a big commercial enterprise and a source of income to many: to manufacturers of arms, ammunition and hunting apparel as well as to persons providing food, lodging, transportation and a place to hunt. From another dollars-and-cents angle, deer can be considered an asset to vacation sites as their attractive presence influences the stay of visitors in an area.

Where deer populations are heavy, their feeding may damage domestic crops and the understory of forested lands.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION OF WHITETAIL DEER: A popular game species, the whitetail is so well known that it needs only a brief description. Antlers normally occur only in males and are formed and shed each year. Growth of the antler starts in April or May when the base of the antler, located on the skull, begins to enlarge. During the growth period, the soft skin and short hair which cover each antler have a plush-like quality, giving this stage the name of "velvet." Full antler size is reached in August or September, shortly before the breeding, or rutting, season. The velvet then begins to dry and peel. The buck rubs his antlers against trees and shrubs, which helps remove the skin. When all the skin has been shed, the bony core hardens and with continued rubbing is polished. The antlers are carried in this condition throughout the rut. Sometime toward the end of the breeding season, usually from the last of December to mid-February, resorption of bone around the base causes the antlers to become loose and they are shed. After falling to the ground, they are gnawed and eventually consumed by rodents and rabbits for their minerals and protein.

Both the size of the antler and number of points depend upon many factors such as the deer's age, the quality and quantity of food, injury, hormone regulation and heredity. It is not possible to tell the age of a buck by the size of the antlers or the number of points. In their first fall, fawn bucks have "buttons" that can be felt under the skin or observed as slight swellings, or they may actually have small unbranched, or spiked, antlers that have broken through the skin. In yearling bucks, antlers are always visible externally. While some may have only the unbranched main beam at this age, most have more than one point. During the succeeding years of the buck's life, the antlers become more massive. In general, the number of points increases to a total of six to 10, but frequently a few more occur. Following the period of life when sexual activity is greatest, the size of the antlers generally dwindles with each year's renewal until an old deer may have only spikes. Abnormally shaped antlers occur occasionally and sometimes represent injury during growth. An upset in the hormone system is one factor which is probably responsible for unusual cases of antlerless bucks or for females having antlers. In some cases, antlerless bucks are the result of hereditary factors. Hunters count all of the points, including the snag on both beams, in arriving at the total number of points on a trophy set of antlers.

In summer, both sexes are reddish brown to tan above (often called the "red" coat); the color pattern of the winter coat is similar to the summer one but is grayish to grayish brown (often called the "blue" coat). Fawns are reddish, brown or reddish yellow spotted with white. They gradually lose their spots and acquire uniform coloration between 3 and 5 months of age.

The sex of a deer cannot be determined by its track, because there is no constant difference between the size and shape of buck and doe hoofs. During the breeding season, the necks of males swell to approximately twice their nonbreeding size, reaching a maximum in mid-November. The factors causing this enlargement are not fully understood.

Deer are in the prime of life between 2 1/2 and 7 1/2 years of age. Some may live for about 15 years in the wild and up to 25 years in captivity.

The tarsal glands, marked by a tuft of long, coarse hair on the inside of each hind leg at the ankle, or hock, produce an oily secretion with a pronounced ammoniacal smell. Another set of glands, the metatarsals, occurs on the outside of each hind leg between the ankle and hoof. They give off an oily substance with a pungent, musky odor which scents and possibly serves to identify the resting spots of the deer. Pedal glands, lying between the two main toes on each foot, secrete a strong and offensive odor throughout the year. This secretion is conducted to the hoofs by long hairs and doubtless scents the tracks of the animal. Small preorbital glands lie just in front of each eye. They probably scent twigs and branches where the deer feeds.

REPRODUCTION: Bucks are capable of mating successfully from September through February and possibly later, but the peak of the mating or rutting season is in November. Pregnancy lasts 6 1/2-7 months; the young are born most often in late May or early June. A doe usually has twins, but sometimes has a single offspring or triplets.

At birth, each fawn weighs between four and seven pounds (1.8 and 3.1 kg). Its eyes are open and it can stand feebly. The fawns begin to follow the doe when about 3 to 4 weeks old and start to eat their first solid foods. Weaning may begin about this time although some fawns nurse until they are 6 months old. The young continue to accompany the female until they are old enough to breed. About one-half of the young females in Missouri become sexually mature at 6 to 8 months of age and consequently breed in the year of their birth. Other females and young males breed first at 1 1/2 years of age.

DIET of Whitetail Deer: Deer are browsing animals, feeding chiefly on the leaves, twigs and fruits of trees and shrubs, and the foliage of herbaceous plants. They also take seeds, fungi, mosses, lichens, succulent grasses, farm crops and sometimes small amounts of animal food like snails and fish.

Whitetails show a definite selection of plants and seemingly take first those that are most nutritious and palatable. This selectivity can have serious effects. In ranges having concentrations of deer, overbrowsing occurs. The results are a lower level of nutrition of the herd and elimination of these desirable foods from the range.

Deer require water in some form daily. They frequent any mineral licks in the vicinity, especially in spring.

DEFENSES/ENEMIES: Whitetail deer have excellent eyesight, have good hearing due to their large years and also rely upon the sense of smell in detecting danger. Stationary objects are easily overlooked by them, but they readily detect any that are in motion. Their hearing is also very good due to the large ears that they can rotate in any direction. The whitetail deer can run up to 35 mph (56 kph) for short distances.

