Category: Deer Hunting

Texas is well-known for white-tailed deer hunting, but it’s also known as a state that is overwhelmingly privately owned. That means finding low cost and/or quality public hunting opportunities can be few a far between. However, with a little luck you could be hunting smack-dab in the middle of some well-managed lands. That’s because Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) offers some really good draw hunts on public hunting lands across the state.

We took advantage of these draw hunts growing up, specifically for deer, and it did allow us to see some beautiful parts of the state as well as meet some other awfully nice hunters. The TPWD draw hunt system is basically a lotto system with an entry fee that puts hunters in areas where animals need to be removed. It was an annual, late-summer ritual to sit down with their printed draw booklet and “map out” the areas where we would enter, hopefully hunt.

It was never a sure thing since the odds of getting drawn were low, but more years than not we were fortunate enough to get to go hunting somewhere. Most of the these public hunts take place at TPWD’s wildlife management areas, but they also hunt state parks and some state and national forest. Now the whole draw system is going online, so although it will make it easier for hunters to apply, it may very well increase the competition.

Source: Effective with this summer’s applications, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s popular Public Hunt Drawing System will be online-only. The Public Hunt Drawing System offers affordable hunting experiences in more than two dozen different hunt categories, including eight specifically for youth only. Applications will only be accepted online — no “Applications for Drawings on Public Hunting Lands” booklets or application forms will be printed and mailed out.

With the new paperless system, hunters will be able to browse the drawn hunt catalog by hunt category and location using interactive maps, as well as complete the application and pay online. Selected applicants will be notified by email and can accept permits and pay any fees online. Permits will be issued by email and can be printed at home or stored on a mobile device. Those applicants who are not selected may still be eligible through a secondary drawing if any permits are unclaimed by the payment deadline. There may still be opportunities for traditional standby hunts at some locations.

In addition to now being able to apply for multiple hunt areas within the same hunt category (i.e. apply for a Gun Deer — Either Sex hunt on more than one hunt area), the online system will give hunters more time to apply. Application deadlines start in August and wrap up in January. Applicants will have until midnight on the day of the deadline to apply.

Non-refundable application fees for drawn Special Permit hunts range between $3-10 for each adult applicant 17 years of age or older. Selected adult hunters pay an additional permit fee of $80 for regular hunts and $130 for extended hunts. There are no application fees or drawn hunt permit fees for youth age 8 to 16. There are no application fees for the e-postcard hunt or the U.S. Forest Service Antlerless Deer permits.

Applicants will also retain and continue to accrue Preference Points, now called Loyalty Points, as in the past. Points will stay with the category and be applied to each application equally.

The new online-only system will begin accepting electronic applications in July for 2014-15 Drawn Hunts, including Special Permit hunts, E-Postcard hunts, and US Forest Service Antlerless Deer Permits.

More information about the new online draw hunt system can be found on their web site.

Deer Hunting with Drones?

The use of drones for all sorts of things continues to increase. But, what about deer hunting with drones? Like me, I bet most think deer hunting with drones is a bad idea. However, some think drones add an exciting element to finding and hunting deer, especially big bucks. Starting to sound sketchy yet? I see some legitimate applications for using drones for deer surveys and other wildlife management activities.

If you’re like me, then at least part of the reason you head out hunting is to get away from technology, not to use it while out in the field hunting deer. Admittedly, I do use motion-triggered game cameras to document deer using the areas that I hunt. That sounds like an unmanned, immobile drone.

In case you missed it, the Boone and Crockett Club release their official position on the use of of unmanned drones for hunting white-tailed deer and other big game animals. As you may have already guessed, B&C is not in favor of hunters using advantageous, real-time views from the sky to bag their bucks.

B&C Club: No Drones

Source: Trophies scouted or taken with the assistance of drones/unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) are not eligible for entry in Boone and Crockett records, the Club announced today. “These highly sophisticated, remote-controlled aircraft have no place in fair-chase hunting,” said Richard Hale, chairman of the Club’s Big Game Records Committee.

“The Boone and Crockett Club stands with state wildlife agencies, the Pope and Young Club and hunter-conservationists everywhere who are discouraging the use of drones in hunting.”

In the early 1960s, the Boone and Crockett Club barred trophies taken with use of aircraft. “Spotting or herding game from the air, followed by landing in its vicinity for the purpose of pursuit and shooting” was deemed unethical. The Club’s policy spawned regulations in Alaska and elsewhere designed to protect the integrity of hunting and
conserve game.

Hale said Boone and Crockett is always on alert for new technologies that could erode the time-honored traditions of fair chase. Fair chase is defined by the Club as the ethical, sportsmanlike and lawful pursuit and taking of any free-ranging wild, native North American big game animal in a manner that does not give the hunter an improper advantage over such animals.

No Deer Hunting with Drones

Hunting in it’s purest form has always been about trying to kill something to eat. Deer hunting with drones seems far removed from such a simple idea. The thought of scouting with drones makes sense on some level, but it also sounds weird. Envision the western skies full of drones looking for the biggest mule deer, elk or pronghorn.

A lot of value gets put on the largest-antlered or largest-horned animals by recreational hunters. Here’s a thought: Do we blame hunters or B&C?

