Buck to Doe Secret

Pennsylvania was the test balloon for using antler restrictions as a tool for managing the deer herd. The restrictions required 3 or 4 points to a side depending on region. The very idea that the Pa. Game Commission was going to restrict a hunter from shooting an 80# spike buck was met with resistance.

  So much resistance, that PA deer biologist, Gary Alt had to speak to tens of thousands of hunters at statewide meetings to explain the strategy of quality deer management. The new strategy was narrowly adopted in 2002.
Prior to 2002 over 90% of all bucks taken by hunters were yearlings (1.5-year-old buck). The statewide harvest of mature bucks was a disappointing 5%. It was rare to see a 2.5 year old or older buck. Most of my friends were mounting the odd 10-point yearling with string bean antlers. Today the herd dynamics has changed and there are many quality bucks to hunt in the Keystone state. My son Cory took a 170 B&C two miles from the house and there have been four others taken recently that were in the 150+ category.
Buck taken by Cory Nolan the Monday after Thanksgiving, chasing a doe. Pa has the genetics and surely has the quality habitat for great whitetails but if you put them in freezer-wrap when they are teenagers… you lose. On the other hand allowing bucks to mature helps a herd in many ways. The buck to doe ratio is the foundation of the win. The term means just what it says; it compares how many bucks to does are in the herd.
Pennsylvania once had a terrible buck to doe ratio. It hovered around 6 to 1. That is a lot of does. Add to that, most Pa. bucks were walking around with their first set of antlers and you have the junk herd we hosted. The real problem with the bad ratio is that many of the does were not being bred during the brief November rut. A large percentage of the does were getting bred in December or in January. Whitetail fawns are dropped 201 days after breeding. This means late born fawns were showing up in June, July and August. Doe conception dates were spread across 100 days.
The common Pennsylvania trophy pre 2002. Studies have shown that late born fawns have a low survival rate and late born bucks are most often spikes when 1.5 years old due to nutritional deficiencies. That was evident in our deer herd. In combination with the antler restrictions in 2002, Pennsylvania increased the doe harvest dramatically. Prior to 2002, we had an estimated 1,000,000 deer in the state. Habitat damage was evident across vast areas. However, with the reduction of doe numbers and the increase of mature bucks, good things began to happen.
With antler restrictions, many bucks were not available for harvest when they were 1.5 years old as their antlers may be under the minimum size. The bucks that made it through got to be 2.5 years old and now had their own established and familiar home-range. Now they were not as easy to shoot as a dumb yearling buck and many of them evaded hunters and got even older. Now we have quality bucks statewide.
Most states above the Mason-Dixon Line have the habitat and genetics to grow quality bucks; if we let them grow. A study done by Auburn University recently conducted some interesting whitetail research that relates to the scenario I just described. In a 430-acre pen they determined the buck to doe ratio. In 2008 and 2009 the ratio was 1 to 2, that is one buck to two does. Researchers logged in conception dates of fawns.
Next, they managed the herd so there were not only more bucks but also more mature bucks in the area. The buck to doe ratio in 2010-2012 was one and a half bucks to one doe or 1.5 to 1. They found that most does were synchronous and bred sooner, meaning they were bred during the first rut. The result was fewer late born fawns and the compression of births helped to lessen the impact of coyote predation. Now that you understand the buck to doe ratio secret explain it to your state DNR and fix your deer herd.

Big Missouri Deer visits again!!!!! Goliath Buck is back!!

The one that got away. This monster buck taunted Jerry and I for several years in Missouri.  He appeared on camera at night for approximately two weeks each year in late October.  RIP Goliath.

Big 14 point buck in Missouri.

This buck teased me all summer near Eureka MO.  Then the new neighbors decided to trespass with four wheelers and even put up a camera next to mine.  The good news - next year he will be even better!!!

Cape Girardeau man shoots, kills albino deer

Great Job Jerry Kinnaman.  Great Hunt. Great Trophy.

