Understanding Deer Behavior
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Ian from WI asks:This is not really a question more of a hunch. I’m a senior at Marquette studying Clinical Laboratory science. From what I’ve seen and now from the footage that the hair grew back on the buck I think he has (had) a fungal hair infection. The fungus grows in the hair and feeds of the nutrients from the hair not the skin. When the hair falls out the fungus can no longer grow. I could be wrong but from the video of the black patches on its back to the loss of hair and now it growing backs all signs point towards this condition. What helps you and maybe why he’s been feeding more is he needs to grow that hair back and he is more likely to feed now to get healthy before winter hits. It’s been bugging me that I should help you out. Kind of do my part anyway I can to pay yah back for all the great advice and tips.Winke Responds:Ian, I appreciate it and I thank you for your support. This is very useful. I figured discussing the hair loss on that buck would smoke out some good input. In addition to yours, I also got some good information (and am getting more) from some top disease people in the area of deer research. If (big if) I can finally get him killed, I have be instructed to keep several swatches of his hide from different areas and freeze them for later analysis and study. Should be interesting. It is fun to see the story of the buck take on so many chapters and go in so many directions. Happy New Year (12-31-11)
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Mike from ON asks:Bill have you ever considered that when a buck leaves a certain ares for a year or two and then returns it may be a natural mechanism to somehow avoid interbreeding? I just thought it may be a possibility. How bad do most whitetails bloodlines get crossed?Winke Responds:Mike, I don't think that is why. It seems too random and sporadic. Many of the bucks (most) never wander very far. It seems much more tied to their personalities or the existence of other bucks that are more dominant in that area. No question they often breed their own kin. I think in the natural world the genetics are so swamped that it is not a dangerous thing. I believe they are made to operate that way. I am sure getting fresh blood into the mix is important, but we do that through harvesting some deer (bucks and does) and making room for others to move in. I think that is healthy, maintaining a good balanced harvest. I have always felt that if you want to see the genetics change fast, you have to hunt the deer hard and remove a lot of the current population and the genetic traits will cycle faster. I am sure the commercial deer breeders out there have this figured out, but they use a lot of aggressive line breeding to achieve their goals so it can't be all bad. Good luck. Happy New Year (12-31-11)
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Chad from GA asks:Hi Bill. All my life I have hunted an area that is mainly split up into two parts. The "swamp" and the "hill". Obviously the swamp is the low lying land next to the river that borders our property. The hill is the high land which is about 15 feet higher in elevation than the swamp. On our propery we seem to have two different types of deer. Some of them are a light brown color and tend to have wide, light colored antlers. The others are a dark gray color and seem to have narrow darker colored antlers. The old timers call them "hill deer" and "swamp deer". The light brown ones being the "hill deer" and the dark grey ones being the "swamp deer". Is this due to a difference in sub-species? Does it occur in other areas also? Or are the old timers on to something? Thanks Bill. Have a happy new year and God bless.Winke Responds:Chad, Genetics are too swamped to produce two different strains or varieties of deer on one property. Interbreeding through the years have spread the genes across the many generations. There may be some recessive and some dominant genes that dictate those characteristics, but I very seriously doubt that they are two different sub-species. I doubt it even comes back to where they live on the property. I would say it is just chance which color the deer are - like what color your hair is and what color your neighbor's hair is just a short distance away. I would not insult the old timers, but I would say they are not onto something! Happy New Year and God Bless you too. (12-30-11)
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hunter from OK asks:Bill, some strange things with our deer herd this year. This summer I noticed 3-4 bucks that grew nubs on one side of their rack. One of these bucks is a 3.5 year old that had a limp in his back left leg (horn missing on the right side)...the other two seemed to be fine physically. I figured all along it was coincidental and that these deer were previously injured etc. However, in the last two weeks I've noticed 3 deer with rotten looking flesh wounds on their rump about the size of my fist. One was a doe I shot (didn't think anything of it); the next was a 2.5 year old that I had on camera all season (one side of his rack was undeveloped) and didn't notice a wound on him earlier in the season; the third was a 3.5 year old buck that my neighbor found - interesting thing about that one is he was missing one side of his rack (almost like he had shed an antler - which is strange). I knew this deer very well and he had the other side of his rack 5 days prior to being found. I didn'tWinke Responds:Hunter, Part of your question got cut off. If they run past a certain word count they overflow the message area and get clipped. I think I know where you are going though. I don't know much about diseases and infections of deer. There may be a parasite or some kind of disease causing this or it may be a very big coincidence. I guess the best strategy would be to call the local DNR officer and ask for the contact information for a regional biologist to ask that person. I wish I knew more about it, but I am as curious as you are. Good luck. Happy New Year. (12-30-11)
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Jason from OH asks:Bill,long time lurker,I watch your shows when I get time. I have passed on a very nice buck several times but had made my mind up if I get a shot at him during muzzleloading I will take it. Had it literally 10 yards in front of me tonight with my bow (it was a great night 12/28 for deer activity). He now has a noticable slight limp on its front left leg(did not have this Dec. 17). I looked closely and could not see any damage. Do you think this is from fighting with another big buck? I have watched his body language previously and he acted like the boss around all other bucks. I have seen this same buck limp scenario in other years where I hunt, same time of year. The deer there seem to trickle into the property late season and I have previously shot two very nice bucks bird-dogging does(some fawns)about this time of year. In fact, my property is no good until after the rut, year in and year out, but it explodes after that (this may be a later question). Is a limp common to you and doWinke Responds:Jason, Probably from fighting. Your question got cut off, but I think I get the gist of it. When we had a very much reversed buck to doe ratio (a lot more bucks than does), almost all of the bucks here limped in the late season. It is very common. Unless the wound gets infected, the deer is very well equipped to deal with it and won't show any ill effects. If you want him that is one thing, but I would not take the buck out for this limp unless you can see a noticeable wound (a break) or signs of infection. Good luck. Happy New Year (12-31-11)
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Ken from IN asks:Bill, Seems that a good number of the deer (bucks)you guys film or have on trail cam have patches of hair missing, You thought it could be a tick problem, We have ticks like you wouldn't believe in Indiana' With almost 40 years of deer hunting thousands of hours in the stand and woods under my belt I have never seen bald patches on deer like you guys have in Iowa, That G4 buck looks bad! Have you thought of taking skin samples when you kill a deer with bald spots and send it in for testing?Winke Responds:Ken, There is something else causing the problem on that G4 Buck. I don't think that is ticks. I just got an e-mail from a fellow in Alberta that studies hair loss and associated diseases in deer and he feels that most normal stages of the hair loss is caused by bucks grooming themselves with their antlers. He is not 100% sure why they do it; whether in reaction to itching ticks or some other stimulus. I think it is not very well understood just yet. Good luck. Happy New Year. (12-28-11)
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jim from WV asks:I really like your show. It's very informative. I have been hunting an 80 acre farm in Ohio and have two scouting cameras on it. I got a picture of a 145"-150" 8 pointer on 11/11/11. That is only picture I had of him all fall and figured he had just wondered into the area since I hadn't gotten any other pictures or sightings of him. I put My cameras back out on 12/10/11 and when I checked them on 12/18 I had about 60 pictures of this deer over three days. I had corn in front of the camera. I haven't gotten any more Pics of him in the last week. Do you think the deer is just wondering into this farm or he is living there. After getting these pictures I wonder if he maybe staying in the area but surprised he is not coming into the corn daily since there is no agriculture in the area.The only food in the area is browse,grass and mast which is very limited this year. I did put a couple of stands back up in the area but have been waiting to get pics again before going into the areWinke Responds:Jim, I would say he is living there or very close to that area. The older bucks aren't normally locked onto the cameras like younger bucks and does. So it is not a surprise that he disappeared there and then came back. I would guess you are on the edge of his range, probably not in the middle of it. I have bucks that show up every three or four days on the camera - not like clockwork. They aren't strictly patternable usually, they just have ranges they use and sometimes they are in one end and sometimes they are in the other end. If the range is big, they may be gone a few days. I would say your farm is in the buck's range. Good luck. Happy New Year. (12-28-11)
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Jacob Stuttgen from WI asks:Bill, do you have any idea what caused the deer to loose all the hair on its back? Could it be ticks? Will that put alot more stress on him? Are you going to start sitting in the blind. Thanks Bill, and have a great holiday!Winke Responds:Jacob, I have several experts looking into it. I have heard ideas from fungal infection to exotic lice. No one seems to have seen this before, at least not this exact type of thing. It is good that the hair is growing back now and the buck seems to be leaving it alone. When we filmed him August he was forever scratching his rump with his antlers. I watched him for an hour Thursday evening and he never once messed with that area. Seems to be in the recovery mode from whatever it was. If I shoot him, I am supposed to keep swatches of the hide and send them to these disease experts for analysis. Happy New Year. (13-31-11)
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Lester from MN asks:I have been walking in the woods along deer trails and come across what looks like blue or green urine. I have seen this over several years. What is it? Huge fan, love the show.Winke Responds:Lester, Not sure 100%, but it might be something dripping from the trees or some kind of secretion or such from a ground level plant. I have never seen nor heard of anything that has blue or green urine unless it is some kind of bird or something. I would look to the trees, maybe a bird? I seriously doubt it is from a deer. Merry Christmas (12-19-11)
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Tyler from AL asks:Bill, I hunt in south Alabama we have about 400 acreson our farm. The timber here is generally really thick with under brush. We have lots of fields on our farm where I plant beans and winter plots an we have good bucks and get alot of pictures in bow and pre season but when gun season comes in its like the bucks dissapear. I guess my question is why are they dissapearing? Our rut does not come in til January, you said on your show October is like your slow time when mature bucks are not moving in daylight it seems ours in November and December.Anyway just thought I would ask, I love your show and watch every week! ThanksWinke Responds:Tyler, I am not 100% sure, but it probably has to do with testosterone levels and proximity to the rut. There is a time there when the testosterone starts coming up but the does aren't ready to breed where the bucks turn quite nocturnal. I don't know exactly why, but they go underground for about three weeks or a month. They start to resurface again when the first does come into esttrous, or just before. I guess if you back it off from the rut your timing is probably very much the same as ours. I don't know for sure, but guessing, that is what I would say - the forces your bucks feel are delayed compared to ours because your rut is later. Good luck this year. Merry Christmas. (12-16-11)
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jason from OH asks:I bowhunt exclusively in ohio. I have noticed on your show and other hunting shows that the mature whitetail bucks in the midwest have patches of hair missing on their shoulders and backs. I have never seen this in Ohio. What causes this and why does it seem exclusive to the midwest?Winke Responds:Jason, I have been told it is their attempt to rub off ticks. Apparently, they use their antlers. That makes the most sense because our does don't have those spots, generally. I guess ticks concentrate up near the shoulders and that is where most of the bald spots occur. Not sure why it is exclusive to the Midwest. I am sure there is some reason. We are dealing with common wood ticks, maybe they aren't located in the south. Good luck. Merry Christmas. (12-16-11)
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raleigh from IA asks:why do the tongue of deer harvested hang out? Most of the deer I have harvested when I recover the tongue is out of the mouuth just wondering why it sems to fall out.Winke Responds:Raleigh, The jaw goes slack and that is what allows the tongue to drop out. If you look at all those deer, their mouths are slightly open too. Have a great Christmas. (12-14-11)
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Alex from OH asks:Hello Mr. Winke, Yesterday I found a scrape in a hay field by the edge of the timber and it looked like it has been cleared of all debris and is still being used. Do you find that wierd at all? Thanks for all your help, AlexWinke Responds:Alex, They will scrape for at least another month. Bucks get into the habit of scraping. I have seen fresh scrapes well into the spring. They will be more active now. That doesn't surprise me at all. Plus, there are always some doe fawns coming into estrous at this time (and a few leftover does from the primary cycle) so there is some breeding still going on. Besides, they still have plenty of testosterone in their systems to keep them thinking rut thoughts for a while longer. Good luck. Merry Christmas. (12-15-11)
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Rod from WI asks:this year we noticed there were a lot of bucks 2 1/2 yrs-4 1/2 yrs old that had no brow tines or very short brow tines. Is this more likely a genetic thing or a nutrition thing?Winke Responds:Rod, More likely genetic. Genetics tend to cycle over time so that trait may disappear in the next few years. Good luck. Merry Christmas. (12-13-11)
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Scott from NC asks:I have one more archery trip planned at our camp in north western Pa the week between Christmas and New Years. I missed a nice 8 point there early this year and know his travel route in the morning and pretty good idea were he beds down during the day.I got photos of him from two weeks ago so I know he's still in the area. Was excited for the trip till I noticed that there's going to be a new moon on the 25th. How much does this affect there movement and any strategie tips to try? Thanks for the best hunting show on tv.Winke Responds:Scott, I would not worry about that moon. Moon phase is secondary to weather and hunting pressure (a distant second) when dictating deer movement. I would hunt him just the same way you had planned. Good luck and Merry Christmas. (12-13-11)
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Garrett from OK asks:Mr. Winke, I have a question about a deer's roaming pattern. Three years ago I got permission from a farmer, thats a neighbor to my parents, to bowhunt his place. The first year I had no cameras out and killed a nice 8 point just out of luck. The second year I put out a camera and started getting pictures of really nice deer in late September, early October and eventually killing a 160 in. 10 point in early November, however, the majority of the nice bucks I got on camera I never seen again throughout the year? So this year I put out a camera and again, a lot of good bucks in late September and early October but come late Oct. early Nov. not a sign of them! Can you maybe help me understand why there aren't staying around? I feel like they have plenty of cover and enough food(50 acre wheat field)Thanks, GarrettWinke Responds:Garrett, Bucks have a summer range and a fall range and the shift occurs in September, usually. The bucks that you see on camera past about October 10 are likely to be there most of the fall, prior to that you can't be sure. Sometimes it has nothing to do with cover and food, but rather with the dominance heirarchy of the bucks and I think with something else, like maybe where the buck was born, or some other instinctive location that they come back to each year. It happens everywhere, including our farm. I think having good food and thick cover will help to keep them close, but I don't believe there is anything that will 100% stop this dispersal in early fall. Good luck. (12-12-11)
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Chuck from WI asks:Bill, I noticed that both of Scott Prucha's bucks, Waldo and Cheech, had large patches of hair missing. What do you think is the cause of this?Winke Responds:Chuck, From what I have been able to learn, it is likely ticks. They rub them with their antlers and in so doing they rub off some of the hair. I have heard people say it is from going under fences, but I am not buying that. It has to be some kind of tick they are trying to rub off. Good luck. (12-12-11)
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How long after the rut until the tarsal glands on a buck turn from black back to their normal color?lee from ON asks:Bill as the rut approaches the tarsal glands start to darken. My question is how long after the rut or in the case of a doe, after the doe has been bred does it take for the glands to turn back to white.Winke Responds:Lee, I am not sure on that. I would say that in the case of a buck, they continue to work scrapes well into the winter so I would say it might be late January, or thereabouts. Good luck. (12-12-11)
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Chris from LA asks:I usually see minimal deer movement down here in Louisiana when we get cold weather. Cold for us is usually upper 20's-lower 30's. Do you think it's possible these deer know the cold doesn't last long here and they just bed up and wait it out? I usually see a lot of deer on the first warm day AFTER a cold front. If this is the case I'm gonna start sleeping in on the really cold days down here!Winke Responds:Chris, I don't know about that. I am guessing that they will move well before the front and you mention that they move well after it warms. We see that here to a lesser extent too, but our deer also move very aggressively during the cold times. You likely have a better feel for the deer down there than I do. I have hunted LA three times for a total of maybe 15 days, so I am no expert by any means. Good luck and Merry Christmas. (12-13-11)
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tony from WI asks:I hunt Northern WI we hunt the big (very big) woods.very little pressure, we put in a small food plot about 6-7 years ago to see what would happen. well it seemed to be a gold mine according to our cameras. plenty of deer and bucks of all yr classes. But 2 bucks stood out. they were both 3-4years old the first year we got them on camera and now this is the 3rd year we have gotten them on camera. to say the least they are VERY nice.we get pics of them a day or 2 in august then a day or 2 in sept and a day or 2 in oct. august and sept. are day pics but oct. they are night. then they dissapear until the next season. My question is how close do you think we are to their CORE area. we have gotten only 1 pic of 1 of them about 1/2mile from plot. They leave absolutly NO sign no rubs no scrapes nothing to give us a clue where they are coming from. we have a section of our property that is a sanctuary off limits to hunting about 30-35 acres. they wouldnt hold up there most of the time in a tighWinke Responds:Tony, They won't hole up in the sanctuary that much. I am guessing that they are dispersing because they can't live together in the fall. Nature won't allow more than one dominant buck in an area. The size of that area is generally dependent on cover. In areas with lots of cover they don't take up as much area. In open areas they roam more and take up more area. My guess is that in areas with lower deer densities the dominant bucks also take up more area because they roam more in those places too. This is all just guess work. Since you aren't getting more photos of them, I would say they have all dispersed and visit that area only in passing. In my experience, if you are right in a buck's core area you get lots of photos of him. Their home ranges will start to shrink now (as they get older) and typically they start showing more in daylight (that is what we see for sure.) My guess is that you will have at least one of them in your lap next year. Keep the food plot in good shape for late season because that is when you are likely to kill him. Good luck. Merry Christmas (12-13-11)
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ross from LA asks:I believe that a buck can sometime get old and think he is unkillable. I think they will get so comfortable in there habits and routine, they let there guard down. They then go from un killable to very killable. whats ur opinion?Winke Responds:Ross, I agree 100%. It seems to me that it starts at different ages for different deer, but it seems like age five is generally the toughest year and they get easier after that. I may change my mind over time, but I have heard other guys say that too. We have had some very old, very visible deer on the farm - most with mediocre antlers, but the real challenge is getting them to that age. Get them to four years old in most cases and they can take care of themselves after that. Good luck. (11-24-11)
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Rod Nemitz from MI asks:Will an estrus Doe seek a buck when the Doe to Buck ratio is high? (example 20:1)Winke Responds:Rod, 20 to 1 is pretty bad. I would be focused on shooting every doe that comes past for a while. Not sure what your tag situation is, but if that is the honest ratio, it is pretty far out of whack. To answer your question, when does come into estrous they start to cover more ground. Sometimes they make big circles, sometimes they just get kind of weird and run around all over the place. I guess it is nature's way of attracting a buck. I don't know if the doe will go specifically looking for a buck. She may if she is mature, but really, it would be hard to for her to find one. The best thing she can do is spread her scent around - which is pretty much what they do. I don't believe they go buck hunting, but they do move a lot more to spread their scent. Good luck. (11-21-11)
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josh from WI asks:Hey Bill, love the website. Well, early bow season is over in Wisconsin. Today was the start of rifle season. I,ve been getting pics of a real good, heavy horned eight pointer the past week or so. Does a big buck like this return to his core area after the rut, or towards the end of the rut?Winke Responds:Josh, Not all of them even leave their core areas. I know many, many bucks that never venture far from home. However, assuming he is a roamer, then I would say he will settle back into his winter range around the end of November, probably not before. Some bucks actually roam more during the second half of Novemenber than at any other time. It is possible that the buck you got on camera was just roaming through looking for a late estrous doe. If he is not a regular there, I would say that is the case. If so, he will likely not be back. It will be interesting to keep checking and learn more about him. Good luck. (12-10-11)
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Scott from MO asks:Bill, I live in northern Missouri and during firearms season this year I killed a mature buck. During the field dressing process we noticed that his penis was "out" and the entire end was scabbed over. Do you know what that could be? Is it something you have seen before? Was it just from the amount of breeding I am sure he was doing? Thanks for your time.Winke Responds:Scott, I have never seen that before. I am guessing he had some kind of disease or injury as that would not occur from normal breeding. I think you stumped me on that one! Good luck. (12-6-11)
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Derin from IL asks:Hi Bill: I thoroughly enjoy your show. Although I am not a bow hunter, it has been inspiring and helpful. I would love to shoot a big buck, but at this point am more interested in the meat. Here's my question: Where I hunt in southwest Wisconsin, it is unlimited earn a buck. If a hot doe was followed by a buck, if I shot the hot doe, would the buck be likely to stay in the area, maybe even close enough to eventually harvest it? If you were in my position, what would be your choice? Of course, if it were a big buck, I think I would take him first! This actually happened to my brother in law a few years back and he was successful in taking both. Thanks for your response!Winke Responds:Derin, Yes, he likely would stay in the area. I have seen this a few times. I have shot a hot doe before and then been covered up by bucks all morning. I always tell the guys hunting my farm that if a doe comes by and there is not a buck they want to shoot right behind her, to go ahead and shoot her. It works out just fine. Good luck. (12-5-11)
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Zachary from OH asks:i hunt a 338 acre farm in southern ohio and there are a several shooter bucks on the farm. There is three others that hunt it and it doesnt get very much pressure. since we had the full moon in october we are only getting night time pictures and nobody has seen any deer on there feet during daylight. What strategy should we use to get one of these bucks? We always see several does just no bucks.Winke Responds:Zachary, There is not much you can do to get a mature buck to travel during the day if he doesn't want to. You can get aggressive and try to hunt closer to where you think they bed. That sometimes works, but often it just scares them. It is the biggest challenge we face as bowhunters who are forced to rely on natural movement. I don't have a good answer. There isn't a good answer is a better way to say it. Good luck. (11-30-11)
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Nick from WI asks:Mr. Winke, I just discovered your site this year. It's awesome, and I'm sure it's a ton of work to put together. Thank you, to you and your sponsors for providing it! I shot a nice 8 pt buck on the morning of Nov. 7th this year. I know you like this day, and I'll for sure be out in the woods on and around this time every year, but anyway. This buck was coming in, downwind, of a small food plot we made, in the woods, which I was sitting on. I assume he was checking the plot for does. In your experience, Do bucks make their travel based on wind direction, and do you hunt areas with that in mind. ThanksWinke Responds:Nick, Congrats. That is a great day for hunting. I don't think deer are as calculating as we sometimes make them out to be. I have seen some fully mature bucks completely ignore the wind when traveling. I think when they have a reason to be suspicious, history with a spot, general hunting pressure, that is when they are on red alert, using the wind at every turn. I think otherwise they can be somewhat careless at times. There is much more to this than what I have time dig into here, it also gets into the individual personalities of the bucks, but what I have already served up is the short answer from my perspective. Good luck. (11-29-11)
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Derrick from OH asks:Double G4 buck, What is your gut feeling about this deer if he makes it through the season.Do you think that he will be bigger next year? He obviously isn't the dominant buck in that area. Since you have killed G5 are you going to run cameras to see if he will become more active in that region or do you think that he will even notice that G5 is gone. I have watched every episode since you started this show and have a degree in biology it is interesting to watch these deer progress through the years.I hope that he makes it through the year,if you dont get him in late season,to see what his rack really does.I think with its age the he may get back to where he is but not sure he will get bigger. Hope he does very impressive thanks for your time DerrickWinke Responds:Derrick, I don't know really. He will be 7 next year if he makes it. I will put some cameras out to see if we can find him back for the late season hunting. That will start in about three weeks. I think they definitely know when their competition is gone and I think that makes it more likely for him to stick around. If a buck is getting his butt kicked by another buck in a certain area, he is less likely to stay there when he is of breeding age. That is why I always advocate removing the ugly bully bucks to make room for the bucks with better genetics to stay in that area. I think they can get bigger even past 6 years old, but it really comes down to the individual deer and its health, the severity of the winter, etc. I am most interested in seeing what Big looks like next year if he lives. He dropped off from last year and I am hoping he jumps back up again. It is always interesting to see what they look like from year to year. Good luck. (11-25-11)
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Steve from IN asks:Bill, Congrats on your 2 well deserved bucks!!!! It looks like to the 2011 rut is mimicking the 2010 rut. Everyone thought 2010 was an aberation. This is 2 years in a row of minimal cruising/seeking phase. Are you starting to wonder if there is some kind of shift happening. It seems you are commenting the same as last year: if you have a hot doe, you will have multiple bucks. If not, the activity is dead. What are your thoughts or are you still trying to come to any concrete conclusions of the last two November rut. Oh yeah, thank you and your producer for the daily blogs, truly outstanding 5-6 mins blog that is better than a 30 min TV show. I hope you will continue in future years. I know it takes a significant amount of time but this is what separates your site from the rest!!!Winke Responds:Steve, Yes, I am starting to wonder, but it seems strange that it is happening across such a wide area. It has to be more than just hunting pressure or local activity that is causing it. It has to be something with the populations, lunar(?), weather patterns, ratios, hormone triggers, etc. It has be something on a larger scale - something that affects deer across a larger area. I saw this back in 2006 and 2007 too - 2008 and 2009 were much better I thought. I am going to keep thinking and watching. Like last year, I am hoping that next year is different. Thanks for the support.