If you’ve noticed the deer hunting season is nearly over and there are license tags left in your pocket, don’t panic just yet. There is still time to fill those tags, as well as the freezer. Many hunters find themselves behind the proverbial eight ball as the season winds down each year. Whether it’s because we’ve run short on hunting time because of other commitments, spent too much time waiting on that big buck that seemed to show up on game camera from time to time but never while we were actually on stand, or if it’s just because we’ve suffered from plain ole procrastination. It happens. The pressure may be on, but the late season is one of the very best times to put deer on the ground.

There are numerous farms and ranches looking to achieve deer management objectives, namely keeping the whitetail population within the carrying capacity of the available habitat. Other hunters are just looking to put something next to the potatoes. No matter which camp applies to you, hunting the late season all comes down to a single four letter word, food. The breeding season takes an awful lot out of deer, especially bucks since they burn a lot of calories fighting one another, searching for and pursuing does, so they are always looking to strap on the post-rut feed bag. Combine that with the fact that the fall and winter (to date) has been colder than normal and deer are forced to forage. Continue reading “The Key to Late Season Hunting Success”

The life of a white-tailed deer is highly impacted by the weather. Hunters know that high rainfall years are better than dry ones when it comes to antler growth and the number of fawns produced. Mild weather during the spring and fall  is also conducive for plant growth, which in turn is good for deer growth. Everything struggles when it gets really hot or really cold. However, if you’re looking to harvest a deer this season then colder temperatures are exactly what you need. And that’s because whitetail deer move around a heck of a lot more when temperatures drop.

I know what you’re thinking. The rut, right? Cooler temperatures must mean that bucks will be chasing does with reckless abandon. Well, that could be one exciting scenario, but I’m targeting the fact that when the temperatures outside get really, really cold, deer get extremely hungry. This means that they have got to eat something, and soon. It takes a lot of energy to maintain a 104 degree (F) internal body temperature when the mercury starts to plummet. Deer will be looking for fuel, but will you be there?

Deer Hunting Good on Cold, Wet Days

Cold weather is good for getting whitetail deer up and moving. Cold, wet weather is even better! Think of it in terms of a hypothetical “deer misery index.” The more miserable it is out there on the landscape then the tougher it is for deer. It makes it very hard for whitetail (and other animals) to bed up and hold tight all day when their energy needs are spiking through the roof. If your heater is running all day at home then you can bet the caloric needs of a whitetail deer are humming right along.

The one caveat to hunting cold, wet and just plain ole nasty weather is that it’s also going to be tough on the hunter, too. These are the days that separate the men from the boys, those that talk the talk from those that walk the walk. If you want to fill the freezer and the wall then it’s going to take more than a big buck sticker on the back glass of your truck.

Deer Movement and Energy Requirements

The movement of whitetail deer increases as food sources decrease, energy demands increase. Deer hunting extreme cold often means that food sources are limited AND whitetail deer have elevated energy requirements. This puts a lot in favor of the hunter. Find the right place, hold tight and you’re in business. Will it be a well-established winter food plot, a feeder or a travel corridor of woods that connects a bedding area to a feeding area?

It’s important to realize that the term “cold” is relative to the area that you are hunting. There are a variety of subspecies (20+) of whitetail deer in the US. Some can attain the body mass required to endure snow-covered hills and bone-chilling temperatures for weeks. Smaller-bodied whitetail at southern latitudes get hit hard if temperatures simply stay in the 20’s and 30’s for a couple of days. What is considered a cold winter day in one area may just be an average fall day in another place. Hunt when deer are moving, when temps are well below average for your area.

Dark of the Moon Deer Hunts

When colder than normal weather settles into an area for a few days to a week or more, expect the morning and evening movement of deer to increase substantially. And in my experience, the quantity of movement during the morning will be even greater if there is a new moon (i.e. dark of the moon/no moon). Morning hunts are great because dark skies keep deer bedded up all night so that they are more than ready to go chow down when the sun finally breaks the horizon.

With a need for feed, you can also expect the mid-day movement of deer to increase when temperatures plummet, regardless of moon phase. In fact, I’ve seen extended cold weather keep deer out on food plots all day long. On those clear and cold days, exposed feeding areas such as food plots allow deer exposure to the sun as well as an abundance of forage. Feeding areas that allow protection from the wind get another thumbs up as well.

Hunt Hard or Stay Home

There is no doubt that extreme cold gets deer up and moving. It’s especially hard on animals when temps are just above freezing and precipitation is involved or there are periods of prolonged periods of frigid weather, particularly later in the season in areas where the deer are accustomed to mild falls and winters. One of my favorite times to be out deer hunting is when it’s been much, much colder than average for several days running. It all but guarantees that animals will be up and at ’em.

A successful hunt is a big part of whitetail deer management because the end result is always a reduced population. Harsh environmental conditions means that the limited, available foods must be divided up among all of the deer that live in a given area. Less over-wintering deer means more food for the remainder of the herd and better nutrition for each individual animal. This is paramount for growing and producing big, healthy deer. There has been volumes written about hunting the rut to take advantage of increased deer movement, but a strong cold spell that last for several days or more should never be overlooked.