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10 Ways to Cope With Buck Fever 21 Mar 6:37 AM (last month)

I suspect that almost every deer hunter, at one time or another, have experienced the symptoms of buck fever. Those symptoms include sweaty palms, increased heart rate, elevated blood pressure, and tunnel vision when a nice deer is spotted coming in range. And, in my experience, the larger the antlers on the buck, the worse the buck fever hits. Let’s take a look at ten ways to reduce buck fever.

What is Buck Fever?

Buck fever is an unofficial term used to describe the adrenaline rush of excitement a deer hunter can experience when a deer steps into view or approaches during hunting season. The level of buck fever can vary from hunter to hunter, from a mild case up to severe cases that impede the ability to shoot accurately.

Factors that play a role in the level of buck fever:

• Level of hunting experience
• Size of deer antlers
• Shooting Distances (especially up close)

Let’s take a closer look at each factor:

Level of Hunting Experience

While buck fever is usually more associated with new deer hunters trying to harvest their first deer or first trophy deer, it also affects experienced hunters.

I am an experienced deer hunter and have harvested several excellent, mature whitetail deer over the years. However, my buck fever issues are more prevalent during bow season and most definitely are affected by the size or quality of a buck’s rack. A terrible case of buck fever cost me a mature buck that would have been my personal best with a bow and largest buck to date (but that’s a story for another time).

Size of the Deer Antlers

If you are an antler hunter first and a meat hunter second, you probably understand precisely what I’m talking about. Even experienced and normally calm hunters may get a case of buck fever when a trophy deer shows up. I’m no different than most hunters and still get the occasional buck fever jitters when a big, mature buck comes into view.

Shooting Distances (especially up close)

Most hunters find that the level and symptoms of buck fever increase as the animal gets closer or get into shooting range. As mentioned before, I find that I have less anxiety or jitters when rifle hunting but more when bow hunting, especially when the deer comes in range and I’m holding for a good shot.

Most bow hunters would rather take a 15-yard archery shot at a trophy deer versus a 30-yard archery shot, but those same bow hunters also find that the buck fever is worse at 15 yards than 30 yards. I’m sure why this occurs, but it also happens to me.

Since the excitement and passion are one of the reasons that most of us hunt deer, the buck fever symptoms sort of come with the hunting experience.

10 Ways to Cope with Buck Fever

Several potential solutions or approaches exist to reduce or cope with buck fever. Here are my favorite strategies:

#1 – Try to see as many deer as possible in the field

For hunters who don’t see any deer until deer season, the sight of the season’s first shootable deer can trigger extreme examples of deer fever.

While it’s nearly impossible to eliminate buck fever symptoms, one possible way to reduce the issues (I hesitate to call them “symptoms”) associated with buck fever is to get out in the field and see as many deer as possible.

The idea behind this approach is to desensitize yourself a bit to the presence of deer. This way, when a nice deer comes along under your tree stand, you’re better prepared to deal with the excitement.

#2 – Practice Your Shooting Under Hunting Conditions

If possible, spend some time practicing your shooting (be it rifle, bow, or crossbow) and try to mimic the normal conditions of your hunts. For example, if you usually bow hunt from a tree stand, try practicing your archery shooting from a tree stand or elevated position.

Most hunters’ idea of practicing their shooting is to either shoot off a bench during rifle sight-in or practice with a bow in a standing position. However, if you really want to be prepared for the next deer hunting season, try to duplicate the hunting conditions and practice your shooting accordingly.

Let’s use me as an example. My bow hunting buddies say that I shoot a bow fairly accurately during practice. However, I find that shooting out of a tree stand or hanging off a tree stand is a very different type of archery compared to the traditional bow shooting practice I do in the backyard.

If you are not able or interested in trying to duplicate your typical hunting position for practice, try to practice as much as possible. Practice leads to confidence, which reduces anxiety during a shooting situation.

When I went to college, I didn’t have the opportunity to practice with my bow much before bow season started. As a result, my shooting confidence went down to the point where I was only comfortable taking shots in the 15 to 20-yard range. I passed on several nice deer in college because I lacked the confidence to shoot at any deer past 20 yards accurately.

#3 – Practice Breathing

I know that sounds like an obvious “no kidding” answer, but it’s worth mentioning. Some hunters hold their breath as deer approach in an attempt to limit their movement or as they prep to take a shot. Some hunters even hold their breath without even consciously thinking about it. One of those people was me.

While having a buddy along in a tree stand to help me film a hunt, he commented that I seemed to be holding my breath when the bow was pulled to full draw and held for more than a few seconds at full draw. When I took a second to really pay attention, it turned out that I was holding my breath when I went to full draw and trying to keep it while a full draw was held.

Honestly, I had no idea I was doing that, so I started making a conscious effort to breathe slowly during practice. I also worked on breathing calmly and normally at full draw.

I found that my shooting accuracy improved and my ability to comfortably hold the bow at full draw for more extended periods.

#4 – Focus on the Shot and Not the Rack

Obviously, this advice can be easier said than done. There have been times when I struggled to focus on shot placement as my eyes continually drifted to the rack, especially with really trophy animals or potential personal bests. And the more you look at the rack of a possible trophy deer, the more excited you become.

However, I find that intentionally focusing on the aiming point (where it’s a rifle or bow) also forces me to focus on the shot mechanics and follow-through versus evaluating the antlers.

#5 – Visualization

When I talk about visualization, I’m talking about a type of mental practice where you run through a successful shot in your mind. For example, when I get into a stand, I try to visualize the entire process of prepping for a shot, shot placement, and shot follow through.

By going through repeated visualizations, you’re preparing your mind to process the various stages of the visualization with as little secondary thought as possible. In a sense, visualization trains your mind to process specific steps of the process at a nearly subconscious level.

While it may sound like a bunch of psycho-babble, I find visualization a big help in remaining calm when buck fever begins to take hold.

#6 – Physical Fitness Matters

Start talking to a group of deer hunters about physical fitness and its importance in the hunting world, and you’ll be amazed how quickly the conversation grinds to a halt.

My point with physical fitness is this: you’ll physically and mentally perform better while hunting if you’re in decent shape. An improvement in muscle strength and tone might be the difference between running an arrow through the biggest stud deer you’ve ever seen or repeatedly telling your hunting friends about the “wall hanger I missed.”

When I say physical fitness, I’m not talking about running six hours a day. Instead, I’m talking about maintaining a fitness level that lets you walk several miles without struggling, hold your rifle on target offhand for several minutes, or keep your compound bow at full draw without your arms starting to shake.

Being in decent physical condition adds to your hunting confidence, which helps combat buck fever.

#7 – Hunt Small Game During the Offseason

Where legal, consider hunting small game species during the offseason. The basic mechanics of hunting still exist with small game species and so do the basic shot mechanics (with a rifle or bow).

Hunting small game species before or after deer season allows you to continue practicing your hunting and shooting skills.

In addition to deer hunting, I also enjoy squirrel hunting when deer season ends. Trying to hit a squirrel in the head with a .22 rifle at 50 yards will likely improve your marksmanship skills since you’re shooting at a much smaller target. Although I can’t provide concrete data to back this up, I firmly believe that hunting squirrels with a rimfire rifle has improved my deer hunting accuracy.

#8 – Understand the Difference Between the Perfect Shot and a Good Shot

While shot placement is vitally essential for ethical Whitetail hunting, there’s a difference between the “perfect” shot and a well-placed, humane shot.

Some deer hunters will hold out for a picture-perfect shot on that trophy buck. However, the longer you wait for that clear shot, the more anticipation and excitement build. As that excitement continues, the physical manifestations of buck fever may continue to grow.

Instead of waiting for the picture-perfect shot, consider taking a clean, humane shot that will take the animal down ethically.

#9 – Focus on the Distance to the Animal

Another trick that I picked up from a hunting buddy is to focus on the distance to the deer or the shot distance.

When I first sit down in the stand, I take a range finder and start ranging the distance to certain trees that I’m using as distance markers.

If and when a deer comes in range, I use the distance marker trees as a means to evaluate the potential shot distance without moving.

Focusing on the distance to target keeps my mind occupied as the deer approaches, and reduces the deer jitters.

#10 – Understand Buck Fever

By taking the time to recognize and understand buck or deer fever, you can take steps to reduce its impact on you. At the end of the day, buck fever is just another form of excitement over a specific type of hunting.

As a hardcore deer hunter, I deal with buck fever just like any other hunter. However, by employing some of the suggestions above, I’ve reduced the effects, which has increased my hunting success rate.

Hopefully, you find some of these suggestions helpful in combating the excitement of buck fever.

How Long Does Doe Urine Scent Last? 21 Mar 6:01 AM (last month)

As the annual deer season approaches, hunters start researching different types of deer attractants and scents. One such scent that I’m routinely asked about is urine scent from a doe. Doe urine scent can be a great way to attract bucks to your location, but one common question that arises is how long does doe urine scent last?

Having worked in the deer hunting industry for many years, I can tell you that it really depends on the conditions and the type of scent you’re using. In this article, I’ll explain the factors that affect the longevity of doe urine scent and provide tips for how to get the most out of that scent.

Overview of Doe Urine

The use of doe urine has been a popular deer hunting tactic for decades, and for good reason. Doe urine is an effective deer attractant and cover scent that can be used to lure deer into a specific area or mask the hunter’s smell.

When it comes to doe urine, there are two types – naturally collected doe urine and synthetic doe urine.

Let’s take a deeper look at each type:

Organic Doe Urine

Naturally collected doe urine is collected from real deer. This type of doe urine can vary in its effectiveness depending on several factors, including:

• The age of the urine source
• The time of year that the urine was collected.
• The amount of time that has passed since the urine was collected.
• How the urine was packaged and stored

Due to the labor and expenses associated with the urine collection process, organic doe urine tends to be more expensive than its synthetic urine counterpart. Naturally collected doe urine also has a shorter shelf life compared to synthetic deer urine.

Synthetic Doe Urine

Synthetic doe urine is a manufactured version of doe urine. It is designed to be more consistent in its effectiveness and is often more concentrated than naturally collected doe urine. Synthetic doe urine is also more shelf stable and can last for extended periods of time without losing its potency.

Synthetic doe urine can be an invaluable tool for deer hunters. Using this deer scent during hunting season, you can attract bucks and doe to your hunting grounds. I have been using synthetic doe urine for several years now, and I can vouch for its effectiveness when used properly. It is a great way to attract deer to your location and can be used in several different ways. I typically use it when I’m hunting from a stand, either spraying it around the area or using a scent drag. It is also great for covering human scent while walking through the woods.

Clarifying the Doe Urine Question

Typically, when hunters ask questions about how long doe urine lasts, the questions are geared towards one of the two following situations or scenarios:

• How long will doe urine keep after being opened?
• How long will doe urine last in the field when used?

Let’s look at each situation in more detail.

How Long Will Doe Urine Scent Last After It’s Been Opened?

The answer depends on several factors, including the following:

• The type of urine (natural or synthetic)
• When the urine was collected or produced

Organic doe urine has a significantly shorter shelf compared to synthetic urine. This is because naturally collected urine contains several chemicals, including ammonia, so it begins to degrade right after the sealed bottle is opened. The shelf life also seems to vary from brand to brand. For example, the Tinks brand of natural urine is supposed to last at least 12 months as long as the container is resealed tightly, it’s kept out of direct sunlight, and stored at room temperature. In contrast, the Code Blue brand of urine markets their doe urine as only being suitable for one hunting season.

Synthetic doe urine has a much longer shelf life than organic urine and can be stored for multiple years as it doesn’t contain any ammonia. However, the same general storage rules found with natural doe urine still apply:

• Kept out of direct sunlight.
• Properly sealed.
• Stored at room temperature.

I’m not going to get into the natural doe urine versus synthetic doe urine debate in this post, but I may try to address it in a separate article.

How Long Will Doe Urine Scent Last Once It’s Been Deployed in the Woods

Several factors play a direct role in answer to that question. Those factors include the following:

• The urine type (natural or synthetic)
• Temperature
• The application conditions (wet ground, windy, etc.)
• The application method (such as drag line, direct application. Etc.)

Natural doe urine will typically last and be effective for anywhere from 24 to 36 hours. The effectiveness of the scent is at its peak during the first 3-4 hours when first deployed; then, the scent strength begins to decline. Natural urine sprayed in a concentrated area will retain a more potent scent compared to a scent drag, scent wick, or scent trail.

Weather conditions like rain, snow, and frost will dilute the strength of the urine scent and can significantly reduce the duration of effectiveness.

Synthetic doe urine tends to be more concentrated than its natural counterpart so that it can remain effective for four to seven days. In addition, manmade doe urine has a thicker consistency and does not break down as quickly as organic urine.

However, artificial doe urine is equally susceptible to weather factors like rain, snow, etc., which will dilute the strength of the scent.

Overall, synthetic doe urine has a longer shelf life and maintains a scent longer in the field than natural doe urine. However, I think natural doe urine offers a stronger draw to whitetail bucks since it’s the real thing versus a synthetic copy.

That being said, natural doe urine has downsides as well. It has a shorter shelf life than the synthetic stuff and doesn’t last as long when used in the field.