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Chris from NJ asks:First of all Congrats on your success with Daggers and G5! I am in my 3rd year of QDM on my farm. We have alot of 1.5 year old bucks with little antlers like spikes 3 pointers 4pointers 5 pointers. Will these bucks ever get to become 8 pointers or better when they are 3.5 or 4.5 years old? Should i start getting rid of these inferior genetics now? Are they inferior genetics? I know other QDM programs say dont kill any buck until he is 3.5 years. We have taken 130 to 150 inch 4.5 year old bucks on the farm and it suprising me to see these genetics in the younger deer. Please shed some light on this for me. For the record your shot on G5 was not unethical! Thanks and Congrats on your awesome season again!Winke Responds:Chris, I have spikes on this farm too. Yes, they will grow into multi-point bucks but you may need to keep the herd numbers down and the amount food up to assure they reach their potential. I wouldn't shoot 1 1/2 year old spikes. I would shoot 2 1/2 year old spikes though - if you feel that you can tell them apart by age. Sometimes they are just buck fawns that were born a bit late the year before and they do eventually catch up. Good luck. (11-25-11)
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Reed from OK asks:Dear Mr. Winke, I have the utmost respect for your ability to kill mature animals year after year. Your show is one of a kind and I always enjoy your teachings. I have recently, in the past few seasons, noticed a drastic decrease in overall deer population on one of the grounds I hunt. To give you a brief overview of the piece of property, it's about 2,000 contiguous acres with a river running along the east border. River is never high enough to prevent deer from traveling across it so it’s not like the recent drought opened up a floodgate. There is usually 400-500 acres or so of agricultural land (wheat/alfalfa). There is very limited amount of agricultural land on surrounding properties. The property has limited numbers of cottonwoods but lots of thick mesquite. The cedars were all cut down which caused a drastic loss of cover 5 years ago. Since that time, the population seems to be bleeding out. Hunting pressure is very limited. 2 years ago it was still not uncommon to see 4Winke Responds:Reed, There seems to be some kind of pattern here. I just answered another question for someone hunting in OK with population dropping. Maybe there has been an overall effort by the state DNR to issue enough doe tags in that area to drop the population. If that is not the case, it may be the coyotes the fellow in the other question referred to are a widespread problem. Also, sounds like food is not an issue, so that is likely not the reason. Yes, if the habitat is gone, the deer will spread out too, so that might be part of it, but not all of it. Just guessing, sounds like a combination of possibly coyotes and habitat loss, maybe disease. Also, was there a bad case of blue tongue or EHD in that area a few years ago? That can drop the population significantly overnight. Something else to consider. Good luck. (11-25-11)
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Owen from OK asks:Hey bill. ive encountered some problems on my hunting land in woodward, ok. we have 9000 acres and 3 years ago we could hunt and wheat and have 50 to 100 deer a night. now we are only seeing 10 to 20 deer a night a very few mature deer. what i have noticed is more and more coyotes on the property. also, we cut a lot of cedar trees down cuse they were taking over the land rapidly . Do you think the coyotes and the cutting of cedars havemade the deer leave the property? or do you think we are having a poaching problem?Winke Responds:Owen, I doubt poachers could clean you out that fast. My guess is that it is related to coyotes, cover and probably more likely, to available quality food. If you have high quality food, I am guessing the deer will be there. I do think coyotes can do more damage than people think, however. The only really good way to deal with them is through trapping and then you really need to know what you are doing to get them. Cover is certainly a factor, but if I had to guess, I would say coyotes and some change in food sources. Good luck (11-25-11)
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Faye Puelston from MN asks:My grandson shot a buck that had a large bulge on left hind qtr we thought was blood but turned out to be urine - the meat appeared fine - any thoughts as to what it was caused by? We didn't see any injury when skinned and processed ThanksWinke Responds:Faye, Not sure how that could happen. Possibly it was a kind of infection or something, or an absess. I would likely cut the meat away from that area and still consume it. They get a lot of infections and strange absesses, so that is not unusual. I just avoid eating the meat in that area. Good luck. (11-25-11)
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Nathan from IA asks:I have got pictures of 2 giant bucks three years in a row. I only seem to get 1 or 2 sets of pictures of these deer at night in mid to late september. I hunt them the same style you do in October and November but never have seen one of them. I know people in the local area around me and they haven't seen either one aswell. What happens to these deer?Winke Responds:Nathan, They may not be spending the fall on your property. It may be their summer range and their fall range is elsewehere. The only way to know for sure is to run the trail camderas heavily through mid-October. If they are still there in mid-October they will likely be there all fall, or somewhere nearby. My guess is that one of them will leave as they won't tolerate each other after early October as they both want to be dominant in their chosen range. Good luck. Happy Thanksgiving. (11-23-11)
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mark from NY asks:Here in NY mature bucks are rare. From your experience how does a mature buck look for hot does and is it different than young bucks? On our property does travel mostly north-south between bedding and feeding. Does a mature buck cross these travel routes? Or does he travel along these routes like the young bucks? Do the mature bucks stick mostly to the thick brush in the daylight hours even when searching for hot does? Thanks!!Winke Responds:Mark, They tend to be more secretive for sure, moving more at night. Some places the bucks move more during the day, but when the pressure is heavy, all the daylight cruisers get killed when they are younger leaving mostly (only) nocturnal bucks. They aren't super organized in their patterns. They just walk from one doe concentration area to another by the most direct route. Most often at night. That is why funnels can be so good near or between these concentration areas (doe bedding areas for reasons I list later). If you try to make too much sense out of the rut it will only frustrate you. Think in terms of most direct route and nocturnal bucks and you will understand what is going on better. You have the most hope near doe bedding areas both morning and evening because a mature buck is most likely to be nocturnal as discussed and will be less likely to leave the cover during daylight making the areas deep in the timber the obvious choice. Good luck. (11-23-11)
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Tyler from GA asks:This season's rut in our area of central GA has been one that has been hard to pin down. The rut action has never been consistant but some factors come into mind and wonder if you believe they have a serious effect of lack of mature buck sighting. Our weather patterns have been all over the place as being 33 degrees on one monring and then shooting to 50 the next with highs peaking near 80. Also a drought has taken a serious toll on our oaks and acorn crop has been spotty at most. I was wondering if you believe these such factors have an effect on the lack of sightings with mature bucks.Winke Responds:Tyler, I don't know for sure. I know weather patterns have some affect on the amount of daylight activity with more occuring on cooler days, so for sure warm days will reduce daylight activity. Not sure how the drought affects the rut. It might have some affect on how many does come into estrous if it is severe enough to greatly reduce their health, but that is unlikely. Also, a weak acorn crop should not have the ability to affect the amount of rut intensity, maybe where the deer are, but not whether they are rutting. Local factors have a lot to do with it - your food sources, your hunting pressure, other forces that is it really hard to pin it down to one or even a couple of reasons. That is why all I can say is "I'm not sure." Sorry about that. I think weather (temperature) and location of food sources are big factors. If those are less than ideal, you will see spotty buck activity in your area. There are other factors that influence how much a mature buck moves too (like buck to doe ratios) so this is a very inexact science. Good luck. (11-23-11)
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Aaron from WI asks:If I'm still getting pictures of does with fawns on the trail camera, are these does not yet in estrus? Thanks! I love the show and the daily blog! Best out there!Winke Responds:Aaron, Possibly, or they may have been bred already and rejoined their family groups. The does and fawns reconnect fairly quickly after the doe is bred. Good luck. (11-22-11)
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Chris from WI asks:Do you think that the number of does in a area plays a factor in how aggersive bucks will be during the rut? Also is DG4 your target for late season?Winke Responds:Chris, Yes to both questions. I'll get out and try to find him back once the rut is over. I have a good idea where to start based on past experiences with the buck, but there is no telling where he will end up. I wasn't able to find him during the late season last year. I think if there are a lot of does, the bucks don't move as much during the rut. They are locked up with does more. The most aggressive rut occurs when the ratio of the sexes is closer to one to one. If it gets too out of whack, the bucks aren't available very much from about November 10 through November 20. They will be locked down pretty hard during this time. Good luck. (11-20-11)
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Chris from IN asks:Hey Bill, Indiana is getting pounded with some pretty good winds, 20+ easy with gusting up to 40. Will the deer move in these conditions?Winke Responds:Chris, I realize I am late to answer this, but yes, up to a point, deer will move in those conditions. I have had some great hunts on windy days. I would not let the winds keep me from hunting. Good luck. (11-20-11)
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JR from MN asks:Hi Bill, Love the show and blogs!! At what dates do you see rutting bucks start to slow down. Just curious, I usually party hunt second gun season in MN but would wrather bow hunt. Appreciate all the advice, Thanks JRWinke Responds:JR, I usually see it drop off some around now, the 12th for about a week. Most of the does are in estrous and the mature bucks are not cruising much. Normally you still see some periods of activity when you have a hot doe in the area, but not much cruising. Often you will see more cruising as the number of does in estrous drops back down again around November 20 for about five or six days. These are just general predictions, not written in stone - tendencies. Good luck (11-12-11)
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steve from MT asks:Love the show, and blogs. I am dealing with 20-30 mph winds over the next 3-5 days and only have about 5 days of hunting left before other obligations are going to keep me too busy. I called in a 130 class buck two nights ago in better conditions, about 30 min before dark while setup on a food source. Will animals still move to food sources in daylight under these conditions?Winke Responds:Steve, I have never had problems killing deer on windy days. There is a limit, of course, but 20 to 30 mph is within their comfort zone (at least it is here). Good luck (11-19-11)
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corey from IA asks:this is not a question ,but an observation.I always read that does move to the thickest brush when the bucks are dogging them,but this year ive seen them spending more time in the wide open ,like in clean pastures with a few hardwoods.Since sat nov 5th i have been busted by all the deer , bucks and does alike on my way in and out of my stands ,even during the daylight.The does have been grazing the pastures with bucks behind them ,just like the cattle that were there a month ago.Well i thought it was interesting.Winke Responds:Corey, That is strange. Not sure what to make of that - must be something in there they like. Usually you won't see them buried in the deep cover until about now (roughly from November 11/12 through November 20 or so). They get harrassed a lot at this time by every buck and hide out until the rut is nearly wound down. When you stop seeing them on the fields in the evenings, that is when you have to look for them (and the bucks) in the thicker cover. Good luck. (11-15-11)
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Travis from SD asks:Bill, what is the largest 3 1/2 year old buck you have seen? I have a buck that I've been watching that I'm almost sure is 3 1/2. I have pic's of him from the last 2 years. He is kind of uneven, his good side will score in the upper 70"s and his weak side is in the mid 60"s and he has a 19" spread. Is it possible for a 3 year old to have that much antler?Winke Responds:Travis, Largest one I have personally seen scored 185. We found one side from him that year. He was a 145 at 2 1/2 and about 220 at 4 1/2. I hit him high that year and he got away. The biggest buck I have had within bow range. Long story short, I saw him again six days later and he looked fine, almost got a shot at him that day too. The neighbors found him dead that winter. I don't think he died of the arrow wound, but it is possible. Yes, it is definitely possible for a 3 1/2 to be that big. Good luck. (11-8-11)
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Eric from MN asks:Bill: This is sort of a question and and answer to something. I found it very interesting that "Daggers" left the farm for a complete year. It blew my mind that a buck would move that much and then approximately a year later come back into the same home range. As you said, you didn't hunt it too heavily and the environment is ideal for housing whitetails. I was actually so interested in this i called a deer biologist here in MN and got somewhat of a logical explanation. It seems as though the reason the deer may have moved was due to the fact of food and possibly crop rotation. Did you talk to your neighbors at all and see if he was "in the area," and just wasn't showing up on your cameras? I also did some other research and found that, more times than not, a deer always wants to move up in stature on the dominance chain. Could it be that he either had too much competition and was being over-dominated by other bucks? Or could it be that he wasn't challenged enough aWinke Responds:Eric, I agree with the dominance theory, but not the food one (in this case). We have tons of food, but I think he might have left because he had a chance to be dominant somewhere else and just drifted back this year. I am sure he wasn't in the same area last year because we run many cameras and rarely miss a buck. Thanks for the research and input. Good luck (11-8-11)
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Ryan from SD asks:I hunt in a place close to a grove that holds alot of large bucks. How soon will the bigger bucks start kicking out the others and will the dominant buck leave the grove?Winke Responds:Ryan, Simple answer is when the does start to come into estrous. Generally, the dominant buck will leave the grove to look for does in other areas. The ones that are likely to leave (get kicked out) are the other bucks of breeding age (mature) that want to have an area of their own where they are dominant. They will drift off looking for someplace where they aren't getting their butts kicked every time a doe comes into estrous. That is what I would expect. There will likely be one dominant buck there and several others that just move away from him whenever he goes somewhere. The other mature bucks will leave for now. Good luck. (11-14-11)
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Josh from MO asks:Nov 6 2011 during the Missouri youth season my son and I stalked a mature buck. The buck had a hot doe bedded in a thick weed patch. We had the wind in our favor and managed to close the distance to 20 yards. from our position we could not see the buck but knew he was still there. So I used my grunt call to try and bring hum out of the weeds. The buck responded with a series of grunts, snort weaze, and what sounded like teeth grinding. I have never herd this teeth grinding sound and do not know any of other hunters talking about this sound. The buck and I would grunt and snort weaze at each other for the next two hours. the teeth grinding sound was made before and after the snort weaze witch he did at least 20 times. There were also two other small bucks trying to get to the doe. It was like the grinding sound would keep the younger bucks away, but this sound might have started a fight if there was another mature buck in the area. I am sure this sound could be reproduced and might beWinke Responds:Josh, I have never heard of that before, but I have heard bucks growl when grunting. I mean a really low grunting growl. It may have been that sound, but if it really sounded like teeth then you have heard something that almost no one gets to hear. I don't know for sure on that one. Very cool encounter though. I assume you didn't get him, but what a memory! Good luck. (11-14-11)
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zack from WI asks:hi, well i got some new land to hunt and i went scouting today and found a ton of rubs and scrapes and trails!!!!!!! anyway as i am scouting i walked rite up on a doe and a buck beding down there were ten feet in front of me and the jumped up and took off! and then i kept looking for a spot to put my stand and i kicked up to giant bucks rite out of there bed i must have been with in 15 yards. my qeustion is are they going to return to there beds! i did set my stand up about 30yds from were they were beding down did i make the rite choice on putting stand up and do you think i will have a shot at them? just started bow hunting bout 3 years ago and am trying to learn! also is it good to hunt in 20mph winds?Winke Responds:Zack, I think the wind is fine. Getting back to your original question: it is not quite that easy. They don't always bed in the same spots. Their bedding area may be a general area, but not likely a specific spot, especially at this time of the season. You are likely to see them again in the general area, but don't get disappointed if they don't come back and bed in the same spot again. They may pass through in the mornings, though, so it is likely a decent morning stand. Look for other areas on the farm too where you can catch them traveling where you know you have the wind advantage and a good entry and exit route that deer are unlikely to detect. It is all part of the learning curve. Deer aren't programmable, but they do have tendencies. Once you learn their tendencies you can be successful just by hunting careful and smart and putting in your time. Good luck (11-13-11)
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John from WI asks:Hi Bill: Nice buck you got! Your smile reminded me of Ralphie on Christmas Story when he got his BB gun. Many bucks have bare shots on the middle of their backs: A friend of mine says it's from bucks scratching their back with their times: I say it's from going under a fence time after time: Which is it????? Thanks! John, WIWinke Responds:John, Yes, it was a big smile! I believe it is from rubbing off ticks. I am certain that in most cases, it is not from going under fences. If it was, does would have them too. It may occassionally be from that, but I am saying it is from their antlers. I have seen bucks working that area above their shoulders very hard with their antlers trying to rub off the ticks. Good luck. (11-13-11)
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Chris from AL asks:Hi Bill!Congrats on a great buck! I hunt a piece of public ground that is rolling and has bedding cover on the ridges and beans in the bottoms.The crop fields are to the north of the bedding ridges.pressure is moderate but the deer are hard to see.Basic statagy says hunt between the ridge and crops with a south wind.With the area being public and the deer not being able to scent check the fields and move with the wind on thir tail does this create a nocturnal movement to the feed?Your thoughts? thanks, ChrisWinke Responds:Chris, I would say so. It doesn't take many bad experiences for a deer to abandon moving with the wind at his back. Look for spots where the wind is almost in the deer's favor, but not quite, sometimes that means you have to hunt higher (closer to bedding) to catch them with a consistent wind that is blowing slightly away from them, but not at their backs. I would hunt such spots morning and evening in this kind of setting (public land). Good luck. (11-13-11)
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Jason from GA asks:Water Bill, How big a role can water play into patterning deer? IE: If all the creeks on a property are dry should I concentrate my efforts around the ones that have water? If so how far should I expect deer on average to travel on a daily basis to get water? Thanks for your help! JasonWinke Responds:Jason, Deer will definitely move to water if the conditions are dry enough. However, deer get a lot more water from what they eat than we might think. If it is really warm during the rut when they traveling a lot they will definitely stop for a drink when they come across water, but they won't go much out if their way to find it. Some guys build small ponds on ridges as a way to shotstop bucks that are out cruising. It helps for sure, but I would not set up in areas where bucks don't normally travel just because there is water there. Good luck (11-5-11)
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Jim from IL asks:Hey Bill Great show. I had a young buck bed by me this afternoon the whole time he kept making a sneezing nose. Like blowing out his nose. He did this dozens of times. Is that voided by the bot fly. If it is will this buck die? Thanks JimWinke Responds:Jim, I don't know. I doubt that is the cause, but I could be wrong. I have not seen bot fly larvae in deer that far north, but I may not have enough experience to make that call. I have seen deer here to do it too, and I always it was just from having something caught in there, like a piece of grass or something like that - which they inhaled. Again, I could be wrong as I am just guessing. I am not the right guy to ask about this. Sorry I can't be of more help. Good luck. (11-11-11)
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Allen from SD asks:I'd like to get your thoughts on deer movement (or lack of) and how it is affected during multiple days of strong winds. 15 mph plus. Thanks for the help.Winke Responds:Allen, I have not seen a decrease in rut activity when it is windy. At other times of the year it affect them differently, but during the rut (and the late season for that matter) I have not seen it fall off with many days of the wind. I used to hunt Kansas a lot and the wind is always blowing there (much like SD). The deer just get used to it. Other parts of the country things may be different, but most of the areas I have hunted in the Midwest, the hunting is actually better with a wind (I like 8 to 15 just because it is fast enough to cover entry and exit noise and is still comfortable to hunt most trees) than without. Good luck. (11-13-11)
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Bee from WI asks:Bill, I made 3 mock scrapes around my tree stand and sprayed it with Tinks Power Scrape. I sprayed an overhanging branch with it as well. 4 days later, a buck rubbed that same tree which i sprayed. The tree was probably the size of a thumb, how can i tell if it was a mature buck rub or if it was just a little 1.5 yr old buck? If it was a mature buck, will he come by that scrape during peak rut? What does a buck rub typically mean in deer language?Winke Responds:Bee, You can't really tell anything from that. Some research suggests that a big rub (larger than your wrist) is likely made by a mature buck, but I have seen youner deer make this size rubs too. I think the really big ones are likely made by older bucks, but even that is only a generality. Sometimes bucks will rub heavily in the areas where they stage (the first place they go when heading to food) in mid-September and these areas are worth hunting right away. Also, you will sometimes see lines of rubs (spaced 20 to 75 yards apart) through the forest that are made as a buck is moving around in late October. These are also worth hunting immediately. However, isolated rubs found along the edge a field have less value. It shows where a buck was but not necessarily where he will come back to. If it is fresh, it will help you decide which food plot to hunt, but really beyond that, these isolated rubs are not super valuable. Researchers believe bucks rub to leave their scent for other bucks to detect and also to take out aggression caused by rising testosterone levels. Some say it is to mark their territory. I don't believe that one though. Good luck. (11-11-11)
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Jason from IL asks:The only hunting spot that I was able to scout this year (I’m new to bowhunting and a new dad) was behind my in-laws house. The deer are used to people as they regularly bed down in my in-laws front yard in the middle of the day and walk through the property without a hint of being spooked. (there are 5 or so other houses near their property) I’ll be the first to hunt the property since Oct 1. Because the deer are so used to people being in the area I figure they are used to the smell of humans. Do you think this is true? Regardless of the wind I am going to hunt during the rut since I don’t have time to scout or hunt anywhere else with the hope that my scent control regimen will keep me from being winded.Winke Responds:Jason, Yes, it is true, but they also know how to tell how far away a person is by the strength of the odor so you need to cut it down as much as possible to keep them from spooking when they think a person is where a person isn't supposed to be. I would hunt regardless of the wind, but again, I would cut the scent as much as possible. Good luck. (11-8-11)
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ryan from NJ asks:I was wondering if bucks know who their offspring are? Do you think bucks mate with their offspring say 2 or 3 years later? would this effect genetics?Winke Responds:Ryan, I doubt they know. My guess is that they will definitely mate with their off-spring. Nature does some things with dispersal to reduce that, but I bet there is a fair amount of line breeding going on in nature too. Not sure if it is a bad thing or not. Some deer breeders do it on purpose and cattle men have done it for generations to bring out certain qualities. So maybe it is not a big deal in the deer world. Good luck. (11-8-11)
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Chris from NY asks:Congrats on the great show and awesome buck. Do you generally see more activity when there is a fairly steady wind around 10 mph to 15 mph or when there is barely any wind at all? We have been having a lot of very calm winds here lately and it seems to be affecting movement.Winke Responds:Chris, I almost always do better with windy conditions. I am sure there is something in the weather that triggers them too, but I just think they move more when the wind blows, at least around here. I have not had many good hunts under still conditions. I think the deer can hear so well under still conditions that all they do during the daylight is stand around listening. Good luck. (11-8-11)
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Clif from LA asks:I have read in some of your articles that you believe some bucks are born nocturnal. Do you also think it is a behavior that one can learn from another buck? I have pictures of a couple of bucks that always seem to be together and one is an older buck that i believe is nocturnal. All pics are at night. I'm curious if he may be educating the younger buck.Winke Responds:Clif, Good question. I think they can learn it too. I know fawns can learn it from their mothers - not sure about from other bucks - probably. Maybe we need to orphan more buck fawns in the early season so they grow up dumb! Just kidding, not sure that would work either - though who knows, in some cases it might - assuming they grow up at all. I think they have their own personalities that come out as they get older, but I am equally sure that they can learn to be nocturnal either from does, other bucks (maybe) and for sure from hunting pressure. Good luck. (11-1-11)
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Brandon Hornsby from AL asks:Dear Midwest Whitetail, hello my name is Brandon Hornsby i am from Leesville South Carolina. I have been hunting since fall 2008 and in my short period of time i have learned alot but for every thing i have learned it seems i still have questions that teach me more!! November 05th 20010 i shot and harvested my 1st mature whitetail buck!! But i never saw any signs of this buck ever until a week before he showed up at my stand the day i harvested this buck. But i wonted to know one year latter ..are those old trees where my buck rubbed down...are they still re-usable. Can another buck come into these woods in this exact location and dominate the area again!! And do whitetails use more than one particular trail or area of route in the evenings going to feed and a diffrent route coming back to bed? Thanks alot guys - Brandon Hornsby Leesville, SCWinke Responds:Brandon, The answer to both questions is yes. The conditions that made the spot favorable for one buck will also make it favorable for another. It may not be immediately, but after a year, there is likely another good buck in the same general area. Bucks use multiple trails to access their food sources just as they have multiple bedding areas. I don't know how they choose them, but probably has something to do with the wind and where they end up at the end of the night. Good luck buddy. (11-6-11)
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Josh from WI asks:Can deer reason? Or do they simply act in a way of instinct/conditioning?Winke Responds:Josh, Researchers say they can't reason, but I think they can remember things and they can learn much from each event. However, I have seen some bucks become more visible and easier to kill as they got older telling me they didn't learn as much as I thought they did. The main thing that keeps them alive is not their reasoning, but the fact that they don't move much during the daylight. Some of that is learned and some of it is physiological (part of their make-up). So, I think in general we give them too much credit. They are good at staying alive - good at sensing danger (scent, sound, sight) and masters at using the terrain and cover to keep a low profile, etc. That is instinct. They are reclusive. But I have the luxury of hunting bucks that aren't pressured hard - they still show these behaviors and are very hard to kill - but they do make mistakes. The ones that are nearly impossible to kill are that way mostly because they move only at night not because they are super-deer. Good luck. (11-3-11)
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aaron from PA asks:i had 8 different bucks on trail cam in early to mid sept. put my cam back out on oct. 16th for 5 days only got one buck on it i have a salt stump there and corn pile and there is no acorns that i could see in that area do u think the deer are still in that area and if u dont will they be back in that area? I hunted there two times oct. 16th and 22nd did not see anything. Or is it just that time of year in oct. i am still fedding once every 5 to 7 days should i hunt in there in the rut or rifle season on nov. 21stWinke Responds:Aaron, I would say some of them are still around. By Sepember 15, some bucks are still sorting out their fall ranges. I had bucks on camera that were there all the time through mid-September and then started showing up on other cameras before completely disappearing from the farm. They were still sorting our their ranges. At this time, the bucks are not as visible on the cameras so don't read too much into the lack of photos. However, I would say that for sure some of the bucks you were getting in September have moved. I always feel that around early October you pretty well know what you have for the for fall. Prior to that it is still a crap shoot. Good luck (10-26-11)
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coreyk from IA asks:do you think deer will move from a standing cornfield to a picked cornfield ,because of easy access to the corn on the ground? the reason i ask this is,we have a group of deer traveling 1000 yards to a picked cornfield on top of a steep hill ,when they could just as well walk up the valley 200 yards to a standing cornfield with all the cover in the world. I do not know if they have been traveling to the cornfield a 1000 yards away all summer though,what is your thoughts on this? bought the death chamber last night and love the sound of it. OH AND LOVE YOUR SHOW ,FINALLY A SHOW I LEARN FROM EVERY TIME I WATCH IT !! THANKSWinke Responds:Coreyk, They do prefer the picked corn because it is easier to get. 1,000 yards to a deer is nothing. So that is totally possible. Also, they may have had some bad experiences at the other field and this is just the way the old does go now as a result. They are funny that way. They get into a rut and don't change without good reason. The Death Chamber is definitely a good call. I like that you can blow it loud. I always feel that bucks sometimes don't respond to the grunt because they just don't hear it. Good luck and thanks for the support (10-26-11)
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Curtis from MI asks:Bill, Comparing Michigan to Iowa in buck to doe ratio and buck age, and overall buck quality, I feel Michigan is lacking greatly. I know Michigan can get some Booners, but I assume that is becasue of sheer number of deer here. Have you ever assessed this problem. If so what needs to happen to change it. CurtisWinke Responds:Curtis, Those factors matter, but the biggeest difference (by far) is just age. The number of deer is not the biggest problem for you. For a buck to put on big antlers he has to be at least 3 1/2 and really should be older. Big bucks are almost always old bucks. Heavy hunting pressure reduces the number of bucks that reach the next year of age and thus cuts them down before they reach their antler potential. There are ways to deal with it, but it requires an entire neighborhood to be more or less on the same page. It works there, it just takes some patience to pull it off. Good luck. (10-26-11)
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travis purcell from NM asks:The bucks out on my farm arent getting very big they are all about the size of a large doe. I have put seed out on my feilds hopeing that they will put on weight. Its just not working is there something i could be doing wrong?Winke Responds:Travis, I would say they are just young. If they have good food and age, they will get big in the body. Young bucks almost never have big bodies no matter how much you feed them, they need age. Good luck.
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Bee from WI asks:Love your show, keep up the good work!! I got a nice 9pt buck on my trail cam, but he's only coming in at night to my bait pile. I've seen about 5 other smaller bucks come in too but nothing as impressive as the 9pt. My trail cams been out for about a month and i've only seen him on my cam twice. Do you think their are other bucks his size in my area? And do you think he'll move during daylight when the rut comes in full swing. Cause i'm planning to hunt the rut hard the first 2wks of Nov.Winke Responds:Bee, I have no idea about the other bucks, but likely there are others too. We never get all of them on trail camera. There are always surprises once the season opens. He is most likely to move during the day during the first week of November. After that, he may be locked down with a doe. Good luck. (10-24-11)
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Luke from MN asks:Hey Bill, for the past 2 weeks, nearly everyday has a had at least a 20 mph wind with gusts up to 30 and 40. I hunt in the bluff country of southeastern MN. When it is windy like this, will the deer try to get out of the wind by sticking to the valleys and low spots or do they still stay on the hills and ridges?Winke Responds:Luke, I like windy conditions (within reason - 40 mph is pretty rough). That has not been my experience, but it may be different there and it may be different if the winds are prolonged. During the 2009 season we had some very windy days (I think it was 09, maybe 08), but the hunting was still good in all the traditional places, so I would say not to worry about it and hunt your normal stands. Good luck. (10-24-11)
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Jeff Nelson from WI asks:Hey Bill, I have a ? on scrapes. I'm hunting a perfect funnel, my stand is hung on the edge of it vs its interior. The pinch connects to a thick fence line where my set is located. I mowed a bunch of ferns and weeds down and trimming branches for scrapes....it worked awesome. Now with several scrapes within 30 yrds.....are these from the same deer and are hey most likely little guys? They do not appear to be community yet.Winke Responds:Jeff, They are likely from the same deer, but I can't say anything about their size. At this time of the season, bucks will hit scrapes as they pass through an area, even if they only come through once all fall. So it is impossible to say that a certain scrape belongs to a certain buck - it doesn't work that way. Whatever bucks are using that funnel are likely hitting those scrapes. Once the rut really gets kicking, the bucks will keep using the funnel, but the amount of scraping may drop off as they are pre-occupied trying to actually find the does. Most scrapes are community scrapes (any passing buck will hit them). I would hunt it hard from October 28 (or so) until it goes cold. That is when you are most likely to encounter those bucks during daylight. Throw in some cold weather and I like your odds. Good luck.
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Matthew from AL asks:Hey Bill, I love the show! Hope you get the chance to bring down "Big". I had one more question and i promise I won't take up anymore of your time. We had another big cold front move in tonight and I was hoping to catch the deer moving in the moring and evening while the temperature was between 40 to 60 degrees the next day. Unfortunately, i won't get the chance to. Friday is supposed to be a high of 72 degrees. Will the deer action still be as good? Thanks for the great shows and great information. -MatthewWinke Responds:Matthew, Thanks for your support. The deer action will definitely slow down when it warms, but as we get closer and closer to the rut it won't slow down as much as it would otherwise. The general rule of thumb is that they will move more or less naturally up to about 50 degrees in northern areas and probably a bit higher than that farther south. That means that the mornings and evenings should still be good as they will be cooler. I would get out there, but the action won't be as good as it would be if it were still cold. Good luck.
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Keith from MO asks:I have just received permission to hunt a new farm this season and have ran cameras since late August. The only pictures are of many does. There is no sign of rubs or scrapes on the property yet. Will bucks move into this farm as the rut approaches or is it better to find another farm?Winke Responds:Keith, They will move in at some point, because the does will get bred, but I think I would feel better if there were actuall a few bucks around. I would keep in my back pocket but start looking for other options too. Even the public land has some bucks on it and that can be good rut hunting, so don't feel too tied to that piece. Good luck.
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Todd from MA asks:Hi Bill: I have two questions for you. Bow Season opened up today, the weather has finally turned cooler. My son and i were out at our new set in stands. The night before i got pics of a buck but it was a button buck, i mean all he had was nubs. Shouldnt his antlers have grown alot by now? or is he a year old deer? 2nd question is; the full moon in November is the 10th i believe. Do you belive the rut kicks off with the full moon cycle? Loving the shows we watch every week and look forward to more. P.S. if you want a pic of this deer i can send it..its funny. Take Care ToddWinke Responds:Todd, Thanks for the support. He might be either a late born buck from last year or a 1/2 year old buck born this past spring. There are many button bucks running the woods at this time. I think the best days of the rut will be roughly November 3 through November 10, regardless of the moon. That is what I have seen in the past. The moon phase may change some of the activity patterns but it won't change the peak rut dates much. Featus Testing of harvested does (determines conception date) that I have seen confirms that. Good luck.
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Patrick Reid from IL asks:My question is how long after being busted is it okay to hunt that same stand again?I killed a doe opening weekend but in the process was busted by the accompanying doe. She snorted and stomped for several minutes after she spotted me after shooting the other doe. I Hunted it 2 weeks later with little luck. Should i let it cool down longer? Thanks I enjoy your blog it is extremely educational.Winke Responds:Patrick, Two weeks should be enough. You may never shoot that doe from that stand. When they see you in the stand, that really makes an impression on them. They are slow to return to normal in that area. The worst is when they come out looking for you each time they are in the area. I have that happen. The only option then is to kill the doe if possible, or move to a tree nearby where she isn't looking for you and kill her from there. One way or the other, you have to get her out of there or her body language will keep deer on edge in that area all season. Good luck.
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Adam from IL asks:Bill, love the show. Got a family farm in Adams County Il. 4 years ago my brothers and I started using trail cameras extensively. Last year we saw the biggest jump in bigger deer on cams. We had 5 deer from Mid-September to the end of October that we agreed we would harvest with the chance. My brother was lucky enough to harvest one of those deer. My question and concern is about this year. I have had the cameras out for around the same time this year. And so far I havent had any of those deer back but my bigger concern is that we don't have really any buck pictures at all. We do a great job of staying out during the summer months. There is really very little hunting pressure around us. And if a neighbor would have harvested one of are hitters last year we would have known. I feel like the deer are moving through our big timber for the bluff and thats why we havent been seeing them this yearWinke Responds:Adam, Not sure on those specific deer. Likely they are around the area. It probably has to do with food sources. If the crop rotation changed, that can have an affect. For example, our farm always seems to be better on years when we have beans planted on the farm - like this year. I think it brings them in during the summer and they hang closer come early fall. That is my feeling anyway and I have had others tell me the same thing. If you don't already have good food plots, I would consider adding them next year. Also, I would not assume that those bucks are not somewhere nearby, maybe eating acorns or hanging near a different food source in the area. Keep running the cameras, they may show back up. Sometimes they move off for a year and then return. I have two bucks on the farm right now (great bucks) that were here all the time in 2009 and then not at all in 2010 but are back again now. Hunt as if they will show up and focus on the food next year. Good luck.
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Skyler from IA asks:Bill, My wife had a copy of the book "Quest For The World Record", that you wrote and I got to wondering, have the hunters seen any deer in the years after that resemble or could be offspring to that giant? Also, being from Southwest Iowa do you believe the deer in Southeast Iowa have better genetics or would you say things like that that buck have just brought more interest in that area?Winke Responds:Skyler, For those who don't realize it, Skyler is talking about the world record Lovstuen Buck that was shot in SE Iowa back in 2003. Deer like that are freaks. You can't predict where they will show up. If I had to pick a place to shoot a 300 inch buck, it would be someplace like Alberta or Saskatchewan, but they just show up where they show up. I would not read any more into it than that. He is dead, his offspring never came anywhere near approaching his size. The hunting pressure increased for a few years after that buck was shot but then died back down when people realized the hunting in that area was like anywhere else in Iowa. My own research suggests that for sheer trophy hunting quality, SW Iowa is actully better than SE Iowa. Look at the number of trophies per hunter and you will see what I mean. The hunting pressure in that area is not as high, but the buck quality is still very good. I would not move if I were you! Good luck.
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Cody from WI asks:Bill, It's me again. Another question, tonight could have been alot better, but it wasn't, I'm working on QDM and a mature doe came along so i took the shot, i aimed for the vitals, but as soon as i released there was a little twig that bumped my arrow, and it spined the deer, definitely the last place i would want to hit a deer! So the deer went down, and i sat there in shock, thinking what am i going to do now? There's deer all around me. I was gonna shoot it again, but i didn't have a shot. So i called my cousin to come help cut it's throat, is that the best thing to do when it's paralyzed? And then there was a little one that came up and actually bedded down next to the doe, until the momma doe bleated at it, and it walked off. Will this affect on the buck movement, and the rut? Kinda worried it will. But anyway's thank you Bill!Winke Responds:Cody, I don't think it will affect the buck movement in that area. Any deer you bumped while getting down to finish the doe would be wiser, but overall, I don't think the buck movement in that area will be affected during the rut. I might stop hunting that immediate area for a week or so, though. The best way to finish them is definitely to shoot them again. Don't hesitate. Get the second shot immediately. If you have to climb down to do that, that it OK too, but it is generally too danerous in most cases to try to cut the throat of a deer that is still alive. Good luck.
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steve from WI asks:Bill,have had an awesome start to my season. Although about two and a half weeks ago i shot a great buck hit high and foward. Looked for it for two days with no luck. A couple days ago a friend that hunts about 1/4 mile away started getting pics. of the buck i hit with a visible shoulder wound looks to be perfectly healthly! My friend has never gotten pics. of this buck before.In your opinion, do you think buck relocated for good or will he return to my area.The show and e-mails are awesome keep them coming. Thank, SteveWinke Responds:Steve, Thanks for the support. My guess is that he will return at some point. I have had a similar situation occur and the buck eventually returned (about a month later). This deer could be different, but if I was betting, I would say he will return. Good luck.
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Scent producer says the breeding dates of his does changes with the moon; what is your take on that?Steve from MA asks:I always found the lunar rut theory interesting but based on my experiences over the years have decided that the rut seems to actually be pretty consistent year to year. With that said your NE Nov. 12, 2009 video segment features Duane Koser / Death Row Scents. In that segment Duane explains that the peak breeding period for his deer falls 5 days after the Nov. full moon. THis is very similar to the Charles Alshiemers (sp?) lunar theory. Duane's assessment seems hard to dispute. What's your opinion on the matter?Winke Responds:Steve, I am with you on that one. I think it is usually very consistent based on the dates too. Not sure on Duane's data. I only know what I see when I am hunting. In the wild it seems to vary little from one year to the next. I guess I am still not 100% sold on the moon's affects just yet. Good luck.
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Cole from IA asks:Bill, I went out hunting for the first time (Oct. 12 after rain) in a 50 acre (give or take) tract of woods/brush (very thick because of logging, thorns and weed seed growth, etc). This was where I shot a nice deer last year Oct. 31. As I was sneaking along the creek/pasture on the edge of the woods to get into a stand I have never sat in the evenings, I jumped a monster I believe I have pictures of. He is probably in the 180's maybe 190's, hard to tell with mass and stickers. Anyway, I assumed he would be living across the gravel road in the refuge just to the north where some of the big boys I get pictures of seem to stay for bow season. However, jumping him from his bed on Oct. 12 also gave me the impression he made his home on my side. What is your opinion on this and whether or not you think he will stay or not after jumping him? Let me remind you of the date (Oct. 12), so is it possible this was a bed for him that he may return to? Not familiar on buck bedding habits. ShouWinke Responds:Cole, Bucks don't necessarily bed in the same place every day. They may a general area or a few general areas in which they bed. I would not assume from jumping him once that you have pegged his full-time bedding area. He may stop bedding in that area as a result of the scare. I can't say for sure on that, but it would not surprise me. However, I don't think he will stop using your farm. He may bed other places on it or across the road, but my guess is that he will use the farm some this season since it seems to be a place he feels comfortable. I would not stop hunting that stand either. I might hold off for a ocuple of weeks to give the buck a chance to get comfortable there (with no signs of human intrusion) again if he does venture back at some point day or night. Good luck.
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Tom from WI asks:Hi, I just purchased a small parcel of land in Ashland County, WI. It is 10 acres but I have written permission to hunt an additional 120 that surrounds my land. The problem is the woods is very thick, very hard to walk through, impossible quietly. I am wondering if I should clear out some trails and stand setups still this season and hunt it or just clear it and and skip hunting this year. I plan on putting some small food plots in next year (several about the size of a trailer).Winke Responds:Tom, Congratulations! That is exciting stuff. You should be able to hunt it this year, no problem. If you have access to a bush hog and small tractor that is the ideal way to do this. It makes a lot of noise and the deer aren't afraid of that. They will be right back in there the next day. Good luck.
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I am hunting Pike County IL from November 18-20; will the rut be over? What will the bucks be doing?Kevin from AR asks:I am going to Pike County Illinois for the muzzleloader hunt Nov 18-20th. Will the rut be over? What should I expect? I have a CVA Wolf that I use here in AR for 100 yard shots basically. I am getting a Triumph with a 28" barrel so I dont miss an opportunity. Do you think that is the right way to go?Winke Responds:Kevin, No, not over. I always feel the time from Nov. 20 to 26 can be very good for rut activity. I have shot or seen a number of nice bucks at this time. Not a lot of overall rut activity, but the bigger (older) bucks will still be moving. Spend time around food in the evenings and bedding areas in the mornings. The bucks will still be looking for those last few does that come in at the tail of the primary rut. I know the Triumph is a good gun. We have been using them for years. I don't know anything about The CVA Wolf, so I better not comment on that. It may be a great gun too, for all I know. A realistic range is 150 yards. I think you need to be deadly out to 150 yards. Good luck.
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Chase from GA asks:In regards to harvesting Does, how long will it take for new ones to replace ones that have been taken. Say for example we have 8 does that make one area their home. If we kill 3 (mature does, not yearlings) in October will others move in fairly quickly? We normally harvest after the rut but are tempted to start earlier. Thanks!!Winke Responds:Chase, No, I would say it will take at least a year for other mature does to move in. Does are not as prone to disperse as bucks. That is the idea behind killing them, to reduce or maintain populations. If you want to maintain a population, you need to shoot roughly 30% of the mature does each year. Good luck.
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Dalton from KS asks:Hey Mr.Winke, I hope you are having a great season. I love the shows they are amazing!! My question is, I had to make two stand improvments but we had to get the chainsaw out there to clear shooting lanes. This stand is right on the edge of the bedding area, how long will it take for the deer to feel comfortable enough to use this pinch point to enter the bedding area in the morning? ThanksWinke Responds:Dalton, I think they will be back very soon. Loud noises and chainsaws never seem to scare them away for long - not like repeated hunting pressure. I would not worry about heading in there the next time the wind is right. Good luck.
