DeerFever.com

Author: James L. Bruner

For many this may sound like a no-brainer simply because of the sheer numbers of deer that abound on your average farm that plants nearly any crops. And that statement rings fairly true especially when the crop is corn, pumpkins, cabbages, and gourds. Not to mention numerous grains that deer devour like candy. But we’re not talking about just knowing deer are there or for that matter seeing deer. I’m talking about the hunting of these animals that already have an abundance of food, ideal cover, and a plethora of trails that lead to and from the immediate woodlots.

I’ll jump back in time here to a day when I met a country girl that lived in the middle of farm country and her grandparents owned 160 acres of property that more or less had never been seriously hunted. We’re talking deer central here and the deer seemed as though they were oblivious to human presence. Maybe it’s because they had gone so many years without any encroachment into their core areas except for the occasional stroll from a family member. In any event it was a daily occurrence to see whitetail in the field, walking the edges of the woods, browsing in the center of the fields, or walking in and out of the corn. New to hunting farm country, but not new to hunting deer, I thought this would be a cake walk. Think again. I got schooled the entire early archery season by a bunch of deer that I thought weren’t even paying attention. But that’s alright because now I can come back and be the teacher with the lessons I’ve learned.
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Author: James L. Bruner

I hear it quite often that a hunter doesn’t rattle for deer because it simply doesn’t work in their region. That’s completely false and personally I would like to see their research that they based this statement on. Rattling antlers for deer is nothing more than calling for deer and I doubt any hunter would challenge traditional forms of calling as a viable technique used in hunting. In fact if you are to bring this into technical terms rattling is a form of communication. It may not be an intended action of calling by the deer itself but it serves as communication to other deer that something is taking place that they may want to investigate or, perhaps, avoid.

I will give the benefit of the doubt to those who say that rattling doesn’t work in their area simply for the fact that this is not a tactic that provides a high percentage of results. In this respect it is like calling with a grunt tube or a doe bleat. You just don’t expect that a deer will come running although you have the expectations that a nice buck or a big doe is going to appear at any moment. You need to be diligent and persistent to achieve the reaction you are seeking from the buck.
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Author: James L. Bruner

Typically I write about techniques and tactics for the deer hunter who is already acclimated into the sport and in several cases these articles pertain to advanced deer hunting techniques for a more advanced hunter. Imagine the knee-jerk reaction I got when I recently got my eyeballs on some statistics that documented the terms people were using to find some of these articles which were very obscure. In fact it was very easy to identify that a large number of these people were brand new deer hunters or hunters who had just been introduced to the sport. It became apparent that my language regarding certain aspects of hunting was probably above comprehension not because of their IQ level but because of their lack of experience in both hunting and talking to other hunters. Quite honestly it brought me back to my childhood recalling some of the deer stories as we sat around the table at camp and the adults would weave a tale of deer hunting like a painter splashing colors on a canvas. I didn’t know half of what they were talking about so I nodded my head in agreement. So that’s where this article comes in. Strictly right down to the basic bare bones of some common deer terms and techniques for those who care to know.
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Author: James L. Bruner

It happens to nearly every hunter at one point or another where everything is piled up weeks behind where they should be. For some it’s business schedules, others it’s family issues, while for another group it’s just a plain old lack of discipline and desire to do the work involved in scouting out a proper deer hunting area. I can’t change your desire to scout earlier in the year and some would say these people don’t belong in the woods, but I won’t judge anyone here. Instead let’s hop on the quickest trail to a productive deer hunt.

First of all let me jar your memory for a second and remind you once again how important field notes and outdoor journals can be. If you spend a lot of time in the woods throughout the year you probably have crossed paths, literally, with several places that caught your attention as possibilities for an upcoming deer season. A good friend of mine use to lament about the time I would spend viewing deer trails when we were fishing the river banks of some secret brook trout hotspot. It’s just a natural reaction for me to always have an eye open looking at my possibilities. This is where your notes come in handy as your memory might be a tad sketchy on the location. In hindsight I have to admit that most of these areas that were found by chance have turned into good standby and even primary hunting spots. If you have such an area in mind, and it fits into your now restrained schedule, it’s probably a good time to have a closer look. In essence search your notes and mind for these little possibility places before running off to the woods hoping for the best.
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Author: James L. Bruner

When we speak of whitetail transitioning or deer hunting transitions this doesn’t always refer to the changes in land structure or parcels of property. Transitions can also mean that time or period where the whitetail deer, or elk for the matter, changes it’s daily routine. This is often prompted by weather and the time of year where physical changes have been taking place in the animals body and are nearly peaking to heightened levels such as estrus or rutting. These physical changes can demand different requirements just as a nursing doe needs more enriched foods to sustain her milk production for the fawn. This, as well as the loss or appearance of new food substances throughout the year can pull or push the deer into other areas of their home range. In essence they are transitioning into another phase of survival or breeding for the year and your recognition of this change can help you fill your tag. Since the two areas of transition can affect and encourage one another I will tackle both in this article.

First lets take a look at areas of land that transition because these alone can hold deer year round and play an important role in a deer’s daily movements.
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