Whitetail deer have several distinct strategies for avoiding predators. They specializes in detecting danger by means of large ears, acute sense of smell and excellent vision. Males can quickly detect and visually track another animal as far as 600 meters. Once danger is detected, they may choose to hide, or move into cover and cautiously outmaneuver the predator. Another strategy whitetails use is they may bound off and then trot away, stopping frequently to gain information on the disturbance. This initial bounding, combined with release of metatarsal scent that inhibits feeding, is highly advantageous in that, by alarming others, it causes other whitetail deer to bound off as well, reducing the conspicuousness of the deer who bounded off first. This strategy would also trigger group formation. Finally, when a predator closes in, whitetail deer initiate evasive maneuvers based on sudden unpredictable changes in direction and on placing obstacles between itself and the predator. This strategy, however, does not work against group-hunting predators.

Whitetail deer are excellent swimmers but hardly ever use this means of escape. Whitetail deer bucks will use their antlers as protection from predators. Whitetail deer will also protect themselves by rearing up and slashing out with their front hooves. The fawn's survival strategy is based on its protective coloration, its ability to remain motionless as danger approaches, and its small amount of scent which makes finding it difficult for predators.

Major predators on whitetail deer are mountain lions, which are deer eating machines, coyotes, golden eagles, feral dogs, bears and bobcats.

RANGE: In primitive times, there was an estimated population of 40 million white-tailed deer in the 2 million square miles (3,200,000 square km) of original range north of Mexico. The most populated regions were the Mississippi Valley and what is now the eastern United States. With settlement and conquest of the continent by Europeans, the deer population was greatly reduced. Between 1875 and 1915, deer were at their lowest level. Restocking and redistribution were begun around the turn of the century and, with added protection, the deer began to increase.

Coincident with the original population decline, the range also was altered. Because of destruction of large sections of the native forests and clearing for agriculture, considerable territory was lost in the east and center of the primitive range; but new areas to the north and northwest were made habitable by the favorable variety of plant growth which often followed clearing.

HABITAT: Habitat and home. Deer live primarily in timbered areas, selecting the borders or edges more than dense, uniform stands. One of the main reasons for this habitat preference is that the variety of foods deer like grows best along the margins of timbered areas or in clearings in the timber. Another reason, especially true in the more agricultural sections of the country, is that the deer can utilize the forage offered by agricultural crops adjacent to timbered lands and still have the sanctuary and other attractions of the timber itself.

They have no permanent structure for a home.

DAILY LIFE: White-tailed deer tend to have an average annual home range from 1/2-1 1/2 square miles (.8-2.4 square km). Some individuals, particularly bucks during the rut, may cover a larger area. Local movements of deer are related primarily to the seasonal changes in food sources or cover. When acorns are not abundant in their summer area, some deer may shift to localities where they are available in fall and winter.

Deer usually spend the day in concealing cover and rarely move about, but toward evening come out to feed and drink. On bright moon-light nights they may feed all night, but on dark nights they are more active in the evening and again early in the morning. During winter when food is scarce, they may feed longer hours and even during the day. In stormy, windy weather they are restless; they browse more than usual and often change their bed spot several times a day.

The location of the bed spot depends largely upon the weather. On sunny, warm days, some shady place is selected; on cloudy, windy or cool days, a sunny spot or one protected from the wind is picked out.

Bucks commonly fight each other during the rut. Only rarely, however, do their antlers become entangled permanently. When this happens, the bucks are unable to feed properly and die of weakness and starvation.

DISEASES: Ticks, lice, and nasal bots are parasites commonly found on and in whitetail deer. Most deer commonly harbor light infestations of ticks and nasal blots, but not at levels high enough to present a health problem to the deer. Likewise, internal parasites, especially stomach worms, are common but are not at sufficient levels to cause clinical symptoms. However, the concentration of individuals at feeding sites increases the potential for disease transmission. Because disease-causing organisms can be transmitted through the soil, supplemental feed should not be placed on the ground. Some type of trough should be used and, ideally, the feeding site should be relocated every year or two. Evidence of exposure to blue tongue and epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD) has been documented in whitetail deer. The most common disease agent among deer appears to be warts.

Today the major news headlines is about Chronic Wasting Disease, often referred to as CWD. CWD is a disease unique to North America. On our continent, it has been found in wild deer and or elk in Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Saskatchewan. In captive deer and or elk, it has been found in Colorado, Montana, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Saskatchewan and Alberta.. CWD appears to be a prion disease that attacks the central nervous system and causes fatal damage to the brain of white-tailed deer, mule deer and Rocky Mountain elk. CWD is similar to, but significantly different from, scrapie (documented in domestic sheep for over 400 years), Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE and often referred to as mad cow disease) and variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease found in humans. All of these diseases attack the central nervous system and cause small holes to form in the brains of infected animals.

There is currently no scientific evidence that CWD has or can spread to humans, either through contact with infected animals or by eating the meat of infected animals. The Center for Disease Control has conducted an exhaustive study of CWD and human risk and has stated: “The risk of infection with the CWD agent among hunters is extremely small, if it exists at all”. However, as we are still learning about this disease, state wildlife agencies recommend that hunters take precautions to limit risks. First and foremost, do not harvest any animal that appears sick or is acting strange. Note the animal’s location and contact the state personnel. Avoid cutting or puncturing the spinal cords or brains of animals taken in the areas where CWD occurs. Do not use house-hold utensils to field dress or process your deer. Wear rubber or latex gloves when handling any harvested animal. You should also make sure about your states current regulations regarding the importation of deer or elk meat from outside your state. Some states are also considering testing all or some of the animals taken during the hunt season for CWD.