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josh from OK asks:hey Bill, i have read alot of your answers about shooting does, but i did not see anything on how to age them. can or are they aged by appearance like the bucks? also if a fella were to shoot a doe that had some young with or in close proximity, do you think these young deer would be taken in so to speak by another doe? just had to ask becuase my finger is really itchin and i would love some deer in the freezer or fryin pan, but i do not want to inadvertinly kill the young by leaving them to fend for themselves.Winke Responds:Josh, I am sure that a biologist trained in this can age them somewhat by appearance. I go by head size (nose length) and body shape and size. The old ones just look old, but I never try to shoot does based on age. I just shoot whichever one is closest or whichever one gives me a shot. The young from this year can fend for themselves now. They are fully weaned and can live just fine without the doe. I have shot enough does through the years to know that. I would not think twice about it. Good luck.
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Jim from IA asks:Hey Bill. Say, I have heard you and or your pro staff members mention hot hunting in October preceding a cold front. What type of weather do you believe it takes to get mature bucks on their feet in daylight at this time of year? Could you be specific about the temperature range or drop you think it takes? What is the best time frame to hunt before these cold fronts? Thanks.Winke Responds:Jim, During or just after the cold front passing to be exact. Just before is too soon. Any front that drops the daytime temperature by at least 20 degrees from one day to the next is a pretty significant event and worth hunting. Lesser cold fronts are also useful but it seems that the deer don't respond to them quite as vigorously. Again, hunt as the front is passing and the day after. Spmetimes two days after is still good. Good luck.
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scott from VT asks:i live in the north(vermont) and our bow season opened up last saturday. the question i have is ...ive been scouting my area out all summer with cameras food plots.ive gotten pictures all summer right up till end of sept. ive seen them on my outings..but now there is nothing at all.ive hunted a couple days in one then i keep moving but still nothing.what am i doing wrong if anything.Winke Responds:Scott, You aren't doing anything wrong. It is typical timing for the start of the time when bucks start to become nocturnal. It is commonly called the October Lull. You can still sometimes shoot one, but the odds are low right now. They start improving again around October 25, or so. In the meantime, I would stay out of my best areas unless you have trail camera photos of a big one moving during the day. Good luck.
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Chris from LA asks:I had the large 15pt within bowrange this evening and before he turned to give me a broadside shot he decided to engage in all out battle with a mature 8pt. Needless to say that amongst all the chaos I didn't get a shot, even though at one point they were locked up at 15yds. We've never seen light sparring much less all out war this early in the season...Any insight as to what this may mean? Our rut usually isn't til around Christmas.Winke Responds:Chris, Two grouchy bucks at the wrong time. They are always trying to sort out dominance at this time and probably those two bucks were roughly equal so sparring turned into fighting. Just like on the playground - starts out as fun but when the boys are both in a bad mood and evenly matched it can easily turn into a fight. Good luck.
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Jeremiah from IL asks:Hey Bill I have two questions the first is I cut a new trail through the thicket behind my pasture cause it was in-passable in the spring summer and early fall. I have seen deer track in late winter but want them to use it all year. How long do you think it will take before they use it. My second question is there is a empty space about 100yards long and 10 yards wide in the middle what do you think I could plant there to keep them coming back. My problem is I cant till it because of BIG roots and more rocks then i care to hit with my tiller. Could I put seeds down this winter or early spring with snow on the ground and hope they take before the seed die. Thanks ahead of time.Winke Responds:Jeremiah, They will start using it almost immediately. I am sure it is part of their program by now. Number two: you can spray with RoundUp now and then come back in February and frost seed (spread on top of the ground) with clover and then fertilize with P & K. That will produce a good stand of clover. I would also check the Ph by taking a sample of the soil to the local co-op. If it is low (below 6.5) put some yard lime on there to bring it up. Good luck.
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josh from OK asks:Bill, i was wondering if i were to feed the deer a very high protien feed in the early summer on through their antler growing period, if that could increase their size that year or would it take 2-3 years to see some growth? thanks joshWinke Responds:Josh, You would likely see some improvement the first year, but it really takes a couple of generations to really see the benefits of a better diet throughout the entire herd. In other words, the does need to be in better health to give birth to healthier buck fawns, etc. You see some benefit right away, but the results takes years to appreciate. Most people aren't that patient, but if you can raise the health of all the deer for several years, you will see noticeably bigger antlers as a result. Actually, you need year-around nutrition to produce this result, not just summer food. They need to come through the winter very healthy too. Good luck.
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Chris from LA asks:Unbelievable. The exact same thing that happened to you has happened down here. I had hundreds of daylight photos of a nice 15ptr right up until last week. Do you think that deer seasons were set around this? I wonder if the seasons were moved up (not that I think they ever will be) would the deer adapt and become nocturnal even earlier? None of our shooter bucks were seen this past weekend and we did nothing to change the routine we've been doing on the property for the last two months. Very disappointingWinke Responds:Chris, I think it is just a very bad coincidence. I don't think they would adapt right away. I think this is physiological. It is part of their makeup based on daylight length and testosterone levels. I know exactly how you feel. They really disapeared here. They are still around but now it will be harder to kill them because of their nocturnal behavior - welcome to the October lull.
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Barbara from TX asks:We hunt in east Texas,and are having trouble with the bucks only coming out at night. Would appreciate any tips on what to do to get a shot in the daylight. We have trail cameras and know they are coming. Also wanted to say my husband turned me on to your show, Love it. Thanks.Winke Responds:Barbara, Thanks for your support. Nocturnal bucks are really tough to deal with. About all you can do as a bowhunter is look to the early stages of the rut to pull them out. Sometimes they will move with October cold fronts, but in my experience some bucks just don't like to move during the day. With that in mind, hunt those areas sparingly until the rut and then I would say it is worth trying to put out more cameras to try to determine where they are coming from. Notice which direction they are approaching the camera from and then move a camera a ways in that direction. Bait it with corn and see if you figure where the buck is bedding (or close to where he is bedding). That is where you will need to hunt him when the time comes. They are tough to kill (I have a few of them too) but you have to try. Good luck.
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ron from OK asks:Hi bill great work with the show . I live in Oklahoma I have a camera and I'm getting pics of fawns with spots maybe 5 or 6 diff fawns what does this mean? Too many does in my area? only have one pic of a buck. it is 10/2/11. i wanna shoot some does is ok to shoot them if their fawns still have spots? Will the fawns be ok or do i need to wait.Winke Responds:Ron, I am guessing that the fawns are weaned by now, but the fact that they have spots is a bit strange. I believe I would hold off a few more weeks on the does with spotted fawns must to be sure. You must have a lot of does and some of them are getting bred in January. That is the best explanation. I would think that thinning some of them will tighten up the breeding dates so that more of them are born earlier. Good luck.
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corey from IA asks:what is the factors that decide when buck decides to leave his summer homerange for his fall homerange,or is it the same time every year?Winke Responds:Corey, Pretty much the same time every year. When the bucks break up their bachelor groups that is when they start to disperse into their fall ranges. That usually occurs between about Sept 6 and the end of September. Usually by October they are relocated. Not to say they never come back to their summer range, they just tend to spend most of their time elsewhere. Good luck.
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Brandon from MO asks:Bill, I love the show and your advice, so thanks for both! As of September 6th, I have not captured any of the 3 shooter bucks I had this summer on my trail camera site. The camera is still overlooking a trophy rock mineral in the wooded draw I hunt, so perhaps I need to move the camera over the cut corn fields. However, do you think that all 3 of these shooter bucks have left my property, or is it more likely that they just aren't having the reason to come to this spot in the cover? Last, I have persistent morning pictures at 7:30 a.m. of 5 does in this small wooded draw area, so should I try kiling one of them in that draw soon or will I be runing the spot for the rut period? I have already hunted that draw 3 times, twice on the opening weekend, and once this weekend. -BrandonWinke Responds:Brandon, I am guessing the bucks have stopped using the mineral. They generally stop using mineral as soon as their velvet dries down (or roughly at that time). They may still be there, but the only way to find out is to run the camera in a different location. On a cut cornfield might work. You might also consider putting the camera on a scrape now too, or a heavy trail entering the field. I believe it is illegal to bait to the camera in MO, but check into that. If it is legal, that is also a good way to get a quick snapshot of what is around. Corn is normally the most attractive and within ten days you usually know what is there. As for hunting those does, I would not be afraid to hunt fringe areas, but I would stay out of my best areas until the end of October, roughly. I hope that helps. Good luck.
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chad from IN asks:why is there more does around than bucks. is there a scientific explanation for this ? thanksWinke Responds:Chad, Easy answer is that the natural mortality is higher for bucks than does - they travel more during the rut and get hit by cars, etc. Also hunters tend to shoot more bucks than does which also explains part of the reason. They are born roughly one to one and the difference later in life has to do with human interaction (accidents and hunting). Good luck.
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jeremie from ME asks:the bucks here in nebraska are still in groups.. when will they break up and also with it being sep 27th will the bucks be in their fall ranges by now?? and does havesting the crops push the deer out of the area?? if so for how long before the return?? thanx so much for all the time u spend on the questionsWinke Responds:Jeremie, They should be breaking up now. Actually, I would say in most areas they have already broken up. If the deer are living in the crop fields they will have to relocate, but if they are living in other cover nearby the harvesting will not push them out. They will just leave for a short while and come right back in (same day or next day). They aren't afraid of this. They always follow their stomachs so if all the food is gone (usually later in the season) they will relocate for that reason too.
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Ron H. Jr. from WI asks:Hey Bill, Quick question for you after a long story, lol. The other evening I shot a nice 8 pointer. He was about 20yrds away and the shot was a cleaan pass through, with a Rage 3 blade. For some reason, i dont remember seein my arrow in flight, but everything felt good when i shot. (i was calm, steady, ext.) After sitting another 1/2 hr, I found my arrow, and followed really good for about 30-40 yards than nothing!! We backed out for the night to return in the morning, but we got heavy rain and the blood was gone. Anyways, we looked and looked for half the day but could not find this 8 pointer. Im guessing I might have hit him high, i dont know. Question is: How often can/does/will a deer servive if shot in the "dead zone" with an arrow? I have my fingers crossed that he makes it but i have my doubts... thanks for yourtime and thoughts Bill Ron H. Jr.Winke Responds:Ron, I have some first hand experience doing this and also helping others who hit deer in this area. I am not sure of the percentages but I know for a fact, without any doubt, that you can hit them under the spine and not kill them. I can show you video evidence and photographic evidence to prove this. We don't show you everything that happens on the show - almost everything - but not everything. I actually hit the G5 buck high in a panic session on November 14 high. Exit hole was about the perfect height for entry, but the entry was about six to eight inches high. He was chasing does within ten minutes! Obviously, he didn't die. In fact, he is a bunch bigger this year. I am glad now that he got away. A friend of mine showed me trail cam photos of a buck he hit high last season. It was a bit high, but not super high. The deer did fine until one of his friends shot it a month later! I am guessing it may depend on whether the deer is exhaling or not, or maybe exactly how far back, etc. But you can do it. You can hit them there and not kill them. Not sure what the percentatge is, but I bet it is at least 50-50 or higher survival. Good luck.
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Why is it that older bucks tend to stay away from the doe concentration areas except during the rut?Paul from PA asks:I have access to about a 500 acre farm in pa. There are some nice deer on the property but certain areas hold a lot of fawns and doe all year. Its fun hunting these spots because of the activity but year after year, no older bucks. During the rut, an older deer may show. Why is this? This takes place year after year. Doe breeding ground???Winke Responds:Paul, Not a breeding ground. Bucks (especially older ones) tend to be loners through most of the fall, living in out of the way areas. They will move to the doe concentrations when the does are in estrous, but don't normally interact much with does during the rest of the year. Good luck.
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David from ON asks:Hello Mr. Winke. Had a question I wanted to ask about early season rain. Here in southern Ontario our season opens October 1, and a good many days of the month will end up raining. From your experience what do the deer do during a light to steady rain in the early part of the season? Will they be moving or hunker down in cover? Come November it seems that the bucks will still move during rain, but will they do the opposite in October? Thank youWinke Responds:David, My experience: under those conditions they move naturally. They are not affected by a misting or light rain. Actually, they like to move in those conditions. If it is a steady rain or raining hard they hole up until it passes. I don't think they like not being able to hear or smell as well. That has been my experience here at least.
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Jordan from IA asks:Bill, just read your latest blog. Watching the episodes over the summer and coming into this fall has been very interesting. "Big" is just re-confirming a statement you made last year after you killed Jamie and I believe one of the TV episodes was about bucks becoming "easier" to kill as they get to that point of what might be the downhill side for them. It's amazing to see yet another old buck that has been 99% nocturnal start to turn into a deer that seems to be a killable buck. I'm pulling for you hard. Obviously it would be a tremendous trophy for you as you have spent so much time and energy into hunting this one deer. Best of luck Bill. God bless.Winke Responds:Jordan, I agree. It is something we see fairly often. Of course, the challenge is to get them to 6 1/2 or older! We have a few of them on the farm this year. It is fun to form these hypotheses and then try to prove them right or wrong over the course of several seasons. He would make a great trophy if we can get him. Have a great day and God bless you too.
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Tyler from MO asks:Hi Bill, I love the website and all the great tips you put on here. Keep up the good work. My question is regarding the "snort and weeze" sound bucks often make. Last October, I had a nice 10 pointer crash through the woods following a group of 4 does perform this sound. It struck me at first, because I have never heard a deer do this before. It was pretty cool. What does this mean in deer language?Winke Responds:Tyler, Not sure what it meant that day. I think it can mean different things at different times. Usually, it is a sign of aggression. The buck is trying to tell another buck to keep away or he will get his butt kicked. But in the situation you discuss, it could have meant that the buck was excited and he just did that out of excitement or frustration at the does. Who knows, maybe there was another buck nearby that you didn't see. Good luck.
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Jim from OH asks:Hey Bill. Love what you are doing with Midwest Whitetail, very cool. I have 130 acres in S E Ohio that I have been managing for 7 years. I have about 8 acres in food plots. I planted 1/4 acre of beans on July 25th and fenced them in. I took the fence down on Sept 22nd and the opener was the 24th. I had 15 does and 6 bucks come to those beans on the first hunt. My questions are. Are all of these deer local? How far will deer travel this time of year for prefered food? My neighbor has 500 acres with 40 acres of food plots so there is no shortage of food in the area. Trying to figure how many does I should take. ThanksWinke Responds:Jim, They are locals. The distant deer would not have found it by then. They won't typically travel far at this time of year because they usually aren't food stressed with ag crops, acorns, browse. I would say for sure they are local deer. Late season is when you really see the transients show up at your food. Good luck.
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Ryan from MS asks:Bill, I live In Mississippi and Our Rut is late December through early January. I have hunted Ohio a few years past and their Rut is in early November. My question to you is if you take a whitetail buck from Mississippi and brought him to Ohio or another mid west state that has the same Rut time would a Mississippi Whitetail Rut at the same time as the other deer or would he wait until late December early January?Winke Responds:Ryan, The buck doesn't control the rut, the doe does. The buck is basically ready to breed any time in the fall that a doe is in estrous. So if you took a Mississippi doe and brought her to MI, lets say, my guess is that she would still come into estrous at the same time she would in MS. However, there would be a buck there to breed her at that time. I am not sure when her offspring (does) would come into estrous. My guess is that after a generation or two, they would come into estrous at the same time as the local herd.
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eric from WI asks:Bill, i hunt on a 1000 acres farm in southwest wisconsin, my question is i started getting pictures of 3 giant bucks on my trail cameras in the middle of october last year at night, the thing is i havent had any pictures of them this year. i was wondering if there on my farm still or just popping by just before rut kicks in?Winke Responds:Eric, Impossible to know without running at least a camera for every 40 acres on the place for a couple of weeks. Even then they may not show up on the camera. They could easily be there, it is a big farm! We get most of the bucks around because we use corn to stop them in front of the camera. If you aren't baiting the camera, you may not be getting them all. Also, those bucks may just come there in the fall. I have a buck here that seems to only show up in December and then leaves. He may not be going far, but we never see him nor get photos of him at other times of the year. He is a big one too, so we are always looking. Good luck.
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James from MN asks:Hi Bill, I took your advice a while back and got the G5 XR2 sight for my new bow. I love it, it works great! While sighting it in, I sighted the stationary pin for zero to forty yards and then sighted the floating pin out to 85yds. My question is, when sigthing the floating pin in, I have to turn the wheel further between 45-60 yards than I do between 75-85 when turning in 5 yard increments. Do you know why that is? I would have thought that the further away the more you would have to turn the wheel to compensate for drop, but its just the opposite. The only thing I can think of is maybe my anchor point is changing? I know that's not ideal, but I shoot grapefruit size groups at 85 so I probably won't change the set up much till next season... But I am just curious. And to add to that, do you think there is a distance at which you are far enough away from the deer that the sound of the bow isn't loud enough to startle them as much? I know when shooting at the range, guys that are a 4-5Winke Responds:James, Could be the way it is geared. Just pay attention to how far the pin moves, not how far you turn the wheel. If you are shooting grapefruit sized groups at 85 yards you had better not change anything you are doing! That is excellent shooting! I think the distance depends on the day. If it is breezy and the leaves are rustling that distance can be as short as 40 yards, but this where long-range shooting on the range and long range shooting in the field start to diverge. The target on the range never moves from the time you pull the trigger until the arrow gets there. That is why true hunting maximum range is much less than true practice maximum range. I can shoot pretty well out to 70 if I practice a lot, but there is no way I would shoot at a whitetail at that distance. Way too many things can go wrong. If you are shooting at animals that don't move much and aren't likely to jump the string, you may be able to shoot farther, but I have seen too many moving deer to take shots much past 40 yards except under the right conditions. My longest killing shot on a whitetail was 65 yards at a doe. She actually turned completely around and I heart shot her on the opposite side of the body from the one I was aiming at! A lot can happen when the arrow is in the air! Your question got cut off, but I hope I covered it for you. Good luck.
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Mike from ON asks:Over the last few years your friend Mike Sawyer has killed some nice deer off your farm. What do you think the chances are that the buck named "Stickers" and the buck he shot on Jan 8 2008 share the same blood lines? Or is this sticker trait very common among older bucks particularly where you are. I just find as unique as these deer are compared to most they look very similiar to each other. You never made reference to this I'm curious on your thoughts.Winke Responds:Mike, The sticker trait is very common here especially among bucks that reach age 5 or older. They all seem to trash up around the bases. We have a few others this year that look like that too, only that has at least 12 (maybe 15) inches of stickers around his bases. Of course it kills any kind of typical score, but I think those stickers are really cool. It might be something genetic in this area, but it only surfaces when the deer get to be 5 years old. Good luck.
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joshua from MI asks:hello what would the chance's be of me getting any deer back on the property that i lease. all the fields where cut 2 weeks before the season opens know i dont have 1 deer on trail cam and i am not seeing anything out there either. is it useless to even hunt or will they come back? thanks again for your helpWinke Responds:Joshua, It depends on the situation. If it is a funnel between two different areas with does, then you will definitely see bucks during the rut. Things shake up during the rut and the patterns you see earlier in the season change so I would like to think something will be coming through there in late October and early November, but it is really impossible for me to say for sure without actually seeing the layout. The layout will give plenty of information on what is likely to happen. Good luck.
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bob from IL asks:Hey bill I went to my hunting property today to put cameras out and check the stands and a storm this summer took out alot of trees and blocked a major trail the deer always followed, will that affect the hunting this fall? And I found a scrape about 500 yards for my stand and made a mock scrape within 50 yards of my stand where there was one last year. Will the buck use them both or are they too close?Winke Responds:Bob, The deer will still be there, but it may affect their travel routes. Might give you a good opportunity to open up a few lanes with your chainsaw. Deer often take the path of least resistance so opening up the lanes will potentially bring more of them within range. They are certainly not too close. Bucks will often hit every scrape they come across during the tail end of October. They stop hitting them in early November, for the most part. Good luck.
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Cody from WI asks:Hey Bill. Today I was recently making mock scrapes, and walking out I jumped a deer, im not sure if it was a buck or doe, by the way it took off it sounded like a buck, but will the deer become nocturnal or vanish the area? Or what other possibilities are there? That is all I have today, thanks Bill!Winke Responds:Cody, One incident won't have that affect. Repeated incidents will. Also, if get too close to the deer's sanctuary areas they may be more cautious (harder to fool) when they come back into that area in the future. They seem to be able to tell when we casually bump them and when we are hunting them. I am not sure how, maybe it is the way we move that gives away our intentions, but they never seem to take it too hard when we bump them when we are on a casual mission. I used to let the neighbor lady walk through my farm. She did it well into September. She said the deer just watched her walk past. They were used to her and never saw her as danger. So they are able to determine danger from incidental human encounters. Just don't go back unti you have to. Good luck.
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Brandon from OK asks:Bill, My question is how do you know that a deer is the same deer when it is a six point one year then a big ten the next? Is there some certain characteristic the deer has that you can tell them apart? I watch some of these hunting shows and the deer does not look the same from year to year but the host seems to think that it is the same deer. Thanks.Winke Responds:Brandon, You don't. We can sometimes tell a 2 1/2 year old buck from one year to the next, but normally they have to be 3 1/2 before we can start to follow individual deer on video or on trail cam photos. They are too generic at 2 1/2 and can change too much from one year to the next for us to be able to distinguish them from season to season. I suppose on those shows it is possible they are following the same deer, or they may just be blowing smoke because they know following one deer makes a better story. Who knows. Good luck.
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James from MN asks:Gettin a little bit frustrated. Every year we put out minerals for bucks to help them get healthy and big. Every year all summer long we get pics of big bucks use the minerals. Then, every year around september we stop seeing pics of those bucks and start getting pics of smaller bucks that we have never seen before. Since obviously the deer are using our place as a summer range and leaving for the fall, and we are getting smaller bucks from other places, how do we get those bucks that live somewhere else in the summer to grow bigger racks so we have decent bucks to hunt? Btw i have roughly 10 acres of various food plots so they have plenty of nutrition year round so I am not sure why they leave... Thanks for your time.Winke Responds:James, In general, deer will stop using mineral licks about the time they shed their velvet. So some of this transition is natural. If the bucks you have been photographing really have left (you can know by putting out other cameras on bait if legal) then you have a problem. I am guessing that some of those bigger deer have stayed around, just not coming to that camera location anymore. I would try a few more locations over bait (as mentioned). If they have completely left then your only hope is the rut when they may cruise back through. Other than having good food sources, which you have, there is really nothing you can do to make the property more likely to hold the same bucks during the fall. They just kind of seem to go where they go. I don't know for sure why they disperse to new fall ranges. Hunting pressure could be part of it, but if they are doing it in the absence of hunting pressure (which is likely the case here) then you just have to take what you get from that generation of bucks. Eventually, you will have bucks whose summer and fall ranges are on your farm. It may take a few years to build up a number of them, but many of the deer on our place now fall into this category. Like I said, it is not a well understood aspect of buck behavior. I would just be patient - beyond what you have already done, it is all you can do.
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drew from IL asks:I have a property here in il that I have not used for anything but farming forthe past 5 years. This spring I decided I was going to hunt it after finding a 10 pts shed. So I put a mineral site out and trail cameras out this spring. last week I retrieved the cameras and there was a small 8 pt coming through 4 or 5 days a week around noon. The big buck was nowhere to be found until sept 7 and he is a huge 14 pt that im very interested in. Does this mean that the 8 pt is like the dominant buck in the area and the big one just happened to come through? Or was the big buck away for the summer and his home fall range is on my property and he'll stick around from now until bow season? If there is any other advice you have to hunt opening weekend it will be appriciated.Winke Responds:Drew, I would not assume from what you have seen that the 8 pointer is a dominant buck. He may just be a local deer that doesn't travel far. I can't guarantee that the giant will stick around, but likely he was dispersing from somewhere else and was either working his way through your area or will take up residence there. Only time will tell that. Hopefully he is going to stay all fall. Keep running the camera until you know for sure. If you lose him, you may need to move it again and try to find him back, if possible. Good luck.
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dillon from IA asks:I just got back from our leased property 75 miles away,have not been there all year,just like to stay out of there for pressure reasons. no food plots ,and the deer use it for a funnel and does tend to hang around the area.Last five years you could not drive along the fingers without blowing deer out everywhere,250 acres of CRP,ABOUT 75 of that is woods excellent hunting until now.Someone has been driving around it all summer with a four wheeler (looks like every day )(and do not even own a camera)four wheeler paths all over.No deer to be seen ,except for one doe and two fawn,most times i might kick out 20 or 30 deer!! So my question is ,is my season gonna be a flop now or will deer move back in or at least pass through??? last three years i shot a 135 10 pointer,172 12 pointer and last year a 140 class 9 pointer .Yes im pretty disgusted in myself for not spending more time at the property now,any advice would sure help alot!!! thanksWinke Responds:Dillon, I would be disgusted too. That stinks. I would not say that the hunting will be a bust. If they have not been driving through the timber it will OK. If they have been, it may not be so good for you. The deer will come back eventually, but they would have to stop right now for the deer to move back in by early to mid October, or so. Better fences, better gates - those would also help. Having a local person keep an eye on the place will also help. Then things won't go that long without correction. I am sure the season will be fine if you can get them out now. Good luck.
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Jason from SC asks:Thanks for putting together such great shows, they are very well done and it shows (by far the best deer show on TV). I love hunting and had a large 11 pointer on camera over corn close to his bedding area. He showed up at 7 am two days before opening of archery season and of course now he's only showing up at 11 pm to 3 am. Do you have any advice on killing this buck or should I wait until scraping activity starts in mid-October when he might be more predictable? He is definitely the most dominant buck in the area right now and isn't camera shy, but now he's nocturnal. One idea I had was moving the baited sight more towards my food plots or maybe eliminating it all together so I can try to push him out of bed earlier as he travels through the woods (cover) to get to the food. Acorns are also just starting to fall and I'm sure that's going to throw a whole nothing problems into the mix. Do you hunt early season at all or wait?Winke Responds:Jason, I would wait. If he is only appearing at night, there is no point in polluting the area by hunting it now. I would move it closer to the food. I never like cameras near bedding areas. Too much risk. If he starts showing on the camera near food just after dark, you know where to find him anyway. That is the strategy I tend to use. I say wait until you know he is active daylight.
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josh from IN asks:hi bill. im a central indiana resident and ive been seeing several different deer including a pretty decent ten pt on my trail cam i do use corn to draw in the deer in too. also i have noticed as of late that the bucks are showing themselves less and less during day light hours. i didnt know if that was due to my intrusion or maybe just that the deer are starting to change there pattern? what can i do to keep those bucks around during legal shooting hrs? any advice would be really appreciatedWinke Responds:Josh, No, that is normal. It happens every year starting around the 10th of August and you see them less and less during the day after that. There is nothing you can actually do to keep them on daylight patterns. If you hunt them carefully, and stay out of their living rooms (stick to the fringes with the cameras) you can possibly hope to increase daylight activity, but I have deer that never know I am on the planet that turn nocturnal at this time. It is just who they are (at least some of them). You just have to wait them out. Usually about the time the first doe comes into estrous in a buck's core area, that is when he will likely slip up even if he is primarily nocturnal at all other times. Good luck.
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john from AR asks:My dad is seeing 5-6 nice buck in a food plot in southern missouri in years past when that white oaks start to drop the bucks stop showing up. About how far will these buck spread out?Winke Responds:John, Some may not go far while others may go as far as a mile or more. You won't know for sure until the end of September when the bucks have more or less settled into their fall range. Good luck.
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Brandon from MO asks:Bill, I have a couple questions for you on soybean food plots. Do you prefer planting regular field soybeans, or have you utilized any forage type soybean that grow taller and put out a ton of leaf forage? What are your thoughts on soybean products that claim to be "shatter resistant" meaning the beans stay in the pods even during cold winter temperatures? Last, for a small soybean food plot, is it as big of concern with deer hammering them if large ag fields in beans are right in the same area? My goal would be to have a productive late season plot. Thanks Bill. -BrandonWinke Responds:Brandon, I have not had the chance to try the forage beans yet. I use the regular field beans. I am not as interested in forage as I am in fall/winter grain for my plots. If the forage beans produced the best yield in terms of beans per acre, farmers would be planting them for harvest. I stick with the proven bean producers. Also, Larry Zach had some forage beans last year (they grew very tall) but the deer didn't seem to care for them nearly as much as other nearby food sources after the first hard freeze. In areas with a high deer population and limited food sources, I am sure they would pound the bean pods during the fall and winter, but it is not super attractive here. I need to try them though rather than having these second-hand conclusions. Maybe this next year. Shatter resistant is good especially if you normally have snows. If not, it is not as big of a deal because the deer can pick the beans off the ground. If therea are commercial fields nearby, the food plots usually aren't hit as hard, but because they tend to more secluded, they still get hit. Good luck.
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Blake from SD asks:Bill, It is a dream of mine to harvest a whitetail in full velvet. However, South Dakota's archery season usually opens the 4th weekend in September, so the 24th this year. Do you think I might have a chance or should I start looking out of state for a season that opens earlier in the year? Thanks!Winke Responds:Blake, That is way too late. To be sure of a velvet buck you need to hunt the very first part of September. By Sept 5 they are starting to shed, some sooner some a bit later. North Dakota would be a good option for you. Good luck.
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Jim from MI asks:Bill, wanted to know if you have ever had trouble with cows messing up your deer hunting? Why do you think deer and cows don't mix? By the way, I enjoy your website and shows very much. I'm an old deer hunter but still am learning (mostly from your shows). I hope you have a good season!Winke Responds:Jim, I have never had that happen though I have hunted pasture ground some over the years. I think the deer will live with the cows to a certain extent, but when the cows move into a certain part of the pasture, the deer move away from them. I guess it is probably just a matter of being intimidated by those big cows. Plus, I am sure the noise the cows make makes it hard for the deer to hear danger. Good luck.
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grant from TN asks:Bill I have a mega whitetail that's come into my life over the last ten days. He's never been seen before or he grew that much from last year I don't reconize him. He's a true giant!! My question is do u think it being this late seeing him multiple times on my farm he'll stay in the same 1/2 mile range or close to where he's at now??Winke Responds:Grant, It is too early to say. Find him late September and that will likely be where he spends most of the fall (at least somewhere in that area). Good luck.
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john from GA asks:do you think a full moon during the rut will effect there movement during daytime hoursWinke Responds:John, I don't know. I have hunted bucks during every moon phase every day of the rut for 22 years and I still have not seen a rock-solid correlation between moon phase and daylight movement hours. Some people think that because it is light at night they move all night. What if it is a heavy overcast then - do they move less at night? I don't think about it much. I just hunt the best stands I can and spend as much in them as possible and that seems to pay off regardless. Good luck.
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Jacob from AR asks:It's almost bowseason here and I got deer coming up out behind our house. I also got a red fox hanging around. Do you think it will spook the deer away? I almost got to shoot it lately. Love the show and looking forward to a great season. Thanks!Winke Responds:Jacob, Thanks for the support. I would not worry about the fox. It is not a natural predator of the deer. Coyotes are different, but foxes tend to me secretive and hunt small things like mice. I never seen a deer react negatively to a fox and would be surprised (shocked) if the fox scares the deer out of the area.
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Jason from IN asks:Bill, just wondering what you think the double g4 buck and big will score this year? I know velvet makes them look bigger but they have to go 190 or more dont they? Just curious as to what you were guessing them at.Winke Responds:Jason, I don't think Big is that "big". He might have been last year but he lost about 15 inches since then. The Double G4 buck might be that big though. It would wure be exciting to find out! I will keep the viewers in the loop on my hunt for these two bucks. Have a great holiday.
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Mike from KS asks:Bill, Just a quick question as the season begins. Is it normal for deer to travel 3-4 miles this early in the year? I'm south central KS, sure it's dry here like most states. But we still have plenty of forage and water around. A friend of mine that has started putting cameras out caught one of the deer I've been watching for the last 3 years. The thing is he is at least 3 miles as the crow flies away. What would make an old buck travel so far? Kepp up the good work. MikeWinke Responds:Mike, I don't think it is common, but I know it happens. Sometimes they seem to just get a wild hair. I have seen it happen though on our farm. We found the sheds from one big 8 pointer near the house. Mike Sawyer shot him 2 1/2 miles away the next season - no question it was the same deer. Normally this doesn't happen, that bucks relocated great distances from one season to the next and I don't know for sure why. I don't think anyone does. We had another buck do that. I hit a nice 8 pointer in the neck in 2009. I almost shot him on a food plot near that location a month later. That winter someone found the sheds a mile away and this past winter, a completely different person found his sheds from the 2010 season about 1/2 mile from that spot, but also at least a mile from where I was hunting him in 2009. He left and apparently never came back even though our farm has good food plots and clover patches. Not sure why that happens, but it sometimes does. Also, I think they sometimes come back after a year or two. Strange stuff. I think that is what it so much fun. You never know for sure what is going to happen next. Good luck.
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derek from ME asks:Hello Mr. Winke. I have had my cameras up all summer on my mineral licks with great pictures alll summer of three shooters and multiple young bucks. Well in the last two weeks here in August they have vanished. The area is about 18 acres of thick timber with beans on one side and corn on the other, with a creek running in the middle. And to the north is a heavy timber that is a city park that is five miles long and about half a mile wide. Now usually the start to split up about the first week in sept but I find it odd that all of a sudden nothing. Maybe they are staying in the corn now that its getting cooler. Just wondered if you could shed some light on what might be going on. And it is a pretty populated area and i live thirty miles away so scouting is tough as far as at a distance. Unfortunately I only can hunt there bedroom. Any info on what might be going on would be great. I am sure when late october hits they will be cruising, but I sure would like some early season sWinke Responds:Derek, Deer change from year to year. Some do anyway. It is possible that one of two things likely changed their patterns abruptly. Either they were pushed out by dogs, coyotes, people, etc. and have not come back yet, or they found a different food source as you mentioned. It is really hard to know which of these two events occured. However, if they are still in the general area (likely) you may have some encounters this fall. Again, it will come down to managing hunting pressure (other pressure) and food sources. If the area you hunt doesn't have a good food source, they may not come through as often. By the same token, if you or someone else, pushes them too hard, they may also stop usig the small area you can hunt. In other words, I don't think I would hunt there until you have a good idea the bucks you are after are using the area again - wait, stay out, let them come back in and then start hunting. That means you need to have a convenient way to check the camera without alerting them. If you can't check the camera without alerting them, pull it out and just assume they will be there and hunt very carefully. As you stated, the best opportunity will be in late October and early November, but if you have an attractive food source, you may get a chance right when the season opens. Good luck.