I prefer to use the synthetic option because it lasts longer when stored, maintains a strong scent for days when used in the field, and is more cost-effective.

FAQS

Here are some frequently asked questions that are commonly associated with doe urine and urine-based scents:

How far away can a buck smell doe urine?

The question of how far away a buck can smell doe urine is one that many hunters have asked over the years. The answer depends on a variety of factors, including wind direction, wind strength, humidity, and terrain. That said, it is generally agreed that a buck can detect doe urine from several hundred yards away.

On a calm, clear day with no wind, a buck can easily pick up the scent of doe urine from up to 500 yards away. This distance can increase when there is wind, as the smell will travel further through the air. In addition, the terrain can also play a role in how far away a buck can smell doe urine. For example, if the terrain is hilly, the scent may travel further due to the updrafts created by the slopes.

While it is impossible to give a definitive answer to the question of how far away a buck can smell doe urine, it is safe to say that the scent can travel over several hundred yards.

When should I start using doe urine during deer season?

I think the key to successful deer hunting with doe urine is to use it early enough in the season to attract bucks. For example, in most parts of the country, the pre-rut period begins mid to late October. In most parts of the U.S., bucks have already started to display an interest in does during the pre-rut phase, even though they may not completely be in full estrus yet. I find that using doe urine during this early season phase can provide a hunter with an opportunity to see and possibly harvest more mature bucks before the rut comes into full swing.

While most hunters also use doe urine during the rut, I don’t find it to be as effective during that period. During the peak of the rut, I suspect that the decrease effective of doe urine is tied to the fact that it’s competing with doe estrous scent. And, in those situations, the full estrus scent is going to overpower any doe urine scent (be it natural or synthetic).

Should I put doe urine in a deer scrape or mock scrape?

I’ve tried using natural and synthetic doe urine in a series of deer scrapes and did observe a slight increase in the number of bucks that visited the scrapes compared to the number of bucks that visited scrapes without any doe urine. However, the increased number of bucks was minimal, and at least 90% of the buck visits to the doe urine scrapes occurred at night or during non-shooting hours. Very little buck activity at the doe urine scrapes occurred during daylight hours.

Do Deer Decoys Work? They Can Under the Right Circumstances 21 Mar 5:50 AM (last month)

Do deer decoys work? I wish I had a dollar every time I’ve heard that question asked at my day job. The answer is yes, they can, but not all the time. Under the right circumstances or conditions, whitetail decoys can be a helpful tool to lure that big buck into shooting range.

However, there are also situations where a decoy might do more harm than good. In this article, I’ll discuss how deer decoys work and provide some suggestions and guidelines for deploying them in your hunts.

Situations When Deer Decoys Are Effective

Decoys in one form or another have been used for centuries, so the deer decoy concept is not new. But some readers may be asking: exactly what is a deer decoy?

Decoys for Deer Explained

A deer decoy is an artificial representation of a natural deer, typically used by hunters to attract deer to a specific area. These decoys are designed to appear life-like and are available in two dimensional (2D) and three dimensional (3D) configurations.

In addition, this decoy style is available in both buck and doe configurations, as there may be instances where a doe decoy is a better option than a buck decoy.

The decoys are typically made from lightweight materials such as polyethylene plastic, foam, or rubber and can be painted or built to resemble a natural deer. Decoys come in various shapes and sizes and can be either stationary or mounted on a base that allows them to move in the wind.

What Makes deer Decoys Effective?

So how can these deer decoys successfully lure bucks into shooting range?

Here are three potential reasons:

1) Whitetail bucks become increasingly competitive leading up to the mating season, making them all the more likely to investigate any other potential suitors or mating candidates.

2) They also have heightened senses during this period due to increased testosterone levels, allowing them to detect movement and certain smells even at long distances.

3) During the rut, because daylight hours are shorter later in the season, bucks are often on their feet earlier and looking for females. The biological drive to mate makes them more apt to respond to a doe decoy.

If you think that decoys don’t work or won’t work, check out this video compilation of mature bucks going after buck decoys.

I find doe and buck decoys to be the most effective under the following situations:

• During The Pre-Rut And Rut
• During The Secondary Rut
• When Bucks Are Hesitant To Come Into A Call

During The Pre-Rut And Rut

Using deer decoys during the pre-rut and rut can be an effective way to attract bucks. During this time, bucks are actively searching for does in estrous or ready to breed. So when they spot a doe decoy, it usually triggers their instinctual need to mate. This attracts them closer and gives hunters a better shot at bagging a trophy.

However, using a deer decoy isn’t always successful. If the buck is spooked by other factors, such as noise or movement from the hunter, it may not come close enough for an accurate shot. It’s also possible that a buck will ignore the decoy altogether if he has already found a doe in heat.

Hunters should consider all of these factors when deciding whether or not to use a deer decoy during this period of the deer season. However, proper placement and timing could make all the difference between success and failure in the field. While I may only use a decoy a few times a year, I’ve had good luck with decoys during the these periods.

During The Secondary Rut

Once the main mating period starts to dwindle, there will be a more minor secondary mating period called the secondary rut. This mating period predominately involves does who did not enter estrus during the primary rutting period.

While deer activity during the secondary rutting period is less active than the primary rut, this period can be another time when a decoy can pay big dividends. Bucks are still trying to mate in the secondary mating period and may come to a doe decoy or a doe and buck decoy.

When Bucks Are Hesitant To Come Into A Call

If you hunt deer long enough, you’ll encounter a situation where a big buck seems interested in your deer grunt or doe bleat, or your rattling, but not interested enough to come into range. And trust me, this is one of the most frustrating deer hunting situations you’ll encounter.

Under the right conditions, a decoy or decoy set-up, combined with some vocalizations and the occasional rattle, may be just the push he needs to come in for a closer look.

Situations When Deer Decoys Are Ineffective (And Might Drive Deer Away)

The use of deer decoys can be effective for attracting bucks, but there are certain situations when they may not work. And there are some situations or conditions where a decoy may actually scare deer away.

Let’s take a look at some common times when deer decoys might not be successful.

High Hunting Pressure Areas On Public Land

Having access to public land for deer hunting can be a blessing and a curse. Public land means that you’ll always potentially have somewhere to deer hunt, but it also means that you’ll be sharing that public land with several other hunters.

In my experience, using deer decoys on public land has two potential issues:

Safety Concerns

There are obvious safety concerns when transporting, setting up, and using a deer decoy on heavily hunted public land because you’re in the vicinity of a decoy designed to look just like a real deer.

While I haven’t personally encountered this issue, I have met and talked to hunters who had a deer decoy shot while hunting on public land.

In addition, if you have a one-piece decoy that doesn’t break down for easy transport, you’re potentially walking through woods with hunters while carrying a deer strapped to your back.

Lack of Effectiveness

Public land deer who face tremendous hunting pressure are a different breed of deer because of the pressure. As such, the pressure causes them to do things like relocate, stay in the safety of thick cover, or only move under cover of darkness.

This level of hunting pressure makes any deer, including bucks, far less willing to respond to a decoy during legal shooting hours.

For me, these factors make using a decoy on public land nearly a waste of time.

Anytime Early Season Before The Pre-Rut Begins

Early season is another period within a deer season where decoys are not practical or even advisable. Until the pre-rut period, male and female deer are focused on surviving. When the pre-rut period comes along, both sexes of deer change their habits as biology begins to kick in.

While deer are naturally curious, they are also reasonably skittish, so things out of place may make them uneasy. Seeing a doe and buck decoy close to each other at a feeder or in a field before the pre-rut phase is unusual and one example of how a deer decoy might scare deer away.

Late Season Post Rut

After the primary and secondary rut, bucks are weakened from a combination of not eating much coupled with chasing and mating. So, a mature buck, even the local dominant buck, may not want to approach a buck decoy because they don’t have the strength to fight or joust for standing.

In addition, that same mature buck is post rut so he won’t really have any interest in investigating a doe decoy either.

For those reasons, decoys don’t seem to perform very well after the rut is completely over.

Deer Decoy Safety

No post about deer decoys will be complete without discussing safety precautions related to hunting with or over deer decoys. To ensure a safe experience when hunting with deer decoys, there are some key things to remember.

Transporting the Decoy

Without proper planning and safety in mind, transporting a decoy to a stand or hunting location can pose some risks during deer season. This is especially true if the decoy is a one-piece unit that doesn’t disassemble for transport.

I don’t recommend transporting a decoy in plain sight, especially a complete model, without it being covered. So I always carry my decoys in a carrying case or a bright orange bag. I don’t want anyone to mistake me or my decoy for a real deer.

Setting up the Decoy

Setting the decoy up or configuring it is another potentially dangerous time for a whitetail hunter, especially if they share the woods with other hunters. Therefore, I always ensure that I wear a significant amount of hunter-orange clothing or a bright orange hat during bow season when deploying deer decoys.

Buck vs. Doe Decoys – Which is Better?

The answer to the doe vs. buck decoy question is this: it really depends on the circumstances.

In some situations, like the secondary rutting period, I prefer to put both a doe decoy and buck decoy out in a decoy setup because a mature buck searching for mates may be interested in the doe or may be more interested in driving the perceived buck decoy away. In other situations, I’ll use a buck decoy alone, or a young buck decoy may be more effective in bringing in a larger mature whitetail deer.

If I had to pick one decoy during the rut, it would probably be a doe because mature male deer are biologically driven to seek out females for mating.

Common Deer Decoy Mistakes

Here are a few mistakes that I commonly see with deer decoys:

No Scent Control on the Decoy

Not applying any scent control measures to the decoy is probably one of the most common mistakes I see and one that I’ve been guilty of as well. A deer’s sense of smell is its best tool to detect danger. If your decoy was stored in your garage all year, it most likely smells like your garage.

Without some kind of scent control to eliminate the foreign smells of your garage, there’s a good chance that smell will spook the downwind deer away. Of course, I’ve made the same mistake as well. I’ve been in a hurry to get a decoy deployed in the field and completely forgot to apply any kind of scent control.

I prefer to apply sent control or deer scent directly on the decoy and on the downwind side of the decoy unit.

Decoy Position (Either Too Close or Too Far)

Another area of concern is the decoy position from a distance perspective. Ideally, you want the decoy within range for a solid shot (be it gun or bow range) but not so close that your presence or movement preparing for the shot spooks the target.

I once went rifle hunting with a buddy, and we were after meat, so we were focusing on does. We were hunting from an elevated box stand over a food plot, and he had put out a few doe decoys in an effort to make the does more comfortable coming into the field to feed.

The problem: the decoys were just over 300 yards from the stand. Now I can shoot a rifle 300 yards, but, in my mind, it would have made far more sense to place the decoys within 100 yards for an easier shot.

Leaving the Decoy in Place Too Long

Most hunters use a fixed-type deer decoy that doesn’t move, as the motion models are considerably more costly. The fixed models work fine, but they have an effective shelf life once deployed.

Let me explain: if you place a fixed deer decoy in a field and leave it for a week, the deer in the area may become suspicious as the decoy hasn’t moved in a week. Ideally, a decoy will be moved or removed within 12 hours. The 12-hour time limit is my personal limit, but I suspect the local deer start to get nervous around a decoy that doesn’t move occasionally.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some commonly asked questions that I routinely see being asked about deer decoys:

Are There Any Regulations I Need To Consider When Using A Deer Decoy?

According to research, over 8 million deer decoys are sold annually in the United States alone. This massive number of sales indicates that hunters believe these devices are effective for attracting deer. However, before using a deer decoy, certain regulations need to be considered.

First and foremost, it’s important to check local hunting laws regarding the use of decoys. Some states may be prohibited or require special permits for use. In addition, some states have rules that forbid the use of calls with decoys or the use of decoys with calls.

How Do I Know When A Deer Decoy Is Working?

To ensure your time spent using a deer decoy isn’t in vain, here are some tips on telling if it’s working.

Firstly, pay attention to the animal’s behavior when they come within range of the decoy. If they investigate it thoroughly or even use their antlers to touch or rub against it, it may be doing its job correctly. Similarly, signs of alarm or defensive behavior might indicate that the animal senses something wrong and is wary of what lies ahead.

Another way to gauge whether a deer decoy is effective is by watching for changes in where animals feed and rest. For example, if the deer start avoiding areas near the decoy, this could mean that the decoy is not working as hoped. Additionally, observing whether there are more aggressive interactions between bucks might also suggest that one buck sees another as a potential threat because of the presence of a fake rival.

When to Use a Deer Decoy During Deer Season?

I have seen the best results using deer decoys during the two weeks leading up to the rutting period and during the rut. But, to be clear, those are just my opinions on the topic, and your own success may vary.

While I’ve had some success with a buck and doe combo decoy layout, my best results for drawing in trophy whitetails have occurred using a mature buck decoy in conjunction with buck grunts. Dominant bucks don’t like other males intruding on their turf during mating season and will come to drive the perceived rival away.

In conclusion, deer decoys can be an effective tool in whitetail hunting to attract deer or trophy buck. With proper placement and usage, you should have no problem seeing success. However, it is essential to remember that there are specific scenarios and times of the year when a decoy will be most effective.