In the later stages of infection, deer and elk infected with CWD will show signs of progressive weight loss, listlessness, excessive salivation and urination, increased water intake, depression and, eventually, death. Animals can be infected with CWD for months or years before outward signs of infection are evident. Missouri Conservation Commission 1981

Whitetail Deer Scouting DO YOUR HOMEWORK FIRST: You can start your scouting right at home by obtaining maps, aerial photos and info from biologists and other hunters who have been in the area you are planning to hunt. USFS maps may be obtained by visiting or calling one of the USFS offices. The maps are generally about $4.00 or $7.00 for waterproof maps. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) topographic maps can usually be obtained from drafting/engineering stores or backpacking stores or ordered online here USGS Topo maps. If you would like info on aerial photos, computer topo map programs and how to download free topo maps off the Internet I have this on my webpage here: aerial photos or topo maps. Also you can check Topozone and Terraserver for online topo maps and aerial photos. Start networking with people who work in your target area. Hikers are another source of good info. A piece of info can come from anyone and it's another piece of the puzzle to finding the whitetail deer you want to hunt.

SCOUTING TRIP: Plan to make at least one visit to your hunting area to pre-scout and become familiar with the terrain and logistics like hiking time, where to camp, where to glass from etc. This is also the time to hike in, set up and glass for deer. The more time you spend in the deer's backyard the better the odds of you having a successful hunt. Find the saddles and escape routes. If hunting on public ground, knowing where the other hunters will approach from can tell you where to set up to intercept the escaping deer. Determine where and what the deer are feeding on. Knowing where the deer water, especially in drought conditions can pay off. Burn some boot leather and explore as much of the country as you can. Drag that no good brother-in-law along to help in scouring the hillsides.

GLASSING: A lot of whitetail country is open farm land, glassing is the best way to cover lots of ground and not spook the deer. To glass all day you need to stay as comfortable as possible. If you are going to use a spotting scope, get the best waterproof glass you can afford. Swarovski, Leupold, Nikon and Kowa all make good spotters. The better glass will provide less eye strain, which can ruin a hunt. Some guides and hunters use 10 x 42 or bigger binos to search hillsides and then the spotter for a closer peek. Get yourself a nice chair and put your binos or spotter on a good tripod, you'll have a better time looking for deer. Bogan Manfrotto makes great tripods and monopods. 'Grippit' makes a strap and mount to mount your binos on a tripod for more stability for $29.99. Don't skimp when buying your binos either. Swarovski, Leica, Leupold, Nikon and Zeiss all make quality waterproof binos. Crooked Horn Outfitters makes a good bino chest harness to keep your binos close to you chest when you peek over ridges or crawl on a stalk. Keep your optics dust and smudge free with a LensPen. You can also drop by the local camera shop to get some camera lens cleaning spray and cloth for your binos and spotter, your eyes will love you for this.

Whitetail are creatures of the edges. You can glass the edges of burns, crop fields, clear cuts and meadows to find feeding deer. Keeping track of wildfire burns is a good way to find where the deer are eating the new browse. Even if the burn is recent and the hillside looks like a burnt moon landscape, a good rain shower will have the new green spouts popping out all over. The best time to glass is the first hour and last hour of daylight. Be in place on a high vantage point before daylight to have the best chance to spot a nice buck.

SIGN: TRACKS -To see how much activity is in the area you want to hunt look for tracks and scat. Big tracks mean big bucks.

While doe and bucks intermingle sometimes, especially during the rut, you'll most likely find the biggest bucks in remote hiding spots. To find these secret hideouts, look for a secluded location that provides a buck with food, water and cover and start looking for tracks or glassing to see if Mr. Big is a resident.

SCAT - Whitetail deer scat or turds are sure signs there are deer around and inding high concentrations of scat is a good indication the deer hang around the area. Fresh deer scat will be a light brownish green and very moist with a sheen on it almost, and soft. (See pic below). Older scat will be dark, almost black and very hard. Sometimes it wll be in looses piles and other times it will be clumped up in bigger blobs. (See pic on left).

The size of the scat pellets is anywhere from 1/4" to 3/4" in length. Bigger deer leave bigger scat and bigger piles. There is no way I know of to tell a large does scat from bucks scat.

SCRAPES - There are several different types of scrapes. A community scrape is usually larger and more defined since many deer use it. During the rut, bucks will stop to lick a low over hanging branch and may make a one time scape under it. I've seen bucks tend scrapes during the day and had other scrapes where I never saw the buck, but could tell he was visitng the scrape at night from using a game camera.

RUBS - Rubs are make by bucks usually right before the rut. Whitetail bucks really like little saplings and cedar trees but will make a rub on just about anything. I've seen one buck rub up a telephone pole.

Scouting with Topo Maps: You can scout with topo maps by identifying areas or locations that need to be checked for sign. These areas include natural funnels or choke points, bedding and feeding areas, saddles, benches and water holes.

Funnels - The topo map on the right shows 2 good funnels. The deer are reluctant to drop down the steep muddy sides of the river and don't want to cross the open crop field.

