White-tailed Deer
Photos courtesy of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources
Posted September 29, 2009
By Art Lander Jr.
OutdoorsKentucky.Com
Buck Disappearing Act
Why do mature bucks seem to disappear in September, just as weather conditions improve for early season bow hunting?
“Once they lose their velvet, older bucks won’t tolerate each other’s presence,” said Bill Winke, an Iowa landowner, columnist for Petersen’s Bowhunting magazine, and host of MidwestWhitetail.Com. “Bachelor groups break up, and older bucks abandon open fields during daylight hours.”
Bucks that can be observed and filmed feeding in fields on almost any given afternoon, suddenly go into hiding.
Well, not exactly, but they can relocate miles away, or go nocturnal, staying put, hunkering down in heavy cover until it gets dark.
“Bucks have seasonal ranges. They disperse,” said Winke.
Whitetail experts agree that only a small percentage of older bucks stay in the same range nearly all year. “It’s very puzzling. Most big deer we film during late July and August, we never see during hunting season,”
Winke uses trail cameras to monitor bucks as they move into their fall ranges. Here are a few of his suggestions on trail camera use:
Place a trail camera where you think a buck is entering a field to feed at night. If a tree isn’t available, mount the trail camera on a metal fence post. Don’t risk jumping deer by placing cameras in the woods.
You should be able to drive to camera sites. Farm deer are used to the sound of tractors or pickup trucks driving through fields.
When checking the camera, retrieve the memory card, and replace it with an empty one. Upload images to your computer, then erase the images off the memory card. That way you’ll have a fresh supply of memory cards to use in your cameras.
Where legal, use bait (shelled corn), to lure deer into camera range for two or three weeks prior to the opening of hunting season. Keep cameras operating throughout bow season, to obtain the latest information on a buck’s location.
Posted December 26, 2009
By Art Lander Jr.
OutdoorsKentucky.Com
The First Eight Years of the New Millennium --
The Era of the Big Buck in Kentucky
When observers of natural history look back at the first decade of the New Millennium in Kentucky, they may say it’s the era of the big buck. Take a few minutes to browse Kentucky’s record books for deer and you’ll probably agree.
The listing of the top 100 typical and non-typical white-tailed deer taken in the Commonwealth is the center spread of the Kentucky Afield Outdoor Calendar for 2010, published by the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources.
Compared to other states in the Midwest, Kentucky has had huntable populations of deer for a relatively short time. Records date back to the 1950s, but a statewide huntable herd wasn’t established until the 1980s. In fact. Perry County continued to receive stockings of deer until the mid-1990s.
The most amazing statistic is that 50 percent of the record typical deer on the list have been taken since the year 2000. Kentucky’s record typical was killed by Robert Smith in Pendleton County during the 2000 season and scored 204 2/8. The North American record for a typical white-tailed deer is 213 5/8.
Incredibly, all 100 of the deer on Kentucky’s record typical list scored high enough to easily qualify for the Boone & Crockett Club Records of North America (minimum 170 points). In fact, the 100th deer on Kentucky’s record typical list scored 175 0/8.
Lewis County, a northeastern county along the Ohio River, has produced the most record typical deer on the list -- seven. In fact, four of the top 13 typical deer on the list were taken in Lewis County.
Casey, Edmonson and Ohio counties each produced four deer on the typical list. Sixty-nine percent of the typicals on the list were taken since 1990.
The non-typical list is equally impressive, with the state record scoring 271 7/8, a set of antlers found in 2004 by Chris Crawford in Henry County. The North American non-typical white-tailed deer record is 333 7/8, a head found in Missouri in 1981. All 100 deer on Kentucky’s non-typical list easily qualify for the Boone & Crockett Records of North America (minimum 195 points).
Thirty-seven percent of the non-typicals on Kentucky’s Top 100 record list were taken since 2000, including seven of the top 10.