8 Public Land Deer Hunting Tips For Better Success 21 Mar 5:33 AM (last month)

Author’s Note – While I have some experience hunting on public land, my experience is relatively limited. However, one of my good friends lives in Kansas and has a significant amount of experience hunting on public land as Kansas has well over 300,000 acres of public hunting land. Like me, he works in the hunting industry (which is how we actually met) and he has a wealth of hunting experience in the Midwest. He wrote the article below but didn’t want credit and did not want to be listed as an author or contributor on the site (although I’ve asked and offered several times).

Nearly every state in the continental U.S. offers some type of land access for outdoors people and hunters.  For some hunters, publicly available land is their only hunting option.  Given the popularity of open access hunting properties, hunting in these public areas can be challenging as there are far more hunters competing for game compared to private hunting land.

At my day job, I’m often asked about hunting public land, so I thought it might be helpful to put together some public land deer hunting tips and tricks to increase your odds of success.

Having hunted bucks and does on public-land in several states over the years, I’m aware of the challenges a hunter faces on this land as I’ve faced those same challenges.

Things to Know Pre-Hunt

Before I get into discussing the tips and suggestions, let me take a second to mention two very important points to be aware of before venturing out to hunt publicly accessible land.

Know the Rules & Regulations of the Public Land Being Hunted

This is important, so pay attention to it, or it could cost you some money or your hunting privileges.  Special rules or regulations usually govern publicly available land, and it’s vitally important to be thoroughly aware of those regulations.  Here’s a sample of a few specific rules that I’ve come across while hunting on publicly accessible lands in different states:

• Caliber restrictions
• Tree stand height requirements
• Shotgun with buckshot only rules
• Specific hunting days for particular game species
• No shooting ground level with a centerfire rifle
• No handgun being carried while hunting public-land deer
• Buck only restrictions
• Minimum antler point or size rules

These types of rules can get you into trouble, especially if you are unaware of them.  I’ve spoken to several game wardens and wildlife conservation officers who have mentioned that they see more violations on public spots than in any other location.

Hunter Safety is Paramount

When public-land hunting, you’d likely be sharing that land with far more hunters than you would hunting on private land.  The increased number of hunters in the woods and the potentially close proximity of those other hunters can lead to potentially dangerous situations, so it’s vital to utilize and practice hunter safety.

For example, regardless of the legal requirements of a specific patch of public ground, I always suggest wearing some hunter-orange clothing.  And I’ll go a step further and recommend that you wear as much as possible so other hunters can see you.

Almost every patch of publicly accessible land I’ve hunted across different states has hunter-orange requirements, so I’ve always made sure I wore enough orange to increase my chances of being seen.

8 Tips & Tricks for Hunting Deer on Public Land

Here are 8 of my favorite tips and tricks that I’ve picked up over the years that have helped me bag some very nice mature bucks on public-managed land:

#1 – Do Pre-hunt Scouting

While this sounds like a basic suggestion that almost every hunter is already doing, you’d be surprised how many whitetail hunters walk in and pick a spot that “looks good” on the first day of the season with no prior scouting.

You’ll significantly increase your odds of seeing bucks and does by doing pre-season scouting.  I look for deer-based activity signs like:

• Game trails
• Rubs
• Scrapes
• Food sources

However, here’s something else to be aware of with pre-season scouting with public land hunting: when the public-land crowds hit the woods on day one of the season, the does and bucks will change their patterns and habits to account for all the disturbances.

I try to keep that in mind when public-land hunting as it may be necessary to transition to another location or hunting approach if needed.  The ability to pivot or change tactics is where you see the actual value of pre-season scouting.  You can shift to another approach or location due to your scouting.

#2 – Take Advantage of Maps

When I first started hunting deer as a teenager, it wasn’t easy to access a map of a particular area, especially one with topological features.  The only way to get a feel for the property and potential hunting spots was to explore on foot, the old-fashioned way.

You can now utilize online resources to get a birds-eye view of any potential hunting property.  Google Earth is a great resource that I routinely use to review hunting properties.  The things I look for on an online aerial image are the following:

Parking Spots

This sounds kind of basic, but a large percentage of hunters on publicly accessible land won’t travel more than 50 yards to 100 yards from their vehicle to hunt, or want to hunt close to the road.  By locating the common parking areas for a public hunting spot, you can quickly determine where NOT to hunt.

Waterways

An aerial image can also be used to locate waterways such as rivers, ponds, creeks, etc.  These water properties can be incorporated into a hunting plan via scouting.  Does and bucks need water, so a well-traveled crossing point on a creek or watering location can be an excellent location to hunt.

Old Road or Paths

Topological images can also be used to locate old roads, paths, or trails.  Bucks and does could be using these paths for travel, and these old roads are also ideal for a hunter who wants to still hunt on the move.

I find that old logging roads or paths are well worth investigating while scouting and have stumbled on some excellent hunting spots along these types of paths.

Bedding Areas

Bucks and does prefer not to bed down in the open, so they need a bedding area that offers them some cover.  Reviewing topography maps can be a great way to identify potential bedding areas.  Once an active bedding area is identified, setting up along the typical travel path from a food source to bedding can be a very effective approach.

#3 – Hunt the Midday

This tip has been a massive success for me and allowed me to bag several bucks on public land (and a few does) where other hunters were striking out.

Most public land hunters do the following:

• Get in the stand or woods before dawn and hunt until around 10 AM to 11 AM.  Then they will exit their stand and head back to their vehicles for lunch, something to drink, and a nap.
• At around 3 PM, those hunters will return to their stand and hunt until dark.

The animals learn those patterns and adjust their activity accordingly.  I’ve lost count of the number of big deer I’ve seen on state managed hunting land between the hours of 11 AM to 3 PM.  One of the largest public land bucks I’ve bagged so far came walking by my stand at 1 PM in the afternoon headed back to a bedding area.

If you want to significantly increase your opportunities to fill your tag on public tracts, plan to stay in the stand all day.  Pack a lunch and wait the mid-day period out.  You may be pleasantly surprised at the results.

#4 – Talk with the Land Manager or Biologist Assigned to the Land

In some states, a state manager is assigned to a specific tract of public land, and some other states assign a biologist.  The people assigned to those positions will likely be familiar with the deer population on that specific property or wildlife area.  Chances are that the land manager knows where the animals  are congregating, their preferred diet, where they are bedding, easy hunter access points, etc.

Most of those folks will gladly share that information if asked.  The thing is: hardly anyone takes the time to identify these managers or contact them.  Yet, they may be a valuable untapped resource that can give you an edge over other hunters.

#5 – Skip the First Week of the Season

I genuinely struggle to follow my own advice as I really want to be in the woods when the season opens.  However, research has indicated that the opening day of deer season and the first full week of deer season are the most popular time for hunters on public land.  That means that probably 90% of the hunters who utilize public land will be in the woods hunting deer during the first week of the season.

Typically, public deer land sees the following activity:

• A busy and crowded opening day of bow, muzzle, and gun season.
• This continues until the end of the first week of the season, then drops off significantly.
• By the end of the season’s second week, maybe 10% of the hunters from the opening day are back in the woods.

Rather than hunt on opening day, consider waiting until the first week of the season is over, then hunt the remainder of the season hard.

#6 – Hunt the Areas No One Else Will

Most public-land hunters prefer to hunt open spots or easy-to-reach spots that look promising.  In public hunting land with significant hunting pressure, try hunting in the areas where no one else will, and away from the crowds because these areas likely hold deer.

These areas include locations like:

Dense Thicket Edges

When hunting pressure picks up, most bucks and does head for areas where they won’t be bothered.  One popular location is dense thickets or underbrush.  These areas are likely bedding areas, but most hunters won’t venture into a dense thicket to hunt.

I’ve had good hunting success right along the edge of the thick stuff.  I typically try to slip in as quietly as possible, find the tallest tree on the edge of the thicket that offers the best viewpoint, and use a self-climber to get up high.  You’d be surprised at the number of whitetails that I’ve seen this way, either moving through the thicket or to and from the thicket.

You could slip into the thicket itself and try to hunt, but it’s challenging to move through thick cover quietly, and you’ll probably bump more animals than you see.

The biggest drawback to this type of hunting is the availability of a good stand location, and limited shot access due to limited shooting lanes.  In addition, you may have to patiently wait for a shot if the brush is really thick.

Flooded Timber

Most hunters will avoid flooded timber like the plague for two reasons:

• It generally requires waders to hunt
• The belief that whitetail deer don’t like to walk through water.

While you may need waders to hunt flooded sections, I find that hunting pressure will drive deer into these  flooded areas, and the animals don’t seem to mind walking through various water levels.

I stumbled on this while duck hunting with a few friends.  I kept noticing that we saw a substantial amount of deer while duck hunting flooded timber, as long as the water wasn’t too high.

One year, during an unsuccessful few days of hunting some public land in northern Kansas, I decided to slip on some waders and go hunt some of the flooded timber areas nearby.  I saw more whitetails in the one afternoon in the timber versus the prior three days of hunting.  I didn’t get a shot on a nice buck, but it started to prove my theory about flooded timber.

Swamps

Swampy or low-lying flooded areas can be another good area to hunt that will be missed or avoided by most hunters.  A good friend turned me onto this tip when I went down to bow hunt with him in South Carolina.

He mentioned bringing waders as we might hit a swampy hunting area with several big bucks.  And it was a good thing I did bring a pair of waders as we hunted a piece of public land that included a large swampy area.  We ended up hunting in the swamp near a piece of dry high ground that deer were using as a bedding area.  On the second day of that hunt, I harvested my second largest buck (to date) taken with a bow.

Like hunting flooded timber, most hunters don’t want to wear waders and venture into a muddy swamp to hunt deer.  The deer have probably figured this out, which is why they stay in the swampy areas.

Traveling through a true swampy can be challenging due to the conditions, but it can be well worth the hassle.

#7 – Hunt the Second or Late Season Rut

Most states have a primary and secondary rut, which is the Whitetail deer’s mating season.  Probably 98% of hunters on public land focus on the primary mating season, which is the first mating season that occurs during hunting season.

However, there’s also a secondary rut period that occurs later in the hunting season.  Hunting the secondary mating season on public access land may be worth your time because there will be little to no competition from other deer hunters.  While the secondary rut has less activity than the primary rut, bucks are still active during this period.

#8 – Trail Cameras are Your Friend (Where Legal)

If legal where you hunt, consider using game cameras to gain insight into the whitetails movement and habits.  Game cameras offer an excellent opportunity to see images of deer in an area and develop intel to pattern their habits.

Again, where legal, I’d suggest setting up a few cameras during the pre-season scouting phase, as the information provided can be invaluable.

A few caveats about game cameras on public land:

• Not all public land regulations will allow the use of a trail or game camera, so be sure to research the regulations.
• Game cameras on public land are more likely to be stolen or removed, so I try to use older, less expensive camera models. I’m also a huge fan of cellular-based trail or game cameras that will send pics to your phone.  Using a cellular camera lets me see images without returning to the camera to manually check the S.D. card.

Let’s be honest, hunting on public land is not easy, especially compared to private land hunting.  However, you can be very successful on public land with a little planning and thinking outside the box.

Introduction to Hunting Clubs & How To Select the Best Club for Your Situation 20 Mar 12:02 PM (last month)

Finding a place to hunt is usually the largest challenge hunters face and I’m betting its the leading reason hunters opt to migrate out of the sport. The “where to hunt” dilemma has a few different solutions, and one popular solution is joining a hunting club. However, finding, evaluating, and choosing a hunt club can be challenging and costly. Here’s an overview of hunting clubs with information on how they function, how to locate one best suited for your needs, and things to be aware of before buying into a hunting club.

I’ve had quite a bit of experience with hunting clubs at various levels and will share some of those experiences throughout this post. My overall experiences with hunting clubs were good, but a few clubs left a bad taste in my mouth.

What is a Hunting Club?

A club is defined as “an association of people united by a common interest or goal.” A hunting club or hunt club is a term commonly used to describe a club or organization that offers paid memberships for the access and rights to hunt a specific property.

Most hunt clubs are set up as corporate entities for tax purposes and liability protection and function like a business. The club or organization has hunting rights on a specific property or properties, and club members pay a fee to gain access to those locations for hunting and other outdoor activities.

Typically speaking, hunt clubs are not the same as public hunting land, game preserves, or state-managed land. Instead, most clubs have access to privately leased or owned land, and the use is reserved for club members only. In addition, clubs adhere to the state-level hunting seasons and regulations, so members are required to follow those regulations.

Hunt clubs: Local vs State vs National

Hunting clubs generally exist at three levels:

• Local clubs
• State Level clubs
• National Level Clubs

Here’s a little more information on each level:

Local

Local hunt clubs are the independent ones that are local to your area. These are usually small to medium size operations with a membership that ranges from 3-4 members up to 30 members, depending on the volume of property the club controls.

This type of club is the most common and the style that most hunters are most familiar with. The membership dues for this type of club are usually annual and can vary greatly depending on the size of the club and the number of members. Clubs with fewer members are generally more expensive on average but have less hunting competition.