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Jon from IL asks:Hey Bill, First off, I enjoy your show greatly, and love that you and your staff take the time to explain in detail your strategies and techniques; not just showing kill shot after shot, like some of today's popular shows. I was recently setting up a trail camera and seeding a small food plot on a 65 acre tract along the Big Muddy in Southern Illinois. On my walk out, I spotted a large, mature buck across a large creek about 60 yards away. He spotted me at the same time, and we had a staredown for 5 minutes. He eventually moved off quickly, but never snorted or flagged. From your experience, if I do not check the area until bow season begins in October, what are the chances of this giant remaining in the area? Thanks for your time, and best of luck this season. JonWinke Responds:Jon, Thanks for your support. That was not enough to make him leave. However, there is no guarantee that he will still be there after shedding his velvet and taking up his fall range. Some bucks move a ways between summer and fall ranges. You will have to run camera in that area and nearby in mid-to-late September to see if he is still there and/or to find him back. Good luck.
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wiley from NB asks:I saw a good buck N of an 80 yd wide 4 lane highway with an avg. vol. of 1 car\10 sec. There is unlimited cover on the N side. S of the road is a series of thick woodlots next to the road with some bean\corn fields. I doubt it is heavily hunted. There are 2 100 acre woodlots separated by a 400 yd wide cut hayfield except for a 15-30yd wide by 100 yd long thick funnel next to the road 2.5 mi from where I saw the buck. I cut a 30x60 inch trail in the funnel to help them cross it. How will deer react to the road? Will they cross it in the rut? There are 2 little used culvert underpasses for farmers with 2 miles. Will they use them at night to cross? Deer densities = 5-10 sq mi. I plan to access my stand by crossing the funnel approach 0.25 mi W of the funnel. Is this too close?Winke Responds:Wiley, First, I would think 1/4 mile is fine if you are parking along the road where the deer are used to traffic. If not, if you are parking where the deer aren't used to traffic and vehicles, I would likely park just a bit farther away than 1/4 mile. If you are talking about walking in and cutting the apprach that far away, that is definitely far enough -for sure. I think the deer will cross the road during the rut day and night and some will get killed, but the majority will cross at night at a time when there just isn't as much traffic so you likely won't see too much roadkill. My guess is that some deer will use the underpass. I bet most will just cross where ever they happen to arrive at the roadside.
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Todd from IN asks:Bill, I've never really had a problem getting bucks on trailcams going into the season, but as of right now I've only got 1 shooter on cam. I had high hopes for this season, because I had 3-4 legit shooters still on the farm after season was over this past winter.....so i guess what i'm asking is i've had history with these deer for last 3-4 years and they have never been camera shy, do you think they are still around or relocated somewhere else?Winke Responds:Todd, My guess is that they will show up after they shed their velvet and break up their bachelor groups - probably start to see them in late Sept sure sure. They will shed velvet here in the next few days but it takes some time for them to filter out into their fall ranges. It is also possible that they relocated. I have not seen this happen much, but if you had a major shift in food sources it is possible. Usually, they will use the same fall range every year, sometimes moving to food in the late season and to separate summer ranges, but in my experience, their fall ranges are usually in the same place. Again, anything can happen, but I would guess they will show up. Good luck.
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craig from IN asks:If you jump up a big buck and they take off. Are they more than likely to come back in the area.Winke Responds:Craig, Yes, he is likely to return. How quickly really depends on the type of scare and how used to human activity the deer are in the area where you jumped them. The more your activity matches normal, accepted human activity, the quicker they will forgive. However, if you jumped them in a spot where they aren't used to seeing people, they may become a bit more careful there until they confirm that the incident was isolated and then they will forget it, or until they determine that it is consistent in which case they will relocate or change their patterns to use that area only after dark. My guess, it was a small deal - nothing to worry about.
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Cody from WI asks:Hey bill, these last preview shows are amazing! I love watching them, and seeing how people from the plains, to the cornbelt, and woodlands, are getting ready for the season, very sweet bill! And my question is, will driving an ATV, or UTV push the deer, or scare the deer off our property from driving around the feilds? Or does it play no effect on the deer, even if they do run so you dont get a good look at them? Thanks again!Winke Responds:Cody, No matter what people think or tell you, the deer don't like having an ATV drive by unless it is something that happens all the time. This intrusion is stressful to the deer when they aren't used to it. They don't like new things. You have to match normal human activity. If they are used to this you will be fine. If they aren't I would try to keep that kind of activity to a minimum. Good luck.
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Chris from TN asks:I was wondering how early you generally see bucks coming out of velvet. I was out glassing one of my properties on the 22 of August and had a group of two year olds come in. There was a 110 inch 8 pointer that was absolutely clean of all velvet. I had to do a double take, but there was no doubt about it at 60 yards.Winke Responds:Chris, Normally around the end of August is the earliest, so that doesn't surprise me that one of them was clean - though that is a bit early. Most will shed from Sept 3 through Sept 8, or so.
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Joel from IA asks:Over the last few weeks I have been getting pictures of really big bucks in the afternoon. I know their habits start to change as we draw closer to bow season. When can you start using these pictures to gauge what will be around in October.Winke Responds:Joel, I figure you can't depend on your photos to reveal the fall range until September 15 at the soonest. Good luck.
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randy from IA asks:I have a trail cam pic of what looks like a real nice 10 point with both g3 looking like they are growing kickers at the top from 8-18. How much longer are there antlers going to grow, cause he looks like he is going to be real nice?Winke Responds:Randy, I am pretty sure they would be done growing by now. Generally, if the tines have knobs or bulbs on the end they are still growing. If they are more pointed, they are done. The will start shedding velvet soon so most (almost all) of the growing has been completed. Good luck with the buck, by the way. Sounds like a great deer.
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WhitetailCrazed from WI asks:I have been told to hunt the 2nd full moon after the Autumn Equinox. Is this a wive's tale or is there some truth to this theory ??? If it is true, do you hunt before or after and by how many days ???Winke Responds:WC, I don't pay attention to that stuff, maybe it costs me, but I have never seen big variations in rut timing as a result of moon phase. I have hunted every day of the rut for the past 22 years and I haven't really seen anything concrete except one thing: if you have a hot doe near your stand, you will see tons of bucks. Short of that, the rut is not as active or predictable as people like to think. I do think that the time from November 3 through November 10 is the best timeframe each year (assuming cool weather), but again that is only based on my own experiences and not any kind of scientific data. Again, I have seen this regardless of moon phase. I may be missing something, but I think that whatever connection there is between moon phase and the rut dates is a slight one, at best. Good luck.
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David from GA asks:Bill, What is your opinion on moon phase and deer movement? I have seen no real correlation between moon phase and the amount, or time, of daytime activity..I think this is one of deer hunting's biggest misconceptions..For instance, what if its a full moon but overcast at night. Some people claim they feed more at night on a full moon. Also, some people claim it is the magnetic force that cause different movement patterns. The only true variable I have personally seen change deer activity is cooler weather. ThanksWinke Responds:David, When Grant Woods stopped producing his deer activity index because further research suggested that there was no correlation between moon phase, moon rise and moon set, that pretty much did it for me. If he declined making money because be felt it was flawed, that is a pretty good verdict. Good luck.
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Rick from MO asks:I was reading your thoughts on how well deer can see at night. On one of the last tv episodes you talked about how older deer, say 6 or older may get easier to hunt. Do you think there is any link to diminished eye sight in these older deer making it tougher for them to move at night?Winke Responds:Rick, It is possible, but that might suggest they would move more at first and last light and stay as concealed as possible the rest of the day. That is not what I have seen, they seem to move more at all times of the day. I think it is something in their mental state. I think they either are getting senile or they are getting very comfortable, if not complacent, in their surroundings. Not exactly sure what it is, but it definitely happens. Good luck.
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Joe from ME asks:Hey Bill, Just saw your show from Aug.10 about older deer becoming easier to kill and may be able to shed some light on your observations. I'm a Veterinarian in NE and can attest to the fact that most animals if given the opportunity to age naturally will develop some cognitive disfuntion with age. As this occurs they have a tendency to switch their wake/sleep cycles and wander aimlessly more frequently. This would account for older bucks being on the move more and at different times.Winke Responds:Joe, Thanks. I am now a big fan of cognitive disfunction. I just wish a few more of the bucks I am hunting had it! We have certainly seen this behavior. There is much more to learn, but this year should be fun as we explore the subject again. I appreciate your input. It is very valuable and most welcome.
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Sean from IA asks:Hi Bill, As always, solid work on everything and I am enjoying your segments on Americanhunter.org! If bucks are believed to be so "patternable" this time of year why is it that I am getting a couple spacific bucks on trail cam that I would appreciate to shoot but only every three days or so on one of my clover plots? Last year I would see the him nearly everyday in the same field this time of year. This year he is hit and miss...??? Thank you!Winke Responds:Sean, Not sure on that. It may be he has a couple of places he feeds. Also, that may be "patternable" for that deer. Not all bucks will stick to a strict pattern even in the summer. Most don't in the fall, but most of the ones here tend to be very patternable in the summer. Also, it is possible that that the buck is getting disturbed by other people or otherwise is changing his feeding area regularly depending on where he beds or where he is bumped toward, etc. Human interaction might be part of the puzzle too. They also change as they get older - some becoming less predictable. I have seen a few bucks here that were reclusive even during the summer, but most are pretty visible. Good luck.
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Nathan from OH asks:Since deer can see in the dark, does that mean that they can see into a dark blind or hut when it is daylight outside? Or do their eyes have to adjust to the dark like ours?Winke Responds:Nathan, No, they can't see into a darkened blind if it is light outside. Their eyes need to adjust like ours, in that way, to various light levels. Nor can they techically see in the dark. They can see better in the dark than we can, but certainly not nearly as good as they can see in daylight. I have walked past too many of them over the years in darkened conditions to believe they can see well in the dark. Good luck.
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Matt from IA asks:Bill, if you do not have access to larger-sized properties like most professionals do, and you only have access to travel corridors (large/long fingers/draws that link between neighboring properties, what can I do to try to keep the bucks I have on camera on my land come bow season? They're hitting my food plots good right now, but I know once the acorns start dropping, patterns will change.Winke Responds:Matt, You are doing the right thing. Yes, those patterns will change for a while when the bucks get on acorns, but eventually they will mop them up and be looking for the food plots again. It may take until late October for that to happen, but eventually the food plots will pay off. Without a doubt, that is the best thing you can do to increase your odds for a successful season. Good luck.
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jeremie from ME asks:hey bill, love the show.. i have a quick question for u.. i am runnin my cams and scouting on one of my spots and i have 3 or 4 good bucks there and one is a giant.. but the giant i have only 6 or 7 pics in about 3 weeks.. do you think that the buck lives on my farm or is he just passing through???Winke Responds:Jeremie, I would say he lives there. At this time of the year their ranges are pretty small - especially if there are only limited food sources nearby. However, he may move off when the bucks shed their velvet and disperse their bachelor groups. You may need to refind him again at that time. Good luck.
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Bob S from IA asks:Bill, can you explain to me how hunting deer in the wind works? I keep reading that deer like to face the oncoming wind or quarter to the wind...which makes sense. However, what if I'm hunting between a bedding and a food source in the evening and the only access I have affords the wind to be in my face but for the deer to move with the wind at their backs. Will bucks not travel this way and is it useless to hunt at this time? All the bedding area for deer is on another person's property and all the food is on my property. I can hunt in between the two on oak ridges but keeping the wind in my face so I don't let deer detect me makes the wind to the back of the deer. Thanks, BobWinke Responds:Bob, That is a convenient argument that comes from people that don't hunt a lot. I have seen hundreds of bucks (even some old ones) traveling with the wind at their back or quartering from behind. I think they may be a bit less inclined to travel straight downwind, but they will definitely do it. They can't travel only into the wind or they won't get anywhere. Think of it this way, they are walking past hundreds of trees each day. They are only downwind of half of them. Our job is to be in one of those trees that is on their downwind side. Crosswinds are also decent options. I always set up where I have the distinct wind advantage, not the deer. Typically they have to travel downwind or on a crosswind to get to my stands. It works fine, they do it all the time. I see lots of bucks (and mature ones too). Good luck.
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Brandon from IL asks:Bill, We have been watching a buck that has had a 3rd main beam for the past few years with him blowing into a 200" deer last year. We haven't seen him yet this year, but have had a similar buck on a cam recently, but without a 3rd beam. He has a lot of the same characteristics but there is no sign of the extra beam. My question is how common it is for a deer to lose it after he had carried that trait for the last few years? Thanks for your time.Winke Responds:Brandon, That would not surprise me one bit. They can really change from year to year. For example, the buck I was most hoping to see last year is one we called "Big". He was a giant mainframe 10 with deep forks on both G2s. This year is 6 years old and is a 5X4 (like he was as a 3 1/2 year old) and one of the stickers is gone. He lost at least ten inches from last year. He is still a big deer, but I was hoping he would keep getting bigger rather than revert to a rack from years gone by. If I am not able to kill him, he may grow the big 10 point frame again next year. It is really hard to say, but yes they will change that much from year to year.
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Charles from GA asks:What are the bald spots on the deer's back in the Midwest? I have then on your show and on trail cameras from MO. Was the deer injured or is it a skin disorder?Winke Responds:Charles, No, most of the time it is ticks. The deer rub them off with their antlers and in the process they rub off the hair too. That big one we posted about in the blog has almost no hair on his butt from rubbing it with his antlers. If I don't kill him, he is going to literally freeze his #$*& off this winter. That is a very good reason for him to walk past my tree stand at close range about October 28, or so!
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James from OH asks:Mr. Winke, Is there certain days in august that the bigger bucks come out to feed earlier in the evening? I have heard this before what do you think ? thanks JamesWinke Responds:James, I think the first ten days of August are the best time all year to see mature bucks in the open during daylight hours. We spend a lot of time filming at this time. In fact this evening we will have ten guys in the field locally with video cameras filming bucks they will be hunting this fall - including myself. Good luck.
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Greg from MO asks:Hi bill love the show can't wait for the new season.I gotta two part question for you.I live in northern missouri about 25 miles away from ia line but what do you think the main reason is to why ia,ill and ks have better deer than mo and i don't mean to bring back old memories but that 190 buck you missed in 2008 did you ever see that monster again. Thanks bill have a good one.Winke Responds:Greg, It comes down to hunting pressure. More of the bucks are getting killed (a higher percentage) in MO than in the other three states. Here in the Midwest, age is the biggest factor in determining antler size. So find areas with limited buck hunting pressure (tough to do in MO) and you will find big bucks. The guys shed hunting my farm found that buck dead the following spring nearly 3/4 mile from where I hit him. He left no blood that we could find. That might have been a situation where a tracking dog would have helped a ton. I exagerated him a bit. He was closer to 180 than 190. But still a whopper. Have a great day.
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Matt from GA asks:Hey Bill I have got several pictures of a pretty decent buck on my trail camera. My question is how much more do you think he will grow from now (july 25) until he sheds his velvet around the start of bow season? Do you think it will be a noticeable amount? Thanks for always answering my questions I love this website.Winke Responds:Matt, I doubt he will grow much. My guess is that he is 85 to 90% done. If he still has rounded off tines they will get a bit longer. If they are tapered, likely he is about done growing.
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Kaden from IA asks:Hey bill, Last season I found a new farm to hunt on. I started scouting it in August. I found alot of logging roads that seemed to be used quite often. After running cameras and hunting on them I was quite successful. I would like to put them in on some of my other farms. I think deer are lazy and would take an easier path if possible. Do you think they would change their routine and start using the roads? Thanks.Winke Responds:Kaden, Yes I do. I think you are correct in saying that they will take the easy route whenever it is presented to them. Good luck.
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jeremie from AL asks:hey bill love the show.. i was just wanting to know how far a buck will relocate.. i have a big 10 that showed up on my farm this year during the summer.. i was just wanting to know how far a buck will move come fall? my farm has by far has the most cover on it with the next place with real good cover about 5 miles away.. it also has about 60 acres of beans and about 80 acres of corn on it this year.. do you think he will leave come fall?Winke Responds:Jeremie, That is a tough question since every situation is different. It has as much to do with the personality of the bucks as with any hard science. My guess is that they won't disperse as often in your setting as they might in other situations, but when they do they will go farther. We see this in open areas like KS and the Dakotas for example. The bucks there cover a lot more ground than they do in areas with a greater amount of habitat. So I would think he will stay there and may take side trips during the rut. Good luck.
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Paul from MN asks:Bill, what's your feeling or experience on building buck beds? I've been seeing quite a few blogs on the topic, but it seems most people aren't willing to share a lot of their information as if it's some type of holy grail or secret they paid for and they won't let any information out; unlike you who will answer openly and honestly just about any question if you have experience and/or an opinion on the topic. Thanks for being a great resource for the ongoing questions.Winke Responds:Paul, I have never tried to build them specifically, but by default we are building them all the time through the TSI work (timber stand improvement) we are doing on the farm. Basically, the concept behind buck beds is to create specific hide-outs in advantageous locations for the bucks. That means dropping a tree when it is still green with leaves. For example, drop it on a point to overlook the valley below with the top falling where it slightly overlooks the side of the ridge knowing a buck will start to bed under the fallen top of the tree. That sort of stuff. Give them something to bed under but still retain a view of the surroundings. That is what they like. These will use these when the wind is from the ridge toward the valley so they can see everything below and smell everything behind them while staying concealed at the same time. These are usually best done on a ridge or point. I am sure it works to some extent. Yes, they may feel more comfortable in those specific locations and possibly you can set up a stand nearby to try to shoot one as it comes in to bed in the morning, but mature bucks tend not to be that programmable - at least not in my experience. Maybe they use the same bed repeatedly, but I don't see that happening. Yes, the bed location may be used repeatedly, but not necessarily by the same buck each day. My whole farm is a buck bedding area, so it is hard for me to put this into practical use. The whole thing is thick, so dropping a few trees here and there isn't going to make much difference in where the bucks bed. However, in really open timber, that likely would be a different story. If the cover in your area is very open, the bucks might well use these spots. Good luck.
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Sean from AL asks:Hi Bill, Along with your ideal property being 80-90% timber would you rather it be surrounded by crops or timber? Why? Thank you!Winke Responds:Sean, I would rather it be surrounded by pasture if I had my choices, crops second. Reason being, it reduces competition from other hunters near your borders. If it is surrounded by timber that is OK too if that timber isn't hunted heavily. That just gives you more area from which to pull deer to your food plots, but it seems that timbered areas draw more hunting pressure than open pasture type cover. Good luck.
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Sean from IA asks:Hi Bill, If you could only own 100 acres of hunting land in Iowa what would it consist of? Also would it be crops among timber, timber among timber, timber among crops, etc? Just wanted to gather your thoughts on the topic. Thank you very much!!!Winke Responds:Sean, My perfect piece of ground would be 80 to 90% cover (mostly trees, some low brush is also good) and the rest open ground for food plots. I would like for the plots to be small (a couple acres to three acres each) scattered around the propperty. Possibly one larger plot (four+ acres) to be sure I have some grain crop well into the winter. That is just my own personal choice. I like hunting in timber. Some guys don't mind hunting ground blinds and can get by with less timber and more switchgrass, for example.
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Drew from MO asks:hi i have about 100 acres and i was getting pictures of a really nice 8 pointer.(mid june to early july) i have about three years of pictures of this buck and i believe hes about 4 1/2 this year. my question is do you think he has gotten old enough to leave my place. in the past he does seem to leave in the beginning of summer and rome around during Oct and Nov but he was never left this early. thanksWinke Responds:Drew, It is hard to say. They can change their feeding areas without moving to a new area for a number of reasons. It is too soon to say he has left. It has been my experience that older bucks sometimes will just up and move for no apparent reason. We have seen them move their cores as much as 2 miles in this neighborhood. I am sure there have been others moving farther, but those are just the ones we have been able to document. However, it is less frequent than the other thing we see and that is the bucks become more territorial and their ranges start to shrink as they become older. This is fairly common. Like I said, it is possible he left, but I think it is too soon to say for sure. Try running the camera near a few other feeding areas and see if you can find him back. Good luck.
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Randy from KY asks:Hey, My name is Randy Wilson and i was wondering, what would make a nocturnal buck come out during and evening or morning? I was wondering if i should take him off my list or not, he has been spotted during the day just before dark, in fact it's probably not legal shooting light. Thank you and love the show.Winke Responds:Randy, If he is nocturnal now, he is a tough old bird. I have seen some that were nocturnal in the summer, but most move decent in summer and become increasingly nocturnal after they shed their velvet. I would not take him off the list just yet. If food won't bring him out, your best hope is the rut - the first hot doe. That may or may not be enough, but it is your best hope. That means he will likely be most vulnerable from about October 28 through about November 7. Then there is also some hope that you will see him during the late season one evening if it gets really cold and you have a good food source. That has been our experience with the most nocturnal of our bucks.
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Cody from WI asks:Hey Bill, So the other day me and my dad where cutting hay, there was a beautiful 10 pointer eating in the feild, he was probably 145-150 class buck already! I know it may be hard to believe, seeing that we saw it two weeks ago, but its true, and then we see a lot of buck's that are just starting to fork off, now why is that, that one buck can be huge in June, and the other buck is just starting to fork off? Thanks Bill!Winke Responds:Cody, This is common. We see it all the time. Some are fast starters and others start slower. However, typically by the end of July they all start to hit about the same point in their growth cycle, about 80% grown. What you saw doesn't surprise me one bit. Take care.
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rob lauckner from IA asks:Hi Bill and thank you for your work it has been a huge help in becoming a better hunter. my question is are there any foods that are becoming avalible to deer in july that would make them change their feeding patterns right now? I have been watching a very nice 8 point buck in the heart of des moines near a heavily used bike trail for 6 or 8 weeks, he seems to not be in the field on what was a 7:00 am and 5:00 pm schedule. is it possible somebodys garden is under attack? it`s been alot of fun just watching him grow and he`s in a no hunt city so he`s safe.Winke Responds:Rob, They will move to whatever browse is most attractive. Our deer here don't even come out much into the beans, clover and alfalfa until they have eaten all the weeds that they like so well and the weeds have started to become tough. That is usually about mid-July here. This can also work in the opposite direction too when some other food source becomes more attractive. They eat all kinds of stuff, so there is no telling what might be pulling him. Or maybe someone is pressuring the buck that you aren't aware of - possibly in the area where he beds. I would keep watch as he will likely resurface. Good luck.
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Brent from MI asks:Bill, a runoff of the question about deer/bedding...as the seasons change(foliage/temp/avail. foods) do their bedding locations change or do they pretty much bed in the same locations all year long? ps: Bow-Hunting now means two things to me...pure love/obsession..and..midwestwhitetail.comWinke Responds:Brent, I think they change as the fall arrives. They start to bed deeper in the cover. Studies show that their core areas move on average by 600 yards from summer to fall. That means some deer move much farther and some much less. The study also showed that this movement generally took the deer deeper into thick cover. It is a basic rule of thumb, but worth considering. Go deeper and go thicker as fall arrives.
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Derek from MO asks:Bill- To follow up on the third main beam buck. I guess I wasn't clear in my explanantion. His entire rack is shedding, not just his third beam. Like you I have seen parts of racks shed early. However, I think it is very odd for a mature buck, or any buck for that matter, to be shedding this early in the season!Winke Responds:Derek, Maybe it is an antlered doe or a naturally casturated buck. Typically, in these cases the bucks don't shed the velvet at all and just drop the antlers before growing new ones. Not sure on this one. Maybe the buck is sick? I would be interested if you find out. Likely there is someone who knows, I am just not that person. Good luck.
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Sean from IA asks:Hi Bill, Hope you and your family had a great Independence Day! What weeks do Iowa bucks tend to grow the most in size/inches? Thank you and have a great day!Winke Responds:Sean, Thanks. I hope your family did as well. I would say right about now they are growing fast. I always figure by about July 20 they are nearly done. Not all bucks, but they are at least within 80% of their final size. Have a great day.
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Derek from MO asks:Bill- I saw something last night while I out scouting that still has me scratching my head. While I was out glassing I came across a 160 class buck that has a third main bream that was already shedding his velvet! Have you ever seen a deer shed this early? I'm in northeast missouri, and this is almost exactly 2 months before deer start shedding in my area. He was only 60 yards off the road and I could clearly see him. It's the weirdest thing I have ever seen!Winke Responds:Derek, I am not too familiar with strange antler formations and how they develop, but I have seen a few third beams in my time and tines growing out of foreheads and they all shed at the same time as their regular antlers. One possibility is that the extra beam got cracked and has died. Usually when that happens the antler underneath will turn kind of dark color and fall off easily once the buck starts rubbing. When a buck injures an antler in velvet, this is typically what happens - blood stops flowing, the antler dies and falls apart. Not sure if that is the case here. It may just be something strange with the make up of that third beam. Like I said, typically the bucks with third beams I have seen all shed at the same time they shed the velvet from their primary rack. Let us know if the antler is healthy and what you learn.
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Seth from IN asks:hey Bill I know its early, but just a few days ago I looked around in bedding area on my property that I didn't even know the deer went to. Any way its pretty open and I've seen does bedding there. My question is... will the big bucks go there even if its open?(once they get pressured to much) The grass is about 5 foot high.Winke Responds:Seth, If they get pressured they will usually look for secluded patches of thick cover, but grassy areas are more commonly used for bedding areas in the summer. I would say a grassy area is not likely a great fall bedding area. But, it is worth checking it out again when fall comes just to be sure. Good luck.
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Jim from MI asks:Hey Bill, my new "thing" this year is going to be to record before and after barometric pressures. I am always hearing things about the effects of the pressure and I am just curious to what you know about it? Do deer tend to move when it is falling? Or when it is rising? Huge fan of the online show. Let me know, thanks Bill. JimWinke Responds:Jim, I agree, it will be interesting to see the trends, but really if it were that simple, the researchers would already have it pegged. It is not that easy. I have seen them move heavily on both dropping and rising pressure. There are many variables that affect movement and pressure is just one of them. In a vaccuum with no other variables you might be able to draw a conclusion relative to pressure, but it will be tough. I like hunting the day of the passing cold front in the winter and I like hunting the day after the cold front in the fall. I hunt every day I can (which is pretty much every day), but those just seem to be general patterns (not always, but usually) that I see. Again, it will be interesting, but I think we already know what is likely to happen - mostly inconclusive data.
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Cody from WI asks:Hey Bill, How much pressure does it take for Bucks/Does to become under pressure? How do you tell if they are being pressured? And What causes them to be pressured? and i usually check my trail cameras once a week, sometimes every 9, or 10 days. Is that to much to be checking them? Thanks Bill!Winke Responds:Cody, Each situation is different. The closer you can match normal human activity in their home range, the more you can get away with. When they stop moving naturally, that is when you know you have pushed them too hard. For example, with the camera, if you aren't getting any daylight photos after getting several in the past, it is possible you have pushed those deer too hard. That is usually not the case if you are using you a vehicle to check the cameras at midday, especially if there is some normal human activity in that area. Also, by keeping the cameras away from bedding areas, you can check them more often without fear of over-pressuring the deer. I would say that checking the cameras every 9 to ten days is not overpressuring them deer.
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Elliott from MN asks:First off...I also really enjoyed the Dark Side article in Petersen's Bowhunting. It's the most honest and down to earth article I've read on the subject of QDM. As a side note my favorite hunt on Midwest Whitetails last year was the Jamie Buck. It was cool to read about it in the magazine. You mentioned age and genetics as contributing factors to large antler growth. I was wondering how you feel about stress being a factor? Predators, bad weather, traffic noise, etc. I have been hearing more and more people talk about this and I am curious if it really is something to worry about or not. And if it is what can you realistically do about it?Winke Responds:Elliot, Thanks for saying that. Experts in antler growth state the stress has a role in antler development. All the factors you included (not sure on traffic noise) as well as stuff like bacteria in their drinking water, etc. If the deer has to divert resources to tension or to fight off diseases and infections it won't have as much available for simply growing antlers. I think we all need to be conscious of the growing threat of coyotes, but beyond that it is hard to control the other factors. A clean source of water may be something we can manipulate, but that is also hard to control. About all you can do is create a few small ponds in areas with adequate (but not too heavy) runoff so they get refreshed with each rain. Creating sanctuaries might help a bit, as well an isolated food source where the deer can feed during the summer without having vehicles stop as their drivers look.
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Dan from MN asks:I was just wondering why there are always more does than bucks in deer populations. I'm assuming part of it is because people tend to favor shooting bucks instead of does and thus more bucks are taken out of the herd. But even if people take does out too, it still seems to be that there are fewer bucks than does. It is just because the does have more female fawns than male fawns?Winke Responds:Dan, They are born at roughly equal rates, but as you state, people tend to shoot more bucks than does. That is changing more today so that harvests are more equal. Another reason is that natural mortality rates of bucks are higher than does because the bucks tend to cover more ground and thus are introduced to more danger. Does are also a bit more visible overall, making it seem that there are more does than bucks even in balanced herds.
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Jim from IA asks:If you placed stock tanks near heavey cover, would bucks water at them?Winke Responds:Jim, Yes, I believe they would, but I would at least partially, if not completely, bury them so they can drink in a normal manner. I would also try to put it in an area with some runoff (buried) so the water gets freshened when it rains. I am not a big fan of completely stagnant water. Good luck.
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kevin from WI asks:Hi Bill how do you read barometeric pressure and how does it effect deer movement. found a cool new weather site for hunting, might want to take a look. its pretty cool. its called scoutlookweather.com thanksWinke Responds:Kevin, You have to get a barometer. They are widely available, but the easiest way is to go to a weather web site and it will tell both the pressure and whether it is rising or falling. I am not sure which is best - really depends on the situation. Usually, my best rut hunting is on rising barometer after a front goes through. But I have also seen really good deer hunting just as a cold November mist is coming down. That occurs during a falling barometer. There is likely some correlation between barometric pressure and movement, but it is not always consistent, so you need to hunt regardless. The only mornings that tend to be a waste of time are warm, still and humid mornings. I almost never see deer under those conditions. I will take a look at that website. Thanks for the tip.
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craig from MI asks:Bill, Great job on show, i live 1 hr northwest of grand rapids mi. i started seeing fawns around april 22 and there all over now(may5). seems like there a good month early. i think deer take around 200 day to fawn, that would put peak breadig around mid oct. any thought on why it was so early this year, and do you think that was the reason for such a slow drawn out main rut that many of us had last fall??????Winke Responds:Craig, I see data from six months to 201 days, so you are right in the ballpark. There is always some breeding that occurs in mid-October in the Midwest, but most years it is a minor rut that is over almost before it begins. That is when I used to start scouting when I was younger, because the bucks lay down the sign and give a sneak preview of their full rut patterns. That strategy still works. However, generally, the October rut will only yield a small number of bred does and early fawns. If you are right, and for some reason the October rut was harder this year, that would certainly explain what I saw in November. It seemed that there was very little November rut. You might be on to something. Maybe a higher percentage of does were bred in October this year than in most years, reducing the number available for November. I will definitely keep my eye on it closer this year and will likely hunt a few days around Oct 12-16 this year - just in case. Thanks for the ideas. Good stuff.
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Dave from GA asks:Bill, Due to the high value of corn now, I have noticed most Midwest farmers are planting corn as much as possible. With less soybeans(high protein) being planted, do you think we will see some loss of antler size over the next few years?Winke Responds:Dave, No I doubt it will be noticeable. There is a lot of browse out there that the deer eat too. In my area, we don't notice the deer on the clover and alfalfa much before mid-July. Prior to that they are browsing and hitting the protein sources lightly. The browse is better than people think in agricultural areas. I reall doubt it will make a big difference.
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John from IL asks:Do white tail deer eat their own antlers when the antlers fall off?Winke Responds:John, That might explain why we never find them! But no, they don't eat the antlers. Squirrels are responsible for chewing on most of them here in the Midwest. Good luck.
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Justin from VT asks:Hey Bill. The property I hunt gets heavy pressure during the two week rifle season in November (preferred method of deer camp is drives). Does this pressure in November make a difference in October when next bow season rolls around? Do deer know that when the leaves start falling hunters will be in the woods soon? Despite heavy pressure in rifle season there are just three people on over 1000 acres in bow season, yet the deer stop entering open fields in the last few weeks of September and begin to move early and late, rarely later than 45 mins before first light and 45 minutes before last light. The latest I've ever seen a buck in an open field during shooting hours is the last week in September, and even does really cut down on their travel through open areas. Is it just the pressure in November or other factors? The main reason I ask this is because on neighboring and local properties similar the the one we hunt they shoot both bucks and does in open meadows relatively frequently. TWinke Responds:Justin, Not directly, but there is no doubt that hunting pressure makes the deer more cautious in general. For example, I have heard of places where the hunting pressure is non-existent and the deer tend to be more daylight active. So for sure, any hunting pressure (including the type you describe) will make the deer more cautious. I think they learn that fall is a dangerous time. I really do. But, be sure to understand general deer behavior too: when the bucks shed their velvet (the result of rising testosterone) they will break up their bachelor groups and they will change their behavior. We have very little gun pressure on our farm and yet our deer do what you describe (stop coming out to the fields in daylight in early September). This is typical behavior. But I am sure the hunting pressure has conditioned the deer to be more cautious in general. I think it takes some fall encounters with hunters to reinforce that lesson fresh each fall, but then (because of their prior hunting pressure) they associate the intrusion with danger and not just a random encounter with people that deer in other areas might shrug off. No doubt, hard hunting pressure even for two weeks each year will have an affect on the huntability of the deer in general. Good luck.
