Deer & Deer Hunting

pressure points

Finding prime areas to intercept lovesick bucks is only part of the equation when it comes to hunting the whitetail rut. After pinpointing those travel corridors and selecting your stand sites, you’ll prep those spots and anxiously anticipate this time of year — the end of October and early November — for when the woods erupt with deer moving at all times during the day. Is it really as easy as that? Of course not. The rut is the deer hunter’s version of the Super Bowl, but there’s one thing that can quickly and easily throw a wet blanket on all of those plans: pressure. Human pressure — be it from hunters, hikers or horse riders — is the No. 1 suppressor of daytime deer activity. Former D&DH contributor Charles Alsheimer and…

deer & deer hunting

www.deeranddeerhunting.com EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Daniel E. Schmidt SENIOR EDITOR Chris Berens CREATIVE DIRECTOR Rebecca Vogel ONLINE CONTENT SPECIALIST Sara Sommercorn DEER RESEARCH FIELD EDITOR John J. Ozoga FIELD CONTRIBUTORS Steve Bartylla, Bob Zaiglin, Dr. Stephen Ditchkoff, Dr. Phillip Bishop ADVERTISING SALES PUBLISHER Brad Rucks brad.rucks@media360llc.com SALES ASSOCIATES Casey Lenz casey.lenz@media360llc.com Kevin Rowe ADVERTISING COORDINATOR Lisa Richter, lisa.richter@media360llc.com TELEVISION & ONLINE VIDEO EXECUTIVE PRODUCER David Gilane PRODUCER Quinten Brown BRAD RUCKS, President and Publisher DANIEL SCHMIDT, Vice President of Content…

readers recoil

In his excellent article "Velvet Buck Hitlist" in the August issue of Deer & Deer Hunting, Jason Houser points out the growing interest in early season deer hunting. However, he failed to mention that Tennessee had its first velvet buck (only) season last year. The hunt was also held this year (Aug. 23-25). This new opportunity is anything but a guaranteed hunt. Ahead of last year's season, I anxiously watched as a couple of bucks walked by one of my favorite tree stands. Then they failed to show up during the hunting season (when I often sat there dawn to dusk anxiously awaiting their return). I guess that's why they call it hunting. Fellow Deer & Deer Hunting readers might find it interesting that these bucks are walking within less than 50…

d&dh community

THE #1 DEER SOURCE SUBSCRIBE NOW! Practical and comprehensive information for white-tailed deer hunters. Deer & Deer Hunting is written and edited for serious, year-round hunting enthusiasts, focusing on hunting techniques, deer biology and behavior, deer management, habitat requirements, the natural history of deer and hunting ethics to help make you a better deer hunter. Now you can get 11 issues per year of Deer & Deer Hunting in print or digital format! For more information, visit www.deeranddeer-hunting.com/deer-hunting-magazines, call 1-800-250-9159 or (386) 246-3414. DEER OF THE MONTH Les Rowbottom shot this massive white-tailed buck at 135 yards, with a Thompson/Center Pro Hunter muzzleloader during the November 2018 controlled hunt in Norfolk County, Ontario, Canada. Congratulations, Les! Submit your deer stories and photos to chris.berens@media360llc.com for consideration to be included in DDH and online. Hunter BIG “Hunt ’em Big” is…

kid finds giant antler in river

Do you have an explorer in you? Here’s a 9-year-old who does. On July 19, 2019, while river-ratting with his mother and sister at the confluence of the Allegheny River and the Conewango Creek, Timmy Giger dug a huge non-typical antler out of the mud. It’s a right beam with 4 main frame points plus at least 8 more non-typical points and some additional stickers. It measures right around 100 inches. Timmy’s find came from a historic spot. In 1749, French explorer Pierre-Joseph Céloron de Blainville made an expedition south from Montreal, into the Allegheny River watershed and down the Ohio, a mission intended to strengthen the claim of France on the surrounding land. His entourage of 216 French Canadian soldiers and 55 Iroquois Indians marked the French claim by burying…

• the numbers • game

I hate math and always have. We joke that all my sons inherited my math gene, but then my dad pointed out that Grandma was a math teacher. I guess, just as in deer management, you can’t blame genetics every time expectations aren’t met. Still, numbers (not math) can be interesting. The whitetail world is full of enlightening facts and numbers, so maybe it’s time we take a quick tour of deer by the numbers. ½ INCH PER DAY Antler growth occurs throughout the summer months for our deer in North America. The abundant blood flow in velvet covering the growing antlers makes them warm to the touch. Besides carrying nutrients to the growing antlers, the warmth promotes cell division and rapid tissue growth. Arteries mostly feed the growing tips where the blood flows…