Bow Hunting Trophy Whitetails…Strategies that Work!
(This is not the be all/end all, these are key strategies that work…other questions that you may have we will answer on one of our forums. Everything that we will teach you in this book works and will give you the best chance of killing a trophy whitetail)
Chapter 1 – The property you hunt
You must have mature bucks on your property in order to harvest trophy whitetails. The property also must have the potential to hold and grow trophies. Some areas and parts of the country are better than others. Some properties might not have the potential to grow mature bucks. Some of the factors include genetics, soil, hunting pressure, food and cover. I will show you ways to determine geographically where big buck hot spots are and I will show you, what is considered a trophy buck for your area.
In a poor soil environment, a 130 inch buck may be a top end trophy. In other soil rich regions, with good genetics and a lot of private land to hunt and good game management laws, a top end buck could be 150 to 180 inches.
To help you determine the trophy potential for the area that you hunt, you should talk to the wildlife officers in your state and review the Boone and Crocket and Pope and Young record books to determine the types of trophies harvested in your area. In Ohio, we have a great organization, Buckeye Big Buck Club (BBBC), one of the premier trophy whitetail organizations in the country. The minimum net score for entry is 140 inches. There are thousands of members in the club and hundreds of entries every year. A club like this has 50 years of records on trophy bucks taken in Ohio. This information is invaluable to a trophy hunter. There may be clubs like BBBC in your state too. You should check with your state wildlife organization.
Boone and Crockett Club
Founded over 100 years ago, the Boone and Crockett Club is a pioneer in the conservation of our nation’s wildlife resources. Another of the important functions of Boone and Crockett is to keep records of America’s big game. The first record book was published in 1932 and presentation of Boone and Crockett Club big-game medals and/or certificates recognizes trophy excellence. Only top trophies in each category are invited to the final awards judging and only invited trophies re-measured by the Judges’ Panel are eligible to receive awards. Awards are reserved for fair chase trophies entered by hunters. Other invited trophies, such as pickups and unknown invited trophies, are eligible only for Certificate of Merit.
The Boone and Crockett Club
250 Station Drive
Missoula, MT 59801
http://www.boone-crockett.org/
(406) 542-1888
Pope and Young Club
The Pope & Young Club is recognized as the official repository for records on bow-harvested North American big game animals. Together with the Boone & Crockett Club, the Pope & Young Club maintains the universally-accepted scoring system and sets the standards for measuring and scoring North American big game.
Pope and Young Club
Box 548,
Chatfield, MN 55923
http://www.pope-young.org/default.asp
(507) 867-4144
Buckeye Big Bucks Club
The Buckeye Big Bucks Club (BBBC) was created in 1957 to bring quality trophies to public attention. Merrill C. Gilfillan, who was an Ohio Department of Natural Resources writer and former Division of Wildlife biologist, founded the club. The formal organization was completed after the club’s first awards dinner was held in Columbus in February 1958.
The purpose of this non-profit organization is to increase the appreciation of Ohio’s white-tailed deer herd, which due to a comprehensive and successful management program of the Ohio Division of Wildlife, and improved habitat, is now at a record high level. The clubs goals are to: encourage trophy hunting by Ohio hunters, establish and maintain a permanent record of Ohio’s trophy deer taken in fair chase, foster wise management of this valuable resource and promote a positive relationship among hunter and landowners.
Each year the club honors hunters who harvest “typical” deer which meet the minimum 140 inch scoring requirement and “non-typical” deer meeting a minimum 160 inch score requirement. Scores are determined by a series of measurements using the Boone and Crockett scoring system.
Buckeye Big Bucks Club
Mike Rex
P.O. Box 205
Amesville, Ohio 45711
http://www.buckeyebigbuckclub.org/home.html
Phone: 740-594-9567
Email: mrex@frognet.net
All properties aren’t created equal. Property without sanctuary type cover, neighbors who have no regard for growing trophy bucks and heavy hunting pressure will all negatively impact your property. Green fields that are located in plane view of a road may invite poaching. These are examples of items that make it more difficult, if not impossible to grow trophy bucks.