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Brian from PA asks:Its the middle of March and last night I saw two bucks, they still had both antlers. Why would PA bucks hold there antlers longer than Iowa bucks? It seems the opposite would be true because of the better nutrtion Mid West bucks have.Winke Responds:Brian, We still have some bucks carrying too. A friend of mine saw a buck yesterday still carrying both sides. Part of it is nutrition, but part of it is genetics. Some bucks drop early and some drop late - regardless of what they eat. I have seen bucks still carrying clear into April!
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Kaden from IA asks:Bill, when do the bucks start to grow antlers back and when should I start running trail cameras again, thanks?Winke Responds:Kaden, They will usually start to grow noticeable nubs by late April. I wouldn't bother with the trail cameras until early June when they have formed at a portion of their frame. By mid-July they are usually pretty well filled out - some have a bit more growing to do. That is when you can really tell what you have. Good luck.
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Brandon from PA asks:If i would happen to walk into my stand before light and jump a few deer, do you think curiosity would bring them back or would they be gone for the day?Winke Responds:Brandon, A lot of times does will come back if they don't know for sure what disturbed them. They come sneaking back sometimes up to 2 hours later. It is almost comical. I have killed a lot of them that way. If they really bust you (where they know you are a person) they likely won't be back and will spend some time snorting - which we all love! Bucks usually aren't that curious. Whether they were truly scared or not, they usually have something else they would rather do than wait around to figure out what bumped them.
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Ralph from AL asks:Bill, I would first like to say that I really appreciate your show. I feel it's a working man's program and you really get into the meat and potatoes of deer and deer hunting. I'm from SE Wisconsin and hunted NE Iowa for the first time during the muzzleloader season. I know you've talked about hunting NE Iowa some on your blogs and fiqured you might have a better insight about this area. My question for you is what do you think is the cause for the bucks to shed their antlers so early that most of the bucks that we seen were shed before January? Thanks for your time!Winke Responds:Ralph, That is a good question. I am not sure. I grew up there, but I have not hunted deer in that area since 1995. Generally, early shedding is due to stress, sometimes genetics. But when it is widespread, it is usually stress related. The winters have been hard and the deer have not had easy pickings for food so that may be the reason. If it were simply genetics, then you would get the odd one but not lots of deer shedding early. That is my best guess.
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Michael from MI asks:Hi there Bill, First, I would like to thank you for producing a great show. You and your staff seem to have an abundance of integrety, I appreciate that a lot! I wanted ask you a question and also make an observation. 1) I hunt in the south west corner of Iowa (Corning Iowa) and also make a yearly shed antler trip out there. This year I went there on the 2nd thru the 6th primarily because I whatched your show on about the 28th of Feb and seen your great success. We only found 2 fresh sheds and 4 old ones as compared to about 30 to 40 in previous years. We saw about a dozen bucks with both sides on there head How could the detaching of antlers be so differant from one end of Iowa to the other? My observation was the boiling of the skull in the big pot. My friend and I did the same thing several years ago to a great buck, but when we crabbed the antler to take the skull out of the water the antler broke off right where the antler was resting on the rim of the pot. When we crabbedWinke Responds:Michael, Thanks for your support. I don't know the answer to that one for sure. My guess is that genetically, the deer may be a bit different or they have better nutrition. However, year after year, we start finding good numbers of antlers in late February. That is not to say that all the deer have dropped. We still have a few that are carrying both sides even now. Two weeks might make a big difference in some areas. I have a friend who owns land in an area where the deer aren't getting maximum nutrition and those deer shed way before mine even though we are only a few miles apart, so it may have to do with food. We had a wet summer and the food plots didn't do well. For the first time since I owned the farm, we were out of food by mid-January. My deer may have just shed a bit earlier as a result, but again, we generally find the antlers in late February every year. Good question, I am not totally sure. I have boiled many bucks (at least 15) and never had anything happen like you explain.
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Matt from IL asks:Is it common for bucks to still rub during the spring (Feb/Mar)? I have found several areas where rubs seem to be fresh.Winke Responds:Matt, Yes, some of them will rub until they shed their antlers. It is not as common as when the testosterone level is high, I think it is almost out of habit as they go around and see other rubs on trees.
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Kaden from IA asks:Hey Bill, Im sure you know of the guy in your area that shot a deer about 2 years ago that scored 207. My dad and I hunt on that same farm with him. The next morning we recovered the deer. We thought the deer was probably six. We wondered how much he wouldve grown the next year if any. When do you think most deer hit the point when they stop growing?Winke Responds:Kaden, Every deer is different when it comes to the timing of when they put on antlers. Some make a big jump late in life, just before they die. I think it when they stop breeding actively and aren't as stressed. However, on average they will keep getting more non-typical points and more mass as they get older. He likely would have been bigger the next year. If he had the makings of more non-typical points, he likely would have been a fair bit bigger. Hard to say exactly, but it is possible he might have added at least ten inches.
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jeremie from ME asks:hey Bill love the show!.. i have 2 questions for you.. i have about 7 or 8 pics early in the season of a deer that is a big 10 with about a 6 inch droptine off his right side and about a 6 inch point comming right off the base.. i never saw him during the hunting season but i did find his sheds..he broke the drop off im guessin fighting.. i scored him right around 148 this year.. my question is will he grow that droptine back or will it be gone for this season.. also how much will he grow this year?? im guessing he is around 4 1/2.. i also wanted to ask you if u ever wanted a team from nebraska on our show?? i film all my hunts, shed hunting, turkey hunting, and all that goes along with that.. thanxWinke Responds:Jeremie, He will grow it back, most likely. Generally, once they grow a certain point, it stays on the buck his entire life - not always, but generally. He is likely to add several inches because of the non-typical points. Bucks with a lot of non-typical inches tend to grow more each year (gross score) than bucks that are primarily typical. Please e-mail us at info@midwestwhitetail.com and we'll get you an application for the pro staff. Thanks for your support and interest. Good luck hunting that buck.
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Kaden from IA asks:Hey Bill,your show is great. My dad and I found a shed of main frame ten with a 3 or 4 inch droptine and a few stickers. We thought the deer was probably about 5. How long do you think the average buck lives? I was thinking probably around 7. What do you think?Winke Responds:Kaden, Congratulations on the find. They can live longer than that for sure. I would say that nature usually catches up with them somehow (disease, hard winter, rut stresses, etc.) by the time they are about 8 or 9. I think we have had some bucks reach that age on our farm, not many, but I am sure a few have. I know we have hunted certain bucks for a long time. I actually feel they become easier to kill as they get old (past 6) rather than harder. Good luck.
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Jeff from ME asks:Hey Bill, I love your show and the website. Been watching it fo awile now. I live In Maine I doubt youve ever hunted up here but its tough. We got about 3 feet of snow this winter and I cant find a single deer track. I new were they were for the first snowstorm, then they seemed to dissapear. Do you think they are hiding out in the real thick stuff? Im going to go looking again tomoro but I was just wondering what you would think about a situation like this. Good luck and God bless!!Winke Responds:Jeff, I have not hunted Maine, but from what I know of deer and of that country, I know that deer are likely to yard when the snows get deep. I guess they tend to yard in areas with lots of browse - like cedar swamps, etc. - and they just stay there until the snow starts to melt. If you find the yarding area, you will find the deer (all of them). I have even seen mini-migrations here in the Midwest where the deer migrate out of the wood lots in winter to hole up in big creek or river drainages. We saw this all the time when I was a kid hunting pheasants. We would find lots of deer sign and see deer in the small wood lots and sink holes, but by December we never saw any more sign. We still shop plenty of roosters (what a great way to grow up) but the deer were gone. They always came back the next spring.
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Alan from OH asks:Is it common for a bucks strong side of his rack to change over to the other side and back? Case being (left to right).I have sheds from a(starts at a 3.5 year old) thats a 4x5,again a 4x5,then a 5x5,and dies a 5x4. ThanksWinke Responds:Alan, Yes, it happens all the time. I don't know why, but we see it regularly. We had a buck named Loppy whose lopsided rack actually changed from one year to the next. I was surprised to see that happen, but it is quite common. Good luck.
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dave from GA asks:Bill, How long on average will a buck stay with a doe when she is in heat? Assuming he finds her as soon as she comes into heat. ThanksWinke Responds:Dave, Experts say 36 to 48 hours. I have seen it be as little as 5 minutes in the wild! I once watched a buck find a doe, breed the doe and then run off. I think the older deer tend to take their time in the process more than the younger ones. My guess is that the older buck may spend a day or two locked down. They seem much more deliberate in all they do.
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Is it possible for a dominant buck to keep other bucks out and then when he is dead, others move in?jim coen from WV asks:First I'd like to say I enjoy your website and read a lot of your articles. My question is do you think bucks relocate after the dominate buck has been killed? Similar to how turkeys do. I Harvested a buck with my bow last Nov. Mid 140's. I had two scouting cameras up on this 180 acre farm from the first of September until mid November and had pictures of several bucks including the one I harvested. I took the cameras down for a few weeks after I got the deer because of the upcoming gun season. After the gun season I put the camera back up and have been getting pictures of a 140" 8 point regularly that I had no pictures of all fall. The buck I harvested was all tore up from fighting and I wonder if this buck moved in after the dominant buck was killed. I think he is now the biggest buck on the farm. Thanks for your time.Winke Responds:Jim, Thanks for your support. I think you may be right. I have seen some change in the ranges of other bucks after a dominant buck is killed. This may have something do with where bucks take up their fall ranges too. When they shed their velvet and break up their bachelor groups they tend to spread out and occupy areas where they have a tolerable amount of breeding competition. When a mean old dominant buck dies it opens up a vaccuum that other bucks will fill short term that season and long term in future seasons. I am not sure exactly how that works, but I do know for a fact that dominant bucks suppress other bucks on their turf, preventing them moving where they want to, sometimes driving them out and keeping them from some of the breeding. I would say you are probably right, but it is also worth noting that some deer change their range from fall to winter, so that might come into play too. It is never simple to predict buck movements and it always amazes me to see where they show up from one year to the next.
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Drew from MO asks:Ive got pictures of a nice 8 point from Jan 2010 all the way to Jan 2011. i think hes a 3 1/2 yr old about 120 8 point. he was an 8 point last year also. i was wondering what you would guess him to be next year. if it helps i could send you pictures form last year and this year. i know its tuff to judge but i was just wondering. thanks!Winke Responds:Drew, If he is 120 at 3 1/2 and still an eight pointer, I am going to say he will be a high 130s 8 pointer of a l40 inch nine-pointer. He might hit a growth spurt, but I think my guess will be reasonably close.
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Matt from IL asks:Bill, First off, great show! Secondly, I know you are a busy buy and have tons of these question to answer.... I am curious what you have seen or experienced with barometric pressure and deer movement. I treat you as a resource and a person that I respect. I have asked the same question two different times.... and maybe I didn't phrase them as questions. Any insight on this subject? I look forward to hearing from you, Best regards, MattWinke Responds:Matt, I have not done a good enough job tracking that. I have some ideas of ways to gain more insight into this, but in general, it seems that my best days have come under a number of conditions, especially during the rut. At other times of the year, barometric pressure may be a factor, but during the rut, the temperature seems to be the main thing dictating movement. When we have a cool November we see lots of rutting activity (excecpt this year). I think if I were looking for something to tip you off to deer activity it would be cold fronts in October, (the day they come through and the next seem to be the best) and either cold or warm fronts during the late season. I think weather breaks (breaking warm or breaking cold) are the keys during the late season. I will have to study the barometric pressure closer. It is not something I have watched closely. Again, I believe temperature is the key.
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mohammad ali from MI asks:hey bill im sure you rememeber me, just kidding, I would like to ask you a question about michigan.How come michigan has been having really bad luck for deer hunters for about the past couple years also how come different states majorly they have alot of bucks and they're less nocturnal, the bucks here in michigan are so nocturnal and very small bucks, i mean you hardly see any big ones, im sure you've noticed that but how come?Winke Responds:Mohammad Ali, It is due to hunting pressure. When you pack that many deer hunters into one state, it is going to be hard to get bucks to an older age class and the easy ones (the ones that move during the day) get shot first leaving only the ones that are naturally nocturnal to grow a year older. It can change when people organize into neighborhoods where most of the landowners are of like mind. It is just hard to get enough like-minded people together in one area. That is the reason - lots of hunters.
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Ryan from MO asks:Hey Bill What do you think the average 4 1/2 year old midwestern buck scores? I see and shoot alot of bucks in the 130's with decent mass and i think they're mature and they've reached most of there potential just not positive. Also what percentage of midwestern grain fed whitetails in your opinion are going to get to the 160+ mark if not shot? Are booners 1 in 50? I know tough question with alot of variables just wanted your opinion. Your shows awesome keep it up!Winke Responds:Ryan, The average buck is smaller than most people think. I would say the answer is roughly 140 for the average, maybe a bit higher for bucks that aren't hunted hard so the better genetic bucks are still present. I truly think that the most realistic trophy in the best Midwestern states is a 150 inch deer. Not a high number get much bigger. Yes, the occassional one does, but as you point out, few make it to become giants. Just guessing, I would say about 25% of the bucks would reach 160 or better at age 4 1/2. The number really jumps as the bucks get past that age because bucks start to grow lots of sticker points from 5 1/2 on - adding inches without requiring a larger frame. 1 in 50 being true net booners is probably pretty close. That is not 1 in 50 bucks, but 1 in 50 4 1/2 year old bucks. Big difference! Maybe one in 10 or one in 20 is a gross booner. Obviously the really big ones are rare and special. Good luck.
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dustin schwartz from OH asks:Hi Bill. my neighber told me that feeding corn to deer in the winter can make them sick or kill them.i dont beleive him but i wanted to get your opinion thanks.GREAT SHOW!Winke Responds:Dustin, I know that it can cause problems if you don't do it right. The deer have to have the right bacteria in their systems to help them digest certain foods. If they don't have that (it takes time to transition from one diet to another) then they can become sick. Howevever, if they are already eating some corn in your area (for example there are corn fields nearby) then they are probably already acclimated to digesting corn. At that point, I am not aware of any problems with feeding them corn - other than the obvious ones like expense and the fact that when you concentrate deer you up the chances for disease transfer. Good luck.
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Matthew from WV asks:Hey Bill loved the TV show this year it was my favorite,very imformative and realistic. I have recently been doing my post gun season trail camera surveys on my 800 acre Northern Missouri Lease (very close to decatur county Iowa line) and can't believe all the bucks. I believe I have at least 5 bucks 4yrs+ , 6 3yr olds , and numerous 1 and 2 year olds. Thats after we harvested 5 4yr olds and 1 3yr old. Whats the chances of the majority of these bucks returning next year? Some moved in after gun season and some were there all along and we have history with them. We have good cover, good food, and very minimal hunting pressure.Winke Responds:Matthew, That is a great area. I know it pretty well. I would say the ones you have history with on that farm will be there again next year. The ones that moved in after the gun season will likely not be there. A couple may stay, but typically they will go back to their fall range. We always end up with tons of shed antlers each year from bucks we never saw and never see because they moved in for the food during the winter and then went back to their normal range when winter ended. However, there will always be a few surprises, bucks that make a big jump or move into your area before next year. I get a big kick out of those. It is fun to see what shows up. But to keep this simple, you can generally rely on the same bucks you had on the farm the previous fall (not so much those that came in during the winter). No doubt some will depart, but most will be right back there again. Good luck.
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Dustin from MO asks:I have lots of pictures on my trail camera of a buck who has real long tines but no brow tines that i can see. He looks like a pretty young buck so my question is, do some deer just not grow brow tines or do you think the older he gets he will develop them later? Its a deer I'd like to shoot with my bow but then again I think maybe next year he'll have brow tines. Just wondering what you thought??Winke Responds:Dustin, Some don't grow brow tines, especially at a young age. When they do finally get them, they are usually very short. My guess is that the buck you are looking at will never have much for brow tines if he has none at this point. However, just be sure he didn't break them off. If he broke them off, then obviously he will have them again next year. Good luck.
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Eric from IA asks:Hey Bill, Congratulations on your recent buck kill! I was wondering what made you decide the buck was mature and not a three and a half year old. Didn't know if you had trail cam pics from previous years and he didn't get any bigger or what? Just wondered how you judged the deers age before you decide to take him(body size, face,etc. or what? Will appreciate feed back, it is so hard to judge deers age without having history with them and would like to get few tips. Just wanted to let you know I love the Iowa, Ohio, and the Main show the best so keep it up!Winke Responds:Eric, Thanks for your support. You look at the shape of his head, wide forehead, short looking nose, the shape of his body (kind of like a rectangle) and just the way he walks (kind of stiff looking). It all adds up to an old buck. After looking at enough of them you can start to get a feel for the age by these key features. Some guys also look at the neck. Eventually, it is like looking at a person, you can tell when they are old and when they are young and after looking at people long enough and getting their correct age, you can start to estimate the actual age of the person. I am not really good at estimating the actual age of a buck, just whether he is young or old and that is good enough for me at this point. Good luck.
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Todd Lambotte from KS asks:Bill, Thanks for the most no frills realistic hunting show on today ! My question is with the season over here in Kansas I have more time to scout for next year. Today I located two main rub line's that looked like a bulldozer had gone through the area. Some of these rubs were on large tree's. Can I expect the buck's that made these to return to the same tree's or same area next year ? Take Care, ToddWinke Responds:Todd, Thanks for your support. I would think so, at least in theory. You can check again shortly after velvet shedding - for sure by late September and see if they appear again. My guess is that they will. It is not necessarily the same buck because once these high profile rubs have been made, they often get adopted by many bucks. However, the travel route should exist again next season even if it is not visited by exactly the same bucks. Good luck.
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I feel you are misleading thousands of people when you say that mature bucks can be fully nocturnal.Mickey from AL asks:Bill, I've never known of any deer that is only, truly active at night... the so-called "nocturnal buck" is an outdoor writer's myth, it does not exist. Whitetails must feed every 4-6 hours as their rumens empty and hunger pains set in. It is inappropriate to tell 1,000's of viewers that because you happened to be unsuccessful in seeing your 2-3 target bucks during the day that these bucks are ghosts and unhuntable. This is not true. Instead, there are dozens of other explanations. In my opinion, hunting only the fringe of what you suspect to be their home range was your biggest mistake. Hunters give mature whitetails way too much credit because they developed their hunting skills when mature bucks were one-in-a-thousand and almost non-existant. On well manageed properties, such as your farm, where mature bucks are now much more common, they are much easier to hunt than the typical hunter realizes. A button buck would be hard to hunt if only 2-3 existed on your farWinke Responds:Mickey, I understand what you are saying and respect your knowledge. You are a good guy, and I like you. But I am going to respectfully disagree with a good bit of that. I also have thousands of hours in the field and always hunt with a very open mind. I try to learn something new every day. There is not a whole bunch that slips past me out here. You are over-generalizing mature buck behavior. I suppose it is an exageration to say that the two bucks I was hunting were only nocturnal, but in hundreds of trail camera photos of these deer spanning 2 1/2 months this fall and additional months in prior seasons, with the cameras located right in the center of what I felt was their core areas, I got a total of one (yep one) photo of one of these bucks that was right at first legal light. Otherwise, the photos were all well after or well before shooting light. That is a very, very low percentage of daylight activity. By comparison, some of the other bucks I photographed (also equally mature) I got lots of daylight photos (in some cases nearly 50% daylight). Not surprisingly, those are the bucks we ended up seeing and sometimes shooting. Not all mature bucks act the same! Again, mature bucks are individuals. Let's assume that some deer are more prone to travel during daylight than others. It is just their personality. In areas where everyone lets the genetically superior young deer go until full maturity (the King Ranch for example, but not our neighborhood, by the way) those bucks reach their antler potential and bring this easy-hunting personality with them. I have seen this happen several times. Now, what if the hunting pressure in that area wipes out those daylight travelers (especially the genetically superior ones that have big antlers) when those bucks are 2 or 3 years old? Right, they never bring that easy-hunting personality to maturity where I can shoot them. I am not saying the overall genetics are skewed, I am saying the easy to kill &quo
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Doug from IA asks:Bill, I love yr shows I moved to south Iowa and have 3 hunting seasons under my belt here. I hunt mostly Wapello county, some jefferson and appanoose. I have many places to hunt mostly private some public.. I have noticed two things that surprise me here. 1- Deer (including mature) seem to enter the timber way before daylight arrives? In other states AMs seem to much more activity, most daylight movement except during the rut, is pm??? Why is that? I have several places that are virtually impossible to am hunt, unfortunately they hold the biggest bucks.. 2. I had a good 160" patterned, watching him on 12/17 and 12/19 pms. Went in on 12/20 and saw 10 bucks but not him and 2 were shed off. On wed 12/22 the landowner show me 5 shed antlers he found that day in the field I was hunting! One from the 160" I was hunting!!! 3 other were from good bucks! I have noticed that other mature deer I watched thru the gun season and surviving the orange army have suddenly disappeWinke Responds:Doug, 1. I have seen the same thing, but that is fine. I just hunt them back in the timber in the mornings during the rut and avoid hunting mornings outside of the rut. I am not sure it is any different most places I have been. Deer just tend to drift toward the cover in the morning. During the rut they may linger longer near food sources in the AM but other times of the year it is all business: their stomachs are full why hang around out in the open. When it is very cold, deer will sometimes only feed during the daylight hours and spend the night bedded nearby. They will tend to linger longer in the mornings in small plots too. Maybe the reason they clear out early in this area is because most fields are fairly large and open. In more secluded settings I have seen them hang out near food plots for many hours into the morning. I have seen the same basic behavior pretty much everywhere that I have hunted deer. 2. Bucks on feeding patterns are primarily nocturnal. Most evenings they come out well after dark. Only occassionally (usually related to weather changes) will they come out during the daylight. It is even worse in areas that receive moderate to heavy pressure during the regular firearms season. Also, you bring up a good point. Some of the "big does" you are seeing may actually be shed bucks. Be very careful in what you shoot. Good luck.
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Dan from MO asks:I shot a doe on 12-28-2010. While gutting her I discovered a baby fetus in her belly. It was about 2-3" long. Any guess on when she concieved?Winke Responds:Dan, Your range of measurement is too broad. You need to narrow it down. To be specific, here is a good article by Joe Hamilton with the QDMA on the subject. I can't insert links here. Please cut and paste to your browser. http://www.qdma.com/what-we-do/articles/certification-program-readings/breeding-dates-fetal-aging/
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steve mccarthy from WI asks:Bill,thanks for all your hard work love the shows and articles in Petersons Bowhunting mag.My question is about coyotes.In a spot where i have had great late season hunts over cut corn i have very little deer sign and lots of coyote tracks! Could the yotes be pushing deer out of area? I have only seen three yotes during hunts in three seasons. Have 1 trail cam pic. of yote. I think there pushing deer to other areas to feed whats your opion. Thanks for your time and keep the e-mails coming. SteveWinke Responds:Steve, Thanks for your support. If you have the food you will have the deer. They will just deal with the coyotes when the time comes. They will still try to feed normally. I have a food plot with good amounts of corn yet there are also lots of coyotes. Just last night I shot at coyote from my stand there, and saw two there last time I hunted the stand. Yet last night I saw many deer come out and eventually shot an old buck. So while they don't like coyotes, they also don't move to other feeding areas just because there are a few coyotes around. My guess is that the cut corn field doesn't have much food left in it or the deer have found someplace nearby that has easier, more accessible food. I don't think it is the coyotes. You still need to kill them though. I hate coyotes. Good luck.
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justin from AL asks:bill,we love your show here in alabama,keep it up! i have this one massive buck that has proved himself nocturnal, however in the past 2 weeks (dec.15-dec26)he has appeared at 5:10pm and 6:36am.is he starting to ease out of his nocturnal pattern now that rut is getting closer?Winke Responds:Justin, It sure sounds like it. I would definitely start hunting him. That has been the biggest thing I have discovered here with running cameras: you learn which bucks are nocturnal and which ones are daylight roamers. The daylight roamers (even if they only show up occassionally on camera) are the ones we end up seeing and shooting. When you have a selection of bucks on camera, be sure to focus on the ones that show some daylight activity. Good luck.
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kaleb from MI asks:I shoot a buck a few days ago that was limping real hard and lost its horns. We thougt someone shot it with buck shot. When we took it home and skinned it, it look as though someone hit it with a car. It was glass that made the little holes in its hide not buck shot. but my main question is what caused it to lose its antlers?Winke Responds:Kaleb, When they get injured badly their overall body condtion suffers and they often shed their antlers much sooner than they normally would. That is the reason he shed out early - the injury.
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Phil from IL asks:Is it possible that walking to your stand that a buck hears you and comes to you, maybe thinking your a deer? I had a 155" buck come right to me at 30 yards and I was just standing there like a tree not moving. Didnt even see me. There is snow on the ground froze over so it crunches and is loud.Winke Responds:Phil, I have had this happen before, but normally only when I shuffle me feet or otherwise disquise the steady cadence of a human stride. Deer know the various sounds in their world and that steady cadence gives you away. The only other critter making that same sound is a turkey. When I know I am getting close to a bedding area, or when I deer blows at me in the dark (that I know can't smell me) I'll start to vary my cadence and that usually throws them off long enough for me to get to my stand. I have also done that and used soft grunts too, but be sure to get into the stand quick because that will definitely bring bucks in during the pre-dawn. Good luck.
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Brian from OH asks:Hey Bill, I was hunting this evening (dec 13th) after we got snow approx 4 inches of snow in SW Ohio. I had several does coming into mast crop that borders bedding cover. One of the does, a full sized one but not seemingly the lead doe, pealed off from the others and started feeding by herself 30 yds from my tree. She then semi-squatted, brought her hind legs together and urinated on her tarsal glands as she rubbed her legs together just like a buck would when he urinates in a scrape. Ive seen many bucks do this but not a doe. After she did this, she slowly fed down in the direction of the other does. Do you think she may be coming into heat? Or is that something does do to communicate with other does and deer in general? The timing would seem to line up with her second estrus cycle. I am going to hunt the same location tomorrow evening in hopes that she is! Thanks for your time.Winke Responds:Brian, It is totally possible that she was coming into heat. Does squat to pee all the time, not just when they are coming into estrous. I assume you checked closely to make sure it wasn't a button buck. I have never seen does rubbing together the tarsal area after urinating. It may just be something I have missed. I will have to keep my eyes open for this in the future. I am not sure exactly what happened there.
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craig from MI asks:Bill, great job on the show. last year after season ended all the deer on my property left for a 200 acre corn field about a mile away, it was not picked until spring, this year. now this hunting season was the worst ever, no big bucks and hardly any does. 2009 i let go 130 to 140 class daily, now 2010 i have yet to have a shooter walk past. do you think they will ever return, i have ample food for for them just no deer??????Winke Responds:Craig, Some of them may have relocated, but I doubt they all stayed away permanently. In fact, they were likely back to their traditional summer ranges by springtime. However, this has been a really strange year. I haven't seen the normal number of mature bucks on their feet either. If you aren't running trail cameras, I suggest you get one. My guess is that you have more mature bucks on the place than you think. That has been my experience with this season. I am just not seeing them, but at least a huntable number of mature bucks are here - just not moving during the day. Good luck.
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Matt from IL asks:Mr. Winke, Over the last 2 months I have started to track deer movements in North Central Illinois as it relates to rising a falling of barometric pressure. This is the first time that I have done something like this in my 17 years of bowhunting. But here's the thing, generally deer move on a rising or steady barometric pressure - so I have found so far... but as December arrived and carrying interesting weather patterns. My hunting buddies have found on the same days hunting that in one area deer are up and moving during a falling barometer and 45 minutes away I sit in stand without a glimpse of one of our furry friends. Maybe I am trying pattern something with so little data (2 months or so) and there is no pattern to be found (YET). So, have you tracked barometric pressure as it relates to deer movement during specific times through the course of deer season? i.e morning, mid-day and evening. Do you have any insight on this topic or am I looking at isolated cases with deeWinke Responds:Matt, That is a very interesting study, but I fear you will need years worth of data for that to be conclusive. I have stopped trying to predict what they will do next. Sometimes I have seen them fly to the food prior to a winter storm coming in and sometimes I have seen them hunker down. I have some ideas on my own about collecting interesting data and I will share those with all the Midwest Whitetail visitors in the next couple of months. Thanks for the input. I think you simply need more data to see trends because nothing is absolute relative to deer behavior.
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Ray from ON asks:Hi Mr.Winke I just checked my game cam and got a picture of a mature deer with no rack and no holes where the antlers should be.He has a great big swelled neck and huge muscular body.My question is , is it possible that a mature buck would have no antlers? PS I can send you some pictures of him if you would like to see the deer. Thank tou for your time...RayWinke Responds:Ray, I suppose it is possible. I have never heard of it before though. I have seen bucks with just one antler because it had pedicle damage on the other. But you can easily see the bases. I think I would like to see that photo. Thanks. Better yet, shoot the deer with a doe tag and send pics!
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carter from MO asks:how much would an 8 point first year rack grow next season? what should I plant for food plots? thanks CHWinke Responds:Carter, It really depends on the genetics of the individual deer. It is like people, some grow fast and tall and others grow slower and never get as big. In general, I would say he will be so much bigger you won't recognize him. We never try to even start tracking the progress of bucks until they are at least 2 years old. I would start with clover and then get more ambitious as you begin to learn more about food plots, how to grow them, where to place them, etc.
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justin from AL asks:bill,i have around 7 to 8 does frequenting this one plot,however in the past two weeks several mature bucks are using the same plot and now the does arent on the camera? rut wont start for another month.are they still in bachelor groups?Winke Responds:Justin, If you are a month from the rut, then I would say they could still be in bachelor groups. I have seen the bucks moving together right up until the rut actually kicks in. Good luck. I hope you can score on a good buck.
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A group of hunters did a drive in the area I am hunting; how long until the bucks will move back in?Darin from IA asks:I have spent the better part of Nevember parterning some great deer on a small farm (about 120 acres) south of town. During the shotgun season, a large group hunted the same area 3 days in a row. I watched their drive one morning and to my delight the 2 mature bucks all escaped without a shot. The timber is surrounded with cuts beans and plenty of food. My question is how long will it be before these deer potentially return to their previous patterns. I plna to leave the area untouched until the Late ML season. Thanks DWinke Responds:Darin, I would wait at least ten days for them to get settled back in. Good luck.
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scott bock from IN asks:Sir, On November 27, 10 I was shotgun hunting in Northern Indiana. I was lucky enough to take a 3 1/2 year old 10 pointer with split brow tines. The deer weighed 173lbs. The buck didn't appear that he was in rut. His neck was only 20in., his face was thin with a big roman nose and while gutting him he still had alot of talo and fat on him. He had both testicles so his hormones should have been going. I don't understand why a buck, after thanksgiving and should be in rut, wasn't in rut. Hope you have an answer. Thank you for your time.Winke Responds:Scott, Congrats on the buck! Not all of them will run the fat off. In fact, depending on what other bucks are in the area, some bucks don't rut as hard as they might in areas with less other bucks around. Also, if there are a few older bucks in the area, the 3 1/2 year olds will not take part in the rut as aggressively as in other areas. My guess is that this buck simply wasn't one of those that covered a lot of ground. It is a personality thing; some bucks are roamers while others are homebodies. I'm guessing he was a homebody. He also might have been a big antlered 2 1/2 year old. Some of them can look pretty impressive too - that would explain his lack of size and neck circumference. Have a great day.
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Steve from IA asks:I lease 160 acres in southern Iowa near the town of Loviliia and I am the only person who hunts the ground. This farm is made up of roughly 120 acres of timber with the balance in alfalfa and clover food plots for the deer. Each summer I run 4 trail cameras over corn to take an inventory of deer on the property. In a typical year I will have 5-6 bucks that I estimate to be 3.5 years old using the property regularly and maybe one or two bucks that I would consider to be 4.5 or older. Many of these bucks i recognize from the previous year when they were 2.5 years old. Every year I pass on those 3.5 year old bucks hoping to put my tag on one of those mature buck but it doesn't seem to be doing any good because the next year I rarely see or get trail cam pictures of those same bucks that should now be 4.5 years old. The area surrounding my lease is mostly bow hunted so my question is, what do you think is happening to all these 3.5 year old bucks?Winke Responds:Steve, I think some are getting shot. Some are moving because they want to have their own turf for dominance purposes, but for sure a number of them are getting shot. It is hard for a lot of people to hold off on a nice 3 1/2 year old even in Iowa. The best way to find out where you stand is to run the cameras after the second shotgun season (again on corn) to see what is left on the farm and likely to get a year older. These are most likely the bucks you will be hunting next year. Again, some may move off the farm (to be sure) but they should still be in the neighborhood come next fall. Good luck.