Most of my hunt club experience is with local clubs, and my experiences varied as some were great, some were decent, and some were just generally bad.

State

State hunt clubs are membership-based organizations that own or control multiple hunting properties all within one state. With this type of club, members can hunt at any location controlled by the club.

State-level hunter clubs tend to be more expensive than a local club but offer the hunter more potential hunting locations. Remember that these clubs are not state-sanctioned but usually feature hunting opportunities across the state.

State clubs tend to have a more extensive member base than a local club, and that number of hunters requires additional oversight and scheduling for hunting use.

I’ve seen these types of clubs in South Carolina, Georgia, Texas, and Kansas. If you don’t mind traveling or prefer the ability to hunt different properties throughout the season, a state-level club may be worth checking out.

National

A national hunt club offers members hunting access to properties across several states or areas. The national clubs are the least common and least popular as they are the most expensive option.

Some examples of national hunting clubs are the now-defunct North American Hunting Club and the National Sportsman Association. The North American Hunting Club (NAHC) had grandiose plans to be a national-level hunting club with locations in every state, but they went bankrupt well before that happened.

The National Sportsman Association is one of the better-known multi-state hunting clubs, although they are not really an actual national club as they only offer hunting properties in the Virginia and Maryland states.

The local club is still my favorite and most utilized option of these three types of clubs. Local clubs also tend to be the most cost-efficient and get the most use. So, if you’re researching hunting clubs, I would definitely lean towards a local operation over a state or national one.

How to Find a Hunt Club

Finding a hunt club is easy but finding the right hunting club for you is the challenge. There are several ways to find clubs for hunting, including:

Online Searches

There’s a reason that the “hunting club near me” and “nearby hunting clubs” auto-populate in search engines like Google: because plenty of other hunters are using that exact search phrase to locate hunting clubs.

That being said, internet searches are a popular method to start looking for a nearby club.

Craigslist/eBay/Facebook

Sites like eBay, Craigslist, and Facebook can be other venues to check, as I occasionally see hunt club openings listed on those platforms. Years ago, I found one of the best clubs I’m a member of on an eBay auction, so those opportunities are out there.

State Level Hunting Forums

Hunting forums that focus on a specific state are also an excellent place to search for hunting clubs and hunting leases. I’d suggest joining the forum first and contributing a little bit.

In addition to looking for club openings in a forum, you can also post in the wanted section and see if another member can recommend a local club with spaces.

One of our site staff at Hunter-Gear found a lease opening at a club from the North Carolina Hunt & Fish forum.

Choosing the Right Hunting Club

Once you’ve found an opening or openings at hunter clubs, the next step is to evaluate the club property, rules, and practices to see if the club is a good fit for you. This is a step that some hunters skip or kind of gloss over, and it can lead to problems. However, since you’re paying a fee to gain access to land being shared with fellow hunters, it’s worthwhile to thoroughly evaluate the hunting situation on several levels. So, when I’m looking at a club or lease opening, here are a few essential points that I like to understand:

Is the Club Land Leased or Owned?

I always want to know if the club land or lands are leased, where the club is sub-leasing, or are they owned by the club or by a club member?

I’m always interested to learn if the club is leasing the property, along with the terms and duration of the lease. In a perfect world, I prefer circumstances where the club has a long-term lease (more than five years) in place or a club member owns the land.

Things can get complicated when you’ve paid for a membership, and the club loses its leased land.

How Much Hunting Land is Included in the Membership?

The key here is huntable land, not total acreage. If a club is leasing a 100-acre plot of land containing a 10-acre lake, they only have 90 huntable acres (I’m not counting waterfowl hunting).

It’s essential to be clear when discussing the total acreage and habitat available versus the total number of huntable acres.

How Many Members are on the Roster?

The number of leased acres combined with the total number of club members plays a role in determining the hunting pressure on the land. For example, a club with 500 acres and 50 members is an average of 10 acres per member. Therefore, I’d prefer to pay a higher fee in a scenario with ten members on 500 acres.

Another related question to ask is, does the membership include family members? If so, the actual number of hunters in the club just went up significantly.

I once joined a club in northern Kansas with ten members accessing nearly 400 acres. Those numbers didn’t seem bad, so I went ahead and joined. However, every time I made plans to hunt, there were always far more hunters scheduled than expected. In some cases, more hunters were on the schedule for a day than the total number of club members. It turns out that the club membership included family members, and some members had large families, including uncles, brothers, cousins, etc. So, the ten members on nearly 400-acre lease information were really closer to 30 or so actual hunters using the property.

ATV Policy

The ATV policy is something that most hunters forget to ask about before joining a club, and it can really be an issue. Most good clubs have regulations in place stating ATVs can only be used during the following scenarios:

• Aiding a member with a physical disability or injury
• Handing stands before the season
• Retrieving game or transporting deer out after a hunt

I suggest avoiding clubs without an ATV policy or those that allow unrestricted ATV use. I’ve been involved with a club with no ATV policy, and the quality of the hunting suffered greatly.

Hunting Stands & Blind Rules

Ask about the club’s stand or blind policy regarding placement and use. Potentially speaking, this is a big deal, and the club policy must be crystal clear.

Most clubs use the following stand policy:

• The club provides the stands (as part of their dues or membership fees), and all deer stands are communal.
• The clubs offer communal deer stands for all members but will also allow members to install their personal stands (usually with limitations and prior approvals). Some clubs have rules that any hunting stand or blind you install is communal for use by any member, while others have regulations that only the stand owner can use the stand they own.

Since the stand location can play such a significant role in deer hunting success, who gets to hunt at what stand can become a point of contention.

Hunting Reservations

Reservations are another potential point of contention that can (and usually does) cause conflict at a hunting club. Ensure you are clear on the hunting reservation process and how far out reservations or bookings can be made.

Since most clubs operate on a first-come, first serve basis on reservations, they generally put a time cap on how far in advance a hunt can be reserved. This is done to prohibit members from booking certain portions of the hunting season (usually the expected rut and peak rut) years in advance.

I prefer clubs that use an online reservation system, so it’s easy to see the hunt calendar and reserve a spot at a specific stand. However, some people prefer the old-school way of scheduling where they have a single club contact point that serves as the focal point for all reservations. The single contact point reservation system is usually done via telephone, so there’s usually some phone tag involved.

The other thing to ask is the minimum time that hunts can be scheduled in advance. This time frame is essential when plans fall through or change last minute, and you now have an opportunity to hunt. You may miss a hunting opportunity if the club rules say that hunts must be booked at least two weeks in advance.

The scheduling system is another aspect that plays a significant role in my decision to join a club. An inadequate or archaic system without any rules usually causes nothing but problems.

Hunter Check-in & Check-out Process

Most clubs have some check-in and check-out process in place to keep track of where club members are hunting on a specific day. This process is helpful from a safety standpoint and helps prevent hunts from being ruined or spoiled by another member coming too close. In addition, the check-in process serves as a starting point in case of an emergency or situation where a member doesn’t return home after a hunt.

Typical examples of check-in & check-out programs include:

• Logbooks
• Dry Erase boards with stand locations
• Electronic check-in devices

I was a member of one club that issued a key fob to each member. That fob was used to open the gate and sign in to any reserved hunting stand.

Does the Club Have Insurance? If so, What is the Coverage?

With most organizations, the dues also include basic insurance coverage. However, some clubs require you to maintain your own liability insurance, which means additional costs associated with the membership.

Liability insurance is one of those things most hunters don’t think about until an accident happens. Therefore, I recommend clearly understanding the insurance coverage for any club or lease before joining.

What Type of Hunting is Allowed and When

For most clubs, whitetail deer are the main species being pursued. However, I also like to hunt other game species as well, so it makes sense to understand the club rules regarding the rules and regulations for game species other than deer.

I’ve seen clubs that won’t allow any other species to be hunted during deer season and some clubs that wouldn’t allow any species but deer to be hunted.

One club I nearly joined several years ago wouldn’t allow any other species to be hunted during deer season. Well, I was interested in doing some duck hunting at that site because they had a nice patch of flooded timber, but the internal regulations would have prevented me from doing any duck hunting until after deer season ended.

QDMA or Wildlife Conservation Practices

No one wants to pay money for membership if the club property doesn’t have a healthy population of deer. One way to help ensure a healthy population is through a deer management program. As such, I’d also suggest asking if the club practices deer management and asking for some examples of those practices.

For a well-run club, I’d hope to hear that they are practicing QDMA through:

• Supplemental feeding (Food plots or feeders)
• Antler minimum restrictions
• Doe culling
• Deer population count

Most clubs are happy to show you pictures of successful members who have harvested deer. However, if you only see pictures showing does and smaller bucks (four points or less), then deer management practices probably aren’t being followed.

In my home state of North Carolina, hunting deer with dogs is legal in certain parts of the state. One of my uncles had the chance to lease a nice piece of land that a deer dog hunting club had previously leased in the southeastern area of North Carolina.

I helped my uncle set up several trail cameras to do a deer census and get an idea of the deer population on the tract. He and I were surprised to see a low number of deer in relation to the large number of acres in the lease.

However, in conversations with the local game wardens, he discovered that the dog hunters had not followed any deer management suggestions and opted not to renew the lease because the deer population on the property had been steadily dwindling. My uncle decided to leave the property alone, and it took three or four years for the deer population to rebound.

Dog Hunting

If the club is located in a state, region, or area that still allows deer hunting with dogs, I’d ask the following questions:

• Is dog hunting for deer allowed on club lands?
• Do any of the properties adjacent to the club property allow dog hunting?

To be clear, I have nothing against deer hunting with dogs; it’s just not for me. However, unless you are specifically interested in hunting deer with dogs, I would not join a club that allows deer hunting with dogs or has any adjacent property used for dog hunting.

Repeatedly hunting deer with dogs will drive deer from the area, adversely affecting your hunting experience. In addition, deer hounds don’t understand land boundaries and frequently chase deer from one property to the next, which is why I prefer not to join a club with dog hunters using property or land adjacent to club lands.

Ask About Specialized Hunting Rules or Regulations

Some clubs may have special hunting rules and regulations that are above and beyond the state-level regulations. For example, one club I joined had a rule that all deer hunting had to be done from an elevated stand at least 8 feet off the ground. Club rules would not allow any stalking, ground blinds, or spot and stalk hunting.

Some clubs practicing QDMA guidelines may have a per-season deer limit lower than the per-season deer limit for the state where the club property is located or an antler minimum point rule. One club I hunted as a guest featured a regulation that members and guests could only harvest one antlered deer a season, although the state limit was two antlered deer per year.

It’s worthwhile to understand rules like that beforehand, as they could impact your willingness to join a specific hunt club.

Attend a Club Meeting Before Signing on

Since you may be sharing hunting club hunting space with other club members, it’s not a bad idea to attend a club meeting before joining. This meeting offers you the opportunity to meet some other members and can serve as a two-way evaluation opportunity for both parties.

Read the Club Contract or Agreement Carefully

Another tip is to make sure to read the club agreement entirely and carefully before signing the document or paying any dues.

This way, you can determine is dues or fees are non-refundable (regardless of the reason) and avoid any potential surprises that could arise later.

Review Secondary Club Benefits

In addition to hunting privileges, some clubs offer secondary benefits like a shooting range or a body of water for fishing.

While these can be excellent add-on features, especially for kids, you’re really paying for the hunting opportunities, so I’d focus more on that compared to the secondary features.

FAQS

Here are some commonly asked questions that I am asked in person or see being asked online regarding hunt clubs:

How do I cancel my hunting club membership?

There really isn’t a single across-the-board answer that will work for every situation, as the answer depends on the lease or membership agreement terms.

In most cases, the easiest way to cancel the membership is by not renewing for the upcoming year. So that’s the approach that I usually take. However, in some cases, I’ve been able to cancel mid-year and get a partial refund.

Most club membership paperwork contains the terms that address that situation, so I’d review that paperwork or documentation first.

How much should I pay for membership fees or dues at a good hunt club?

Dues or membership fees for a hunting club can range anywhere from a few hundred dollars a year to several thousand dollars a year. The costs associated with a membership are usually determined by the following:

• Overall acreage of hunting property
• Number of members (fewer members usually equals more expensive fees)
• The quality of deer management (some of the really expensive clubs have part-time QDMA certified specialists that help with herd management)

Typically speaking, the more costly dues or memberships are associated with higher quality properties and greater opportunities for trophy deer. One of my good friends lives in Kansas and once joined a higher end hunt club with $5000 a year in dues. Thanks to some serious deer management practices, he had access to some of the largest deer I’ve ever seen on camera. No matter how you look at it, hunt clubs are a pay-to-hunt arrangement with varying costs associated with each hunt.

Unless I come across a club with a few really big boy bucks on camera, my typical membership budget is in the $800 to $1500 a year range (depending on the circumstances). That being said, I’ve come across clubs with open memberships that weren’t even remotely worth their asking price and other membership opportunities that were an absolute steal.

Are deer hunting clubs worth the money?

There are so many variables in that question that it’s impossible to answer. However, hunting clubs can undoubtedly be worth the money depending on the quality of the club land, the number of members, and your personal situation. This is especially true if you have limited hunting opportunities from a free time perspective and want to make the most of those chances to hunt.