If the wind is from the south or southeast, I set up at point #1 to keep my wind off the funnel trails. If the wind is from the north or northwest, I move to point # 2 and let my scent blow into the crop field. These funnels are about 50 yards wide and there are 3 distinct trails the deer use. 1 trail follows the river, 1 follows the edge of the field and the 3rd trail goes right smack down the middle.

Saddles - are a natural travel funnels and escape routes for deer and elk between two high points of ground. The topo map on the right also shows where a mulie buck was bedded. Whitetail bucks like to bed on the very tops, or at least upper portions, of ridges when not bothered by hunters. A saddle can just be a dip in the elevation between two ridges or mountain peaks, they don't have to be a drastic change in elevation.

Older mature bucks will often have a young 3 point buck hanging around with them as a sentry. If you see a 3 point, look hard for the bigger buck nearby. When alerted to danger, the younger buck will usually be the first to stand up to check out the disturbance, leaving the older buck to wait for the signal to scram.

Whitetails like to have a view when they bed and will bed on steep slopes. Elk, on the other hand prefer benches to bed on. Whitetail Deer like to bed behind small bushes, short trees, rocks or anything that will give them a little better hide.

Benches - Whitetails like to hang out around benches. Look for cliffs, rock slides, and dark timber for good escape cover.

Stay tuned, more topo map scouting to come ....

Another good place to learn about topo maps is at this link to an article by Dr. Mark Timney on the Bowsite. Topo Map Info.

Hunting Whitetails STALKING IN CORN OR BEAN FIELDS: Still hunting and stalking deer in standing corn or beans is some of the funnest and nerve racking hunting you'll ever do. Sometimes you won't see nothing and the next time you poke your head into a row there will be a deer chewing it's cud 15 feet from you looking the other way.

How do you hunt the corn? First, try and get up in a tree to see where the deer are hanging out. They usually will trample a little circle area and you'll also see the trails going in and out. On my Dad's farm one year the does wiped out about a 40 yard circle right near our trailer. You couldn't even see them when they were standing since the corn was so tall. Tracks can help you pinpoint the doors to the cornfields or bean fields. The bucks won't be near the does usually before the corn is harvested. Watch for the yearlings, I've been busted on a few stalks by yearlings I never saw who suddenly popped out to look at the funny hunter on his hands and knees.

Best day to do it is when wind in in your favor from the direction you want to slip in from. I tie a piece of frayed dental floss on my rifle sling and bow to watch the wind and still have it ready for a quick shot. A change in wind direction and the whole game is over. You may hear the deer unassing the field on the other side if you're lucky.

One key is to get down first and look under the corn or over the bean field to see if you can spot any bedded or feeding deer. If the beans are short or the rack is tall you'll see the tips of the antlers moving around when they shake the flies off. Use your binos to be sure.

You have to move very slowly up and into the corn. Be as noise free in your gear as you can because once your busted those snorting does will alert the whole dang field. Be ready to shoot as you lean out into a row, practice really helps here. You won't be able to jump into the row and get set up perfect. Kind of like shooting from a treestand, bend at the waist. I shot a recurve so once I find a deer I back off, get drawn and then lean out and find my sight picture. The rows are wide enough usually to shoot 20 to 30 yards tops.

Another good time is when the farmers start harvesting which is usually when the rut is getting started too. The deer will hold until the equipment is almost on them. Knowing where they'll run to can pay off when they stop to look back in the timberline.

Sometimes the deer will be in a position that you can't get a shot at. I carry a hickory nut in my pocket for just this time. A dirt clod works also. Just chuck it in the direction you want the deer to look. If they are bedded they'll stand before moving. You gotta be quick though on the decision to shoot.

Try it, it's some of the best still hunting you'll ever find.

Whitetail Deer Tracking and Recovery: When you take your shot with your bow or rifle, mark the spot where you shot from and where the animal was. This will help in finding any blood or hair sign to start your tracking. Studying deer hides can help you identify any hair that may have been cut by the bullet or broadhead to pinpoint the area on the deer where your bullet hit.

Bright pink frothy blood - means a lung hit and the deer shouldn't go far.

Bright red blood - indicates a muscle hit which can be a minor wound. Also look for bone fragments which can tell you if you hit a leg bone or muscle.

Stinky green or brown paunch material - means a gut shot and you should let this animal bed down and stiffen up. 4 to 6 hour in cold, 8 hours in warm weather.

Some tips on tracking wounded game: 1 and only 1 guy on the blood trail, preferably your best tracker. Keep the shooter nearby and ready in case the animal bolts from a bed, it may be your only chance to finish the job.

Use a camping lantern like a Coleman with a light reflector, they make blood really stand out at night.

Mark your trail so you can look behind yourself and get an idea of the travel route of your animal. You can use orange marker tape but PLEASE go back and remove all of that fluorescent tape when you are done.

Sit down and take a break and have a snack or just relax. You need to calm down some and not push the animal by taking off after him immediately. If someone is with you, have him do the tracking as he is probably calmer and less likely to be in a hurry as you are..

Animals dump their bowels when they get weak so look for scat. They also will start circling like a dog when they lay down to die.

Animals that aren't hit real bad will double back a lot to shake you off their trail. While tracking watch for the animal's double back trail so you don't miss it or wipe it out. Bears love to do this along with deer.

Learn how to grid search. When all seems lost, look in creek bottoms and ravines. I've found many animals that dropped into them and just couldn't get out and they died there.

Keep an eye out for buzzards and crows, many times they will give up a kill.

Use a dog if legal, they are way more efficient at tracking. Deer Search has tracking dogs available if you don't have access in many states.