Hunter becomes the hunted after shooting famous albino deer

Jerry Kinnaman was up early, hunting in southeast Missouri, when he saw it. It had been a chilly night — the ground was crunchy — but on Tuesday morning, Kinnaman spotted the albino buck about 85 yards in the distance.
Kinnaman bagged the buck — which was called “arguably Cape Girardeau’s most notorious deer” by the Southeast Missourian. It was a legal kill, but a controversial one.
“This is a buck of a lifetime,” he told the newspaper.
“Not my biggest buck but at 7 1/2 years old he might be the oldest,” Kinnaman wrote on Facebook. “Let the bashing begin!”
And it did. Kinnaman said in an interview with The Washington Post on Thursday that it has gotten so bad, he has received death threats over the deer.
“People are all tough on the computer,” he said, “but it’s easy for them to say that because they know they’re not going to get in trouble for it.”
The deer was something of a celebrity in Cape Girardeau. Kinnaman said that some locals felt a connection to it and would notice the animal on drives through the city.
“I was the same way as anybody else about this deer, so I understand the relationship some of these people have,” he said.
Here’s the thing, though: The deer wasn’t doing well, Kinnaman said. He said there was “not an ounce of fat on him,” and Kinnaman’s taxidermist noted that the deer’s teeth were in poor condition. The animal would have died this year, Kinnaman said, whether he harvested it or not.
“They never even thought about how hard it would be for this deer to survive once he got to a certain age,” he said.
For what it’s worth, Kinnaman contacted a local conservation department office and was told that he hadn’t broken any regulations. After his taxidermist is finished, Kinnaman said he might donate the mount to a local nature center, so Cape Girardeau residents can continue to see the deer.
“There’s a lot of rumors I shot this deer for a reward,” he said. “I’m, like, ‘no.’ ”
The kill — and subsequent backlash — follows a similar incident in Michigan, in which an 11-year-old boy bagged an albino buck. Gavin Dingman was crossbow hunting with his father, Mick Dingman, when he shot the deer in October.
“I’ve had people tell me, ‘You should have taken the shot. You don’t let an 11-year-old take a shot at a deer like that,’ ” Mick Dingman told the Daily Press & Argus. “To me, in my opinion, it doesn’t matter if it’s a spike or a doe or a trophy deer. If you have confidence in them, it shouldn’t matter what they are shooting at.”

Missouri Bow Hunter Takes Rare Albino Buck

It's rare to see a mature buck, much less a mature albino, while in the deerstand.  Legendary bow hunter, Jerry Kinnaman, has done just that. This amazing buck is approximately 7.5 years old.  This Southeast Missouri buck is known to some as Whitey, Casper, Ghost, and The Goat.



After years of practice, preparation, and patience, Jerry's plan finally came together on a cold December morning.  As he sat quietly 24 feet in the canopy the elusive buck crept underneath.  Jerry heard a small crunch as the buck stepped through the icy leaves. Without moving a muscle he slowly gazed to his left and spotted the buck creeping between the brush. Jerry's heart pounded. He could see his breath as it hit the bitter cold air. He slowly stood up as the buck passed behind a small tree, then as the buck passed a thick bush Jerry realized it would be his last chance to raise his trusty bow before this buck disappeared into the distance.  Jerry held his bow and focused on his target.  He said to himself, "Aim small, miss small" he quickly went through his shooting checklist.  Grip-check, anchor-check, pin-check.  He slowed his breathing and gently released the string.  The arrow was true and the shot deadly.  It pierced his heart and the great animal was down within 30 yards.

Jerry lowered his head.  He had finally been given this wonderful opportunity. All of his practice and patience was worth it.  He passed the test. He overcame the challenge.  He hung is bow and crossed his frozen fingers.  He said a prayer and thanked the Lord for blessing him with this hunt.  He looked up and smiled like a little kid.  He was filled with excitement and pride.

Shooting albino deer is somewhat controversial. Most hunters look at an albino as a rare opportunity and a trophy.  Some believe they should be left alone because they are rare, yet evolution says that this is not a favorable trait.

How rare is an albino deer?
In a December 2013 report published by USA TODAY, Wisconsin naturalist John Bates, co-author of "White Deer: Ghosts of the Forest," said albino deer are born once in about 20,000 births. Some biologists claim only one in 100,000 deer is born albino, the report said.   It is even more rare they they make it to this age. Truly amazing.

Hunting Buck Rubs

Hunting Buck Rubs and Buck Rub Lines

Buck Size From Rub Size: What would you say about the buck that made this rub? It is rumored that only big bucks rub big trees. That depends on how you define big rubs. I've seen plenty of small bucks rubbing forearm-size trees. Biologists R. Larry Marchinton and Karl Miller, of the University of Georgia, studied rubs for several years with the conclusion that a rubbed tree must be at least six inches in diameter before you can assume, with reasonable confidence that a fully mature buck was the crafter. The rub in this photo definitely meets that criteria!

Though I don't think October is the best time for a trophy buck, it is a great month to shoot solid representative bucks and that's exactly what I set out to do a few years back while hunting in Illinois during the last week of the October.
Actually, I did see a nice 3 1/2 year old 140-class eight-pointer on the third day of the whitetail hunt.  The buck was freshening a scrape just 15 yards away at the time.