Another factor to consider is how much you plan to hunt. For example, if you typically deer hunt on public land twice a year, then the costs associated with a hunt club may not be worth it for you. But, if you hunt ten times a season, and are chasing some antlers for the wall, then the costs may be a great value.

I’ve been involved with hunt clubs that were both. Some were a great value, and I more than got my money’s worth out of the costs, while some were absolutely not worth the money I invested.

Ultimately, deciding if a hunter club is worth joining can be tricky. However, by asking questions focused on the considerations I mentioned above, you can gather the necessary information that is helpful in the decision-making decision-making process.

Ultimately, deciding if a hunter club is worth joining can be tricky. However, by asking questions focused on the considerations I mentioned above, you can gather the necessary information that is helpful in the decision-making process.

What is a Deer Lease and How Do They Work? 20 Mar 9:44 AM (last month)

Finding a good place to hunt has become one of the biggest obstacles for most modern-day hunters. One potential approach to securing a place to hunt is via a deer lease (also known as a hunting lease). However, hunting leases can be tricky, especially if you aren’t familiar with the leasing process. So, let’s answer this question: what is a deer lease, and how do they work?

Understanding a Deer Lease

A deer lease is a formal agreement between a hunter or group of hunters and a landowner, property owner, or land-holding entity. The lease terms allow the hunter or hunters (commonly called the lessee) to access the land for specific purposes over a specific time period.

In most cases, a hunting lease or deer lease involves the hunter (lessee) paying an agreed-upon amount to the landowner (commonly called the lessor) to access this private land for agreed-upon activities over an agreed-upon term.

In layman’s terms, a deer lease is like renting an apartment; only instead of the apartment, you’re renting hunting rights to the property for a certain amount of time.

Types of Deer Leases or Hunting Leases

There are several types of hunting lease formats being used today, and here are the most common formats:

No-Fee Lease

A per-hunt lease is a short-term lease agreement between the landowner and a hunter, allowing the hunter or sportsman hunting rights for a single hunt with no fees. These types of leases are most common on private land where a land owner allows a family friend to hunt their property at no cost, but wants a written agreement (usually a lease or leasing agreement) in place for legal or liability reasons.

Per-Hunt Lease

A per-hunt lease is a short-term hunting lease agreement between the landowner and a hunter hunter and landowner or property manager, allowing the hunter hunting rights for a single hunt. These types of daily leases are most common on hunting ranches or lodges. However, per-hunt arrangements can also be made with private landowners as well.

Per-Season Lease

Much like it sounds, a per-season lease is a short or long-term leasing agreement allowing a sportsman to access the land for hunting only during hunting season. Some landowners prefer this type of leasing arrangement and refer to it as a “season to season lease.” Leasing hunting season to hunting season offers the landowner more flexibility to increase the leasing fees in line with market conditions or inflation.

Per-Acre Lease

A per-acre lease is a hunting lease agreement where the lease is based on a combination of acreage and term. The per-acre lease is the most common hunting lease style and usually offers the lessee year-round access to the property. Many hunters prefer this style of lease as it offers the most flexibility and can typically support a number of hunters.

Per acre leasing also offers the hunter or hunters the best opportunity to practice quality deer management (commonly called QDM) practices and habitat improvements, if desired.

For most hunters, a per acre lease offers the best value to access private hunting land.

Why Consider a Hunting Lease?

A hunting lease or deer lease offers advantages over other hunting land arrangements like hunt clubs, buying land, and public hunting land. A few examples of those advantages include:

Leasing land is significantly less expensive than buying land. In addition, the lease offers the opportunity to hunt the land on a short-term basis without the commitment associated with a land purchase.

A hunting lease is less restrictive compared to a hunt club membership and offers significantly more hunting flexibility than a hunt club.

The hunting pressure and competition on a hunting lease are significantly less than what is commonly seen on public hunting land and hunt clubs.

Depending on the lease terms and state laws, leased hunting land usually offers the option for deer plots, supplemental feeding, and the placement of hunting blinds.

However, hunting leases also come with some downsides, including the following:

The single most significant disadvantage to a hunting lease is the cost. Deer and hunting leases tend to cost substantially more than hunt club memberships and far more than public land.

Most leases are on a shorter-term basis, so the leasing costs increase over time, and external competition for the lease usually increases as well.

How Much Does a Deer Lease Cost?

In today’s market, a hunter can expect to pay lease rates between $10 and $65 per acre. The dollar figures per acre vary significantly across the United States and depend on several factors such as:

Size of the Hunting Parcel

The number of acres being leased plays a role in pricing as most leases are based on a per-acre cost. However, larger tracts of land with higher acreage usually see a decrease in the average price per acre.

Species Available on the Land

A piece of property that primarily has deer on it will most likely cost less per acre than a tract that offers an opportunity for deer, turkey, and waterfowl hunting.

Although we are primarily focused on deer hunting for this post, it’s worth noting that leases for specialized hunting, such as upland birds or waterfowl hunting, can be more expensive per acre than the average deer hunting property.

Quality of the Available Game Species

A tract of land that was previously leased for hunting will most likely cost less per acre compared to a parcel of land that hasn’t been previously hunted or a tract of land with excellent deer genetics. A parcel of leased land under QDM is generally priced higher than an unmanaged tract of land.

Land with verified images of trophy deer, turkey, or other species of wildlife will most likely command a higher price than land without verified evidence of a few trophy deer, or some photographic inventory of the wildlife species.

Quality of the Land Tract

The overall quality of the land itself, along with its geography, can play a role in the lease pricing as well. For example, a tract of land with a diverse ecosystem of hardwood trees, fields, ridges, etc., may command a higher price than a tract of land with only pine trees or 90% open fields.

Let me also make an observation about land that has been timbered or where the trees have been harvested for wood. I’d be a bit careful about leasing a tract of land that has been heavily logged, and here’s why: once land has been logged, most landowners will replant pine trees only because pine trees grow much faster than hardwood trees and will be available to log again sooner than a hardwood tree species.

Hardwood trees provide most of the mast crop (mast is nuts like acorns, walnuts, etc.), which is a major winter and fall food source for whitetails. Unfortunately, most pine tree species only produce pine cones, which deer don’t care to eat. Not having a mast crop available for deer means that you may struggle to keep a healthy deer population on that specific land tract without food plots.

My experiences with pine land leases have been so-so. I’d be hesitant to lease a piece of property that had been heavily logged without seeing some trail camera data to get a feel for the whitetail population in the area.

 Of course, that’s just my experience, and yours may be the complete opposite.

Included Amenities or Benefits

The lease cost can also be impacted by any amenities or benefits the property offers. For example, a tract with a clubhouse, building, or fishing pond will most likely cost more per acre than the same tract of land without those benefits. Hunters may be interested in those types of amenities and be willing to pay slightly higher lease rates.

I typically look for hunting land for lease that includes a pond or lake so I can take my kids fishing.

Lease Market Value

Another component of deer lease pricing is the current market value of comparable leases in the surrounding area. For example, if most leases in an area seem to be going for $20 per acre, expect to pay at least that amount or more.

Availability of Leased Land in the Area

In addition to the market value of hunting leases in a specific area, the number of available leases can also impact leasing costs. The fewer the number of available hunting leases in an area drives the price per acre up, while an abundance of available leases in an area may push the price per acre down.

Hunting Lease Terms and Conditions to Consider

There really isn’t a universal leasing format universally used for hunting leases. Because of this, the deer lease documents come in all different designs and layouts. While I can’t go over every single aspect of what may or may not be included in a lease, here are a few things to be aware of with leases:

ATV or Offroad Vehicle Usage

Check the lease for ATV access or a specific supplement on ATV usage. Some landowners may have an issue with ATVs and may not want an ATV to be ridden on their property.

If you encounter a lease that prohibits using an ATV, consider this as activities like hanging deer stands, hauling deer out, food plot preparation or maintenance, etc., may become more difficult without the help of an ATV.

If ATVs are allowed on the land, be clear about the landowner’s rules for cutting or maintaining the ATV trails.

Are Permanent Stands Allowed?

Check to see if the lease contains verbiage that defines a permanent deer stand, and then see if the lease prohibits or allows the lessee to add or build permanent deer stands. The definition of a permanent stand varies from state to state, so it’s essential to understand what constitutes a permanent stand in your state.

If permanent stands are prohibited, you’ll have to use hanging, portable, or self-climbing tree stands.

Terms of The Lease

The lease term defines the amount of time that the lease is valid. For the hunter, longer is always better, while most landowners prefer a shorter lease period, like 1 to 2 years. However, if you know the land to be leased will work for your needs, I’d try to get the lease for at least three to five years if possible.

Are Food Plots Allowed?

Before signing a deer lease, check to see if the landowner will allow food plots to be planted or any supplemental feeding to occur. Food plots are integral to deer management and may require some land to be cleared, tilled, planted, etc., so the owner’s permission is needed.

If the landowner doesn’t allow food plots (and some may not), then see if they will allow deer feeders to be utilized.

Identify any Off-Limits Game Species

Some landowners may include restrictions in the lease prohibiting certain game species from being harvested off a tract of land.

I’ve had leases where the owner had a provision saying that turkeys couldn’t be hunted and another landowner who wouldn’t allow black bears to be hunted.

Review the lease thoroughly to ensure you know exactly what species are included or prohibited by the lease.

Hunting Lease Insurance

The last major lease-related topic I want to discuss is hunting lease insurance and how it works.

Most landowners assume a certain amount of liability risk when allowing hunters to access their land because the hunter could get hurt and sue the landowner. In addition, a landowner could potentially sue a hunter for any damage (accidental or otherwise) done to their land.

To protect both parties in the lease agreement, I highly recommend specialized insurance called hunting lease insurance. Hunting lease insurance goes by several names, including hunt club insurance, hunting land insurance, and leased land liability insurance.

This type of insurance protects the landowner and the lease hunters, their families, and guests in the event of an accident or injury.

Most landowners will require proof of hunting lease insurance and/or will want to be added to the policy as well for coverage. Even if the landowner or leasing company does not require hunting lease insurance, I strongly suggest you still get it to protect yourself and anyone else on the lease.

Many insurance companies specialize in this type of insurance, including the following well-known providers:

• American Hunting Lease Association (Ahuntinglease.org)
• Locktonaffinityoutdoor.com (which underwrites for the NRA)
• Outdoor Underwriters (outdoorund.com)

Read the Lease Thoroughly Before Signing

My last recommendation is to read the deer leasing document thoroughly from front to back, reviewing each lease provision. Most land leases are written to favor the landowner, so keep that in mind as you study a lease.

I will also go one step further and suggest that you have an attorney review the lease for any potential issues you may have missed. You’re signing a contract of sorts, so it pays to be clear on the contract terms.

Hopefully, this post has given you a better understanding of deer leases and how they work.

10 Ways to Improve a Deer Hunting Property 20 Mar 8:16 AM (last month)

One of the most common ways to grow more giant deer on a property is to follow or utilize some QDMA guidelines. While I agree with about 95% of the more common QDMA (Quality Deer Management Association) guidelines, I also have a few that I’ve found to be especially helpful for growing bigger deer.

Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to help customers improve the deer herd on various tracts of land and manage my own leased properties. So, let’s talk about the ten suggestions I’ve found to be the most effective for growing bigger deer on a property.

Expected Time Frame of These Suggestions

Almost anytime I have these “how to improve a deer hunting property” conversations at my day job, one of the first questions I hear is, “how long are these improvements going to take before I see results?

Most of the suggestions below are actions that will take a few seasons to show results. Most all QDMA deer management is geared towards the long haul as it takes time to grow larger, more healthy deer.

Some of the suggestions will potentially show results in one to two seasons after implementation, while other improvements may take years to deliver results.

Having realistic expectations of the improvement process is essential, so you don’t lose faith and abandon the plan after one season.

10 different Approaches to Enhance a Deer Hunting Property

Here are ten different land improvements for hunting land that has moved the needle for me and resulted in larger bucks:

#1 – Add Food Plots or do Food Plot Diversification

Chances are, if you’re reading this post, you already know what a food plot is, but, just in case: a food plot is a man-made area planted with a specific crop for animals to use for feeding. A deer food plot aims to offer a supplemental food source for deer during times when natural food sources are less available.

Food plots are utilized in several different ways:

• Food or Nutrition only plot – This type of plot is grown as a food source and is not hunted.
• Hunting plot – A hunting plot is planted to draw deer, and its primary focus is on hunting deer.
• Combination plot – This type of food plot serves as a food source and hunting location. (the most common)

If you already have a food plot or plots established on a tract of land, consider adding more plots featuring new or different food sources. The idea here is to offer more diversified food sources so the deer can feed on your plots throughout the fall and winter.

For example, if you already have two food plots on your land with a crop of corn and winter wheat, consider adding a third plot planted with a Brassica-based crop.

I firmly believe that a more diverse food offering results in healthier deer in the long run.

#2 – Conduct a Controlled Burn

A controlled burn is an intentionally set fire designed to burn the ground cover of a specific area. The idea behind a controlled burn is to burn off ground cover (dead leaves, fallen trees, dead logs, etc.) to make it easier for new growth to emerge. Controlled burns are designed to be done in small areas under very specific conditions.