Have some hydrogen peroxide in squirt bottles handy when you get down to small blood drops or specks, it makes the blood bubble on contact. Put some bright green food coloring in you hydrogen peroxide to make the bubbles show up better.

Starlight Bloodhound, used in squirt bottles like hydrogen peroxide, is spendy but shows up faint blood trail really well, even in water.

Learn how to track by reading tracking books and practicing, it's great fun for the kids too.

Learn how to tell where you hit the animal by the hair the broadhead or bullet cut when it was first hit. You can do this by keeping the hair and matching it up too a hide. The impact site can tell you a whole bunch, like if you should wait (gut shot), or if you have a fatally hit animal. If you're an archer, try to find your arrow, it will tell you exactly where you hit your game at.

Forget the IR heat seeking units like the Game Finder, they don't work worth a hoot. The only ones I've seen that worked are the military ones and they are several thousand dollars each.

Whitetail Deer Hunting General Info: Undoubtedly the most popular of the deer hunting categories, white tail deer hunting is one of the U.S. hunters’ favorite pastimes. It started off shyly at the beginning of the last century but is now enjoying increasing support and popularity amongst newer and older hunting enthusiasts equally. Nevertheless, it had its ups and downs along the way, knowing a downfall in the mid-20th century, but today it’s in full swing across Northern America and especially the Northern part of Europe.

Whereas other hunting branches confront themselves with serious problems regarding hunting locations, severe government restrictions or conservation ecologists, this particular hunting subdivision is fully encouraged by private and public organizations. In fact, this happens because the white-tailed deer have flourished in the last decades (due to a protest by hunters and other protection ecologists, commercial abuse of deer becoming illegal) gathering now about 30 million in the United States alone. Providing that in the 1930’s the deer population barely reached 300,000, the conservation programs together with synchronized hunting proved most effective and are now tried on other, more problematic hunting genres.

However, in a number of areas deer have grown in numbers in such a way that they are practically a nuisance; motor vehicle accidents with deer are a severe problem in several parts of the creature’s range, in particular at night and throughout the rutting season, causing injuries and wounded amongst both deer and humans. In the case of high population concentrations, farmers can undergo economic damage by deer ravages of cash crops, particularly in orchards and maize.

White tail deer hunting is a practice that requires all the primal things as any other hunting kind: patience, preparation and strategy, but also a higher determination level because the results often appear long after you would expect. Calling for deer, for instance, can take for as long as an hour before a deer actually comes … if at all. Therefore, previous to arming yourself with the appropriate rifle and scope arm yourself with steel patience and will to come home with a beautiful white-tailed deer. Apart from these, preparation is a key element and should never be treated lightly as it guarantees a successful hunting session, if done properly. First off, finding a good hunting stand should always be around thick cover or, if you prefer abundantly leafed trees. Next on your mind should be hiding your presence as deer have excellent sight, hearing and smell; therefore you must disguise yourself using camouflage clothing (or a camouflage blanket to wrap around you, making no unnecessary sound and always placing your stand downwind.

With its obvious appeal on hunters all over North America, white tail deer hunting is sure to become even more popular in the years to come through the numerous emerging locations, kind restrictions and adequate attitude from public organizations towards hunting deer. The most optimistic opinions tend to predict that this practice will slowly but surely “capture” more and more regions globally, and thus we can expect to be able to hunt white-tailed deer from nearly every corner of the world.

About Whitetail Deer: The whitetail deer (Odocoileus virginianus), also known as the Virginia deer, is a medium-sized deer found throughout most of the continental United States, southern Canada, Mexico, Central America and northern portions of South America as far south as Peru. As a result of introductions, whitetail deer are found also in some areas of northern Europe such as Finland. Whitetail deer are generalists and can adapt to a wide variety of habitats. Although most often thought of as forest animals depending on relatively small openings and edges, whitetail deer can equally adapt themselves to life in more open savanna and even sage communities.

The deer can be recognized by the characteristic white underside to its tail, which it shows as a signal of alarm when raising the tail during escape. The male (also known as a buck) usually weighs from 130 to 220 pounds (60 to 100 kg) but, in rare cases, animals in excess of 350 pounds (160 kg) have been recorded. The female (doe) usually weighs from 90 to 130 pounds (40 to 60 kg), but some can weigh as much as 165 to 175 pounds (75 or 80 kg). The deer’s coat is a reddish-brown in the spring and summer turning into a grey-brown throughout the fall and winter. Males one year of age or older have antlers, which begin to grow in early spring, covered with a highly vascularised tissue known as velvet.

Females enter estrus, colloquially called the rut, in the fall, normally in late October or early November, triggered mainly by declining photoperiod. Sexual maturation of females depends on population density. Females can mature in their first year, although this is unusual and would occur only at very low population levels. Most females mature at one or, sometimes, two years of age. Males compete for the opportunity of breeding with females. Infighting amongst males settles a domination hierarchy. Bucks try to copulate with as many female deer as possible, while losing physical condition because they scarcely eat or rest all through the rut. Female deer give birth to one, two or even three dotted young called fawns in mid to late spring, usually in May or June. The fawns lose the spots through their first summer and will weigh up from 44 to 77 pounds (about 20 to 35 kg) by the first winter. The buck provides no assistance to the female in caring for the fawn(s).

