Back in 2014, Dr. Dave Samuel’s (wrote for Bowhunter Magazine and an acquaintance of mine at a Hunter-Ed workshop) who is a bow and rifle hunter as well as a PhD Wildlife Biologist wrote a piece that is worth reading. Bergman’s Rule is that the body size must grow larger as you go north. Is that true for antlers too?

https://www.grandviewoutdoors.com/big-game-hunting/are-the-biggest-antlers-farther-north/

Quote from Dr. Dave Samuel article; “The fact that many south Texas ranches do not allow bucks less than 4 or 5 years of age to be harvested is one of the reasons that area produces some really good bucks year after year. Managing bucks so that you get older age classes is one reason that, relative to antler size, Bergmann’s Rule falls flat in Texas. Management trumps latitude.

Throughout deer range, soils and good feed explains antler size more than Bergmann’s Rule. Hunters, leasers, land owners and land managers can do a lot to get healthier and heavier bucks and does on their properties, no matter where they are. Managing habitat and the deer is why we find big bucks and healthier deer scattered all over whitetail range.” end quote

So Texas ranches are sort of like counties in northern states. They run from a few thousand acres to 80 thousand acres or more. They often manage cattle along with whitetails and other wild game.

Making money is a capitalist thing to do. If you can manage food and cover and a healthy “wild” land, you can hunt birds, Turkeys, Havalina, Wild Boar, Whitetails and Mule deer for hunters and make a good living from the Earth and lifelong friendships too.

My hunt style is to use the Rut to Rattle in a wary buck! I want to hunt him naturally…so we are on a more equal footing. There lies the challenge and if I do my part, the reward as well, will come. Maybe a big antlered buck has your name on it.

Common in south Texas is the prickly pear cactus (formally Opuntia), a food source for whitetails including many oak species of acorns and browse. Supplemental feeding and feed crop growth keeps them healthy, though if your a true purist you will find your true wild spaces are shrinking rapidly unless you have the funds.

Image courtesy of Wikipedia with fruit.

Spending money here in the USA is also a great thing for our Economy!

Good Hunting!

© 2018

Today NH Fish and Game strongly urges that you not use bottled natural urine based deer attraction scents to prevent Chronic Wasting Disease in NH. So do your homework if you use scents New Hampshire. There are many synthetics on the market. Having said that; I have used scents all of my deer hunting life. And I still do, just avoid the urine based scents. See update below if you are planning to ship your meat or cape home. Rules apply!

https://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/wildlife/cwd/facts.html

http://cwd-info.org/map-chronic-wasting-disease-in-north-america/ 

As my readers know, I am off to Texas in late October for a Whitetail Trophy Hunt of a Lifetime. I have been thinking about my hunt ever since in booked it a month or so ago. We all like to think we are great hunters and we are, but the deer are better at it than you and I. We can only do our best and Study Up!

First and foremost for me is to FIND JOY IN THE HUNT and in the new friendships I will encounter. Have Fun with new friends and surroundings!

If the Spirit is right and you are willing, and you do your part, all will come together for great memories.

Having said that; I must put my student hat on and find out as much as possible on Large Racked Texas Whitetails and the way in which I intend to primarily hunt them. I prefer being an active hunter trying to do things such as Rattling and Grunting in combination with scents when the rut is just beginning. Having knowledge of prevailing wind, bedding areas and travel routes of both bucks and does can help put me in a favorable wind position.

Find the does and their bedding areas my friends and you will find the bucks not far away. Many of you are aware that Texas put “Antler Rattling” on the Whitetail Map of North America decades ago but few northern hunters use it well. I have used rattling and grunting for years and have had success taking New Hampshire Bucks. A secret piece of the hunting in Texas is that many Trophy Hunter use the position and phases of the Moon in their hunt plans. I have not used the Moon in the past but am becoming a believer, but, even with that skill,  being scent free is perhaps one of the most important parts of hunting mature deer.

Your scent is your worst enemy!

Stay clean, your boots inside too as well as outside. New science places bacteria at the core of the odor issue. Your hair, your hat, your face washed, back of your neck, arm pits, groin and feet need special attention. I believe body pH plays a part too. I killed a buck that walked near me (20 yards) after I doused myself and some in my hair with baking soda.  Suppress and eliminate bacteria caused odor and you will be miles ahead. Do your own research too, don’t take my word for it. Mouth breath with bacteria can alarm deer, some folks use hydrogen peroxide to rinse the mouth and kill bacteria, I use it when brushing my teeth. Now I will use it in the woods too.