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Dustin from NC asks:I have a camera set up and the past 2 weeks the deer have only been on camera at night. Well now there are 2 big bucks on there i was wondern how do i get these deer to come back out during shooting hours oh yea the moon has been full n does that have nething to do with it. thanks i hope to hear from youWinke Responds:Dustin, This is a typical problem. I faced it myself this season. Short of doing a soft deer drive (bump them from their beds) there is no good way to get those bucks to move during the day until they are good and ready to do it. Likely they will move during the day when the hunting pressure has been low for a while, but then they will likely only do so a few times, not every evening. You either need to hunt as much as you can as carefully as you can and accept the results or you need to perform a few small deer drives. Good luck.
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mark from MD asks:bill been seeing small buck and nice buck with broken antlers or tines do you think it is done by fighting or some other wayWinke Responds:Mark, I believe they do this through fighting. I don't think they generate enough torque to do that through rubbing. I have seen a lot of bucks rubbing and have never seen anything that was violent enough to break a tine. Howevever, I have seen several fights and those fights were very violent. Best of luck.
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Ryan from IA asks:Hey Bill. I am a huge fan of the show and congrats on shooting "Jamie". You mentioned that you were not seeing a lot of your hit-list bucks this season. Do you think it has anything to do with the old dominant bucks like "Jamie" and "Lathrop" running off the younger but bigger deer? My farm is much smaller but after shooting an old 140 class buck on Nov 7 this year, I noticed a lot more cruising by 3+ year old "stranger" bucks; bucks that I did not have previous pics of. Many trail cam pics throughout the year and his behavior that day lead me to believe he was the dominant buck. Thanks.Winke Responds:Ryan, I think you are definitely on to something there. It is something I believe too. I am not sure how much those two bucks controlled, but for sure they were the old men on the block. Thanks for supporting the show and I agree with your observations about removing the old bully bucks to improve the property for other bucks to step in.
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Scott from IA asks:Bill, How many acres do you own/hunt? The reason I ask is that you seem to have had a couple very mature deer (jamie and lathrop) on the piece you are hunting. Do you think that this could have something to do with you not seeing your "hitlist bucks", among the other reasons you listed. Both of those deer seemed extremely healthy and could have easily been running your farm (just a thought). Congrats on your buck, and keep up the good work. You are a great representative for our sport! Open invite to NE Iowa anytime, we got a few good ones runnin' around up here as well! LOLWinke Responds:Scott, Thanks for the invite. I actually grew up in Allamakee County, so I know NE Iowa very well. Beautiful area. We have a lot of family there and at one time before I started to buy land I actually had permission on more than 60 farms! I am sure that is all changing now. I have 1,000 acres and that doesn't seem like nearly enough when trying to take all the way to maturity. I am still very much affected by what happens on my neighbors' for better or worse. I think you are right, I think those two bucks may have been running off better young bucks during the times when dominance is established (September around here). I also think they were able to grow very old here because they had small home ranges and didn't stray off the farm. A buck with an average home range is going to cover about 500 acres in this area. That can take him onto several different farms. I rally think these two bucks had home ranges of less than 200 acres based on trail cam photos and sightings. They didn't stray far. Now I just wish I had some very large antlered bucks with the same small home ranges in the middle of my farm. This is why your hunting (long-term) will always be dependent on your neighbors. Most bucks don't have small home ranges like Jamie and Lathrop. Good luck and thanks for the invite.
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Mike from SC asks:Bill, I really like your Shows.And I am really thankful that you do not hide Christ in your life, please continue to express your faith in Christ even though Pastor Paul is on Mid- West Whitetail.I was just wandering if the Doe's change their pattern at all during the rut.Winke Responds:Mike, Thanks for your support. The does definitely go into hiding during the rut. We have a hard time seeing them on the food plots from about November 3 through about November 20. After that they seem to appear out of the woodwork - literally. So I think that change in doe behavior causes a change in buck behavior as well. They keep looking around the food plots in the evening, but spend more time actually bird dogging the heavy cover where the does are hiding. If you have areas of heavy cover, that is likely where the does will be hiding to avoid constant harrassment from young bucks and that is a likely spot to see a good buck cruising through looking for them. Good luck.
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Dave from MO asks:Bill, do you find that deer bed on specific sides of ridges or points of ridges specific to wind direction? For example, a buck will bed on a north facing point only when there is a variation of a south wind so it's at his back? Are your east/west running ridges used more for bedding than your north/south ridges due to the prevailing winds in your area?Winke Responds:Dave, I think it works that way generally. They like to be able to smell what they can't see. It is not always going to hold true, but in general you pretty well have it pegged. Our prevailing winds are SW, W and NW but we have all directions in a fall. I feel that the deer do adjust to the locations along the ridges where they can see everything downwind and sell everything behind them.
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Mike from OH asks:I just caught on to your show and now it is on the DVR. My question is about growth patterns of antlers. Do they grow similarly every year for bucks? The reason being, is that I took up bow hunting last year, using my grandfather's 20 year old McPherson with Muzzie heads. I saw a nice buck with low-forward tines, but hit him in the shoulder. He shook the arrow and we lost the thin trail over the property line. I saw him during gun season, but could not seal the deal. I re-upped this year with a new Parker Enforcer crossbow and Rage 3-blade heads. This morning I took a very large buck and the 11 point rack is very similarly shaped to the "one that got away" - it is forward and extremely thick. I would like to believe that I made good on last year's miss. So, the question is whether or not the antlers grow in the same general shape and angle each year? I went so far as to actually look at his shoulder during processing, but he had a layer of fat covering any sWinke Responds:Mike, It is very possible it is the same deer. They do have similar characteristics from one year to the next and some deer can really grow a lot in a year depending on their genetics, so it is entirely possible it is the same deer. Congratulations and thanks for supporting the show. Have a great day.
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Steve from MO asks:Sorry to send such a long post that got cut off previously. I seemed to be seeing mature bucks with a groups of does versus a single doe for the most part early in November. I have witnessed a couple of bucks breed multiple does within an hour or so of each other. I have never seen this before. I have a good buck to doe ratio in my area so I found it quite fascinating that a single buck would breed more than one doe within hours of each other. I have not been back out since shooting my buck November 2nd but I am hearing that sighting of older much larger bucks dogging does to be picking up such as the one you shot. It has been a strange season. I will get you a more detailed report of my rut in central Missouri but it will not fit on here. Could I email it to you?Winke Responds:Steve, I am not surprised at what you saw. I have seen some crazy stuff over the years. I once watched a doe get bred by two different bucks within about five minutes of each other! You can e-mail it to the info@midweestwhitetail.com account. I would say it was the strangest rut I have seen. It has been really dead, actually. I look forward to reading more about your findings. Have a great day.
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Johnny from PA asks:Is the peek of the November rut triggered by the shorter hours of daylight (shorter days) or by the moon phases.Winke Responds:Johnny, Biologists say it is shorter days (hours of light), thus the reason the peak breeding dates fall the same every year.
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With the emphasis on shooting does in some areas,won't all the bucks leave that area during the rut?Johnny from PA asks:Bill I just returned from a bow hunt in Illinois and the emphasis on killing does was unbelieveable. I am a little confused on this practice of killing all the does. If you limit the numbers of available does on your farm during the rut wouldn't that send the bucks to the neighbors farm where the doe numbers are greater? I understand the concept of ballancing the buck to doe numbers but all my common sence tells me if the does aint there the bucks will go where they are. Help me to understand.Winke Responds:Johnny, I think the idea is for everyone to be part of the process to balance the herd. There are certain pockets of high deer numbers in every state (possibly every county) and if you are hunting one of those areas, you will get pressured to shoot does. We have shot them hard over the years and successfully brought the deer numbers down. Now we only need to maintain the right number with a much lower number of doe harvested. Without doubt, if you have few does and the neighbor has lots, some of the bucks will stray over to that farm, but not balancing the herd for that reason alone is short-sighted thinking. Once things are balanced and the numbers are in line with the ability of the area to carry them (and the farmers' acceptance of loss) you have only to maintain, and then the rut will equalize back out again so the bucks are leaving. Not all bucks leave by the way, only some of them do. We have seen that for sure. Hope that helps.
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David from IL asks:On November 17, 2005, I took my biggest whitetail up to that point. At 9:00AM, I saw a six pointer walking along the edge of the woods about 80 yards to my right. All of a sudden, a huge 10 pointer busted out of the brush and charged the smaller deer, never actually made contact, and then they just sort of started milling around together. Suddenly, 15-17 bucks of all sizes came running from all directions and joined the two. Again, none of them made contact with each other, but they were grunting and snort wheezing at each other. They all stayed within a 30 yard radius of each other. Several does walked, trotted, and ran through the area, and one or two of the bucks would chase them for about 75 yards, stop, then run back and rejoin the other bucks. This went on for over two hours before I finally coaxed a ten pointer to my tree with a snort wheeze, and took him. I've been bowhunting whitetails for 37 years, and had never seen anything like this behavior before or since. What dWinke Responds:David, Man, the only time I have seen anything like that was one time elk hunting when the elk just went berserk and started running in circles and getting all crazy. It was because one cow was in estrous. My guess is that there was an estrous doe nearby, probably not in sight and that was atrracting all the bucks to that area. It is totally possible that there was a differnt buck that you were not seeing that had that doe pinned down and wasn't even involved in the scuttle. Otherwise, I have never seen a cluster of bucks stick together for that long. Had to be a hot doe nearby. I would love to have that happen to me so I can tell you first hand what caused it!
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anthony from MO asks:Why all the pictures of bucks with broken tines? I hunt southern mo where we have always been known for the numbers of deer, but not great quality. Last year and now this year starting in mid-november we are getting lots of pics and seeing bucks with busted antlers. Is our buck-doe ratio starting to improve? Is there a food supplement to offer to strengthen antlers? We have finally developed some property(app 1000 acres managed) to the point where we are getting some mid 150's. I hate to see them bust them up so early. Any ideas? Thanks, we are big fans.Winke Responds:Anthony, I would point to the buck to doe ratio as the reason for the increased fighting and more broken tines. We saw that here too when we got things in check. Also we saw many more bucks limping around after the rut from the fighting they had done. I don't know if mineral supplemenets will help with the antlers, but it is worth a try. My guess is that it is related to more competition and more fighting than in the past. Good luck and it sounds like you are on the right track.
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Todd from GA asks:I have about fifty acres around the Quitman,GA area. About thirty acres are pasture with a few cows on it. The other twenty are hardwoods bordering planted pines, cotton and bean fields. Everywhere you look there are rubs and scrapes, and have numerous pictures of bucks from four points to ten. However I only have pictures of these bucks at night. I hunt every chance i get, morning and night, but have only seen does during the day no bucks. any suggestions?Winke Responds:Todd, It is a common story this year, for some reason. People all across the country are contacting me and telling me that the bucks are nocturnal this year. It definitely matches what I have been seeing. The only thing you might watch is your hunting pressure on a small piece like that. Be sure that you aren't hunting it too hard and that your entry and exit routes to the stands are carefully selected so that you don't alert or bump any deer. Good luck.
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Luke from WI asks:Quick question for you... I have noticed a lot of big bucks that have been shot on the shows have large patches of fur missing at the tops of their backs. I am assuming this is from fighting? Am I right? How does that happen so commonly in that same place? I have never noticed this before... Thanks!Winke Responds:Luke, I think it is from scratching ticks more than fighting. They do it with their antlers. I have also seen some that have hair missing that appears to have been caused by not getting quite low enough when dropping uder a fence (a more straight-edged cut of hair). Most times it is ticks, however. Good luck.
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Kaden from IA asks:Bill, the farms my dad and I hunt on have alot of good bucks. During the rut they move from property to property looking for does. This year we had two new bucks on the farm. We haven't ever had any history with these bucks. Do you think when they move from property to property they return to where they live every other part of the year?Thanks.Winke Responds:Kaden, I do think that, but some bucks will also change their home ranges for no apparent reason. Most bucks have a fall range and summer range and those may or may not overlap. If you see them in an area one fall, they likely will be back there the next fall even if they spend the summer somewhere else. But like I said, about roughly 20% (my best estimate) just up and move for no apparent reason. We track them best we can with summer video and trail cameras and see this to a certain extent each year. Good luck.
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Stephen Pate from AL asks:Bill, first I would like to say I love Midwest Whitetail, I am totally addicted and have got my brothers and hunting buddy hooked also. My question is how long does a doe stay "hot". I was hunting in Kentucky the evening of Nov. 8th and shot over the back of a nice buck. The next evening (which was my last day of my hunting trip) the buck was chasing, what I assumed to be the same doe in the same bedding area, but never presented a shot. I was told that the doe would not be "hot" even if I stayed another day. What do you think?Winke Responds:Stephen, I appreciate your support and for passing along the word. We need all the help we can get to keep ths growing. I have read that the number is 24 to 36 hours. But they may chase a doe long before she becomes receptive. So just because a buck is chasing doesn't mean she is actually "hot" just that she is "nearly hot". Usually when they actually are receptive they stop running and allow breeding to take place - that's when the 24 hour to 36 hour clock starts ticking. Usually, a mature buck steps in at that point and assumes the duties, as long as there are enough of them around. To answer the question specifically, there is no way to know for sure if she would stayed in that area or at what stage of "almost hot" she was in, however, it is likely that once she became receptive, you would have not have seen the buck as he and the doe would have been holed up in a brush pile, a small fence corner, etc. to get away from the harrassment of other bucks. Good luck.
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Troy from KY asks:I've been seeing 7 to 9 does on a daily basis from my stand.I've seen 4 to 5 small bucks and 2 shooters both 140 or better.One was with 3 does and the other chasing a doe.I seen one on the morning of Nov 12th around 8:00 am ,and the other on Nov.15th around 8:00 am.How often do you think they'll come around I've got until Nov 22nd then it's back to work,and my hunting will be limited.Winke Responds:Troy, I am sure I have missed your window with my answer, but it is totally random. The schedules they keep during the rut are not something we can put our fingers on. They go where the doe takes them and when they don't have a doe they look for them, sometimes only at night. I would not try to figure out the timing, but just be in good stands in areas where you know big bucks live and hunt carefully. Eventually something may come past. It is about all any of us can do during the rut. Good luck.
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Scott from CT asks:Hi Bill! Thanks for the advice! your book has really helped me become a better buck hunter! I agree with you the rut takes place the same time every season. Do you think the late full moon this November has anything to do with the slow day time buck movement? ThanksWinke Responds:Scott, I don't know about that. I don't believe it changes the rut dates, but it may affect daylight activity. Something sure did, all across the Midwest. Maybe it was the moon. I can't say for sure without doing more research into this. But if you think aobut it, we had the dark of the moon in early November when we should have seen tons of rut activity, but we didn't see it - at least not here. Very hard to figure this one out. Maybe there are just things we don't understand about the whitetail and why it moves. I am certain of that fact. Good luck.
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tony from IL asks:had achance at what i think is a 180plus deer.ishot low for a miss on vets day morn. he calls home behind the barn thicket.will he keep coming back to his safe zone in that thicket during the rut or will he be on the run? my son had a 40 yard encounter with him 2hrs after my shot going to that thicket.Winke Responds:Tony, He will center around his core area, but occassionally he will be gone (sometimes for days at a time) as he holes up does elsewhere. I would think that by late November he will be settled back into his core. Good luck.
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tom from OH asks:Hello Bill, First of all love your show, your show is different from all the others because it seems real how you truly show your passion for whitetail hunting. Don't ever loose that drive or hope you give us getting ready for the next day hunt. For the question, when a doe goes in estrous say in the woods will her scent last for one day or more. If i am in the woods tonight and bucks are running like crazy, what are the odds they will be running like that the next day. Once again thank youWinke Responds:Tom, Thanks for your support. If the doe stays in that area, it will remain hot. If she leaves the action will leave with her. It has been my experience that estrous does don't travel far, so you probably have about 24 hours to capitalize. Good luck.
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Jess from LA asks:Great site. Have really learned a lot of great tips and insight. Thank you. I read a lot on MwW about summer vs. winter ranges. What kind of distances have you noticed deer move between these two ranges and why do they move to begin with? Do you think this is consistent with whitetails throughout the US? Thank you.Winke Responds:Jess, Greg Clements did some research on this when in college (Masters program at U of Nebraska) and found that the average shift was about 600 yards. (Nearly half a mile). I am not sure why they move, probably something to do with where they were born or something to do with dispersing to get away from othe bucks in the bachelor group prior to the rut. I think it is consistent. In areas with limited cover I think they actually disperse farther. In areas with limited deer numbers and plenty of food and cover the dispersal is likely minimized. Where you saw a buck last year is the best place to start looking for him this fall. Good luck.
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Andrew from IL asks:This year the weather was cool comming into November and the Bucks were startin to move, mark their teritory and chase does. Then going into the second week of November its gettin back up to 70 degrees again. will this effect the does going into heat and maybe push them back to start later in november? I am wondering becasue a few days ago we were seeing bucks chasing and deer everywere and now its been gettin worm and we havent been seeing anything all the sudden. Are they still chasing, just at ngiht?Winke Responds:Andrew, The temps won't change their rut dates but it will change the amount of activity that takes place during the day. Warm conditions are a bummer because the rut occurs at night! Good luck.
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Cameron from AB asks:Hi Bill, after watching your last episode I noticed that you said you arnt seeing alot of deer and that this may be because of your high doe harvest. I understand why you shoot alot of does but if the landowners around you arnt shooting alot of does wont the bucks just leave your land in the rut and go to your neibours where all the does are?Winke Responds:Cameron, The landowners around me are shooting a lot too. The area had too many deer, now it probably has a bit too few. I have slacked off slightly on shooting them this year. I think a couple of the neighbors did too. That will slowly bring the numbers back up. Good luck.
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Dean from NJ asks:Hi Bill, the shows are great this year (and every year)! My questions is this, this past weekend i shot a really nice buck in a new area i am hunting, but i hit him low. Tracked him the next day and found about 75 yards of good blood and then it went to nothing. So we just walked all of the woods we thaught he might be in. I am convinced he is still alive and kicking. What do you think my chances are to see him again out of the same tree, or same area? Thanks for everything you guys do! DeanWinke Responds:Dean, In NJ the deer have fewer options than here, so you may well see him again in the same area. I have seen this happen before. A friend of mine shot a buck twice one season over a two week stretch from the same tree, killing him the second time. Good luck.
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Rob from MO asks:Bill, Don't get discouraged. Moon affects or not? Not sure what I believe, but Nov 6. lived up to your Nov 7 theory. I had my best day in the stand ever. Sitting on the edge of a Cedar thicket. 25 deer, multiple bucks, lots of chasing activity. Cooper County, MO- activity peaks 0840-0920, 1130-1225, 1425-1530, and 1730-1830. I believe this activity schedule was based on feeding cycles. Low of 27 degrees, high of 60. Thanks for a great show. Deer Biologist friend of mine has been sharing info from his telemetry studies, says they see a definite change of activity times based on the moon phases for what its worth. Thanks for all the work with the show. Refreshing focus on the experience and always trying to learn more rather than just making a quick buck. BTW bought the Nikon Binos and Muddy Sticks. Luv em. Keep up the great work.Winke Responds:Rob, Thanks for the information. I'll get to the bottom of this eventually. I hate it when something happens that I didn't expect or couldn't predict and worse yet, that I don't understand afterwards. That is what this rut has been like. People have shot bucks, but the standard activity is much lower. I know the pro staff has been about 50% less effective this year than last - all across the Midwest - so I know something is up. We'll get to the bottom of it. Good luck and congrats on your hunt.
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Ron H. Jr. from WI asks:Hey Bill. Loven the shows like always. Keep it up bud! Anyways quick question for ya. We have a few "Rut Only" stand that are set up on doe bedding areas. So far we have seen a few of are shooters and a couple we have never seen before. But back to my question... we have doe with two nubbin fawns, and just a few days ago are "V-8"buck was chasin her around. For a few days we seen the two nub fawns goin on with their day without their mother. Well tonight the two little nubs came in and momma doe was with them. So my question. How can we tell if a doe has been bread already? Maybe the V-8 buck realized she wasn't ready(hopefully) but how can we tell? Thanks a lot Bill! And good luck!!Winke Responds:Ron, I would say the doe has been bred. There is no real way to know for sure, sometimes you can see scuffed up hair on her back where the buck mounted her, but otherwise, the general lack of attention she draws from passing bucks and the fact that she left her fawns for a few days would suggest she has been bred. Good luck.
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Troy from KY asks:our gun season ends on November 28th how long will it take for the deer to calm back down,and which would be better to hunt mornings or evenings?I hunt in 125 acre mature hardwoods and the hunting pressure is moderate around me.Winke Responds:Troy, I would say about ten days to two weeks for them to fall back into normal movement patterns. I would focus on evenings at that time. The deer tend to get to their beds really early at this time of the year.
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Charlie from MO asks:Bill, I have become addicted to your shows and website. It is very informational. The rut is on where I hunt, which ususally hits a week before rifle. With a 10 day rifle season, how do the deer react to that much pressure and how long does it take them to (return to normal ways)? Also, once season has ended, when is it time to start scouting and laying food plots? Do they have different seasonal plots and do food plots need to be in their travel patterns or can they be randomly placed? ThanksWinke Responds:Charlie, They tend to go into hiding and become nocturnal. I feel like it takes about ten days to two weeks for the deer to fully return to normal movement after the gun season ends. That is if they are left completely alone. If you or someone else keeps pursuing them with muzzleloader or bow, they may remain on the defensive until after the season ends. Food plots can be randomly placed. They will find them. Good luck.
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eric from NC asks:Bill, I know as a hunter you hunt the wind, try to keep the wind in your face and try to setup your stand downwind of deer. However, I want to learn more about hunting the wind with reference to how deer use the wind. For example, I've read and seen on TV that deer don't necessarily keep their nose and travel directly into the wind but rather quarter their way into the wind. If this is true and you had a hypothetical situation where you had a feeding area to the North and a bedding area to the South, with the wind moving from North to South (a N wind), bucks would hypothetically prefer to quarter into the wind moving NE or NW to reach the feeding area, right? Does this mean that in this same situation deer wouldn't travel the same route back if the wind were still coming from the North? Would deer look to go to a possible bedding area further N of the feeding area to utilize the N wind by keeping it somewhat in their face/nose, or does it really matter? Do does generallWinke Responds:Eric, I don't think it is as cut and dried as all that. In fact, I am not sure what you are hearing and reading is even true. I see deer in general and bucks also (including mature bucks) traveling with all kinds of wind directions. I don't think they like to travel with the wind at their back very much, but I still see it. I think if they are trying to get from point A to point B they use the most direct route most of the time regardless of the wind. I think they select their bedding areas so that the wind blows in from behind and they have a good visibility in front (downwind). I will start to pay more attention to the winds that the deer are using, but it has been my experience that it is almost random. My main concern is making sure my scent doesn't blow to any deer as I enter and exit and that it blows into an area where deer are not likely to be when I am on stand. Beyond that, I don't give the wind much thought. I have shot a number of mature bucks traveling with the wind at their backs. I know that wasn't a big technical explanation, but I don't think you can be as specific about this as what you are trying to make it. Good luck.
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Jason from MO asks:i have huge bucks on camera but there all there at night what can i do to get them in during daylight. will grunting work since its the rut right now.Winke Responds:Jason, It is the problem many of us are facing this year. Not sure why the older bucks are so much more nocturnal this year than in past years, but they sure seem to be. Grunting may bring them to their feet, but I doubt it will pull them any great distance if they are primarily nocturnal. There is no good answer for you on this one. You just have to hunt patiently and carefully and hope a hot doe brings them out of the cover a couple times during daylight. Good luck.
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Aaron from IN asks:Can yearlings mate and have offspring of their own in the spring?Winke Responds:Aaron, Yes, up to 60% (roughly) of the doe fawns will breed their first fall in good ranges (such as the Midwest). Expect most of them to breed a month after the primary rut.
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Joe from AR asks:Bill, enjoy the website and videos. I was patterning several very nice bucks up until October 13th. Since then, I have gotten zero pictures of them on the trail cameras. Do you think that they have changed their patterns?Winke Responds:Joe, They likely did, but they may have only moved a short distance. I would assume they are still around somewhere until you confirm that they have moved off. I say that because usually by the early October they are in their fall ranges and are less likely to relocate than they would be if you had the photos in the summer before they shed their velvet. Good luck.
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Brandon from KS asks:Is there any thing you can do to ease a deer that is stomping its foot on the ground at you in the dark ?. Was going to my stand in the early morning in the dark, and a deer stomped its foot for about 2-3 minutes before it snorted and blew out of the area. I dont think the deer smelt me, the wind was in my face, and in my favor. I tried to soft grunt a couple times, that didnt seem to help anything. Was just curious if you had any tips on this situation.Winke Responds:Brandon, I sometimes grunt very softly with a buck grunt as I keep walking. Kind of drag your feet so you don't have the characteristic two step cadence of a person walking. This can sometimes work too well. I have had bucks walk right to the base of the tree in the dark and look for the other buck. Get to the tree and up to the stand as quickly as possible. What have you got to lose? Good luck.
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James from OH asks:Do mature bucks always walk into the wind? When they are looking for does or when goingto and from bedding areas?Tanks JamesWinke Responds:James, They don't always walk into the wind, but they often are very careful in their travels. They ofeten move very slowly and cautiously. Also, they move after dark alot and that keeps them alive too. Good luck.
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Neil from IL asks:I recently gained access to a great looking piece of property in central Illinois. Unfortunately two sides of this rectangular shaped property are bordered by a fence that is 6 to 7 feet high. How likely is it that deer would cross this fence on a regular basis? There is quite a bit of deer sign but I wonder if they're only coming and going from the non fenced sides. The majority of the surrounding timber is across the fence. Any thoughts?Winke Responds:Neil, They can jump six foot fences without too much trouble, but seven feet is pushing it. They would likely go around it. If you are seeing the sign, I would assume that the deer are finding their way into the property just fine. I wouldn't worry about it and would just focus on hunting good locations. Good luck.
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Luke from IA asks:Bill, just wondering when you think the best dates for iowa are to hunt in the up coming days?!. starting to see better movement just wanting some more info! thanks LukeWinke Responds:Luke, Most years I would say November 3 - 10, but this year those days were slow. I am not sure what to make of it. I will keep hunting, but the traditional times have not been that good this year.
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Steve from SD asks:My hunting places are in southeast SD. The landscape consists of large corn and soybean fields with farm shelterbelts every 1/2 mile or so. One particular abandon acreage is 7 acres with trees on the north and west with a sprinkling of trees along the east which borders a paved road. The local farmer farms the central part of the acreage (from the south) where there use to be buildings. I know a large buck called this home in the summer, but now that the surrounding cornfield is gone, I think he may have left. In your opinion, do mature bucks move with the standing corn, or is it worth trying to hunt this acreage during the rut? Thanks for the great web site.Winke Responds:Steve, Deer in those habitats do strange things compared to deer in more timbered areas. I don't think they intentionally move to find more standing corn unless the corn is within their normal range. In other words, he is likely to be using any scrap of cover he can find within his normal range. However, just keep in mind that his summer range and fall ranges may be completely different so you may have to relocate him for the fall. That is very common and a frustrating part of patterning bucks based on summer sightings. Good luck.
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John from WI asks:How do whitetails interact with domestic livestock and how will an increase in livestock affect whitetails on our land? Thanks.Winke Responds:John, They seem to get along OK. The deer will move away from the cattle, but they will not leave the area altogether. We see a lot of deer in pastured timber. Ideally, there would be no cattle in the areas you hunt, but it won't break your hunting. Good luck.
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Eugene Hingtgen from IA asks:Hi bill , this year I put in a 1/4 acre antler king food plot and it's growing great , I had a trail cam out since September getting nice bucks here and there , then on Saturday October 23rd it rain hard here so I just slipped in to check the camera and had 684 pictures since October 3 and to my surprise on the 23rd a mega giant showed up on my food plot triple drop 180 class deer , never seen him before and he bedded in my food plot for 6 hours , MY question is do you think he is just passing threw or do I have a chance that my food plot will hold him there? I thought that bucks really did not start running miles away from their core area till mid November ? Help totally excited :^))Winke Responds:Eugene, He may not be traveling that far to get there. He may just be living on a neighboring farm and now with the rut he is moving more. I would think that since you got him on Oct. 23, he is living somewhere in the general area. If you got him on November 10, by contrast, he may not be a local buck. Good luck shooting him.
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jack from OH asks:I was hunting the morning of october 22 and watched a few does an there young feed past me when one of the mature does checked a scrape an rubbed her head on the licking branches.What do you think she did that for?Winke Responds:Jack, They do it to leave scent. I am not sure exactly what that scent implies to other deer, some biologists feel it is simply a way for the deer to keep track of each other, like a calling card. Others think it is a way for does to signal their readiness to breed to bucks. I think it is just a social thing, they like to leave their scent to indicate their dominance status and just to keep tabs on the other deer, but that is just a guess on my part. Bucks do the same thing when they work the scrape, by the way.
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Justin Smith from IL asks:I have been getting alot of decent couple year old if not 3 year old deer but they are all coming at night around 10 or 11. I dont know where they are going after this or what the deal is. Do you have an suggestions of what I should do to hunt these deer or pattern them?Winke Responds:Justin, No I don't. This seems to be the year for nocturnal bucks. I am seeing the same thing here. I am not sure why they are not moving more during the day. All you can do is hunt smart and wait them out. Eventually, I would have to think they will show their heads during the day. I hope you are nearby when they do.
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Jess from LA asks:I just read your 11/08 article "The Invasion of the Ugly Bullies" regarding taking cull bucks. The article conveyed that your farm was developing a population of older / genetically inferior bucks and that you needed to handle the problem. It has been a couple years since that article, and I was wondering if you can educate us on any successes you had taking these bucks and if you have noticed a class of bigger 4 1/2 year and older bucks replacing the ugly bullies? Thanks.Winke Responds:Jess, It has been really hard to get those bucks killed. I don't have enough tags to shoot them myself and I have had bad luck getting my camera men to close the deal on them. That may change as we are upgrading our skills (they are) and I hope that makes it possible for us to take out a few more of these bucks. It is hard to educate people on what these bucks really look like so I can't cut too many folks loose on the farm and expect them to shoot the right bucks, so I need to be in the tree with them - thus the idea of having the cameramen shoot them while filming the hunts. That has been easier said than done. I'll keep you posted.
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TRAVIS from MO asks:Hey,love the show.I have to know how i can get you to put deer study you done. the one between summer paterns,food source,pree rut,rut and the area and range the bucks travle. I blieve the sutdy took place in mo could you put a clip of that on your site ? I think thats the best info for all bowhunters thank you iWinke Responds:Travis, That is a good idea. Actually Greg Clements did that study for his masters thesis when in grad school at U Nebraska Lincoln. We'll get that posted. It is good information. Have a great season.
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Mike from ON asks:Hey Bill what exactly is "fleming" all about. Is it simply about getting a better sniff of the air or some sort of display. Last year's video when you took "The Survivor" was a terrific example. I just think it's kind of interesting and would like to know more about it. ThanksWinke Responds:Mike, You are right, it is to concentrate the scent onto the most sensitive receptors in their nose to better process if the doe whose urine (typically) they just smelled is in estrous or not. Good luck.
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Charlie from MO asks:I have had a camera set out since the last week of September. I have 2 really nice bucks on there but are 2 weeks apart from eachother. One was during daylight around Sept. 25th the other was about 10 days ago at night. If I see a pattern of the bucks coming out at night time only. Is that a resulf of over hunting/pressure or just the normal routine these bucks take before the rut starts.Winke Responds:Charlie, It is very common (more the rule than the exception) that bucks are primarily nocturnal as they become more mature. It is frustrating, but it is part of their physiology, even in places where the hunting pressure is light, they are still primarily nocturnal. They do slip up during the rut some, but at other times of the fall, they are very hard to see during the day. Good luck.
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Brice from IA asks:Ive been bow hunting a couple hundred acres in northeast Iowa for the past 3 years. Over that time i have got some trailcam footage of a great mature buck that only shows his face in the middle of the night. Is there anything that i can do to get a better chance of seeing him in during hunting hours?Winke Responds:Brice, I wish there was. I have bucks like that too. They will generally slip up a few times each year chasing does (usually around November 3 - 10). Other than that, your only other chance is late season when they are going to food (toward the tail end of the season). Of course, you can always try deer drives with a shotgun during that season, but often bucks like this have figured out how to beat the drives. Good luck. It is a big challenge.
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Steve from IA asks:Bill, first off love the shows. You do a great job showing all aspects of the hunt. My target buck is working a east west running oak ridge with multiple fingers that run down into a nasty thick creek bottom. I have jogged my trail cams back along the ridge in hopes of finding him during shooting hours with no luck. My question is will he stay nocturnal or can i expect him to move more as the rut closes in. I have planned my time off for the last week of October and the first two weeks of November. Or do you think post rut would be a better time to hunt him. Thanks again for the great shows.Winke Responds:Steve, Every buck is a little different, but in general, you can expect him to move more during the day starting the last few days of October. However, some bucks are extremely nocturnal. I have one buck on my farm that has been in the areas of my stands for the past three years (as seen by the trail cam photos) but in all that time I have only seen him once. He has a small range that corresponds with my stand locations, but he covers it almost entirely at night. The only way you will know for sure is to hunt him and see. Just be careful that your efforts to photograph him aren't putting him on alert and making him remain nocturnal longer than he otherwise would. If it makes you feel any better, almost all mature bucks are nocturnal for the first three weeks of October.
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Jordan from IN asks:Hey Bill good luck this season. I have started to get trail cam pics of a nice 13 pointer and had 1 lucky encounter with him saturday but apart fro mthat he is nocturnal. Im hunting over a watering hole with acorns next to it. How can iget hi mto come in during the day?Winke Responds:Jordan, You can't. He will only do that when he is ready. Most of the bucks on my trail cameras are nocturnal now too. That will change dramatically (like flipping a light switch) during this week. Look for greater daylight activity by this coming weekend. Good luck.
