I raise goats on my little piece of Texas near Gatesville. Some deer behavior is quite similar to goats. This edition is worth a read.
1. Human pressure effects bedded down deer. Walk around bedded areas on the way to the stand. Avoid spooking them.
2. Deer antlers grow 1/2” a day at their peak.
3. 50% of a dressed deer can be converted to meat. In my case, I field dress my deer quickly to cool the car us.
4. Deer hear at the same frequency as humans. High frequency whistles on vehicles don’t work well. Their whistle is above the hearing range of deer.
5. Scientists are still trying to figure out deer scent communications. Deer have 8 glands that contribute to this.
6. Deer have 12 different vocalizations in 5 categories
6a. Mother-fawn
6b. Alarm
6c. Mating
6d. Aggressive
6e. Contact
7. Wild deer rarely live more than 15 years.
8. During the rut, bucks run a lot traveling among does, resting for and feeding little.
9. When the doe goes into estrus, there is less chasing and more tending (waiting for the opportunity so to speak). If the doe doesn’t bred, she will go back into estrus in 4 weeks.
10. In Texas there has been an 600 % increase into Boone and Crockett record book from 19 entries to 132 entries in two time periods (1980 and 1985, 2005 and 2010).
11. A doe is pregnant for just short of seven months.
12. In 2018 2,818,571 bucks and 3,163,795 anterless deer were harvested.
13. The primary buck behavior before the rut is feeding.
14. Seeking by bucks starts with the rut and the bucks are very active looking for does. This is the ideal time to get a buck from a stand.
15. Chasing happens when a buck finds a doe near estrus. This is a good time also because multiple bucks may be after a doe if your stand is in the right place.
16. During the tending phase, the buck stays near the doe.
17. Dominant bucks do most of the breeding.
18. Seeking behavior starts with a full moon and begins the rut.
19. One article say the seeking behavior phase starts Dec 10 in the South. It peaks on Dec 17, and fades on Dec 24.
20. It also says the chasing phase starts on Dec 13, peaks on Dec 20, and fades on Dec 29.
21. It mentions the tending phase starts Dec 13, peaks on Dec 26, and fades on Jan 1.
22. There is a minor seeking phase on Jan 5-9, minor chasing Dec 13-17, and minor tending Dec 29-Jan 3.
23. Deer have 4-6 feeding periods a day.
24. When few humans are present, deer activity 58% of the time in daylight. It drops to 32% with moderate to heavy human activity during the day.
25. The most deer movement during the rut is at 7:45 AM +/- 30 minutes.
26. The second most movement during the rut near nightfall dirty dark.
27. The least deer movement is between midnight and 4:00 AM
28. Does and bucks get up from bedding and feed around daylight. Bucks are on the move during rut more than feeding until they take a mid morning nap. This means that does are through feeding by 9:00 AM. The does start feeding around noon until 1:00 PM. When the does are moving, so are the bucks. With lots of human activity, the noon feeding may not happen.
29. They start eating again in late afternoon fitting the above comments.
30. In November during our deer season, when temperatures reach above 45 degrees deer activity slows down. If it goes higher deer movement can almost halt.
31. Deer rutting activity can really increase when a cold front blows in, aka a Blue Norther, changing everything for the good.
32. Mean home ranges during the rut in one study was an eye openers
Pre-rut 205 acres
Rut 425 acres
Post-rut 185 acres
Buck movement matched this too
Pre-rut just over 1 mile
Rut almost a mile and a half
Post-rut just under a mile
33. If Texas weather warms up during the rut, which it often does,
The only time to hunt is at first light and just before sunset.
34. Gatesville deer road kill is interesting. It is rare not to see a deer hit weekly on the Highway 36 Bypass coming from a scrub oak area with hills crossing the highway into the perimeter of one of the women’s prisons. Traffic on the highway apparently isn’t much of a factor.
Pick up the magazine and compare notes with your deer hunting experience.
1. Human pressure effects bedded down deer. Walk around bedded areas on the way to the stand. Avoid spooking them.
2. Deer antlers grow 1/2” a day at their peak.
3. 50% of a dressed deer can be converted to meat. In my case, I field dress my deer quickly to cool the car us.
4. Deer hear at the same frequency as humans. High frequency whistles on vehicles don’t work well. Their whistle is above the hearing range of deer.
5. Scientists are still trying to figure out deer scent communications. Deer have 8 glands that contribute to this.
6. Deer have 12 different vocalizations in 5 categories
6a. Mother-fawn
6b. Alarm
6c. Mating
6d. Aggressive
6e. Contact
7. Wild deer rarely live more than 15 years.
8. During the rut, bucks run a lot traveling among does, resting for and feeding little.
9. When the doe goes into estrus, there is less chasing and more tending (waiting for the opportunity so to speak). If the doe doesn’t bred, she will go back into estrus in 4 weeks.
10. In Texas there has been an 600 % increase into Boone and Crockett record book from 19 entries to 132 entries in two time periods (1980 and 1985, 2005 and 2010).
11. A doe is pregnant for just short of seven months.
12. In 2018 2,818,571 bucks and 3,163,795 anterless deer were harvested.
13. The primary buck behavior before the rut is feeding.
14. Seeking by bucks starts with the rut and the bucks are very active looking for does. This is the ideal time to get a buck from a stand.
15. Chasing happens when a buck finds a doe near estrus. This is a good time also because multiple bucks may be after a doe if your stand is in the right place.
16. During the tending phase, the buck stays near the doe.
17. Dominant bucks do most of the breeding.
18. Seeking behavior starts with a full moon and begins the rut.
19. One article say the seeking behavior phase starts Dec 10 in the South. It peaks on Dec 17, and fades on Dec 24.
20. It also says the chasing phase starts on Dec 13, peaks on Dec 20, and fades on Dec 29.
21. It mentions the tending phase starts Dec 13, peaks on Dec 26, and fades on Jan 1.
22. There is a minor seeking phase on Jan 5-9, minor chasing Dec 13-17, and minor tending Dec 29-Jan 3.
23. Deer have 4-6 feeding periods a day.
24. When few humans are present, deer activity 58% of the time in daylight. It drops to 32% with moderate to heavy human activity during the day.
25. The most deer movement during the rut is at 7:45 AM +/- 30 minutes.
26. The second most movement during the rut near nightfall dirty dark.
27. The least deer movement is between midnight and 4:00 AM
28. Does and bucks get up from bedding and feed around daylight. Bucks are on the move during rut more than feeding until they take a mid morning nap. This means that does are through feeding by 9:00 AM. The does start feeding around noon until 1:00 PM. When the does are moving, so are the bucks. With lots of human activity, the noon feeding may not happen.
29. They start eating again in late afternoon fitting the above comments.
30. In November during our deer season, when temperatures reach above 45 degrees deer activity slows down. If it goes higher deer movement can almost halt.
31. Deer rutting activity can really increase when a cold front blows in, aka a Blue Norther, changing everything for the good.
32. Mean home ranges during the rut in one study was an eye openers
Pre-rut 205 acres
Rut 425 acres
Post-rut 185 acres
Buck movement matched this too
Pre-rut just over 1 mile
Rut almost a mile and a half
Post-rut just under a mile
33. If Texas weather warms up during the rut, which it often does,
The only time to hunt is at first light and just before sunset.
34. Gatesville deer road kill is interesting. It is rare not to see a deer hit weekly on the Highway 36 Bypass coming from a scrub oak area with hills crossing the highway into the perimeter of one of the women’s prisons. Traffic on the highway apparently isn’t much of a factor.
Pick up the magazine and compare notes with your deer hunting experience.