Whitetail deer are active constantly, but less through the daylight hours. Often, whitetails are on the move at dawn and at dusk. Hearing, smell and sight are finely developed as any hunter can confirm. Independently these senses are imposing; in a blend they go a very long way in serving the deer in their battle for survival. Hearing is mainly used to discover the presence of predators and other creatures, including humans, nearby. Smell is used for this purpose too as well as to help the deer choose food. The whitetail’s eyes are located to the side of the head letting it to see nearly all the way around its body. White-tailed deer favor an area with varied food and cover forms, counting mixed-aged wood stands. Ideal habitat will offer a combination of woodland, brush land and crops in blocks of one - two square miles.

Bow Hunting Whitetail Deer: You must take into consideration several important factors the next time you plan on hunting whitetail deer using a bow: wind, the rut, the weather and the availability of food. Let’s take them in order: first we have the wind which many hunters consider the most important aspect for hunting deer ( and not only ) with a bow.

In many cases, a deer may hear/see you and will not get panicked nor scared but the second the deer smells you he will immediately leave the area. If you want to avoid the possibility of being smelled by the deer you should hunt with the wind in your face or in a crosswind so that it will blow your human odor away from the animal. If you hunt an older age class deer and he will smell you it is almost certain you won’t be able to hunt the animal the next season. Many hunters make the mistake to hunt stands when they are aware of the fact that the wind conditions aren’t appropriate to hunt from those stands.

As far as the rut aspect is concerned, many hunters affirm that this is the worst possible period for hunting deer. Although it is rather easy to find a location with a big deer population, getting close to one is very hard. The buck will always chase the doe anywhere where the doe goes, this is available only for the rut season. The doe will run through the entire woods just to get away from the buck. It is advisable to hunt funnel areas where both does and bucks have to pass. Some hunters hunt a small neck of woods with two fields on each side and large woodlots on both ends. Under normal circumstances, both bucks and does will run through this small neck of the woods. But during the rut season they will run across open fields. In this period bow hunters must rely on using calls to be efficient.

The third aspect regarding bow hunting whitetail deer which every hunter must take into consideration is the weather issue. Hunting before and after peak rut season under favorable weather conditions will give you many chances for a fruitful hunting experience. Hunting anytime you can just before a cold front coming in after a warm period is highly recommended as you will spot and hunt more older age class bucks. The weather conditions affect not only all deer but also all does that is why when you will hunt a cold front you will capture more bucks and does. The best times to hunt a buck with a bow are before a cold front moves in and a day or two after the cold front moves out ( it doesn’t matter if you are in the pre-rut/rut/post-rut period. Don’t plan any hunting during warm days as these periods are worst for hunting bucks. An interesting fact is that deer react to weather conditions exactly like humans do. Weather can be your greatest ally or your worst enemy.

Fourth issue in order relates to the fact that every animal ( including whitetail deer ) has to eat every day that is why the best places to find deer ( regardless of the period of the year ) is near their favorite food. Even during the rut season, the does of course have to eat and as we have mentioned before, the buck will follow the doe everywhere so you will have great chances of capturing a buck/doe. If you didn’t know, deer prefer certain foods at different periods of the year in alternate locations and also you should keep in mind that certain foods are available in specific periods of the year. The key to hunting deer with a bow is to know where and when the deer will feed and to find the source of food so that you can come back later for further hunting experiences. Hunters should be aware of the fact that some foods will last only a couple of days or 2-3 weeks so if you plan your hunt in an area where the food is out, you will only find tracks and droppings but no deer.

Trophy Whitetail Hunting: North America ’s deer, mainly the whitetails counting about 15 million specimens, are together the most frequent and most prevalent game animals. However, they are mysterious in that it¢s hard to get really superior trophies of any of the 4 different species on the continent. The whitetail deer¢s existence is a typical case of “management for quantity.” Antler growth depends on good minerals, genetics but also food sources and a small number of areas produce top-quality racks. This along with the fact that there are few areas where the hunting pressure is sufficiently light to allow for a considerable number of deer to reach complete maturity and you have a clear image of how demanding hunting for trophy whitetails can be.

If you’re looking for a real challenge as well as the chance to collect a record whitetail buck, Alberta is arguably the best place where you can hunt. Alberta’s whitetails are among the most sought after trophy deer in the North American continent and they have become famous worldwide. Alberta enjoys one of the highest fractions of trophy-class bucks in North America. Spending a week of white-tailed deer hunting in the Alberta province chances are you will have a possibility of putting your eyes upon the largest deer you have ever seen.

Hunting whitetail deer in Alberta is an authentic test for any hunter and it generally takes a great deal of patience and fine physical condition from the hunter. The whitetails have accustomed themselves to the diverse terrain in Alberta and other areas. In the grassland zone, deer have become skilled at being hard to pin down even in the tiniest cover area and in the parkland there are whitetails subsisting in the aspen woodland where they are able to find a lot of places to go unseen. Inside the boreal forest and hill zones, deer enjoy the safety of the spruce and aspen wooded area. Trophy whitetail deer are found frequently and in great numbers in all these zones. The Alberta whitetail has the largest body and biggest antlers of the various species of white-tailed deer across the United States and Canada, a full grown buck weighing well over 300 pounds.

Stand hunting, grunt calling, rattling, motionless hunting and stalking, ground and tree stands, these are all efficient methods for hunting whitetail deer. An extra technique for sourcing out noon bucks from the cover is deer drives; “pushing bush” as it is normally referred to in Canada. This particular approach, while definitely demanding great shooting skills from the hunter, is an extremely successful way for making opportunities for collecting enormous deer that may otherwise never let themselves be seen.