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Bill from WI asks:Hi Bill, first off loving the shows this season, Yesterday i was watching a green field and watched a 3.5 year old 8 point chase a doe all around this field for about 15 minutes before they went into the brush, there are scrapes all around this field, I have heard about a so called "secret rut" in october, what are your opinions on this subjectWinke Responds:Bill, There are a few does that come into estrous a month early. Not a lot of them, but a few. That may be what you saw. It is quite possible. However, we are seeing a lot of scraping here too. That all starts to fire up around Oct 15 most years.
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Jason from WV asks:Bill I have been getting pictures since August 8th of these three bucks that are running together. Two of them are nice 8 points that are about the same body size and antler size and the third one is a smaller 1 1/2 year old 6 point. They have been out of velvet for a few weeks now. Do you think it is strange that they are still running together with the pre-rut fast approaching? Bow seasons opens in 5 days here and if they are still together, I'm hoping to split them up if you know what I mean! hahaWinke Responds:Jason, That sometimes happens. I would say that they will be separating pretty soon. Today is the Oct. 20, the bucks are just starting to get pushy with the does. If I had to guess I would say the two bigger ones aren't running together any more. Sometimes a clearly dominant buck will tolerate the presence of a clearly subordinate buck during the early rut phases, but that usually wears off when they start dogging does.
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Steve from MO asks:Hi Bill. Looking forward to seeing you put down a big buck or 2 this season. I have a stand I set up about 100 yards away from a thick area of cedars. I know doe's bed there but it is on a neighbors property that doesn't hunt. He pulled up in his truck somewhere close to the cedars yesterday late afternoon and he kicked out the biggest buck I have ever seen. He's definitely pushing 200 inches and was with 4 does. He ran full speed only 15 yards away right past my stand and out of sight. I don't think he was aware I was right there. I saw this deer last year in the same area and have concluded he may be using the cedars as his bedding area. I talked to the neighbor and that was the first time he had ever driven back there. Do you think that buck will be back or did he relocate due to the intrusion? This deer is likely 6-7 years old. Thanks SteveWinke Responds:Steve, He will be back. If they relocated everytime a farmer or someone drove up on them in a truck they would never stop relocating. I would expect he was back into his regular range and core area within a day or two at the most. Good luck.
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Ro from IA asks:Can you give me your opinion on the moon phases and how they play a role in rut and deer movement in general. Thanks.Winke Responds:Ro?, I just ignore them. Through experience over the years I have not seen a specific tie-in and when talking with Dr. Grant Woods about it, he tells me that the data is not conclusive all the research done to date. So for now, until someone comes up with something backed by research, I'm just going to ignore the moon altogether and hunt every chance I get.
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Jason from WV asks:Bill I read your article online you wrote last year for Petersen's Bowhunting magazine about Hunting the Hardwoods. Do you think deer also commonly use spurs as travel routes? I hunt the Appalachians in one of the four "bow only" counties of WV. My situation is I know the deer are traveling in this area from the ridge top to the bottom. Do you think they would more often use the hollows, the spurs, or an angled approach (crossing several hollows and spurs before reaching the bottom) to get there? Thanks for your help.Winke Responds:Jason, I think they will tend to use the spurs when travelling up and down (not all the time, but as a tendency) and I think they will cut across the spurs when out cruising bedding areas for does during the rut. I know that is a very general answer, but I think if you give it some thought you will agree. Basically, they go from secondary ridge (spur) to secondary ridge when cruising during the rut - expecting to find does bedded in these areas. Good luck this season. Sounds like a great place to hunt.
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Josh from OK asks:I set up a feeder a couple weeks ago. I have lots of trail camera pictures of big buck on my 60 acres. im wondreing why the deer havent been eating out of it?Winke Responds:Josh, One of two reasons: they haven't found it yet or they don't need it. While I know your climate is different from ours here farther to the north and east, we have so much food here that it is hard to concentrate the deer on any kind of food source. If the acorns are falling and the clover, alfalfa and browse are still attractive, they may just prefer those sources to what you are feeding them. That is good thing, by the way. Though deer that are stressed are easier to hunt, deer that are unstressed are healthier and eventually grow bigger antlers! Good luck.
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Ryan from IA asks:Love the site Bill. I hunt an area where there are very steep ridges on both sides of a large creek bottom(Boone area). On the tops is mostly corn on corn every year with some beans. This year is much different than past years. Most of the corn is out and fields have been tilled with manure injected. I sat tonight on grass draw that leads to the field and saw zero deer from the stand and zero in the field. My question is will the early harvest change these deer patterns much? With the corn being out so early in the year, can I expect to see deer in these tilled cornfields or do I need to change my strategy and move down into the timber? Would a deer travel to food the length of the timber, or come out in the usual area and travel across fields toward what fields are standing? Thanks a lot, RyanWinke Responds:Ryan, Tilled cornfields are bad news for a deer hunter. I would look for other patterns. Typically, they will travel in the woods more than in the open. Also, they will tend to move closer to food. They don't mind walking 1/2 mile to feed, but they will tend to stack up nearer the food especically if the area where they are feeding isn't hunted hard. My advice, figure out where they are feeding and move closer to the food. Food is generally the key to success.
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steve from AL asks:Bill so far the shows have been great please keep me posted on up coming shows.I check every day dont want to miss out on the action! Im hunting over standing corn there is a spot about 60 yards away just into the corn from the woods about 15'x15'where the corn is just flattend. A few guys i asked about it said it was the coons. Was wondering if you think it could be the deer knocking the corn down to feed on it? Thanks for your time cant wait to watch you hunt!SteveWinke Responds:Steve, Thanks for watching the shows. Please tell all your friends. Probably coons. Deer don't commonly knock the corn down. I suppose it is possible, but in my experience, they eat the kernels from the ears with the plants standing. Coons will knock them down and generally do it in a small concentrated area.
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Matt from IA asks:Bill, I had a nice non-typical buck very visible on my trail cameras in August and early September. I hunt a small farm, but it felt like his core area because I would get pictures of him on all my cameras. However, since the first week of September I haven’t seen him. I’m new to trail cameras. Is it normal to have deer that are so consistently visible seemingly vanish into thin air? Thanks and keep up the great work!Winke Responds:Matt, Unfortunately, yes. Some deer have two ranges: a summer range and a fall range. You were obviously in the middle of his summer range, but you may not be in his fall range. Shortly after the bucks start to shed their velvet (early September) they break up the bachelor groups and spread out. Some of the bucks will stay in the area, others will disperse elsewhere. You can keep trying to find him on the cameras, he may pop back up, but we see this all the time. I don't even run my cameras in the summer because that really tells me little. What you find after about September 15 is what really matters. Good luck.
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Alex from OH asks:I was on my way to the stand this morning and saw 2 fresh scrapes..is that a little off track from when they usually start making them? Thanks,AlexWinke Responds:Alex, No, this is about the right time for them. I have been seeing them for a couple of weeks now. Good luck this fall.
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Drew from GA asks:Mr. Winke, I am headed to Nebraska with a buddy to hunt whitetails from Nov. 5th through the 9th. I was looking at the moon phase for that time period and Nov. 5th is a New Moon. I was curious if you have any studies that correlate deer movement and moon phases, especially during the rut. If so, what have you found to be the best plan of attack for a mature buck during this moon phase. Thanks and best of luck this season, Drew ArcherWinke Responds:Drew, That is a popular question this year. I don't have any such studies. I remember asking Dr. Grant Woods about that a few years back and at that time he was convinced that there was no direct correlation between moon phase or moon rise, etc. and deer movement. He felt there were too many factors involved in causing movement to be able to accurately isolate the affects of the moon. In my own hunting I have not seen any thing that was consistent either. Again, there are so many factors affecting deer movement that it is hard to say what is moon, temperature , rut phase, hunting pressure, etc. One year I shot a nice buck on a new moon and then shot another one a full moon, both were good days of hunting. The quick answer: I ignore the moon until someone comes along with true scientific evidence suggesting a significant and predictable affect (I doubt that will ever happen).
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miles from MN asks:when I was hunting last night there where 5 new buck that we have never seen do you think they out the just for the summerWinke Responds:Miles, My guess is that they are in the process of settling into their fall ranges. Bucks start to disperse about the time they shed their velvet each year, breaking up their bachelor groups and spreading out. They may have moved into your area from somewhere else, or they may just be moving through they spread out into their fall ranges.
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Waylon from IA asks:At what age do you think bucks make the biggest jump in rack size? Reason I ask is I am getting pictures of a buck that I found his shed last yr. (figured he was a 3.5yr old) and he doesn't seem to have put on much for inches. Last yr. his one side scored 70". This yr looks almost identical. I am having a hard time putting an age on this buck. Any chance I could email you some pictures and you could give me a rough idea what you think on him?Winke Responds:Waylon, That deer may have been older last year or he may be one of those that grows fast young and then tops out. Deer are individuals just like people and some people grow faster younger while others grow faster when they start to mature. I have even seen a number of bucks that really blow up when they reach old age and presumably stop breeding - keeping them in better condition for the winter. They are all slightly different, but I would say the buck is either fooling you with his age last year, his size this year or he's an early bloomer. The bucks with the really good genetics seem to make about a 20 to 25% jump in antler score from 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 and again from 3 1/2 to 4 1/2. I have seen them make as much as a 45% jump from 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 on occassion. That is a huge jump. Larry Zach (on the Iowa pro staff) shot a buck back in 2000 that was 4 1/2 years old. It was a 170 incher at 3 1/2 in 1999. I actually passed him up three times that year. That was gross score. The buck jumped to 245 inches gross in 2000 when Larry shot it. The deer netted 237 and change and was the unofficial state record for about a week before Dave Gordon shot a bigger one in NE Iowa. OK, that was a jump of 75 gross inches or 44%! Amazing. It was a special deer to be sure, but it also taught me that I need to wait until they reach 4 1/2. I believe each deer is different in their growth characteristics just as people grow at different rates at different ages. However, even with that being the case, I have seen some impressive jumps from 3 1/2 to 4 1/2. I guess if you are serious about deer management you have to let the 3 1/2 year old bucks go no matter how big they are. I don't typically want everyone to send me trail cam picture or I will spend my entire day judging deer. Plus, it is really tough to judge age (at least for me) from a photo. I kind of need to see the animal moving to know what I am looking at. Good luck shooting him.
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Drew from MO asks:hi i need to know all you know about rubs? My main question is do the bucks rub velvet in their summer or fall ranges? also how should i use rubs to my advantage?Winke Responds:Drew, All I know? That and 25 cents will get you a cup of coffee. Actually, I think I can answer your question. I believe they rub in both their summer and fall ranges. They generally don't rub the velvet off necessarily, it is just a byproduct of their rising testosterone that causes them to think evil thoughts about other bucks and take out their aggression on trees. That starts just as soon as those testosterone levels rise, which also indirectly causes the velvet to shed and this nasty attitude is also responsible for the bucks breaking up their bachelor groups and dispersing to their fall ranges. So it all happens at the same time. However, they will keep rubbing in their fall ranges. I would look for any smoking fresh rubs found after about September 20 (roughly) to be from a buck in his fall range. I don't hunt rubs myself, but if I were going to focus on them, I would be looking for rub lines (actual lines of rubs along a believable travel route or trail) and then hunt that travel route in late October and the first few days of November. Then I would ignore them completely and start looking for the doe concentrations because that is where the bucks are going to be heading.
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cameron from AB asks:Hi Bill, do you think that hunting in the rain is a complete waste of time? do deer still move around when its raining?Winke Responds:Cameron, I think hunting in a downpour is a waste of time, but it can be really good in a misting rain, especially during the rut. Some of my better hunts have occured in a light, cold misting rain. Keeps the bucks cool so they can move more without overheating.
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Calvin from OH asks:What will happen to a pair of fawns if i harvest the big doe they are with?Winke Responds:Clavin, That has been a point of discussion for many years. The state agencies carefully time their season dates so that the fawns are weaned by the time the season starts. They still occassionally be sucking (typically even that has stopped) but they are old enough to fend for themselves. The only thing they miss out on is hanging around their mothers for a hunting season to learn a bit more about survival skills.
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Ron H. Jr. from WI asks:Hey Bill. Have maybe a dumb question for you. Lets say the moon as almost gone (just a sliver) and its really cloudy, how far do you think deer can see in the pitch dark? Just wondering because i feel like ive walked right up to deer as if they never seen me coming on my way to my stand. Caught me off guard. But thought it was strange that i got that close to it before it seen me. Thanks for your time Bill.Winke Responds:Ron, They can see better than we can because of the way their eyes are designed, however, I have also walked up on deer in the dark. I don't know for sure if they don't know we are there or if they just aren't as concerned about big blobs in the dark. It is hard to tell for sure. It is possible that they accept your passing at closer distances in the dark without reacting than they would in the daylight even when they know you are there. In fact, I believe this to be true. That is not to say that they don't know something happened nor does it suggest that they won't remember the event. No quesion, they need some light to see. If it is pitch black, you can probably get away with sneaking past them a lot easier than when there is some light. It is something I need to test a bit more.
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Jack from MN asks:Hey Bill, I have read almost all of your answers concerning questions that I myself may have about deer scouting/patterning, etc. so I'm gonna try to stay away from duplicating questions you may have already seen. On YOUR IA farm, where have you typically located or predict to have mature buck beds (for example, transition zones, veg/cover type, elevation etc.)? I have read many books about summer/winter scouting and patterning bucks with my free-time away from my time consuming engineering profession (even Brad Herndon's Mapping Trophy Whitetails) and have maybe come up with the conclusion that mature bucks aren't using a 120 ac farm I hunt on to bed, rather using it as a staging area before feeding through the night/the rut (as I know where the does bed). Thanks Bill! PS. I dread the day Midwest Whitetail becomes mainstream like the "others" :) PS. I dread the day Midwest Whitetail becomes a largeWinke Responds:Jack, Mostly, the deer in the topography where I hunt tend to bed on the sides of ridges where they can overlook the valleys below them. I have a lot of thick cover and the bucks tend to like to bed right on the edge of the thick cover where they can see everything more easily, but have the thick cover right there to, presumably, jump into in case of danger. I like to have all the various types of activity to hunt (bedding, staging and feeding) but if I had to give one up it would probably be the bedding. Having the staging and feeding areas means you will always have deer as long as you hunt it carefully. Not a bad thing. Good luck.
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Ron H. Jr. from WI asks:Hey Bill. Its been a while. Sorry bud. Hope all is good. I have something on my mind that's been bugging me about this upcoming season. I was going to just see how it all plays out but I figured I would ask since I was online tonight, and you've been a lot of help in the past. About 3 months ago, the neighbors to the south of the land Ive been hunting(about 40 acres, but nice!) sold their land(about 50 acres, also nice) to some Amish. Nice people, but they put a fence up around their field(CRP), that connects to our woods, that the deer have been using for bedding and scraps for years. And of course now there's about 6 to 8 horses running around everywhere. I'm worried that the deer will move to a different area. We still see them around the mineral blocks and tracks on the trails but I'm still worried about the horses and the Amish always running around. Im sure you've seen or heard of situations like mine. How do you think this is going to effect our bowhunting season? Thanks! ~Ron~Winke Responds:Ron, I think it will make the hunting tougher. Deer like to be left alone, but as long as the human activity is consistent (they do the same things most of the time) the deer learn to adjust and live around the people. I doubt it will be like it was, but you can still expect some good hunting this fall. Long term, things may change as this generation of deer that are on the ground right now die off and are replaced by others, the overall patterns and ranges of the deer may change. It will likely take a few years for the full adjustment to take place. As long as there is still food and reasonably unharrassed bedding/sanctuary areas, the deer will be there. However, if the activity starts to spill over into the sanctuaries, the deer will eventually - a few years time - just move out of that area altogether. As long as the trail cameras keep producing buck pix, you are fine.
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Jason from OH asks:Bill, As mentioned before, the site is fantastic! I am looking forward to this seasons shows. My question is, I am heading out to western Iowa again this fall "The Hills" and was actually going to fly out this labor day to scout and hang stands. Is this too early to see any buck sign (ie: scrapes or rubs)? If so, should I just target food sources for now? I'll be out there Nov. 4-12th, too late in the season to worry about food sources? Anyhow, thanks for taking the time to answer questions. JasonWinke Responds:Jason, I would focus on the terrain and trust that the bucks will be using it when the rut comes. The sign you see in late August, early September, is nearly useless in November. Instead, try to figure out where the terrain or cover creates funnels and set up in these places expecting the bucks to come through as they look for does. Also, look for bedding ridges back away from the feeding areas. These are always good in the mornings during the rut. Finally, the food sources are still good up until about November 10 or 12 when the does are getting harrassed so much they stop using them much for about a week. They kind of go into hiding - lay low - during that time. Good luck and thanks for your support.
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Troy from MO asks:What do you look for to find a bedding area? Do you walk your property or look at areal photos? Where/what do deer like to bed/bed in? ThanksWinke Responds:Troy, Bedding area is kind of a generic term in the Midwest. In many areas, the deer will bed in unlikely, grassy areas, etc. I just look for places away from the food where the deer mill before bedding or where they actually bed. Usually, these are ridges or thick bends in river bottom, etc. It takes a bit of experience (time spent walking) to learn the kinds of places deer bed, but then after you know that you can easily pick out such spots on an aerial photo even if you have never been on the property before.
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Tom from IL asks:When do you think I should start seeing bachelor groups in northern Illinois? I feel like I should be seeing them already.Winke Responds:Tom, You should be seeing them now. I am seeing small groups. Usually, by mid-July the bucks really start to come out of the woodwork (forgive the pun) and appear on the ag fields. That is probably when you will see the bachelor groups for real.
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chris from KY asks:Hello my name is chris and i keep getin trail cam pic of this 12 point deer but hes only out at night what sould i do to get him to show his selfWinke Responds:Chris, That is a question we all ask! Actually, most of the mature bucks are nocturnal most of the time. The best strategy is to stay out of his area until the end or October or first few days of November. Also, there in KY you can hunt them early (Sept. 1 I believe?) so that is another option - to try to get on him right when the season opens. I also I think that you can bait, (is that correct?) though I am not a big bait hunter, I won't condemn anyone for hunting legally. So take advantage of that during the first few days of the season. Get the deer used to a corn ration a couple of weeks before the season starts and you should do well right when it opens. If he continues to be nocturnal, welcome to the club. We have bucks on the farm that we almost never see and the only photos are in the middle of the night. However, by hunting carefully, staying out of there until the best times, you give yourself the best chance.
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Allen from MN asks:hey bill, i have heard that when does are young, they have larger bucks, but as they get older, the size of the bucks they mother get smaller. Is this true?Winke Responds:Allen, I have not heard anything like that before. I wouldn't believe that until it comes out from an extensive research project. I have heard that younger does are more inclined to have buck fawns, but the numbers weren't really all that convincing - not a big difference. I don't think about the age of the does I shoot. I just focus on a target density (population) of deer and then try to shoot the needed number of does to get there. If I was to try to shoot only one class of does while passing another, we would never end up shooting enough of them.
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Roland from AR asks:Hi Bill. What is the best way to deter deer from destroying my soybean plot this spring? I believe if I can get the beans up to knee high they will survive the daily onslaught, but my efforts so far have been futile. The deer just mow them down almost as soon as they break through the soil surface. I see you have some nice stands. Do yours survive simply because your fields are so large? I plant a field of about 6 acres. Thanks!Winke Responds:Roland, My guess is that you have too many deer. There are steps you can take, such as fencing the plots, but I think you will still need to get aggressive shooting more does. I have seen experiments in high density areas with the Plot Saver ribbon, electric fence (two strands and then a single strand about three feet farther into the field) and also with physical barrier fence (two rows of 4 foot woven wire fence stacked on a tall wooden poles). Only the true high fence worked 100%. The electric fence works too, but you have to babysit it quite a bit. I have a neighbor that does that effectively. I don't fence anything, we just shoot a lot of does. I know quite a bit about the electric fence if it is something you want to try, but you might be able to also learn enough by Googling the subject. Good luck.
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Bill from WI asks:Bill, i have noticed that most if not all the bucks we killed in our area this year had broken tines, and i have found a few sheds that also had broken tines, do you think this could be something nutritional, and if it is, how can i improve itWinke Responds:Bill, I am not sure on this so I asked Grant Woods. He said, "No one knows completely on that subject. There is not definitive research. Logically, it would seem that there might be a calcium deficiency in their diet, but that is purely guesswork." So you might benefit from putting out more mineral stations. Also, the buck to doe ratio will definitely affect their behavior. Bucks with lots of competition will fight more. On our farm, I bet half of the bucks are limping after the rut from fighting. So, I am sorry that I can't offer better information, it just doesn't exist.
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John from PA asks:Bill, I am deer hunting during the post rut in late December with snow cover near Utica, New York. The temperature in the morning is zero degrees and may reach 20 degrees by noon time. I have hunted several different stands in the mornings but am not seeing any deer movement. I am seeing deer in our food plots in the afternoon. Is morning hunting from stands a waste of time during the post rut? Are the deer bedded down during the mornings when the temperature is down to zero degrees? When a deer is bedded and inactive in such cold temperatures, how does it keep warm? Thanks JohnWinke Responds:John, I don't hunt mornings before or after the rut. I am sure it can be good under the right conditions, but I am just not sure what those conditions are! They hit their beds early and you run the risk of really messing your hunting area up by being out there crunching around in these places. They stay warm through a physiological change. When it gets really cold, their metabolism actually drops and they burn less calories. It is a strange thing. They can hole up for days at a time when it is brutal, when the cost of movement (opening up their bodies to the cold) is riskier than simply waiting it out, they wait it out. We see good deer movement in the evenings until the weather drops well before zero, then our deer hole up. Otherwise they hit available food readily.
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curtis from OH asks:Bill, I have written to you several times through the hunting season and appericiate all the help you have given me through this website. I never killed one buck this year. I have pretty much figured I need new hunting areas. The areas I hunt are odd. They have very minimal cover and sometimes you see good deer and alot of deer, but other times you may hunt and not see a deer. Very hit and miss. What would you suggest? By the way, do you like fishing? Thanks alot Bill!Winke Responds:Curtis, More than likely the spots are seeing some kind of pressure that is moving the deer out of there at times and that is why you aren't seeing them. I can't think of any other reason other than the simple fact that deer don't always move and it can sometimes be very hard to figure out what really triggers them. I have hunted areas that I know have been untouched and not seen anything. So it is not always the fault of pressure. However, if you feel that you are seeing too few deer, it is probably time to at least spread the net a little wider. I might not abandon the spots you have been hunting, but merely add a few new prospects. You should never stop looking for better spots. That is the one thing that never stands still - the need to always find new and better spots. I used to fish a lot. My favorite was fishing moving water. I loved streams and rivers and could spend an entire day waist deep in a river and never even notice the passing of time. I like sight fishing a lot. It is a lot like hunting. I also got into fly fishing. I loved the athletic aspects of the cast itself. I wish I had more time to fish. I would definitely spend more time on the water.
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Charles Mizelle from NC asks:I killed my first deer of the 2009 season in early November. After that day no matter where I was in North Carolina I never saw another deer in daylight hours until the last week of the season when I killed my second and last deer of the season. In talking with many other hunters this was there worst season in a long time for the same reason,No movement during daylight hours. What is your explination for this and how can we prevent it next year?Winke Responds:Charles, Congrats on the deer. I don't know the answer to your question, however. We had some tough hunting here too, but most of it was due to unseasonably warm conditions. That may have been the case there too. Some people think the moon played some role in reduced movement, but I am not convinced of that fact. More likely it was a combination of warm weather and probably increased hunting pressure that made the deer reluctant to move during daylight. Without knowing more about the local herd numbers, etc. it is hard for me to come up with a good way to prevent this from happening again. More than likely, it will be better next year if the weather is better.
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Allen Dye from AL asks:I moved to Mobile Alabama 2 years ago from middle Tennessee. The deer hunting down here is so not what I am use to. Warm weather, no rut to speak of until the season is over and the deer down here are just different. My family and I went to Tennessee for the Christmas Holidays for 10 days and I got to do some real hunting on my dad's farm where I've been hunting for 30 years. I was in my stand at daylight and on my way in I knew it would be a great morning, 12 degrees, heavy frost and the 2nd rut was in full swing and I could hear bucks chasing does allready. At 6.55am I saw a doe cross the logging road I was on then about 15 seconds later 2 fawns with a huge 142" 8pt. right on their heels after about a 2 minute chase he finally gave me a shot at about 160 yards. The buck was only chasing the fawns and not the mature doe. I know the fawns are born in mid to late may but is 7 months old, old enough for the fawns to be coming into estrous. Thanks for your time. I love MIDWESTWHITETWinke Responds:Allen, Congratulations on a great buck. I have read research that suggests that about half fawns will breed their first fall in areas where they have plenty to eat. It can be as high as 60% in some areas of the Midwest. They usually come into estrous about a month after the primary rut and sometimes two months after.
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Troy from MO asks:Will deer move in the late season when it is raining?Winke Responds:Troy, We have been trying and they haven't been moving well for us. If the rain is a light drizzle they will move but if it is actually rainging, especially a prolonged (several days) rain, they seem to just hole up until it passes. Look for better hunting on the backside when this moves through and you have colder temperatures and a high pressure again.
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chris from MO asks:During the doe season in missouri i saw three shooter bucks on a powerline. there are not any crops for a long ways what do you think my chances are of seeing theese bucks during black powder season? i hung a stand the folling day of seeing them and have not been back. love the show good luck!Winke Responds:Chris, Usually by this time of the year bucks are on pretty decent patterns. So if you just saw them, chances are good you will see them again in the same area at the same time of day. There must be something they are eating there. I would sure give it at leat three evenings to find out.
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Tracey from IN asks:Mr Winke The season here in Indiana was good during bow season had close encounters with 4 different bucks that were 145 class or better 1 being a 180class when the gun well about 3 days before gun season came in all the action died i hunted gun season a saw only 3 small bucks and only 5 doe"s any idea why they shut down like that none of my spots are over hunted by any means i always play the wind i do everything right. I have never saw things this bad and i have been hunting over 20 years and takin alot of really nice bucks. This is the worst year i can remember i took one doe and that was it.Winke Responds:Tracey, It was a strange year in most parts of the Midwest. We had poor hunting in mid-November too. In fact, I can count on one hand the number of good days we had from Oct. 25 until Dec. 5 when our gun season came in. Tough hunting. The weather played a major role with the warm temps. It can be tough to tell for sure what happened in your area, but I would say it was weather related.
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Brian from MO asks:Hey Bill, Love the show. I am having a hard time finding Bucks. I have glassed several fields in the last week. I have seen lots of deer, but no bucks. I did get a great buck on my trail cam I set over some acorn rage I had left over but he came in at 11 pm. Do you have any tips for locating bucks in the late season? I am hunting crop fields cut up by fingers of timber and some creeks in them. Do you prefer cut corn fields over cut beans? I seem to see more deer in the cut corn. Weather is very cold here @ KC. Thanks very much to any help you can provide.Winke Responds:Brian, When it is really cold, the deer tend to favor corn over beans if they can choose. The corn has more carbohydrates (energy). I would keep running the trail cameras and eventually you should start to see more daylight activity as we get farther from the general firearms season. The bucks are probably just nocturnal. It is common. After a while they will start to venture out in daylight again if they are not messed with too much. Good luck.
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brian from WI asks:Bill, it's been a tough year in parts of WI and the last show touched on it somewhat. We had a camera set up on a food plot scrape that showed up in September. There were 26 bucks that visited at one time or another. We are hunting in an Earn a buck zone (CWD) and the biggest problem we've had over the years is finding does to take. I hear and read about a good buck to doe ratio, is there ever a case where there are too many bucks to does? We had out worst season ever and not one buck was shot. Is it possible that with so few does the bucks are moving less?Winke Responds:Brian, No, a reduced doe number won't make the bucks move less. If anything, it will make them move more. I have seen this first-hand. When the numbers are balanced or even when there are more bucks than does, the bucks have to move more to find the few does available. I would say that your experience is typical for the entire Midwest this year. The warm weather and standing crops really made it tough to see the bucks during the rut. That is when they are most vulnerable and if we lose that part of the season it gets really tough.
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Alexx from MO asks:Why do you think that the number of deer killed has gone down alot from last year??Winke Responds:Alexx, I think it is the warm weather and the standing crops, partly. I also think in some areas the total deer numbers are simply lower. We are seeing that here for sure. I have seen about half the number I usually see. I figure it is the crops and a general reduction of deer numbers.
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Wizard from IN asks:Does change in barometric pressure affect deer movement. I know it affects fishingWinke Responds:Wizard, I remember when Dr. Grant Woods once told me that it is very hard to find the perfect set of weather data to correlate with deer movement. That is the scientific way of saying they are not sure just yet what the trigger is that really turns them on. I have seen the switch flip many times and it is hard to put a finger on it. Generally, it has to do with weather, temperature, phase of the rut, time of the year, etc. However, I do think that weather changes make a difference. Usually the first day after a prolonged low will be good. We had that happen just last week. When that ugly finally blew out, things really broke loose. Everyone was seeing deer. To answer your question specifically, the answer is yes, to some degree, barometric pressure seems to affect deer movement.
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Cole from IA asks:Bill, I'd first like to say your show is really something special. It gives an avid deer hunter like myself another edge to hopefully land one of the giants I've been after for the last two years. I would like to get your opinion/help on something. This question may be a far cry for help. I've been after a 170+ giant 16 pointer with two long drop tines since the first time I saw him on Oct. 28. He was bedded down in a small thick area before he got up to chase a few does around. I have seen this buck in this small area 3 times in a week and a half. I also accidentally kicked him up in a nearby pasture and wouldn't you know he ran right to that same spot. I've seen this buck probably 8 times now, all within close proximity of this 15 acres of woods where I've seen him bedded. I haven't seen the buck lately but with the post-rut coming on, what do you think my chances are he may return to the bedding area. It is rather hard to answer this. Just curious as to what your thinking. Thanks!Winke Responds:Cole, Thanks for your support. I think they are good. Sounds like that is where he lives. I would definitely try to have some kind of strategy that gets you within range of that patch as often as possible. Play the wind and sneak in and out carefully, of course, but don't be so afraid to bump him that you never actually hunt him hard enough to close the deal. That has been my tendency in the past, getting too careful and never really hunting aggresively enough to get him. Even better, try to have a way to know when he is back there - like trail cam pictures or maybe tracks or something. Once you know he is there, it is time to hunt him fairly aggressively. Good luck.
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Joe from ME asks:Hi Bill, I love checking out the new episodes on your site. Seems like I learn something new and useful from every one. I was able to get a big 8 point to come right in to my stand on Nov. 14th with the snort wheeze you used in Episode 19. I got him to stop and look a couple times with a grunt call but he wouldn't turn and come back down the creek bed until I snort wheezed. I was also able to get a nice 10 point to move into my timber from a picked bean field with a snort wheeze the week before. He also would not respond to the grunt call or a bleat can. My question is: Have you experienced any does responding to a snort wheeze? The morning I used it on the 10 point I had a doe approach from out of a thicket just off my stand as soon as I had called at the buck. The buck wound up chasing after the doe leaving me empty handed, but she appeared at least to have come in to the call. Keep up the good work. You can bet I'll be watching.Winke Responds:Joe, Thanks for your support. I have never seen a doe come to a snort-wheeze or even show interest but I haven't used it a ton. I don't like to call unless I need to for fear of over-using any one call and making the deer immune to my calling.
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Tony from WI asks:Hey Winke, great shows youve had this year! Keep up the good work. My question is, I hunt a parcel of land of 180 acres that used to hold a ton of deer. This year the deer heard on the property is almost null and void. There is very very little preasure on our property and Id like to know where the deer herd may have moved to. Our neighbors who have property around us are saying the same thing. Where are all the deer that were here early this year? Without knowing the land I know it may be hard to answer that but theres a river to the north and 3000 acres of public land about 4 miles south. This is in Clark County Wisconsin. Any tips would be greatly appreciated. By the way I did harvest a great 10 pointer off our property on Nov 7th. 2009 over a very active scrape. Now to find a doe....Winke Responds:Tony, I think many people in Wisconsin are experiencing a similar situation. I don't know if it is just a combination of herd reduction and lots of standing crops or some other factor. Our deer here are really spread out. I am seeing about 25% of the deer numbers I am used to seeing (I am hunting in Iowa) this year, so I tend to think it is related to food supplies being very widespread and abundant and corn still standing. I also think that deer numbers are dropping in many areas. But that doesn't explain why you saw them in the summer but not now. Of course they do tend to concentrate a bit more in the summer and are more visible. Another factor to consider is the weather. It has not been conducive to daylight activity. On the few cold mornings we have had, we see decent deer numbers. So it may be a combination of all of these. Good luck.
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Brodie from ON asks:Hi, I was hunting on the second of november and at my stand i have a pile of apples out. At my stand site the apples are just over a little hill when I am aproaching the stand. On my way to the stand one of the guys I hunt with said he saw a quick glance of two deer headed in my direction. When I was just about to go over the hill at my stand I heard a deer blow at me and and take of running before i could get a look. I was just wondering if it is only bucks that blow or if does do it as well? Thanks for your time.Winke Responds:Brodie, Both bucks and does will blow. Does tend to do it more than bucks, but both will definitely blow when alarmed.
