Tag: deer hunting

Whitetail Hunting Economically Important

Whitetail deer hunting is not immune to tough economic times. Businesses that rely on hunting have to adapt, says taxidermist and animal processor Gary Broach, owner of Rhodes Brothers Taxidermy in Kerrville. “Guys like us in Kerrville are fortunate to have year-round hunting with the axis herds and sika and fallow deer,” Broach says. “A lot of small taxidermists out there, rural guys, are really hurting,” he says.

“I’ve talked to them about where they need to put advertising dollars and where to get in with whitetail hunting ranches. I like the fact they aren’t giving up. They just need to regroup.”

Continue reading Whitetail Hunting Economically Important

Doe Hunting Available and Necessary

Keeping deer populations under control means maintaining the proper deer density for the habitat found in the area, and often this means implementing a proper doe harvest. Although shooting bucks removes deer and lowers the number of mouths using the native forage, nothing is more important at maintaining a healthy deer herd than keeping the proper number of doe. Some hunters will try to shoot young-of-the year (fawns) animals because they are easier to transport back to the vehicle, easier to cut up, and make for good eating.

Plus at Northern latitudes, young-of-the-year are the first to die in a tough winter and someone has to shoot does, and it should be every serious deer hunter’s responsibility to harvest at least one doe every year in areas with healthy deer populations. Another thing to keep in mind: it does not really make a difference whether a hunter shoots a doe fawn or an old doe, the goal is to keep the population from expanding beyond the ability for the habitat to support it. Continue reading Doe Hunting Available and Necessary

Warden Takes Kaufman County Monster Buck

Big whitetail harvested in Kaufman County

Texas has a handfull of gigantic white-tailed bucks harvested each year. The number of truly impressive bucks taken by bowhunters makes up a small amount of those big deer, but archers do get a few. While most hunters are trying or preparing to get their buck this season, TPWD Game Warden Eric Minter is all smiles. That’s because this past week the Kaufman County warden found himself as the lucky hunter staring down the buck of a lifetime! Yes indeed, Minter put his own tag on a whopper 27-point non-typical buck!

The buck has not been scored, but the multi-tined monster should score well above the 200-inch mark on the non-typical side of the scoring sheet. “I’ve been kind of leery of telling everybody just yet because I don’t know what he scores and I don’t want to guess and it be a lot lower or higher than I expected,” Minter said. “But this is unbelievable.” Continue reading Warden Takes Kaufman County Monster Buck

Texas Gets New Crossbow Hunting Regulations

Texas now allows crossbows during archery season for whitetail deer

Thirty-four years after the first Texas archery hunting stamp was sold in 1975, archery hunting will be open to crossbow use by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) for the first time in the special archery-only open season that runs October 3 through November 6. About 650,000 people participate in whitetail deer hunting in Texas, and an estimated more than 80,000 use a bow and arrow. Until this fall, crossbows could not be used during an archery-only season except by people with an upper-limb disability. Recent legislative action gave the TPWD Commission authority to allow anyone, regardless of physical ability, to use a crossbow during the archery-only season, provided they have an archery stamp and valid Texas hunting license. Rules, however, are different for Grayson County.

Several outdoor newspaper columnists recently reported crossbow sales have been brisk heading into archery season. The department has been encouraging anyone planning to take advantage of the new crossbow opportunity to review the rules and definitions for crossbow hunting listed under “Means and Methods” in the current Outdoor Annual regulation booklet available at hunting license sales locations and on the TPWD Web site.

Dry Weather Impacts Native Wildlife

Drought impacts deer, turkey, and wildlife habitat 

Despite welcome rains in late March, much of Texas remains parched by prolonged drought of historic proportions, and wildlife die-offs of whooping cranes and deer have been reported. However, experts say native wildlife evolved to bounce back from drought, and a bigger issue is how human water use is changing the equation, and how drought underscores the need for water planning and conservation. “The current drought affecting all of Texas has reached historic proportions, with the past six months among the driest since the long-term drought of the 1950’s and 1917, the driest year on record.” That sentence begins the March 11 situation report from the governor’s Drought Preparedness Council.

The council report said last December through February was the driest period on record for the east, south central, and upper coast regions. It also noted the entire state was classified as at least “Abnormally Dry” according to the United States Drought Monitor. Continued dry range conditions could have a negative impact on wild turkey production and hunting prospects for spring turkey season, according to Texas Parks and Wildlife Department biologists. If parts of Texas remain parched, particularly the south, experts say Rio Grande turkey breeding activity and nesting effort will be greatly reduced or nonexistent. Rio Grande spring turkey hunting season runs April 4-May 17 in the North Zone, with special youth-only weekends March 28-29 and May 23-24. The South Zone season runs March 21-May 3, with youth weekends March 14-15 and May 9-10. Harvest data is collected and used for turkey management. Continue reading Dry Weather Impacts Native Wildlife

Case Shows How Easy CWD Could Spread

CWD could spread easier than you think 

Criminal charges recently filed against a father and son who ran a Kent County deer farm provide a shocking look at just how easy chronic wasting disease (CWD) might have spread to Michigan’s wild deer herd. Michigan Department of Natural Resources agents say a day after CWD was confirmed in a deer from their herd, the pair crept onto their quarantined farm at midnight, tranquilized a deer and loaded it into a trailer. DNR agents watching the property say they saw it all. When stopped on a road, the two told DNR officers they planned to release the deer into the wild. They didn’t have proper paperwork for the deer, and wanted to get rid of it. However, tests later showed the deer free of CWD.

The DNR recently said that it may have found the source of the always-fatal disease that’s similar to mad cow disease. The taxidermy shop next to the Kent County deer farm had accepted two deer from customers who illegally brought them from CWD zones in South Dakota and Wyoming. Continue reading Case Shows How Easy CWD Could Spread

The Oklahoma Archery Season is Fast Approaching

Bow hunter in a tree 

While deer gun season is still more than a month away, thousands of Oklahoma deer hunters have the October 1 archery deer season opener in their sights. Last year, an estimated 74,194 Oklahoma archery hunters harvested 11,090 deer with the bow and arrow, of which about 80 percent were taken before the start of deer gun season.

“Archery hunters have a great opportunity to get out there and see the woods and deer activity before everyone else,” said Jerry Shaw, big game biologist for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation.

According to Shaw, the state’s 2008-09 archery season looks good for hunters in terms of deer population and herd health, and after last year’s tough hunting conditions, hunters can expect another successful year in the woods.

Last year’s total deer harvest, including those taken during muzzleloader and gun season, was 95,891 deer, down from the year previous when a record-setting 119,349 deer were harvested. Continue reading The Oklahoma Archery Season is Fast Approaching