A properly executed controlled burn can do wonders for a section of property that is barren or has little natural growth. However, controlled burns come with a substantial amount of risk as they can easily get out of hand and cause millions in damage.

Having participated in controlled burns before, I’d consider them a high-risk/high-reward type of activity that takes at least two years to show tangible results.

If you’re considering a controlled burn for your whitetail property, I’d suggest the following:

• Make sure that you have any necessary permits in place before the burn.
• Put the local fire department on stand-by for the burn.
• Only consider a burn during ideal conditions. I always tried to schedule mine about 12-24 hours before a good, solid rain.
• Only target a small burn area
• Dig trenches around the burn area to contain the fire.
• Move with the burn as it progresses, and steer it away from trees that you want to keep.

Your local fire department or agricultural office can be an excellent resource on controlled burns and how to conduct one.

#3 – Add Mineral or Supplemental Blocks

Just like humans, deer require certain minerals, salts, and vitamins in their diet for optimum health. Typically, they acquire these compounds as part of their natural diet. However, when their natural food sources become scarce, they can become deficient in these compounds. And that’s where a mineral block or salt block comes into play.

A mineral block or salt block is an artificial block of minerals, vitamins, or supplements placed for deer. They usually are offered in a block format (hence the “block” name) and perform best when partially buried in the ground at strategic locations for deer. Then, the deer lick the block to access the minerals.

Since minerals and vitamins play a direct role in antler development and overall deer health, adding a few mineral blocks to a property is a cost-effective improvement where results can be seen as soon as two seasons.

#4 – Plant Trees and Shrubs for Added Food Diversity

With this suggestion, we are targeting specific types of trees, shrubs, and bushes on a whitetail deer’s menu as another avenue of food diversity.

The trees that I like to plant include:

• Apple trees
• Pecan trees
• Persimmon trees
• Wild Plum trees

The bushes I typically plant include:

• Honeysuckle
• Muscadines
• Blackberries
• Raspberries

With this approach, you can either buy an existing juvenile of the specific tree species and then pay someone to transport and plant it, or you can do it the old fashion way and plant the yearlings or seeds yourself.

I prefer the second option as it’s significantly less expensive but takes the longest to show results. The trees take longer to grow and bear fruit, while the shrubs and berries can start showing berries after two to three seasons.

It’s important to understand that most of the plant and tree species on this list may not make it to maturity. However, if they do, they can become a self-renewing source of deer food for years to come.

Years ago, I was permitted to plant several fruit trees on a tract I was leasing. So I planted several apple trees in one corner of the property and left them alone. It took about three years, but they grew pretty well, and almost half of the trees made it to maturity. Now, they produce a healthy crop of apples annually for the deer and other animal species.

#5 – Manage the Buck to Doe Ratio

The buck to doe ratio plays a huge role in the overall health of the local deer herd. QDMA recommends a ratio range of 1:1 to 1:3, which means one doe for each buck or a maximum of three does for each buck.

The ideal way to manage that ratio is to perform a census during the antler season (when the bucks are easy to identify), then cull the does accordingly.

I’ve found one of the easiest ways to reduce the doe population is to sponsor or allow kid-only hunts where only does can be harvested. It offers kids or teenagers a chance to hunt deer and helps you by reducing the doe population.

Some states will also allow does to be culled out of season with special permits, as long as the meat is donated to a homeless shelter or an organization like Hunters Feeding The Hungry.

Another way to impact the buck to doe ratio is utilizing antler size or age requirements for bucks to be harvested.

#6 – Let Your Bucks Grow

One of the single most significant steps a hunter can take to improve their deer population is to let the bucks on a property grow and mature. With Whitetail deer, one year can significantly affect antler size. The difference between a 1.5 year old buck and a 2.5 year old buck is noticeable. However, the difference between a 1.5 year old and a 3.5 year old can be dramatic.

As a kid, my grandfather told me he tried to shoot all the “small fork horn” deer so the “big deer” could keep growing. Now we know that some of those old-school deer hunting beliefs were just wrong from a biological standpoint. Intentionally shooting a fork horn or small 4-pointer is potentially harvesting a future 6 or 8-pointer.

There are two standard methods in QDMA to let bucks continue to grow, and both involve using antler size restrictions for harvesting a buck. Those restrictions include:

Restriction based on antler size or number of points

With this approach, a buck should not be taken unless he meets the minimum antler width size or a minimum number of points. So, for example, a buck should not be harvested unless its antlers are as wide as its ears, or it has to be a minimum of 6 points. But, of course, those just example restrictions, and you can always impose more aggressive restrictions if you want to see more immediate results.

Restrictions based on the age of the deer

This restriction uses the estimated age of the deer as being eligible to harvest. For example, some hunting clubs have rules that no buck under four years of age can be taken. The downside of this approach is the difficulty with aging bucks in the field.

Between the two methods, I much prefer the required number of antler points as that number is far easier to evaluate and less open to speculation than the age of a buck.

However, neither approach is foolproof as you could have an exceptional 2.5-year-old 6-pointer who meets the minimum point requirement for harvesting but will be a future monster if allowed to continue maturing.

#7 – Add Deer Bedding Areas

This suggestion involves taking steps to increase the cover options on your property. Does and bucks need a certain amount of cover to rest and bed. If your land doesn’t have enough cover, the does will travel to an area that has enough cover to make them feel safe.

To improve your property, consider taking steps to provide additional bedding cover. Most does prefer to bed near a food source, so try to offer some cover near a food source.

Here are a few suggestions to create some cover for deer:

Plant Evergreen Conifers like White Pine or White Spruce

I prefer to plant these in patches of 4 to 5 or plant a few 15 to 20 feet off a field edge. These evergreens will grow quickly and become thick, especially at ground level. They can be an excellent bedding area for does. And, come rut, where you have does, you’ll have bucks.

Hinge-Cutting small trees

Hinge cutting has become all the rage over the last few years as a means to provide cover for bedding deer. Hinge cutting is a technique where the trunk of a small tree (say 6 to 8 inches) is partially cut with a saw. The tree is then pushed over to its lying on the ground.

Since the trunk hasn’t been completely severed, a portion of the tree will continue to live for several years, and its branches will continue to germinate and flower. The deer can feed on the tips of the branches when they first bud, and the partially down tree also offers a form of side cover for the deer.

I generally hinge-cut in small groups to create a pocket of cover near a food source. However, I wouldn’t suggest trying to hinge-cut any tree with a trunk larger than 8 inches, as it can get dangerous.

Perennial Grasses

I like planting perennial grasses as they come up quickly and can grow several feet high. While they don’t offer any food value for whitetails, they provide an excellent mid-height form of cover once they have matured.

My favorite perennial grasses are:

• Switchgrass (my favorite)
• Prairie Cordgrass
• Plumegrass

#8 – Use Trail Cameras to Monitor Herd Health

Most hunters use trail cameras or game cameras to see the number of deer on a property and to identify bucks that are mature enough to harvest. I get that approach and do the exact same thing.

However, you can also use trail camera information to monitor the deer year round and keep up with their overall health.

In addition to having game cameras on food plots and feeders, I also have cameras set up on known deer trails all over the land I lease. The camera images are sent to my phone, and I use that data to estimate the number of deer on my land, as well as what trails are being used the most.

Once you start seeing the same deer over and over, you can begin to see minor identifying marks that will help you identify them in the future. I keep notes with an estimate of the current population on my lease, including the doe-to-buck ratio.

You can also use cameras to identify deer that appear sick, diseased, or injured. Then, you may be able to use that data to legally cull them from the herd (under specific circumstances).

For example, a few years back, during the summer, I started seeing trail cam pics of at least two deer that were obviously sick as they appeared to be struggling to walk, laying down on the trail, unsteady on their feet, etc. I contacted my local conservation officer and showed him the pics. He thought it might be EHD, and I was able to get a special permit to harvest those deer for EHD testing. I was able to locate the two in question and put both down. Unfortunately, both subsequently tested positive for EHD. So, keeping tabs on the herd year around can be beneficial.

#9 – Deploy Deer Feeders in the Winter for Controlled Supplemental Feeding

I’m not going to get into the whole pro and con debate about using deer feeders here, although I might write something in the future.

The idea behind this suggestion is to use deer feeders to offer another food source during the winter. Typically, the winter and post-rut periods are when bucks need nutrients the most but may struggle to find natural food sources.

A deer feeder or feeders can offer a secondary food source for both does and bucks during those hard times. Most hunters use deer corn as a feeder food source, but other food source options will also work in a feeder.

If you are on the proverbial fence about this approach, consider deploying a single feeder and monitoring the results with a game camera.

#10 – Recognize and Leave Natural Food Sources Alone (if possible)

One of the biggest mistakes I see hunters and landowners make on hunting property involves harvesting the timber or doing select cut timber harvesting.

If the trees being harvested are hardwoods, you may inadvertently be removing or reducing the mast crop, which can be a significant Whitetail food source.

If mast (which are the natural nuts like acorns) are a primary food source for the deer in your area, harvesting the lumber may adversely impact the herd.

To be clear, I’m not saying you shouldn’t harvest the timber, but I am saying that you might want to consider a plan to replace the mast crop with another food source that will be readily available under the same time frame as the mast crop.

One option would be to add one or two more food plots with a crop that performs well in the fall and winter.

Another potential option would be to timber with a select cut process which should leave at least 50% of the hardwood trees producing mast.

Which Improvements Offer the Fastest Results?

Of the ten property improvements that I’ve discussed above, the two that seem to provide the fastest noticeable results for me have been a combination of the following:

• #5 – Manage the Buck to Doe Ratio
• #6 – Let your Bucks Grow

Combining these two suggestions, you should start seeing bigger deer within two years.

FAQS

Here are some commonly asked questions that I see regarding methods to grow trophy whitetail deer:

How many deer is optimal per acre for a healthy deer herd?

Honestly, I don’t believe there’s a universal answer to that question because herd health primarily depends on the habitat. And, since not all habitat is equal in quality, the ideal number of deer per acre can vary wildly depending on the geography.

Here’s a real example to help explain:

I reside and hunt in the SE portion of North Carolina, which typically has a fairly healthy deer population due to the habitat and presence of commercial agriculture crops as a food source. One of my college roommates and hunting buddies was born, raised, and currently resides in the western part of North Carolina.

The western portion of NC is predominately mountains and doesn’t have the habitat and food sources to support the same number of whitetails as the state’s eastern portion. Therefore, the difference in the habitat directly impacts the number of deer per acre between the two geographical areas.

Not only does my buddy see fewer deer (both in person and on camera) compared to me, but the deer he sees are typically smaller in size (especially the does). While he does see some very nice bucks, they appear to generally have less body mass compared to the big buck trail cam pics from my area.

In addition, the region he hunts has a significantly shorter season (in terms of when his deer season begins and ends) compared to the season dates where I hunt. My rifle season begins nearly 4 weeks ahead of his rifle season opening day. This difference in the length of the season between the two of us is strictly tied to his area having a smaller deer population.

Differences like these make it impossible to assign even a rough number to the optimal number of deer per acre.

Instead, I’d suggest talking to a deer biologist or wildlife biologist from the state where you hunt. Those folks will have a much better idea of the average number of deer commonly seen per acre in your area.

How do I make my deer land better?

Any of the ten suggestions provided above are steps in the right direction to improve the land for your deer population.

The quality of the habitat and available year-round food sources play a significant role in the health of a deer herd.

The two steps that will make the most significant improvements in the quality of the deer on any land are:

• Control the doe-to-buck ratio and keep it under a one buck to three doe ratio
• Don’t shoot any buck under three years of age or one that has antlers smaller than 6 points

Assuming that you can keep the deer on your land, these two steps will provide excellent results in the shortest amount of time.

Understanding The Buck To Doe Ratio, And How It Impacts Deer Population 20 Mar 6:37 AM (last month)

Deer populations are an essential factor in assessing the overall health of the herd. As such, it’s beneficial for deer hunters and land managers to have a good understanding of deer population dynamics. One critical tool for analyzing these populations is the buck to doe ratio. In this post, I’ll explore what this ratio means, how it can be used to assess deer populations, and why it matters for managing and preserving a healthy herd of deer.

The buck-to-doe ratio is simply a comparison between male (buck) and female (doe) deer in any given area at one point in time. It’s often expressed or written as either “bucks per doe” or “does per buck.” This ratio can tell us a lot about the size, success rate, sex-ratio bias, age, and overall health of a deer population.

Before I get too far along in this post, let’s start by defining the terms “bucks” and “does.”

Defining A Buck

A buck is an adult male deer, typically identified by the presence of antlers. Most deer management guidelines classify a male deer as an adult at the 1-year mark.

Buck harvest data can provide insight into the current state of buck populations; for example, it can help determine if there are enough bucks present to maintain a healthy breeding population. However, it’s important to note that not all adult bucks will have full-grown antlers; immature males should still be counted in a deer census. Therefore, when studying buck populations, it’s essential to consider both the number of mature bucks and those that have yet to reach maturity.

The next step in this discussion is defining a doe.