In the Alberta province, the rut, or mating time of year usually happens in November and is usually the best occasion for whitetails hunting, but late August as well as early September may also be fruitful to bow hunters in search of trophy whitetail bucks. So picking the time to go hunting is important to your overall results

In conclusion, hunting trophy whitetail deer is an engaging and satisfying sport that engages hundreds of hunters each year and encourages them to keep looking for the buck with the biggest antlers out there. Although there are many large locations in which whitetails can be hunted for trophies, Alberta stands out by the sheer number of animals and their density amongst the region’s forests. Also, it hosts some unique opportunities offered by nature and this makes it probably the best destination for the hunter that demands only the best. Now let me grab my gun and hunting vest and I’ll be on my way, hoping to meet you there.

Whitetail Deer Calling: The whitetail deer can be brought easily into the shooting range if calling is done properly, using the appropriate vocalizations, the correct proactive measures and of course, if you are just a little bit lucky. A skill that is well-worth mastering is learning how to call and when to do it; besides this, spending time in the woods and getting more familiar with the environment is a must.

Most of us have the tendency to hunt reactively; with other words, we sit in a hunting stand or still hunt then we react when the game appears. Using a call ( regardless of how we hunt ) is a handy tool that can be used to get the attention of the deer. Under the right circumstances, using a call will bring the game in a favorable shooting position. Contrary to common thoughts, basically all North American game species ( including whitetail deer ) make unique vocalizations through the entire year ( not just only in the breeding periods ). Whitetail deer, elk, antelope and moose make very distinct sounds which they use for communication purposes ( especially around breeding periods ).

In order to be efficient at calling you must have patience and you should be aware of the fact that to be efficient you have to earn experience. What most hunters should learn is what calls to use, when to use them and most important, how to use them. Certain intonations of a call can basically make the difference between an attractive sound and a warning one. If you don’t have patience and you are in a hurry, it is more likely that the deer will pick up on that, greatly reducing your chances for a fruitful hunt.

Many hunters make the mistake of not having enough patience thus they overreact with the calling which most likely will sound a little bit unnatural and as a consequence, the animals won’t be interested. You have to keep in mind that the whitetail deer calls infrequently and seldom make the same sound twice. The more experienced hunters have a wide variety of calls that they use and they also are aware of the fact that a major factor for why animals call is to locate their peers. Overcalling will create an unnatural situation which will make the animals to be more attentive.

Another mistake hunters do is to change their position too often; it is highly recommended to have patience and not change your location very often although you won’t get major results in the first attempts. Remember: if you call properly, they will come, it is just a matter of time, have patience and you will get the proper and expected results.

Remember that every game call has its own place and time; if the deer you are communicating with is approaching it is advisable to stop calling. Calling should continue if the deer hesitates for more than a short pause, otherwise calling should be stopped. Keep in mind that you should be attentive not only to the deer, but also to the surroundings, see if there are other animals in the nearby vicinity, you shouldn’t miss out any details that would be vital to your hunting efficiency, such details would be: if the other animals are male/female, frequency of the vocalizations, what type of sound they are making and body posturing. The sounds that you are about to make should inspire the fact that the area is secure so that the deer can approach without any potential dangers.

Other situations that hunters should take into consideration are those situations in which the whitetail deer is either shot or just spooked. In such situations, calls can be used in order to stop the deer. In many cases ( especially when bow hunting ), the deer don’t realize immediately what just happened. A similar situation that many hunters confronted with is when a whitetail deer blows and flags its tail goodbye as he heads towards the cover. Blowing either a grunt call or a doe bleat can be very efficient for stopping the deer, and luckily, long enough for a deadly shot.

Wind plays a major part in calling deer: using it in your favor can greatly improve your efficiency. Whitetail deer are known to have a very delicate nose that is why when the air currents are moving, your chances are bigger. The wind can be your greatest ally if used properly, otherwise it can diminish your chances for an efficient hunting adventure. Hunters should keep in mind that the whitetail deer and the mule deer always approach to the point blank range.

All things considered, calling can prove to be a very efficient method for attracting more deer if used properly. Training and patience are the most important parts every hunter should take into consideration before using this method. As a last recommendation, purchase a call that comes with an instructional audio tape that will help you get started.

Whitetail Deer Interesting Facts: In regions of overpopulation, deer are causing an over browsing affect called the “ browse line “. In such areas, the vast majority of the plant species that are situated below this browse line are practically stripped bare damaging the habitat for lots of species. The height of these browse lines ranges between four and six feet.

Many people don’t know that once a deer establishes its territory, it will never leave it, under no circumstances, no matter what is happening in the area. As a matter of fact, it is a known fact that deer prefer starvation rather than leaving their territory in search for food sources.

It only takes two deer without predation to produce a herd up to a maximum of 35 deer in only 7 years. A deer can live in the wilderness up to 12 years. In areas where there aren’t any hunting activities conducted nor predators, the deer population can double in size every year … but such locations are hard to find.

Deer can cause a lot of problems to farms and farmers; a recent survey that has been conducted in the United States stated that 56% of farmers believed that they have suffered crop damage by wildlife ( especially deer ). In Pennsylvania farmers suffer crop damages of approximately $30 millions every year; in Wisconsin $37 millions. In 1995, damages of up to $500,000 caused by deer-car collisions gave the authorities something to think about. Only in New Jersey the damages caused by these collisions reach $10 million. In Pennsylvania there are over 40,000 deer-vehicle collisions every year.

