What Determines a Buck’s Antler Color?

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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 …

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Will the Rut Be Early This Year?

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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 …

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Every Deer Hunter Can Take These Steps to Fight CWD.

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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 …

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Rub and Repeat: Bucks Return to A Few Rubs, Not All

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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 …

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What Causes Deer Food Impactions?

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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 …

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