Defining A Doe

A doe is a term used to describe a female deer, an essential member of any deer population. However, it’s important to note that the lack of antlers does not automatically label a deer as a doe, as immature male deer may not have antlers during the first year of their life.

The term “adult doe” refers specifically to adult females that have reached sexual maturity and are at least 1.5 years old. It’s important to understand this because doe harvest rates often differ between age groups due to size, weight, or antlerless permit restrictions (with those parameters varying by state). Therefore, the ratio of bucks-to-does within a given area has significant implications for the health of both the buck and doe population, especially when skewed towards either gender.

Why Does The Buck To Doe Ratio Matter?

The buck to doe ratio significantly impacts deer populations and local herds’ overall health. When it comes to quality deer management, maintaining balanced sex ratios is essential for ensuring healthy fawn recruitment rates and positive population growth. As such, understanding how this ratio affects the herd can help inform hunters, landowners, and land managers’ decisions when managing deer populations in their area.

For example: if there are too many bucks relative to does, then competition among males will be fiercer as they compete for reproductive rights with limited resources available from fewer females. Since bucks don’t really feed much during the mating season, this increased competition from an overabundance of males leads to bucks being in a weakened state. This weakened state leads to higher mortality rates amongst bucks due to illness, harsh winters, and lack of sustainable food sources.

On the other hand, if there aren’t enough bucks in comparison to does, then reproduction may suffer due to a lack of breeding partners, resulting in lower fawn production rates and ultimately leading to a decrease in total deer population numbers over time.

Additionally, too few adult female deer may mean that young fawns lack adequate nutrition or protection from predation due to reduced maternal care or supervision.

In order to ensure optimum health and productivity of local deer herds, proper maintenance of the buck-to-doe ratio is vital. The right balance between sexes allows both adults and juveniles to thrive while also providing enough breeding opportunities so that the population continues growing steadily year after year.

What’s The Ideal Doe To Buck Ratio

Ah, the million-dollar question: What is the ideal buck to doe ratio for a deer herd?

Before we get into answering that specific question, let’s take a look at why the doe-to-buck ratio matters.

Here’s a breakdown of why this matters:

• Sex ratios are essential in assessing the current status of any given species population, including deer herds.
• Skewed sex ratios (too many bucks or too many does) can lead to poor reproductive outcomes, leading to fewer fawns being born each year and thus impacting overall population numbers.
• Knowing the optimal buck to doe ratio helps ensure that there are enough animals available for both hunting and conservation purposes.

While deer management experts have varying opinions on the “ideal” buck-to-doe ratio, most agree that the ideal ratio ranges from 1:1 to 1:5. To further explain, in a one-to-one ratio, there will be one buck for each doe, and in a one-to-five-ratio, there will be one buck for every five does.

In my opinion and experience, the larger ratios, like 1:4 and 1:5, are harder to maintain because they require a larger buck and doe harvest annually. When possible, I prefer to stay in the 1:1 to 1:3 range. In my years of trying to manage hunting properties by QDM guidelines, I’ve never been able to maintain a ratio of 1:4 or up comfortably.

I find it much easier to maintain a 1:1 to 1:3 ratio, and those ratios are sustainable over time, with a focus on antlerless deer harvests.

Here’s a working example of a buck to doe ratio approach:

Say you manage a 500-acre tract of land, and this land typically supports one deer for every 10 acres. The number of deer that a property supports per acre is commonly called the carrying capacity or deer capacity per acre. So, a 500-acre tract would carry 50 deer (500 / 10). Depending on your desired ratio, the numbers would break down as follows:

• 1:1 = 25 bucks & 25 does
• 1:2 = 20 bucks & 30 does
• 1:3 = 16 bucks & 34 does
• 1:4 = 10 bucks & 40 does

Let’s use the 1:4 ratio and work off that number.

If you factor in an estimated fawn survival rate of 50% for the 40 does (assuming all the mature does give birth), that equates to 20 fawns surviving to adulthood.

In that scenario, as a land manager, you would need to harvest or remove 20 deer during the hunting season. To stay in line with the desired 1:4 ratio, you would need to remove ten bucks and ten does.

If you decided to move to a 1:2 ratio, then you only need to harvest eight bucks and eight does under the scenario above. This 1:2 ratio may be advantageous for a hunter as they only need to remove ½ the number of deer compared to a 1:4 situation.

Typically speaking, the higher ratios lead to a more significant number of bucks on a property but sacrifices a focus on quality mature bucks. Conversely, the lower ratios lead to fewer overall deer but place an emphasis on developing larger, more mature bucks.

Keep in mind that these numbers are just example estimates and don’t take into consideration factors that may be specific to your situation.

Is a 1:1 Buck to Doe Ratio the Best?

While most deer biologists recommend a 1:1 or 1:2 ratio for optimal growth, there may be some situations where a 1:1 balance is not ideal for a property and could actually hurt the deer population in the long run.

Here are some examples of those scenarios:

Transient Deer Herd

If you manage a property with a highly transient deer herd; then the 1:1 ratio may not be ideal. A transient deer population is one that routinely leaves the property that you manage or own. Transient deer can cause issues with inaccurate deer counts, which, in turn, can create problems with doe-to-buck or buck-to-doe ratios.

If your deer count or deer census is substantially off or varies significantly from one count to the next, then applying a one-to-one ratio may reduce the population too far or not enough.

Here’s a real-life example of how a transient deer herd can throw your deer count off:

I used to manage a 200-acre tract of hunting land that was a nice mix of hardwood trees, pine trees, and open fields. The property featured a diverse amount of natural food sources for the deer year around, and I supplemented the food with a few deer feeders during the winter.

The property next to this one was a 400-acre tract that had been logged for timber, and then replanted with pine trees. It was leased by a hunt club and did not have a great deal of natural food sources. As such, the club members aggressively used deer feeders as a supplemental feeding source, but only during the winter months.

During the spring, summer, and fall, the bulk of the deer population stayed in or around the property that I managed. However, during the winter, they transitioned over to the hunting club property because they had 25 or so deer feeders, dispensing food twice a day, deployed around the property.

So, my whitetail count numbers were higher in the summer and fall but lower in the winter. If I only did one deer count a year, and it happened to be during the winter months, the number of deer on my property would be incorrect from a seasonal standpoint. Taking any action to correct or adjust the deer sex ratio based on those incorrect numbers could have led to herd health problems.

Deer Disease Outbreak

The second potential problem with keeping a 1:1 deer ratio involves an outbreak of disease or illness that kills off a large number of deer within the herd.

The two most common diseases that could potentially create this situation are:

• Chronic Wasting Disease (Commonly called CWD)
• Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (Commonly called EHD)

An outbreak of either of these diseases can potentially cause a significant reduction in the deer population locally. If you use a 1:1 deer sex ratio for management, an outbreak can reduce the deer population well under that ratio, which may impact the fawn birthing cycle for the next few years.

However, if you are operating on a larger 1:2 or 1:3 ratio, the impact of losing several deer to disease is less noticeable within the herd. In addition, those larger ratio herds will rebound from the losses quicker compared to a 1:1 ratio herd.

How To Calculate The Deer Ratio

There are several different methods of counting the number of deer on a specific tract of land, but my preferred method is a trail camera survey.

I prefer this method as I already utilize trail cameras at feeders, so, in my case, half the work is already completed. Here’s how I like to do my surveys, but keep in mind that this is just my preferred way, and several different methods work just as well.

I try to focus on doing surveys in late August, as most bucks have developed antlers, which makes it easier for identification purposes. Also, I set my cameras to take pictures every three minutes, which saves space on the memory card versus having it go off every 60 seconds.

I start having the feeders dispense feed (corn is my go-to for surveys) and set the feeder to go off once daily (which also saves on battery life). I let this continue for a week so that the deer get accustomed to visiting the feeder. In a perfect world, I try to run at least one feeder for every 100 acres, although that may not always be possible.

After completing the first week, I start the survey and let it run for fourteen days. Some deer biologists recommend a week, but I prefer to go two full weeks as it gives me more deer images to work with.

At the end of the 14 days, I pull all the memory cards and start analyzing the data. I create folders on my computer and give each folder a buck number. Then, as a buck is identified, I place all his images that are gathered over the two weeks into a single folder. I’ll do the same for does, but only if they have a unique mark or are easily identified.

Over the years, I’ve tried several different computations to determine the buck to doe ratio, but I prefer this one from Mossy Oak:

Total pictures of bucks = X

Total pictures of unique bucks = Y

Total pictures of adult does = Z (not fawns)

Doe multiplier = B

Y÷ X = A (Percentage of Unique Bucks)

A x Z = Number of Does

Y ÷ B = Buck to Doe Ratio

This is reprinted directly from the Mossy Oak site, and more information about this formula can be seen here: https://mossyoakgamekeeper.com/wildlife-conservation/wildlife-habitat-management/buck-to-doe-ratio/

Methods To Reduce The Doe Population

Once the buck to doe ratio is calculated, understanding how it impacts the deer population becomes clearer. There are two primary methods to reduce a deer population:

Antlerless deer harvest

An antlerless deer harvest refers to the harvesting of young bucks or antlerless bucks as part of a whitetail management program. My preferred approach is to let a new hunter or young hunter harvest one of these deer under supervision. This approach is beneficial for both the land manager or property owner, and helps introduce the next generation of hunters to the sport.

Doe harvest

With this approach, only does are harvested or culled to get the doe population down to a target number.

I typically do these doe harvests under the following conditions:

1. Allow hunters who are explicitly seeking does or are more interested in meat versus antlers to cull the does.
2. As previously mentioned, allow a young hunter or new hunter to come in and harvest a doe as their first deer.

In summary, effective management strategies such as antlerless deer harvest, whitetail management practices, and limited doe harvest all play an important role in managing deer populations efficiently and sustainably.

FAQS

Here are some frequently asked questions that I routinely see dealing with buck-to-doe ratios:

Is the buck to doe ratio really that important?

The answer depends on one’s approach toward the desired level of deer management on one’s hunting property. For example, if you happened to be a hunter who only hunts a few times a year, has plenty of deer on their hunting property, and isn’t concerned about antler size; then the buck-to-doe ratio may not be something to be concerned with.

However, if you’re a hunter who is focused on harvesting mature deer and antler size or development is your primary goal, then the doe-to-buck or buck-to-doe correlation is definitely worth reviewing.

What is the best buck to doe ratio?

If you posed this question to ten different land owners or land managers following QDM principles, there’s a very good chance you won’t receive a universal answer. I don’t believe that a universal “best” ratio exists because so many variables come into play when evaluating the health of a deer population. That being said, most deer biologists advocate a buck to doe ratio ranging from 1:1 to 1:4. I find that 1:1 and 1:2 seem to provide the best results for the properties I manage.

How should a hunter or landowner determine which does to cull to maintain a proper buck to doe correlation?

When culling does for whitetail management, I try to even apply the culling to both older and younger does. So, for example, if I need to cull eight does off a property, I’ll target four more aged does who are in the later stages of life and four younger does who may have only given birth for one season. With this approach, I’m trying to focus on keeping the middle-aged does who are in their reproductive prime.

My research and experience have shown me that there is no one-size fits all solution when it comes to maintaining a balanced buck to doe ratio– every region requires its own unique strategies. But what I’ve found is that by following specific guidelines, such as creating suitable habitats for bucks, implementing hunting regulations, and monitoring birth rates, one can significantly improve the quality of mature bucks on a tract of land.

How Often Do Deer Visit Scrapes? The Answer Might Be Surprising 19 Mar 1:26 PM (last month)

A whitetail deer’s greatest weapon is its highly acute sense of smell. Based on that information, it’s no surprise that scent is their primary method of communication as well. Not only is it the scent they carry on their bodies, but also the specific scents they leave behind. The primary way that deer leave their scent is through a scrape and licking branch (which is usually located right over the scrape location. So, with almost any conversation about deer scrapes, there comes a question of how often do deer visit scrapes?

I find scrapes one of the most fascinating behaviors exhibited by whitetail deer, as it seems to be a way to communicate social, sexual, and physiological messages from deer to deer. I’ve been fortunate enough to have watched hundreds of hours of trail camera videos and images of both existing scrapes and scrapes being created.

What Is A Deer Scrape?

A deer scrape is an area of the ground that a buck has marked with his hooves and antlers. These areas typically have been cleared of leaves and ground debris and can range from a few feet wide to several feet in diameter.

Most scrapes are made just under a low-hanging tree branch, commonly called a “licking branch” or “marking branch.” In my experience, the buck identifies the licking branch first, then creates the scrape area directly under that branch.

Deer signs such as tracks, droppings, rubs on trees and other structures, bedding sites, and feeding sites accompanying a scrape can all provide clues about how often bucks visit these areas.

If you do any research on deer scrapes, you’ll likely see that some deer biologists even break scrapes down into more specialized categories like:

Community scrape

A community scrape is one that several different deer, including does, visit. These scrapes are generally located in areas where several deer paths or trails converge. These are typically large in size and may give the false impression that they were done by a large mature buck. Bucks will also use these sites as gathering points where they can assess the size of potential competitors before engaging in combat or courtship displays.