The next day I went back to hunting fresh scrapes and rubs; I moved on to anther good-looking spot I had found while scouting. Early the first afternoon in the new stand, a decent buck followed the trail up the slope from below and proceeded to work two scrapes before coming within 20 yards of my tree stand. He was far from the biggest buck in the woods but he was a nice buck, typical of what you can expect when hunting fresh deer scrape and rub lines during October.
Hunting rub lines during the early deer hunting season, right up until the rut begins to kick, is an effective strategy. Generally, the most mature bucks in any herd are the first to rub, so the big rubs you find in September are the ones to hunt as soon as possible. Ideally, you would like to find rubs back in the cover where the odds are higher that a buck will come past during daylight hours.
Everything you need to set up in the right spot is there in front of you. You just look for deer scrapes. A tree stand located along a trail that ties together several fresh deer scrapes is a great place to shoot a buck at this time. Deer scrapes located back in the cover are a good choice morning and evening, while deer scrapes near field edges are better in the evenings.

Rub Age and Rub Lines

To unravel the mysteries of buck movement and finally wrap your tag around a trophy, you have to learn how to properly scout a buck.

Rub lines will tell you more than individual rubs. They reveal a travel route rather than just a location where a buck stopped once. The rubs shown in this photo (which was taken in early November) are dried out and brown: signs that they are old and were probably made at least a month earlier. Old sign reveals little about current buck travel patterns. Look for fresh rubs, and focus on rub lines.
Some rubs also give clues about the buck that made them. I hunted a buck several years ago that had a big hook near one antler base. He had very distinctive rubs with huge gouge marks. I found them littered all over the place near the area where I finally arrowed the buck. If you find odd similarities between several rubs more than likely they were all made by the same buck, and chances are good he has at least one non-typical point.

Hunting for Shed Antlers

If you’re like most deer hunters, you spend the majority of your time in the woods during the fall and winter of each year. However, the habitat that deer live in, just like the animals themselves, are found there year-round — so get out and explore it, learn more about it, and find some shed antlers.
With spring just around the corner and whitetail bucks starting to shed antlers, there is a good opportunity to learn more about your hunting area and the deer that live there. Most hunters get excited when bucks start growing their antlers each year — it’s a chance to witness the impact of past management and look forward to future harvests. It really is something to get pumped up about.
But on the other hand, there are those hunters that get excited as the hunting season ends. It marks the fact that soon bucks will be dropping their coveted antlers. You know, there are ways to get a huge set of antlers on your wall other than shooting the big boy. He may have eluded you during the season, but you can still find his shed antlers!

Finding shed deer antlers not only ends with great rewards you get to take home, but also with some valuable information you can tuck away in your back pocket for next season. Information such as the quality of bucks that made it through the last hunting season, the number of different bucks that were in the area, and specific areas that these bucks used while in your area.
Shed antlers also allow you to physically track bucks that you may have been keeping a close eye on. Measurements that can be taken from year to year include common measurements such as beam length, tine length, and mass measurements.
A few tips to increase your chances of finding deer sheds:

• Look in and around late-season food plots.
• Examine travel corridors and water sources.
• Use a game camera to ensure most bucks have shed.
• Don’t wait too long. Rodents will eat and destroy antlers due to the coveted minerals they contain. In addition, warming weather will spur grass growth and make finding antlers more difficult.
• Keep an eye out for new hunting locations.

Easy Home Made PVC Deer Feeders

Materials for 3 feeders:

• 1 - 10 foot 4" (100mm) PVC drainage pipe ( $12.19)(Prices Jan 2010)
• 3 - Y female 4" fittings MxFxF ( $5.29 each)
• 6 - end caps for 4" pipe ( $2.48 each)
• 3 - 3" to 4" nails
• 12 - ½" wood screws or sheet metal self-tapping screws

Assembly instructions:

Cut the flared end off the 10' pipe. Use a wood saw - it is soft material. Cut the pipe into 3 equal length pieces, and sand the cut edges so they are smooth for an easy fit to the caps. Drill a 3/8" hole on the printed side about 4" from one end - this is for the nail that is holding the feeder onto a tree. The printed side will be against the tree. Put a large nail - 3" to 4" long, into the tree trunk at about eye level - 5 feet from the ground. Leave about 1" sticking out to hang the feeder. Attach the female Y connector to the other end of the pipe, with the Y facing the opposite direction from the drilled hole. You can use glue for a permanent connection, or the ½" wood screws for easy disassembly if needed. Pre-drill the holes for the screws with 1/8" drill. 2 screws should do for each connection. Attach a cap to the bottom of the Y with 2 screws. Try to use short screws so they don't protrude inside to hurt the deer. File points if necessary. Fill the tube with whole corn, loosely place the cap on top of the pipe, and hang from a nail hammered into a tree about 5 feet from the ground. I get my corn in bulk (50 pound) bags from the local farm supply store. Whole corn works great by itself, and easily slides through the pipe.