Pulaski County produced five deer on the list, followed by Breckinridge, Hardin and Hart, with four each. Sixty-seven percent of the non-typicals on the list were taken since 1990.
These must surely be the “Good Old Days” of deer hunting in Kentucky, a decade that will be hard to top in the record books.
Michaella “Mikie” Monroe, shows off the mount of the 26-point buck she killed during the October, 2009 youth season.
The 14-year-old took the buck with a .243 rifle in Spencer County. It scored 219 5/8, which places it in the top 30 of Kentucky’s non-typical white-tailed deer record list.
Photo courtesy of Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Resources
Posted February 9, 2010
By Art Lander Jr.
OutdoorsKentucky.Com
Kentucky Archers Placed 47 High-Scoring
Bucks in Pope & Young Club Records Since 2000
During the first nine seasons of the decade (2000-2008), Kentucky archers placed hundreds of bucks in the Pope & Young Club record books, including 47 from Kentucky’s top 50 list of archery kills for deer with typical and non-typical antlers.
Founded in 1961, the Pope & Young Club is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization devoted to fair chase bow hunting, conservation, and the wise use of natural resources. Their scoring and records program are patterned after the Boone & Crockett Club.
In all, Kentucky archers have entered a total of 899 deer (830 typicals and 69 non-typicals) in the Pope & Young Club record books.
Kentucky’s number one typical buck scored 188 2/8, and is 33rd on the Pope & Young Club all-time list. The buck was killed by Tim Raikes in Marion County in 1996. Twenty-two typical bucks on Kentucky’s top 50 list have been taken since 2000.
Kentucky’s number one non-typical buck scored 215 0/8, and is 114th on the Pope & Young Club all-time list. The buck was killed by C,J, Brummett in Caldwell County in 1998. Twenty-five non-typical bucks on Kentucky’s top 50 list have been taken since 2000.
By comparison, through the 2008 season, bow hunters in Illinois have entered 5,968 typical bucks and 643 non-typical bucks, in Iowa, 3,407 typical bucks and 403 non-typical bucks, and in Kansas, 1,981 typical bucks and 297 non-typical bucks.
The archery organization is named in honor of pioneer bow hunters Dr. Saxon Pope and Arthur Young, whose exploits during the early 20th century drew national attention to hunting with bows and arrows.
Annual membership is $35.
For information, visit their website at: www.pope-young.org
Posted August 26, 2010
By Art Lander Jr.
OutdoorsKentucky.Com
Get In, Get Out Undetected
Real Secret to Whitetail Success
Picking the right entry and exit route to your treestand or ground blind might be more important to success in deer hunting than where you actually hunt.
“I’d much rather hunt a marginal stand location, where bucks don’t know they’re being hunted,” said Bill Winke, who gave a deer hunting seminar at the recent Quality Deer Management Association national convention in Louisville. “I’m scouting for hidden access routes. Good deer sign is easy to find.”
Winke believes traveling undetected when entering and exiting a hunting area is the real secret to whitetail success. He’s deer hunted an average of 60 days a season for the past 20 years and manages 1,200 acres in south-central Iowa.
He also goes to extreme measures to stay hidden from the keen eyes, ears and noses of deer. “If a big buck knows he’s being hunted, you can forget it,” Winke said. “Chances are you’ll never see him again during the season from that stand.”
The strategies he outlined will work anywhere during both archery and firearms deer seasons.
“I like to get in fast and quiet,” said Winke, a columnist for Petersen’s Bowhunting magazine and publisher of MidwestWhitetail.Com. “If deer don’t know you’re there, you’ve got a good chance at getting a shot.”
Winke strives to emulate the old saying, “the first time you hunt a treestand is the best” every time he hunts. This is true regardless of the number of times he’s used a particular treestand.
He uses gullies, creeks, standing corn and fencerows to shield his movement.
“I don’t like to go in (to a stand) in the dark,” said Winke. “I want it to be just light enough to see my feet so I won’t step on sticks and make too much noise.”