Here is a youtube video that is one of the best I have seen for reducing scent.

Below uses anti-microbial silver with carbon. Wow! Gonna give this a try.

Good Hunting!

Don’t stink in the deer woods!

I just love whitetail antlers especially symmetrical antlers, what we call “Typical” antlers. Non- Typical Antlers are often a mish-mash of points having little symmetry. Some like it, but I am not one of them.

I have taken bucks that were 8 or 9 points and a number of lesser bucks and many does. We eat everything we kill and so do my hunting friends.

I am not a quote unquote trophy hunter per se but when I run across a big buck, I don’t hesitate.

I am going to the Lone Star State to try to bag a big-un’ according to Boone and Crockett where the average mature whitetail antler rack is much larger in size on average. This is due to great management practices which include three factors, age, genetics and food.

https://wildlifesystems.com/whitetail.html

I get to bring home the meat too and have 2 doe management tags.

These deer are older and wiser at 4 1/2 and 5 1/2 years and sport average racks of 130 points and there are enough deer to see a few 150 and 160 class deer. It is up to you to be ready if or when the chance arrives.

So here you are on the hunt and you are in pop-up blind and it is an hour from sunset. The does are coming from all around to feed in the field you are in. There are two nice bucks in the 130 class that are feeding with the does and check them out. Your thinking about taking one of these…

Your guide say’s hold on, there may be a  bigger buck coming. What!

Your heart-rate just jumped and adrenaline is pouring into your body. Now only 1/2 hour to darkness and two more deer enter the field. Are they bucks? Yep. They look the same you say?

Maybe not!  It is here that homework may help in quickly judging your trophy deer before the last photons of light are swallowed by the night.

Field and Stream has a great article to help you quickly judge;

https://www.fieldandstream.com/photos/gallery/kentucky/2006/07/how-judge-buck-can-you-guess-score-these-10-bc-trophies#page-6

Outdoor Life has a great article too; https://www.outdoorlife.com/blogs/game-changers/deer-hunting-4-things-look-when-snap-judging-buck-field

Practice, Practice, Practice!

Maybe look like this buck from the same ranch last year, all smiles by Randy Bailey.   Photo from Wildlife Systems website above.

Or maybe this one taken by Bill Ewanis! Photo from Wildlife Systems website above.

Maybe me this fall with my Weatherby Vanguard Weatherguard in 6.5 Creedmoor, Nosler AccuBonds and my favorite scope, a Leupold VX-6.

Good Hunting!

© 2018

The importance of a campfire in a camping experience was brought to my attention as a boy growing up and later on my African Hunting Safari years ago. In Africa, the campfire had true meaning to hold at bay the creatures of the night who wanted to eat you. Just out of the light they lurked, a twig or branch that snapped really got your attention. “Hurry, put another log on the fire!” you said! The campfire gave you a measure of safety from the night and a place to cook your food.

To look into the flaming pulsating embers of a campfire, is to look back in time nearly a million years ago when our ancestors used the fire not just for light and protection from the night, but also for story telling, dreaming, reminiscing and entertainment.

Hunters who gather after a day afield get to tell the story of their day. This is true for most all outdoor people as well but my focus is on the Hunter. It is here that humor is created at a missed shot and the dumb things we sometimes do. It is also a place to revere bravery or a clean shot on wild game by the hunter. In essence it can be a place to bond and unwind from the day as well as protect you from the night.

Here in New England during my childhood, my family like all others at the time did not have air conditioning or could not afford it. Families often cooked and lived outside in the heat of summer. It was a social time that was essential for my outdoor upbringing. At night as kids we often ate marshmallows, made samoas with chocolate and graham cracker sandwiches of a warm and often burned marshmallow over an open campfire. We told stories too.

Later as a downhill skier in the back woods of New Hampshire we created a fire for warmth and food at night deep in the backfield slopes of my neighborhood. I loved to cook my hot dogs on a branch that I cut with my own knife. A basic woodsman’s skill my dad taught me.

As a father and grandfather it is a pleasurable experience with grandchildren to sit around a campfire, cook marshmallows and hot dogs and grin a happy grin.

So don’t forget the value of having a campfire for yourself or your family. It is a place also to grow and dream about far off places and adventure.

Good Hunting!

© 2018