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Colby from AR asks:Curious as to how rain affects a deer's nose. Specifically, do you believe it suppresses scent? Do they have a harder time smelling in the rain or immediately after a rain?Winke Responds:Colby, I think the rain knocks the scent down some, but I know it washes it off objects you touch. It doesen't eliminate it completely, but low branches you brush against, for example, will not retain your scent long with a rain. I like to scout during a rain to keep my impact to a minimum. I don't think they have a harder time smelling immediately after a rain. If there is airborne scent they will smell it just fine right after a rain. Also ground scent deposited after a rain will remain strong for a long time.
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cameron from AB asks:Hi bill, I was out hunting tonight and it was getting dark so I did one last ratting sequence and about 10 min. latter a deer came down the trail but as it got close my arrow clicked on the riser and the deer held up. It was too dark to see what it was but as it circled I did a snort wheeze, the deer stomped around for about five more min then started to blow. my questions is do bucks blow? I thought it was a buck until it did thatWinke Responds:Cameron, Bucks absolutely blow. Mature bucks generally are a bit louder and deeper pitched than a doe. If you listen carefully enough, you can tell a doe from a mature buck by their snort. It was probably a buck. By the way, I never call to deer when they are close. They are too good at pinpointing the source of the sound and are very likely to spook as a result.
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Frank from PA asks:Hey Bill, Love the site i have a question for you though. I hunted this farm the second week of archery and got my first doe. I also seen 3 buck, one was a big eight, but i havent seen any deer since then what is going on?Winke Responds:Frank, It is hard to say for sure, but it is possible that you are educating the deer to the fact that they are being hunted. The very best time to take a nice buck from any stand is the first time you hunt it. You have the elment of surprise working for you and that is huge when it comes to deer hunting. Try a few fresh stand locations and see what happens.
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John from CT asks:Bill, Last year I witnessed two 1.5yr old bucks chasing a doe. One of the bucks was snort wheezing aggressively. Is that unusual for such a young buck? Is that a sign that there are not many mature bucks in my area? I would say hunting pressure is light and doe/buck ratio is high, my guess would be at least 5-1.This area is farm country with impenetrable pockets of cover all over the place and food everywhere.I'm sure that suppresses the movement of mature bucks also.Winke Responds:John, I am not sure on that. I would not try to read too much into that one incident. I have heard 1 1/2 year old bucks snort wheeze and chase aggressively where I hunt and the buck to doe ratio here is pretty well even. So I don't think I would automatically draw that conclusion.
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aaron from MO asks:i had a mature buck walk under me and he spooked and he ran about 60 yards and stoped he stood thair for a few min. and walked off will he come back and will he be learyWinke Responds:Aaron, He may come back at some point if he is a resident buck. The thing is, at this time of the year, none of them are particuly patternable and he may be a buck that lives a ways away and is only passing through. That happens a lot. You may never have seen him again even if you didn't alarm him. I wouldn't try to make too much of that one encounter. If you see him again, it is time to start thinking and scheming. Until then, forget about that buck and go back to hunting great stands in good areas, but keep your eyes open.
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Kenneth from MI asks:I have two questions: 1. I have seen a lot of deer movement about an hour before dark every night but I have not seen hardly any, if any deer movement in the morning or afernoon. Do have any suggestions of why this may be happening? 2. I have tried calling by rattling, grunting, or both. I have had success only once. Do you have any tips?Winke Responds:Kenneth, It may be your stand locations. Some stands are better in the AM while others are better PM. I like to hunt near bedding areas in the mornings and near feeding areas in the evenings. Also, I am not a big caller. MI gets so much hunting pressure that your deer are likely call shy. I would count on being there unnoticed, by selecting stands on good travel funnels or overlooking good bedding areas rather than relying on calling. It will work sometimes, and is a good strategy when you see a buck passing out of range, but it can backfire if you do it too much.
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Allen from MN asks:hi bill, love the show. check it every day. my question is that i am going to hunt a 20,000 acre wildlife refuge, and i was wondering how to start hunting such a huge piece of land. it gets moderate pressure from bowhunting, but when the shotgun season opens, there is a lot of pressure. I was thinking of going in and finding the nastiest piece of swamp/brush and waiting for other hunters to pressure the deer into hiding there. What do you think i should do? any tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.Winke Responds:Allen, I would definitely look for the places that others likely can't or won't get to. If you have to use a boat to get there, so much the better. Also, long hikes from the nearest access point will generally put you into better hunting. I would start by charting all the access points and then drawing a 1/4 mile radius around each one. that is as far as most other hunters will ever get. Now look for the spots that are beyond these overlapping radii. That's where you want to be. Thick cover is a definite bonus. Get in early, sit all day and you will do well.
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Cal from MO asks:Last Friday i hunted a stand in the morning and only seen one deer. Then today i hunted the same spot and seen 6 bucks and 3 does. Then tonight i seen 2 more different nice bucks. Why the sudden change?Winke Responds:Cal, The rut is just around the corner and the bucks are getting revved up. The end of October is like a switch. They move more each day and the hunting gets better by the day. We are a few days into the best two weeks of the year. Good luck and enjoy.
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curtis smith from OH asks:Bill, I hunted one of my best farms today thinking there would be pre-rut movement. I sat on stand for about four hours. I had two buddies that also have permission on the same farm, that were hunting as well. We got skunked! Not one deer between three of us. This is a place that always has up and coming bucks. The last weekend of the 08- 09 season, we saw 6 bucks in Feburary. Should I be worried about this?Winke Responds:Curtis, I would not be worried just yet. You are still a little early. I would lay off the best stands for about another week. Hunt fringes and kind of keep a low profile. This is the very start, not the prime time. Save the best stands for the prime time.
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With all this standing corn, I am not seeing many deer; how do deer use the corn to their advantage?Tim from IN asks:Bill, Hey I'm really starting to like the Indiana show, some of the prostaff members are on some exceptional deer. I hope they get a couple of them on the ground. The question that I have deals with standing corn and how bucks/deer in general use it to their advantage? It just seems that when the corn is standing, you dont see that many deer. Has their been any type of study done of their behavior towards them? What is your take on it. Thanks, TimWinke Responds:Tim, Thanks for your support. That is a great show - very well produced by Todd Stone. I am sure the guys will start getting into those bucks soon. I have not seen any studies dealing with corn, but from experience, you are definitely correct. They can spend a lot of time in there. In fact, they never actually have to come out. Look for sloughs or small islands of trees or even a single big tree in the field. These spots often become community areas for the deer living in corn. If you can't find such spots, hunt the edges of the corn, treating the corn as if it were an edge within the timber. Deer will definitely live in the corn.
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Jim from NY asks:3 evenings in a row, in 2 different locations I have seen fawns running around in circles like they were crazy. Were they being chased away by momma, chased by a buck, or what? Does this indicate the start of the pre-rut?Winke Responds:Jim, Usually when I see that, it means that a doe is in estrous nearby. But that may not have been the case this early. At least that has been my experience in the past. But it could be that there is a buck chasing a doe (their mother) nearby or something like that. The fawns get really squirrelly when they get booted from their mommas during the excited activity of the rut. Yes, I would say it indicates the start of the pre-rut.
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Moe Vang from MN asks:Recently i was hunting in the south-eastern part of MN, and my stand is over-looking a big corn field. There is a big rub about 40 yards from my stand. I didn't see anything during my afternoon hunt, but the next morning i saw a 2 to 2 1/2 year old 6 point buck that walked directly to the rub then he turned to walk into the forest, i waited until he walked out of sight to grunt at him and after i did he came directly at me. Two years ago my father harvested a nice 160-170 class buck in the same area, does this mean this buck is the one who made the rub? And is he the dominate buck in the area because he came to the rub and to me after i grunted? thank you-moeWinke Responds:Moe, No, not at all. He is just a generic buck. In that part of the country, a dominant buck will likely be an older deer. They are not always the ones with the biggest antlers, but they are usually older, and have a mean disposition. A lot of bucks will use the same rubs just as a lot of bucks will use the same scrapes. I wouldn't draw any conclusions about dominance from what you saw.
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Ken from OH asks:Bill, Can female fawns breed? Also, what is your definition of the Pre-rut? Writers always write about the pre-rut and I was just wondering if there was a concensus betweeen writers about the definition of the pre-rut or if different writers have different definitions. Thanks KenWinke Responds:Ken, Yes, about 40 to 50% of them will breed in the Midwest. They generally breed one to two months after the adult does - the second or even third estrous cycles in early December and early January. I don't like the term pre-rut. I like pre-breeding better. The time frame up until the does will permit breeding on a large scale level (about Nov. 10) is what I call pre breeding. I don't know what "pre-rut" means to everyone else. To me it means before the rut starts and that is not what I think the writers you refer to intend it to mean. I like "pre-breeding" better.
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Todd from AR asks:Hey Bill I am hunting a small area that is only 38 acres but has other property all around it and my reason for writing is I am only seeing small bucks and have only seen one set of yearlings while hunting. I have noticed some very big rubs in the area and I know that it can't be any of the bucks I have seen. There are tons of white and red oak on the property and lots of deer sign but why am I not seeing any does? Im worried that within the next few weeks my bucks are going to move on and its possible that the Big boys will not have a reason to stay. Could you maybe give me some ideas to what is going on?Winke Responds:Todd, We aren't seeing tons of deer either. I think the acorns have them on compressed patterns. However, I am not worried about it. When the rut hits, those bucks will be there. I doubt the does have moved out - why would they? Plus, the sign is there. Have faith and be patient and you will be rewarded.
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JASON from IA asks:HELLO MR. WINKE, FIRST OFF I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THAT I'VE BEEN WATCHING THE SHOW FOR ABOUT A YEAR NOW AND I LOVE IT MUCH BETTER THEN ANY SHOW ON THE OUTDOORS CHANNEL VERY INFORMATIVE, BUT TO MY QUESTION I FIGURED YOU COULD SHED SOME LIGHT ITS EARLY SEASON MUZZLELOADER HERE AS U KNOW. I WAS HUNTING WITH MY DAD SINCE HE HAS A HARD TIME GETTING OUT ON HIS OWN HE MISSED A REAL BIG 10 POINTER AT 80 YARDS HE NEVER SAW US OR SMELLED US HE JUST MISSED WHAT DO YOU THINK THE ODDS ARE HE WILL BE BACK IN THE AREA I GRUNTED AND RATTLES HIM IN AT SUN UP. ANY INFO U CAN GIVE WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED.THANKS AND KEEP UP THE GREAT SHOWS.Winke Responds:Jason, They are not really that afraid of loud bangs. So if you didn't cause any more commotion than that, he may be back again before that season is over. He definitely is still in the area somewhere. I doubt you put him off his patterns much. Good luck.
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Chris from OK asks:Hi Bill, I have heard it said that climbing down from a field edge stand after dark doesn't spook deer as bad as during daylight.I thought spooking deer was spooking deer no matter the level of light.Your thoughts? Thanks, ChrisWinke Responds:Chris, I'm with you on that one. You can get away with more in the dark (you may be able to avoid spooking them), but spooked is spooked. There is no such thing as a little spooked. Any level is a bad thing. Sneaking away without detection is always the goal.
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Jimmy from MO asks:Hey Bill, I put a camera on a fence crossing that I knew deer were using back in late July. I saw that there were 3 different bachelor groups of bucks there, some at 4:30am but most were there at about 7-7:30am heading to a known bedding area. Now that they broke up, is it likely that some or all of these bucks would still use this crossing? When/how should I go about hunting this? Should I save it for the rut? Thank You. You are in the top 2 of my favorite writers as you are very informative.Winke Responds:Jimmy, Top 2? I better get busy and win the number one spot. Thanks for that compliment, I am just kidding. I would say that some of them are still using that area, but not all of them. I would probably not hunt it too much until the rut and then I would sit over any good travel funnel, doe bedding area or near any good feeding area in that vicinity. I don't like to hunt my best spots too hard before the rut. I like to save them until the very best times. That formula has worked for me for the most part. The only time I would deviate from that is if I have a buck patterned either by visual sightings or trail cam pictures. Otherwise, wait until the best times to hunt the best stands. Good luck.
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rich from MO asks:bill, I hunt northwest missouir we have landed ourselves on a couple of boones usually in the same 11 arces the last week an a half. is it to early to startt a grunt? also it has gotten really wet in the last few days will deer move like normal in rain or are they bedded down more in the weather? I know the moon this week hasnt been real great but with low temp in morning an cloud cover what do you think? thanks richWinke Responds:Rich, It is not too early to grunt or rattle. In fact, now would be a good time for that. Also, deer will move when it is raining lightly, but they seem to hole up just like us when it is a downpour. I like misty days during the rut, especially. The cool rain helps the bucks to keep from overheating and they stay on their feet more. I wouldn't worry about the moon. The cool temperatures will more than make up for any moon effect Good luck.
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Mike from AL asks:Bill what are your thoughts on deer movement in relationship to the position and different phases of the moon and how that relates to the rut.Winke Responds:Mike, I just answered that one for another guy. Please check the other questions I have answered recently. Thanks.
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Tanner from MN asks:I was hunting here in Minnesota and heard and saw bucks grunting and chasing opening weekend of bow. why is that?Winke Responds:Tanner, Not sure, but I would say they were probably just feeling their oats. There likely was no actual rutting activity that early in the season so it must have just been a few of the boys getting rambunctious. I have not seen that before so I can't say for sure.
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Chad from MN asks:Minnesota's season opened two weeks ago, I have yet to get out. However, I grabbed my trail camera photos that have been in the field for the past two weeks this past Sunday and the number of deer on film has significantly decreased. I am setup on a ridge on the edge of the woods with corn and alfalfa outside of the woods. Where did the deer go? My big eight is gone and has not been seen for 3 weeks. Thanks. ChadWinke Responds:Chad, I am not sure. That is the big, big question. It happens every year at this time. The bucks break up their bachelor groups shortly after they start shedding velvet and then some move off to a new fall range while others stay around. However, they all seem to move less no matter where they are - they browse more back in the timber and eat acorns or weeds, etc. We have completely lost most of the bucks we were on all summer. You may find your buck back again in October, but he may have moved too. It is a tough, tough time of the season to pattern deer. I think they are also spending more time deep in the cover and are more nocturnal now than they were in the summer. I will keep exploring this challenge on the site as we try to find back the bucks we are after too. Good luck.
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Cameron from AB asks:Hi bill, Do deer still move when its really windy? and do they become more alert when its windy? It seems like when its windy i dont see many deer, do you have this same problem?Winke Responds:Cameron, I never stay home because of the wind. However, still days tend to be poor for me. Now, we need to look at where you are hunting. I had this same conversation with Jim Hole, a highly knowledgeable outfitter up in Alberta. He agrees with you totally, so maybe there is something different in the situation up there that the deer react differently to wind there than here. I personally love windy days. Last fall was very windy here in the Midwest and I had no problem seeing bucks. I prefer wind over still conditions any time I can get it. I have seen some big bucks on windy days and lots of them. A nice 10 to 15 mph NW wind is perfect. One day the wind was a legit 45 mph, gusting to 55. I had to get down from my stand after a few hours because I was getting sea-sick. But I almost snuck up on two bucks that were fighting about 150 yards away. I was within 60 yards but I still couldn't hear them clashing because the wind was blowing so hard! Now that is wind! Anyway, just as I was ready to make my final move they broke up and one chased the other out of the area. I got off topic there, but the point is, where I hunt, wind is my friend.
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Scott from WI asks:Do mature bucks ( besides the rut ) tend to stay nocturnal if spooked or pressured.The area i hunt doesnt't get hunted hard nor do i hunt it often but i only see nice bucks at night on the trail cameras i have out.When i do go out i only tend to see spikes and forks.Very rare do i see a nice one come threw and then its peak rut.Winke Responds:Scott, Yes, in fact, they tend to be nocturnal even if not spooked or pressured. My hunting area doesn't receive much hunting pressure, yet when I look at my trail cam pictures most of the mature bucks are coming past during the middle of the night right now and they will likely keep that pattern well into October - unfortunately. I love the youth seasons and try to get out a few times in early October, but I don't start my own serious hunting until Oct. 25 for this exact reason.
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Justin from MO asks:Well Winke I miss the biggest buck i have ever shot at with my bow yesterday afternoon. Do u think that I will ever see that deer again or did i run him off for good. Im hunting public ground. When i shot he ducked and ran at the same time and never stoped running.Winke Responds:Justin, Sorry to hear that. I have done it though. To answer your question, it really depends on whether he knew you were there. If he reacted to the sound of the shot and never saw or smelled you, he will likely be back at some point. However, if he knew you were there before you shot, you would probably be better off to move the stand. Better luck next time. The season is young, hopefully you will get another crack.
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Troy from MO asks:Bill, love the show! Great job! Have you already seen any rubs/scrapes and if not when do you think the first buck sign will show up? Another question. I have studied aerial maps, put out trail cameras (which i got about 4 shooter bucks on and tons of pics of does), and found what I thought is the best deer trails on our 400 acre farm in north central Missouri, which is about 85% crop land.I hunted this last thursday morning, saturday morning and evening, and sunday evening, and have only seen a total of 5 deer. Any idea why the lack of sightings of deer?Winke Responds:Troy, I have been seeing some rubs and scrapes, for sure. They generally start rubbing as soon as the velvet comes off, usually the end of August and first week of September. I wouldn't read too much into these early season sightings. Early season hunting is very hit and miss. If you have a lot of acorns in the timber the deer may not be moving much - they don't have to. Also, things change after the bucks break up their bachelor groups - they disperse somewhat and become harder to find. Of course, there is always the hope that other bucks will disperse into your area, but you can be sure that things are changing. Keep running the cameras in places that make sense and you should start to see things coming back around in late September.
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Jerry from MN asks:I love the show Bill. I have noticed on our trail cams that we don't have bachlor groups on our land. We have pictures of 7 different bucks this summer. We also have never seen more than 1 buck at a time this summer while working on the land and cabin. Our trail cams are all hanging over the 3 different mineral sites that we have and we don't have a single picture with multiple bucks in it, or even within 30 min of each other. The land is in north central Minnesota and is mainly forested. Is it possible that the bucks that we are seeing are all loners or is there another reason for this?Winke Responds:Jerry, I don't know the answer to that one. I will have to ask, but it is possible that big woods buck behave differently in the summer from bucks in agricultural areas. I'll have to look into that one. Thanks for bringing it up.
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Tyler from IA asks:I have been seeing some really good bucks this year on my farm but since the middle of August I haven't been getting any pictures of them on my trail cameras? Should I be worried that they have moved on or might they just have changed their feeding pattern? Up until the middle of August I was getting a couple hundred pictures a week on a bean field that backs up to the timber now i'm only getting 20-40 pictures per week. Thanks for taking the time to read this e-mail and hope to here from you soonWinke Responds:Tyler, We saw pretty much the same thing with our filming. The bigger bucks stopped coming out. I think the acorns are falling some and that usually pulls them off the fields. Also, their behavior simply changes as their testosterone levels start to increase as they close in on velvet shedding time. Soon the bucks will will spread out some and disband their bachelor groups so you may have to go back to work to find them again on their fall ranges. Just keep moving the camera around a little, but be patient. They'll show back up - but maybe not in the same areas. Good luck.
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Justin from VT asks:Hey Bill. I'd go through the "I'm a huge fan" rant, but you probably get that all the time, so I'll just stick with, I'm a dedicated fan. This year was the first year I've done summer scouting (just got my license last fall allowing me to get out more) and man has it payed off. This is sort of two questions in one. First, my primary stand is just in the woods below a grass field and below and to the west of a corn field. There is a brook below me 75 yards and the stand itself is in an area with 5-7 apple trees. Bucks and does move through there now, is it likely they will still move through in October? Also, this is a "did I mess up" question. I decided to watch from my stand the other night and sure enough the biggest buck I've every seen (nice 8 point) came in within 6 or 7 yards of my stand. He fed around for 15 minutes or so, but then randomly looked up at me. He didn't spook, but backed away and fed at another tree for 15 minutes and left. Do you think ruined tWinke Responds:Justin, Thanks for your support. Question 1: I would say so. Patterns stay more or less the same until the rut or just before it. The only thing that will change them is changing food sources. If acorns start dropping somewhere else, they may abandon you for a while. However, if the apples start dropping you may get more traffic. During the early season, you want to be between bedding and feeding areas or close to the feeding areas themselves. During the rut you want to move to bottlenecks between areas where you think does will concentrate or hunt near the does themselves. Question 2: I don't think you ruined it. Just stay out of that tree until you are ready to hunt it. There are a lot of leaves in the trees so he likely didn't get a great look at you. I woudln't worry about it. Good luck shooting him.
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Dustin from IN asks:There is a certain group of whitetail hunters on t.v. that often mention that they desire a cold front to create the wind that they desire. I always believe that deer were similar to fish, that they get more active before a cold front. Should I be more enterested in hunting before or after a cold front? Do you recomend having stands set up for pre and post cold front conditions?Winke Responds:I know who you are talking about - the Drury Outdoors guys. I agree with them totally on this one. It is typically right as the front is coming through that the deer move best, except during the rut in which case they move well during the cool days after the front passes too. I have several of my best stands set up for a NW wind to take adavantage of these cold fronts. In fact, if you have a cold front come through in October, it can be dynamite afterwards for a couple of days. Again, be sure to set up a few N or NW wind stands for October cold front situations. You will be glad you did.
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Bob from PA asks:Bill, Really enjoy the show. Couple questions from an eastern ridgerunner that gets a week a year to hunt in either IA, KS or MO. What is your experience with tracts of cover that have some use as pasture? My inclination would be to shy away from them but I don't want to miss an opportunity based on a preconceived idea on my part. Also, what are your experiences with picked bean fields as a primary food source. In my limited midwest experience I have much more confidence over picked corn but again don't want my bias to limit my opportunities. Thanks for your time and the expanded coverage this year.Winke Responds:Bob, Don't shy away from the pastures. Some great bucks live in these areas. They may not live side-by-side with the cattle, but they will use the same timber. Some of the biggest bucks come from pastures because they don't get as much hunting pressure. Picked beans are fine early. Typically, when it is warm, they are more prone to eat beans. When it gets cold they tend to focus on the corn. As long as the deer numbers are not too high, they will work picked fields for several weeks before they clean them up. Good luck.
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JASON from IA asks:HEY BILL, I'VE BEEN FOLLOWING YOU GUYS FOR AWHILE NOW, THE QUESTION I HAVE IS I HUNT 100 ACRES OF JUST TIMBER WITH SOME NICE BUCKS. THEY ARE IN THERE LOGGING TIMBER ABOUT 300 LOGS, HOW LONG DO YOU THINK IT WILL BE UNTIL THE DEER GET BACK TO NORMAL AND START UNSING THE AREA AGAIN TO WHERE I CAN BOWHUNT. THANKS FOR ALL THE INFO ON YOUR ARTICLES AND LOVE THE VIDEOS HOPEFULLY A SHOW IS COMING SOON.Winke Responds:Jason, I have logged some of our ground and it doesn't take long at all for them to come back. I would certainly expect the deer to be back to normal by season opener. Thanks for supporting the show. The new episodes are coming now. Preview shows are live on the site at this time.
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Justin Jacobus from NJ asks:Hi Bill. Thanks for taking the time to answer my question. I am from New Jersey where baiting is legal. I was fortunate enough to have harvested some very respectable bucks for this area scoring in the mid 120's and low 130's. We all know that baiting deer makes for lots of action in the stand. This is great for introducing my son to the sport of hunting. He is only seven and the action keeps him excited. I don't have very large properties to hunt and there is no locate agriculture, but quite a few bucks have been sighted, hit by cars, and taken by other hunters scoring in the 150's, 160's and 170's (yes, I know, this is New Jersey). My question is, do you think you can harvest a mature whitetail over feed during legal shooting hours? This maybe a difficult question to answer because you are not from the area. I know that the animals that I have harvested are only 3 1/2 yrs old. Am I not getting to the next level because of a food pile? Thank you. Good Luck! And, be safe.Winke Responds:Justin, If I had to guess, I would say you are not getting to the next level because there aren't many bucks older than what you are already shooting around your area. Get a trail camera and set it up over the bait and see what is coming in after dark. My guess is that there will be a few older bucks, but I bet not very many. The older ones tend to be nocturnal anyway. I guess if I was finding that there are some of these deer around, I might be inclined to avoid hunting some of my best sites until the rut (probably last few days of Oct and first 8 days of November) when the bucks are more likely to come out during the day to check these sites for does. That would limit impact to just the times when the action should be best making the deer more comfortable coming in. I would also be sure to keep scent to a minimum when adding more bait.
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Allen from MN asks:Hey Bill, first i love the website. I have a few questions for you. I am going to be hunting a new area this year and i dont have much scouting time. How do you typically find bedding areas, transition zones, food sources etc. Also the land is state land that recieves about moderate pressure. Would that cause deer to radically alter their behavior?Winke Responds:Allen, That is a bigger question than I can answer here. I will give you a few starting points and you will have to run with it on your own. I would focus mostly on travel routes as they will be easier to find without much scouting time. First, I always refer to aerial photos and topo maps when scouting new areas with limited time. Look at all the cover and terrain features with an eye toward finding funnels. These might be thin stretches of cover, inside corners, benches, creek crossings, ditch crossings, fence lines, etc. Then, scout for access points where other hunters may be accessing the same area. Try to hunt as far from the access points as you can. That will get you a long ways down the path to success. If you are having trouble reading the maps and photos, I recommend my friend Brad Herndon's buck titled "Mapping Trophy Whitetails" that you can find at Amazon.com. Good luck.
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Joe from MO asks:Bill, I have a trail camera picture of a buck with a regular left antler and a deformed right antler. Will this deer ever grown a regular right antler?Winke Responds:Joe, It depends on what caused the deformity. If it is an injury to antler itself while in velvet, it will very likely grow back normally the next year. However, if it a result of an injury to the deer or an injury to the buck's antler pedicle, it likely will remain deformed for the buck's entire lifetime. You should be able to tell from the photo if it is an injury to the antler. If you don't see evidence of that, you can pretty well expect that it will remain.
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Tye from AL asks:Bill, I just returned from a two day scouting/glassing trip on some public land in central Illinois and came back with a couple of questions. We spotted several bucks during the evenings glassing. Some of the bucks still obviously had growing left to do based on their black/bulbous tines and main beams, but some of the bucks appeared to have no black/bulbous areas left on their racks and seemed to have a completed rack. Can bucks be done growing this early in the year? If not, how much bone can an average mature buck add between now and the end of the growth period? The second question is fawn related. How long after birth will does keep their fawns with them throughout the day? We saw between 80-100 does over the two days, but only four or five spotted fawns. Are most of the does simply still hiding their young fawns or should we be concerned about the fawn crop? ThanksWinke Responds:Tye, They grow at different rates and at different times. I remember one time around May 1 seeing a buck with four inches of velvet running with another one that hadn't even shed yet! That is an extreme case, but some will start sooner than others. I would say that the ones that look about finished probably won't gain much more - maybe 1/2 inch per tine max - likely no more on mass. If they have knobs on the ends of their tines and beams, they still have some growing to do.
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scott from OH asks:Hi Bill. Any idea why the bucks that I am getting pictures of do not have any flies on them and most of the does are covered with them? It is time for velvet footage here in Ohio. I watched a mid 160"with several stickers tonight. Man, I love mid-summer.Winke Responds:Scott, I'm with you on the summer scouting. It is nearly as much fun as hunting. Unfortunately, not all the bucks we see now will still be in the area come season, but some of them will and that is good enough for me. I am not sure on the flies, coincidence, I would say. Maybe the bucks just switched their heads to free up or maybe it is related to time of day or temperature or such. Talk to ya later.
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Tracy from IA asks:Hello Mr. Winke! First of all, I love your show! My question is, how much antler can a buck grow between age 4 1/2 and age 5 1/2? I have seen a buck on one of my hunting areas the last two years that is rather unique, with matching forked G2 tines. The first year I saw him he would have scored 140- 145",and I sure he was 4 1/2 years old, but last year I saw him in the summer, and he looked to be around 170" Is it possible he grew that much at that age? Thanks, TracyWinke Responds:Tracy, For sure. I have seen some huge jumps. The world record deer put on about 100+ gross inches the year they killed him. He was already very old. I have one I'm hunting that put on over 30 gross inches and again, he was very old. Every buck is a bit different in when they make their jumps in antler size. Usually by 3 1/2 you can start to see the potential, but some deer are late bloomers, like the one I'm hunting. He ran along at 155 - 160 for three years and then jumped to around 190 as an old buck. Good luck shooting him.
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Joe from NJ asks:I've hunted in Brown County Illinois for the past six years with great success, last year 2008 was my first disapointing year for even seeing the quality deer from previous years. The outfitter (Crooked Creek Whitetails) explained that "Blue tongue" disease has claimed the lives of many deer on the property he leases. I have never heard of this disease and would appreciate any information you could provide. I've booked a hunt for this coming season and would like to know if this disease could once again effect my hunt?Winke Responds:Joe, It was probably actually EHD (epizootic hemoraghic disease). It is a bad fever that is transmitted by small sand flies, no see ums. It hits the Midwest every few years and takes a heavy toll. In other parts of the country there is a different strain of this disease called Blue Tongue. It can take as much as half of the deer or more in small pockets. It is related in some ways to the weather - hatching conditions for the midges. Not all the deer die that are bitten and the ones that survive are basically immune in the future. So it is unlikely that you will see these results two years in a row, but it will take a couple of years for the deer numbers to bounce back. We found a bunch of dead bucks on our farm this year too and so did many others in the Midwest. We didn't get anywhere near 40% so we were lucky. There is nothing you can do but keep hunting. The numbers will return gradually.
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AJ from NY asks:I was out shed hunting for a particular set of antlers March 7th and didnt find exactly what I was looking for but I did find what I think is was the Bucks Rub Line. I had a few encounters with him at the bottom of the hill in our swamp but I would see him a lot on the top of the hill in the field near his bedding area (very small thick patch) in the early season. I never set up at the top in fear of pushing him onto a neighbors propety and there is no good way I have found to get in with out being detected. I stayed 2 to 3 hundred yards away all bow season in hope he would be cruising for doe's near my stand at the bottom. Durring rifle season he was no where to be found. In late muzzle loader season I got a crack at him from 225 yards but missed, up near his bedding area. My question is what are the chances he will be back to the same rub line or close to it durring the 2009 rut? I want to be sure and have a stand set up late summer that I dont have to move.Winke Responds:AJ, I would say the chances are good. As bucks get older, in general (there is are no absolute), their ranges get smaller. So if you were solidly in his range, which it sounds like you were, then you should be into him again. However, I would confirm that he is still using the same fall range in late September and early October with trail camera photos. I have seen bucks move their fall range for unknown (to me) reasons from one season to the next. If you can confirm he is still using the same range come next year, you will likely get into him in the same areas you did this year. Good luck.
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David from WV asks:Bill, I truly enjoyed your semi-live shows this past season. I really look forward to seeing what you bring us this coming year! Based on following your shows and having read your articles for quite some time, I really value your opinion. Here's the situation: I have access to a huge piece of property (13,000+ acres) in one of WV's southern "bow only" counties. It is remote and very rugged. There are miles and miles of unbroken hardwoods. I would value your opinion on how I can locate some of the huge mature bucks that I know live in this area. All of this area looks the same. Straight up - straight down - very few shelves, etc. There is no agriculture for easily 25 miles in any direction. Where should I begin in order to make what at first seams like looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack more manageable? Sincerely, Str8ShooterWinke Responds:David, I would likely try to break it down this way. First I would set trail cameras in as many areas as possible. I would focus on the second half of September and early October. I would want to know where at least six mature bucks live so that I have some hope of having enough of them to shoot. If it is legal to bait the camera location, that is even better because you can sure increase the odds that the buck will come in front of the camera. Between now and then, I would become an expert on what the deer eat in this area. Talk to every biologist who will listen until know all the food sources and how to identify them. Rank them from 1 to 5 on preference and then find those areas where the highest ranked food sources are concentrated. Deer are slaves to their stomachs everywhere you find them. Knowing where to generally hunt (where you have found a mature buck) and what they eat will lead you to select stand locations near food. There may be other terrain features that will funnel their movements but it was hard to tell that from the question. It is a challenge to be sure, but an exciting one. Sounds like great fun. Good luck.
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Cody from MN asks:Mr.Winke, I love watching your show, especially with the music! My question is, how can I effectively pattern deer in S. MN on only 40 acres, of which all consists of many fingers of woods that all are steep ravines. I have a few cameras out, but have never been able to "pattern" a deer for years. We don't have a lot of deer as most of the land around us is crops (corn and beans). The land is great, and is good for deer being able to hide, but the pressure is pretty high as well as people shooting small bucks that I have passed on earlier. We have un-tilled land that is sumac and I'm going to convert it to food plots of which will be brassica and clover, maybe with some alfalfa as well...hoping everything goes well. I know the plots will help us see more deer over time, but I want to actually be able to pattern a nice buck. How do I go about doing this when I have no info showing me patterns, as the deer seem so random here? I hunt hard and smart when I do,Winke Responds:Cody, You have to learn as much as possible to pattern deer. The deer sign is the least valuable source of information. Focus on summer sightings and fall trail camera pictures. That really is the best way. It is the best way. We hunt areas that aren't like yours. We don't have the hunting pressure so the deer move more naturally. Even here, the bucks aren't easy to pattern as they may have large ranges or move only at night, etc. However, it is certainly easier here than where you are hunting. But, you can still do it. You are on the right track. You need to compress the size of their home range by giving them everything they need right on your ground: food, good cover, water, security. Thick cover is very important. Don't overlook creating thick cover. I could write a book about this. I hope my quick answer helps at least a little bit. Keep doing what you are doing. You are on the right track. Good luck. Bill