Due to the fact that the whitetail populations are growing, more and more people are concerned about property damages. A rather amusing but terrible aspect in the same time is that although there is an area where there are plenty of natural foods, deer populations are attracted to the backyards where they can find juicy and succulent plants. You can imagine what happens when the natural foods are found in limited quantities; the backyards become the main target.

Whitetail deer communication – these animals possess a rather large repertoire of sounds. A young deer will bleat similar to a lamb; an older animal will make sounds like a hoarse and raspy sheep. They communicate quite interesting, by stamping their feet, especially when they are nervous. By stamping they set up a vibration which is felt by other whitetails from great distances; this is the perfect way to alert all deer in a certain area. These animals can signal danger by flashing their white hair on their rump, just like pronghorns.

Whitetail deer locomotion – their top speed is between 35 and 40 miles per hour. A deer is capable of clearing an 8 foot hurdle, from a standing position. Some deer are capable of jumping up to 29 feet, the average deer jumps 15 feet. Deer don’t do well on ice because of their hard hooves with receding centers that are insecure. When these animals slip on ice, it is likely that they dislocate their legs. When deer can’t outrun an enemy they move to waters as these animals are known for being good swimmers; as a matter of fact, their top speed in water reaches even 13 miles per hour.

Whitetail deer breeding – does are in heat for approximately 30 hours and if they aren’t bred during that interval, they come back in heat at about 28 days later. The doe’s estrous period stars in November although the period may differ from area to area. During the heat period, the bucks track and follow does literally everywhere. In some cases a doe is willing to accept favors of a few bucks but more often the bucks don’t share the doe. The gestation period lasts between 200 and 205 days, most of the fawns are born at the end of May or the beginning of June. Does that give birth for the first time will have only one fawn in comparison with their second birth when they give birth to twins. A baby doe weighs about 4 ½ pounds, a buck is a bit heavier, 5 ½ pounds.

Whitetail deer enemies – in the past, the deer worst enemies were the wolf and mountain lion. Today, their worst enemy is the human hunter. Another enemy ( if it can be called like that ) would be the risk of diseases, some of the most known diseases would be: Bang’s disease, epizootic hemorrhagic disease and fibrous tumors.

This being said you now know some interesting facts about the whitetail deer that many of you didn’t know before; as a matter of fact, few people consider deer a rather interesting animal but if you would pay more attention to these animals you would find out more interesting facts about them.

Whitetail Deer Hunting Tips: Always be attentive. Listen closely for crunching noises and breaking twigs. Watch for even the slightest movement. Also look for deer parts; sometimes you won’t see the whole deer. Look for a head, a horn, an ear, a leg or a patch of brown or white.

If you hunt from a tree stand carry an empty plastic bottle with a good sealing type lid. When nature calls, just use the plastic bottle. It will save you a trip down the tree. You shouldn’t leave your scent around your stand area because the deer will smell it and they won’t come anywhere near your stand.

Do not be dressed in or bring anything white as you run the risk of being mistaken for a deer. If you think of using a map on the hunting field, most likely it has a white rear on it. This can be potentially risky since a deer, with its white tail up and you holding a map, with a white back, might look very similar to other hunters. You should consider embroidering or pasting a piece of camouflage cloth to the map’s back. If the map you have is made of paper, you may think about adding synthetic laminating pages on the frontage and back previous to the fabric being sewn on to reinforce the stitches. This trick also makes the map waterproof.

If you must pass through thick cover to reach your hunting stand, try laying a fallen log or two in trouble spots where you think you might make a lot of noise. The next time you go to your stand you can walk on these logs and make a much quieter approach.

When deer hunting always check which way the wind is blowing. The reason is so that the deer will not smell your scent on the air currents. If they do smell your scent they will turn around and leave or bed down. They might bed down and watch you for as long as you stay at your stand. Always place your stand down wind of the place where you expect to see deer.

If you perform calling too frequently, the deer will get frightened as it will sound far from natural. You should call every 20-30 minutes; also differ the volume of the calls. If a deer is nearby you wouldn’t want it to be excessively loud. If you spot a buck at 150 yards and it’s windy, blow harder until you have gotten his attention he will lift his head and gaze towards your direction. Immediately after doing so grunt softer and softer; this will make him to come closer.

If you are a smoker you should know it is never a good idea to smoke while hunting. Try chewing some sort of gum. Cherry or wintergreen flavor have a woody kind of smell that might not alert the deer. Better yet, while hunting, use a nicotine patch to reduce the craving.

The most important safety precaution is to always wear at least one piece of hunter orange clothing. Always use a flashlight, when you’re moving through the woods or getting in and out of your stand, in low light conditions. One other thing to remember is that you and your hunting partners carry 2 way radios. It is best if you only talk on the radio if there’s something terribly wrong or if, of course, you’ve just shot that trophy buck. Hunt smart and you will stay safe.

When rifle hunting try keeping your scope covers on your scope until you are ready to shoot, especially in wet and snowy weather. It may take a little more time to get ready for a shot, but you will be able to see your target through your scope.

To hide your stand, buy a camouflage tarp or camouflage blanket to wrap around your stand. This works for both gun and archery season. The deer will not see your movement and it will also muffle sound - this is very effective. Before putting the camouflage on your stand, spray it with cover scent and leave it outside for one week to hide the smell.