If downed timber or brush clutters a route, he often goes in before the season and clears the way with a chainsaw. However, Winke cautions that mowing paths to treestands with a tractor can cause problems.
“Deer will sometimes adopt a mowed path as a trail,” he said, “and catch your scent on the ground where you’ve been walking.”
Stands should be approached from down wind, or cross wind, as long as the hunter’s scent is not being blown in the direction deer are expected to approach.
“I like to hunt on windy days, especially when I’m going through standing corn to get to my tree,” said Winke. “Standing corn screens your movement and the rustling covers the sounds of walking.”
He stays away from his best stands on calm days. “Deer can hear you approach from a long way off when it’s quiet in the woods.”
Winke resists the temptation to sneak around his hunting area before the season.
“You need to match normal human activity whenever possible, and park where deer expect vehicles to be parked,” said Winke. “Don’t park too close to where you are going to hunt. Park at a house or beside a barn and take the long way in to your treestand.”
He checks the trail cameras he positions on the edges of fields from a pickup truck. “I mount my trail cameras on metal fence posts,” Winke said. “That way I can drive right up to the camera, replace the memory card with a blank one, and drive off.”
Driving tractors and trucks around a hunting area mimics normal farm traffic, and doesn’t alert deer to danger, like a human on foot does.
He encourages hunters to set their stands and trim the trees well in advance of the season opening day.
An avid bow and muzzleloader hunter, Winke concentrates on does (antlerless deer) in October and bucks in November.
His favorite time to hunt is when the bucks are cruising, just prior to the onset of breeding. “That usually falls between Nov. 5 and Nov. 10, with Nov. 7 being my favorite day to be in my best treestand,” Winke said.
Kentucky’s 135-day archery season begins Saturday, Sept. 4. At the beginning of archery season, Kentucky deer are focused on food. Fields of clover, alfalfa, or sprouting wheat, planted as a cover crop, are good places to hunt.
Pick a tree that provides good cover in a fenceline for your treestand, or a brushy area in the corner of the field for a ground blind. Early in the season the wind predominately blows from the west or southwest, but frequently shifts to the northwest with the advance of cool fronts.
Facing your stand northwest is the ideal positioning for hunting cool front. That way you’ll have the sun set over your left shoulder, and the wind in your face. Deer approaching from upwind won’t be able to smell you, and you’ll be hidden in the shadows as the sun moves to the western horizon.
Early in the season, concentrate on hunting in the late afternoons, especially during the first and last quarter moon periods. This is when the moon is a thin crescent and positioned at 12 o’clock in the sky at dusk. Deer are most likely to converge on feeding areas before dark during this time.
Modern gun deer season opens Nov. 13 statewide. The season runs until Nov. 28 for Zone 1 and Zone 2 counties and until Nov. 22 for Zone 3 and Zone 4 counties.
For other information on Kentucky’s 2010-2011 deer season, visit: fw.ky.gov.
Posted October 12, 2011
By Art Lander Jr.
OutdoorsKentucky.Com
Better Accuracy From Your Bolt-Action Rifle
With some pre-season preparation, deer hunters will be ready to close the deal when a shooter buck walks into range this November. Becoming a better shot in the field just takes some attention to detail.
The first step is improving the accuracy of your hunting rifle. For many Kentucky deer hunters, the tool of choice is the bolt-action rifle.
Find a competent gunsmith who can accomplish these three procedures – adjusting the trigger pull, free-floating the rifle’s barrel, and bedding its action – and you’ll notice a big difference immediately.
A new rifle, right out of the box, and many used ones, are likely to have a very heavy trigger pull, which makes it practically impossible to shoot accurately.
“The more force it takes to pull the trigger, the more the gun moves. On average, trigger pulls are set at five to six pounds at the factory,” said gunsmith Mike Ezell, who lives in Auburn, Kentucky, and specializes in rifle work.