In my youth, I once hunted over one of these scrapes for days with the idea that a monster buck had made this monster scrape, only to find out it was a community scrape being visited by several bucks and does regularly.

Primary scrape

A primary scrape is one that is visited often and is typically located in a strategic area near bedding or feeding areas. Most of the primary scrapes I’ve found are located within 100 yards of a bedding area. Although these scrapes are primarily visited at night (as most scrapes are), they can be an excellent area to hang a stand as you may catch a buck cruising to bed.

Secondary scrape

A secondary scrape is one that is created and then not visited regularly. This type of scrape is more often created by a younger buck and is only visited a few times, then forgotten.

Boundary scrape

Boundary scrapes are done by bucks in an effort to define their territory. Boundary scrapes are visited frequently and may be visited by more than one buck. Most boundary scrapes are found along game trails, old logging roads, and field edges. A key point with boundary scrapes is that they are typically located in close proximity to another scrape forming a line (which I’ll get into more detail below).

Mock Scrape

A mock scrape is an artificial, man-made scrape designed to attract deer. Hunters create them in an effort to draw in a mature buck that comes into the scrape to mark it with his scent. The ongoing debate about the effectiveness of mock scrapes is worthy of a separate post, which I’ll try to complete here before long.

What’s A Scrape Line?

A scrape line is a series of scrapes that bucks use in traditional mating and territorial behaviors. These scrapes are most commonly found along game trails and travel corridors where deer move throughout the woods. A scrape line consists of several individual scrapes located within close proximity to one another, sometimes forming an almost continuous track across the landscape.

A scrape line can provide hunters with helpful insight into deer behavior and habitat selection, especially before the rut. In addition, by observing these areas with trail cameras, you can gain some knowledge about how often and when bucks revisit these territorial markers.

The Typical Scraping Process

In my experience, the scraping process starts when a buck identifies a specific area he wants to mark. He then identifies a licking branch or low-hanging branch that he can use for scent marking. He then licks and chews the branch while rubbing his forehead, snout, and mouth over the branch.

Once that is completed, he will use his forelegs to scrap away the leaves and other debris on the ground in an effort to get to the bare earth. Once the spot is successfully cleared of debris, the whitetail buck then aggressively urinates on the bare soil. This urine serves as both a territorial warning and contains pheromones to help him attract a receptive doe.

The entire process is designed to leave as much of his scent as possible on the ground and on the low-hanging branch.

Here’s a great video of a huge buck actually creating a scrape:

How Often Are Bucks Coming to a Scrape?

Although bucks continually mark their territory with scrapes year-round, the peak season for scrape activity is October to December, during the pre-rut, rut, and post-rut phases. During the peak of the rut, scraping activity will be at its highest.

It’s also worth noting that the age of the buck population in an area also seems to play a role in the level of scraping activity. Bucks that are 2.5 years old and up seem to be more aggressive in their scraping activity versus bucks that are under 2.5 years old.

While the younger bucks so visit scrapes, they are less likely to mark the scrape with their scent. Deer biologists believe this behavior may be tied to their unwillingness or lack of interest in challenging a mature or dominant buck.

Large whitetail bucks may not return to every scrape they create; instead, they tend to focus on a few specific scrape sites in order to maintain their condition over time. Scraping activity tends to peak around the full moon when visibility is at its highest.

During this period, mature bucks may visit up to six to ten different scrapes per night while monitoring any changes since their last visits. This behavior helps those bucks keep track of other bucks (and possibly does) in the vicinity.

Unfortunately, deer biologists have learned that as much as 85% of all scraping activity occurs at night, so hunting directly over a scrape (even an active one) may not be a sure thing.

Hunting Over a Scrape

Specifically hunting over a scrape is one of those hotly debated topics in the deer hunting world. For the most part, I prefer to view scrapes (especially a fresh scrape) as a sign of deer activity in the area, but I don’t find that hunting directly over a scrape (even an active one) is the best use of my time in the woods. Since only about 15% of scrapes are visited by deer during daylight hours, hunting a scrape with the expectation that a mature buck will specifically visit is a long shot in my book.

That being said, I do believe that hunting around a scrape can be potentially beneficial in two specific scenarios:

During the Rut

Scrape activity is most aggressive during the rut, so hanging a stand near a scrape can be beneficial, but probably not how you think. Scrapes attract does as well as bucks, and where there are does, bucks are sure to follow during the rut.

This approach can be especially effective in situations where you can’t pin down a specific food source that the does are using.

Hunting a Scrape Near Another Attractor

Hunting over a scrape with hopes that a big buck visits during shooting hours is a low-percentage approach. However, hunting near a scrape with another deer attraction nearby can be worthwhile.

For example, I’ve had some success hunting an active scrape that is near a known bedding location. In that situation, I try to hang a stand downwind from the active scraped area because, in my experience, most mature bucks seem to come around a scrape from the downwind side. While they don’t seem to go directly to the scrape in daylight hours, they are moving in the area. Also, I have a chance to encounter them entering or exiting the bedding area.

FAQS

Here are some commonly asked questions that I see about deer scrapes and how often they are visited:

Do does make scrapes?

While I’ve never seen a doe create a scrape, I have seen does visit scrape sites many times. I’ve never witnessed a doe paw the ground or urinate at a scrape, but I have observed them leaving their scent on the licking branch.

When do deer make scrapes?

Deer scrapes are created throughout the year as a means for bucks to mark their territory or area. Depending on the location, mating-based scrapes are typically created in late September to early November.

So, technically speaking, bucks never really stop creating scrapes throughout the year.

Are mock deer scrapes effective?

Mock scrapes can potentially draw in some deer, but, in my experience, they struggle to compete with a natural deer scrape. Even with the use of commercial scents, a mock scrape just doesn’t have the same draw as a natural deer-made scrape.

Does every scrape have a licking branch?

Most scrapes have a licking or low-hanging branch that deer use for scent-marking purposes. However, I have encountered a few scrapes that did not appear to have an associated licking branch. I suspect that they were done by young bucks and may have been their first attempt at a scrape.

How High Should a Deer Feeder Be Off The Ground? 18 Mar 1:46 PM (last month)

Visit any deer hunting forum, and you’ll probably see several debates about over how high should a deer feeder be off the ground. Some hunters say that the feeder should be mounted as high as possible to make it more difficult for varmints and pests (like squirrels) to reach the food, while others believe that a lower height makes it easier for deer to feed. So, which is right? And what are the benefits and drawbacks of each? In this blog post, we’ll take a look at the pros and cons of each approach so you can make an informed decision about how high to hang your deer feeder.

Why is Deer Feeder Height Important?

The height that a deer feeder is mounted can potentially impact several aspects of feeder management and feeder effectiveness. Here are a few factors to consider:

• Feeder Height in Relation to Ease of Feeder Refill
• Efficiency of the Feeder in Relation to the Height
• Feeder Damage by Animals Trying to Access the Feed in the Feed Hopper or Barrel

Let me dive a little deeper into each one of those points:

Feeder Height in Relation to Ease of Feeder Refill

The higher the feeder is located off the ground, the potentially more difficult it can be for a hunter to refill the feeder. Obviously, several factors come into play in this scenario, including the type of feeder (handing feeder, tripod feeder, gravity feeder, etc.), the feed capacity size of the feed hopper or barrel, and how often the feeder has to be refilled.

For example, a tripod feeder may require the owner/hunter to use a ladder to access the hopper for refilling. Hanging feeders are usually mounted via a cable, so I find those easier to refill than a tall tripod feeder or a gravity feeder mounted several feet off the ground.

Quick story to illustrate my point: Several years ago, I had issues with an average-sized black bear damaging one of my tripod feeders when attempting to get to the deer feed being stored in the feeder. So, I decided to spend the money and upgrade to a taller and more heavy-duty tripod feeder. When I took the feeder out to the leased property for set-up, I also took a standard step ladder with me for use in filling up the new feeder.

Once the new tripod feeder was set up, I realized that I had failed to consider the height of the new taller feeder and my standard step ladder was not tall enough to work with the taller feeder height safely. So I bought a new multi-position combination ladder and had to return to the feeder a few days later to fill it. The moral of that story: taller is great, but you have to consider the height for feeder management.

Effectiveness of the Feeder in Relation to the Height

I find that mounting a feeder higher than average is helpful as it can (but not always) help deter pest species like squirrels and raccoons from raiding the feeder. Keep in mind that it’s nearly impossible to completely discourage squirrels and raccoons from trying to raid a feeder. Still, the increased height (along with some other preventative steps like a varmint guard) can offer some deterrence. Mounting a feeder so the feed is dispensed 3 feet off the ground makes for easy pickings for a determined squirrel or raccoon.

Tripod-based feeders are usually built with a fixed (as in non-adjustable height), so you don’t have many options to change the height on a tripod feeder. However, hanging feeders are a different story, and the height can usually be adjusted. In addition, some gravity-based feeders offer height adjustment, but it depends on the specific style and design.

I also find that deer seem less skittish around feeders mounted higher off the ground than models mounted at their eye level. This is especially applicable to tripod-based feeders that make loud noises when the feeder activates. That activation noise can scare deer away if the feeder is mounted at the deer eye level. Mounting them higher seems to disturb the deer less when they activate.

However, I don’t find that the higher is better approach is applicable with gravity-based feeders that don’t have any moving parts or make any noise when the feed is dispersed.

Feeder Damage by Animals Trying to Access the Feed in the Feed Hopper or Barrel

I’ve somewhat already alluded to this issue above, but certain animal species may attempt to break into the feed storage area of a feeder trying to access the stored feed. Usually, when this happens, the feeder incurs some damage. The amount of damage is somewhat tied to the animal species. Squirrels and raccoons may chew holes in the hopper, but the larger animals like cows, hogs, and bears do the most damage.

However, moving the feeder to a higher point off the ground won’t solve all those animal issues. For example, no matter what steps you take or how high the feeder is mounted, a determined squirrel will find a way to get to the feeder (just like they find a way to get to a bird feeder). On the other hand, raccoons are heavier than squirrels and less acrobatic, so moving a feeder higher off the ground may offer a decent form of deterrence (depending on the feeder type).

Wild pigs (also called wild hogs) may try to push a tripod-style feeder over to access the feed and will damage the feeder trying to get into the feed storage. If you have a feeder in an area with cows, they may also try to push a tripod-style feeder over and break into the feed hopper.

All those situations are potentially unpleasant for the feeder owner, but the real problem animal species are black bears.

Bears are the Real Problem

Over the years, I’ve had all different types of deer feeder units and styles that were damaged by several different animal species. However, no animal species I’ve dealt with so far does as much damage to a feeder as a black bear.

If a black bear takes a liking to a deer feeder ad makes up its mind to break into the feeder, it’s probably game over for that feeder. Even a small Black Bear will absolutely destroy a deer feeder to gain access to the feed. And, even worse, may periodically return to that feeder location later and destroy the replacement feeder that you set up.

I have some pics of a few of my feeders destroyed by black bears, and I’ll try to find them and post them on this page as examples.

If I have a feeder that a black bear hits, here’s what I usually do:

Knowing that they will usually return to that deer feeder again, I switch the feeder at that location over to a hanging deer feeder. I mount the feeder to a cable suspended between two trees, at least 25 feet apart. The feeder is placed in the middle of the two trees and mounted at least 10 feet off the ground. The cable is too small for a bear to climb, and the feeder is mounted far enough from a tree to stop a bear from jumping from the tree onto the feeder. Being mounted 10-12 feet high is usually high enough to prevent a Black bear from reaching it from the ground.

While this feeder set-up is a pain in the butt to configure, I’ve yet to have a bear successfully breach a feeder mounted in this position. Due to the amount of work involved in this anti-bear feeder configuration, I generally only deploy this set-up after a bear has destroyed an existing feeder. In addition to the work involved in this configuration, refilling the feeder is also a bit of a challenge.

To be clear, I can’t take credit for this bear-resistant feeder concept as I saw it on a hunting forum a few years back and decided to give it a try.

However, I’d much rather take these steps than keep replacing feeders.

What’s the Best Deer Feeder Height?

That’s a difficult question to answer for several reasons:

While several feeder manufacturers offer general guidelines for feeder installation, there is not a universally accepted or universally recommended feeder height rule or recommendation.

As mentioned before, you may have or own a feeder style or type that has a fixed height, so it can’t be adjusted. The factory design or factory-built specifications are the only height available.

There isn’t a one-size-fits-all deer feeder that works in every possible feeding scenario. Deer feeder set-ups vary across the United States based on:

• Land typography
• Land type
• Weather
• Specific needs
• Feeder mission (For example, are you using the feeder as a hunting location or a means to keep deer around one spot).
• The different species competing for the feeder food (for example, you may not have Black Bears in your area).
• The different feeder styles (tripod, gravity-based, hanging feeders, etc.)

All those different factors make a one-size-fits-all recommended feeder height virtually impossible.

If possible, I prefer to mount my feeders at least 6 feet off the ground (or higher). I find the 6-foot minimum or higher to work best for my needs. But, again, that’s just my personal preference, so don’t take it as gospel.

Hopefully, this information helped provide some context about the ideal feeder height question.