Know Your Native Deer Foods

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Food studies have identified several hundred plant species that deer will consume during the course of a year.  Some are used seasonally, some only when little else is available, and some are preferred regardless of season and other species’ availability.  As deer managers, it is important to understand the preferred forages where you live and/or …

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Bottled Bucks – Map 3

| By Paul Knox
Bottled Bucks No. 3 This funnel was naturally capable of bottlenecking deer, but for years I neglected to hunt it or monitor it with a trail-camera because it seemed too close to a road. A few years back, however, I decided to place a trail-camera and find out for certain if anything was using the …

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Bottled Bucks – Map 4

| By Paul Knox
Bottled Bucks No. 4 Owning your own small hunting tract is very rewarding, but it’s easy to get lazy after a time and not investigate new or evolving travel patterns. I have a friend who used to hunt with me, and because of his age I encouraged him to hunt wherever he wished. One year …

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Lead in Venison: Joe’s Checkup

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Deer hunters provide venison through donation programs each year and make a substantial contribution to feeding the needy. In 2010, deer hunters from across North America donated over 2.6 million pounds of venison – nearly 10.5 million meals for the less fortunate. Only two years before, this humanitarian effort was threatened by a movement beginning …

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Finding Un-Pressured Deer

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Density, distribution and travel patterns are things we often seek to learn about deer, but researchers from Penn State University set out to learn the density, distribution and habitat use of deer hunters. They used aerial surveys to estimate hunter use of a 114,000-acre portion of Sproul State Forest in north-central Pennsylvania. Since Pennsylvania hunters …

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