There are two options – adjust the factory trigger, or replace it with an after-market trigger.
“The ideal trigger pull is about three pounds, but whether or not that can be done is dictated by the design of the trigger. Some triggers can’t be set that low,” said Ezell. “Safety should always the first concern when adjusting trigger pull. Installing a good after-market trigger is the best option, for everybody’s safety.”
If the trigger pull is set too light, the gun can go off if the bolt is closed aggressively. This is called a slam-fire.
Trigger creep, or the distance the trigger must travel before the gun fires, can be detrimental to accuracy, too. “There has to be some creep, but your rifle should have a smooth, clean trigger pull,” said Ezell.
The good news is in recent years, the manufacturers of the most popular brands of hunting rifles have improved the quality, and adjustability of their triggers.
The next step to improved accuracy is focused on getting the rifle to shoot more consistent groups. “I’ve never seen a gun that didn’t benefit from free-floating the barrel and glass bedding the action,” said Ezell. “It’s all about barrel harmonics.”
The gunsmith’s job is to minimize the factors that contribute to erratic barrel vibrations, one major cause of inconsistent groups. Barrels vibrate in a circular motion, as the bullet travels towards the muzzle, riding on the grooves and lands cut into the rifle’s bore.
Free-floating a rifle’s barrel is especially important on rifles with wooden stocks, since moisture and humidity can affect where and how the wood touches the barrel, causing inconsistent vibrations of the barrel. Gunsmiths use files to remove wood in the barrel channel, in the forend of the stock, so the barrel “floats.”
Glass bedding of the action should be done at the same time as the barrel work. “You don’t want the action to move in the stock,” said Ezell. “The action should be solidly mounted, without twisting or stress, so it fits like a glove.”
A loose screw will also cause erratic groups. The screw that holds the action in place should be tightened to the correct torque setting, which can vary from rifle to rifle, even rifles of the same make and model. Find the exact tightness of the receiver screw and there will be a noticeable effect on the size and consistency of shot groups.
Ammunition is another important accuracy consideration.
While reloading offers the hunter the best opportunity to tailor ammunition to a specific rifle, there are other options that are less expensive and time consuming.
First, do a little research online. Data posted by bullet companies are a good source of information on what bullet weights and designs are recommended for deer, for each caliber. Your goal when selecting ammunition should be optimum accuracy, with the proper bullet performance on white-tailed deer.
Today there’s a much wider variety of factory-loaded ammunition available, including cartridges loaded with premium bullets, that in the past were only available to hunters that reloaded. Don’t overlook some of the reduced-recoil loads, which sometimes deliver much better accuracy.
New rifles have a break-in period, maybe as much as 100 rounds, before they deliver optimum accuracy.
Proper cleaning of the rifle’s bore from the beginning is imperative. The bore of a new rifle should be cleaned before the rifle is ever fired, and cleaned about every 20 shots in the beginning.
Clean the rifle from the breech, never the bore, with a one-piece cleaning rod. If the barrel crown is damaged it will ruin the rifle’s accuracy. Even the smallest nick at the muzzle will allow gases to escape to one side, affecting the bullet’s flight as it leaves the muzzle.
Cleaning supplies should include: bore solvent, cotton patches, and bronze rifle brushes. Never use stainless steel brushes because they will damage the barrel’s rifling.
The final step is sighting in your rifle and practicing at various distances in situations similar to how you will be hunting.
If you are planning on hunting from the ground, the Stoney Point Compact Polecat Bipod, will help steady your aim, and greatly increase accuracy.
All this attention to detail, and time and money invested, will pay dividends for many years to come. You’ll have an accurate rifle that you can hunt with for a lifetime.
As familiarity with your rifle increases, so will your shooting prowess. You’ll develop a higher level of confidence so when that moment arrives, you’ll leave the field with a deer in the bag, and a smile on your face.