Conversely, larger tracts of ground with heavy cover, preferred food sources that are out of sight and like-minded neighbors; and better yet, a property that borders a metro park or large tract of land that is completely off limits to hunters is even better for your property. Deer densities (the number of deer in the area), natural food sources such as acorns, apples, cultivated crops and areas where you can plant food plots will all enhance the trophy potential on your property. The accessibility to water is also important. Remember that non-hunting intrusions and disturbances such as dogs, recreational vehicles driving on the property and excessive human activity (this includes you and your friends) are all activities that will push a mature buck from your property.
This is not a book on land management, property enhancement or growing food plots. There are many great sources to gain knowledge on these subjects. Something that is often overlooked is the fact that there are some unique hunting opportunities in urban and suburban areas. Often, smaller tracts of land can be hunted successfully in these environments.
Knowing the property you hunt is critical to your deer hunting success. I cannot over emphasize this fact. Know the surrounding properties and how your property fits in and is utilized by the deer herd in this larger area is as critical as knowing your own property. Remember, your property, unless extremely vast, is just one part of the puzzle. You should spend time learning the terrain features, what plant life exists and the locations of bedding, feeding and breeding areas on your property.
Another important issue is the prevailing wind direction and the air thermals. Air thermals are caused when the surface air becomes much warmer than the air above and because warmer air is less dense, it rises and is replaced by descending cooler air. This vertical ascending current is called a thermal. It is important to understand the thermals on the property you hunt. All of these critical issues will help you during your hunt and/or help you attract trophy whitetails to your land.
You don’t need 300 acres in order to harvest mature whitetail. If you have a small plot, we will teach you techniques you can implement to make your hunting situation better. Also, how do you know if you have big bucks on your property or the potential for big bucks? We will teach this too! If you want to be in a better position to harvest a mature monster whitetail (for your region), all you need to do is follow the steps that are outlined in my book and on my website (www.thewhitetailhunter.com). Your local taxidermist can also be an excellent resource for insight and ideas on where you can harvest a mature whitetail buck.
Wildlife Department for all 50 States
Alabama Division of Wildlife & Freshwater Fisheries Alaska Department of Fish & Game
http://www.adfg.state.ak.us/ http://www.dcnr.state.al.us/agfd/
Arizona Department of Fish & Game Arkansas Fish & Game Commission
http://www.gf.state.az.us/ http://www.agfc.com/
California Department of Fish & Game Colorado Division of Wildlife
http://www.dfg.ca.gov/ http://wildlife.state.co.us/
Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection Delaware Department of Natural Resources
www.ct.gov/dep/site/default.asp www.fw.delaware.gov/Pages /FWPortal.aspx
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Georgia Department of Natural Resources
myfwc.com/ www.dnr.state.ga.us/
Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources Idaho Department of Fish and Game
http://hawaii.gov/dlnr/dofaw/hunting http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/cms/hunt/
Illinois Department of Natural Resources Indiana Department of Natural Resources
http://www.dnr.state.il.us/admin/deer.htm http://www.in.gov/dnr/fishwild/2343.htm
Iowa Department of Natural Resources – Wildlife Bureau Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks
http://www.iowadnr.gov/wildlife/index.html http://www.kdwp.state.ks.us/news/Hunting
Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries
http://www.kdfwr.state.ky.us/ http://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/
Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife Maryland Department of Natural Resources
http://www.maine.gov/ifw/hunting_trapping/index.htm http://www.dnr.state.md.us/huntersguide/index.asp
Mass. Div. of Fisheries, Wildlife & Environment Michigan Department of Natural Resources
http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/ http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries & Parks
http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/hunting/deer/index.html http://mdwfp.com/Level2/Wildlife/Game/Deer/
Missouri Department of Conservation Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks
http://mdc.mo.gov/hunt/ http://fwp.mt.gov/hunting/default.html
Nebraska Game & Parks Commission Nevada Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources
http://www.ngpc.state.ne.us/hunting/hunting.asp http://www.ndow.org/hunt/
New Hampshire Fish & Game Department New Jersey Division of Fish & Wildlife
http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/deer.htm
New Mexico Game & Fish Department New York Department of Conservation
http://www.wildlife.state.nm.us/recreation/hunting http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/7857.html
North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission North Dakota Game & Fish Department
http://www.ncwildlife.org/Hunting/index.htm http://gf.nd.gov/hunting
Ohio Division of Wildlife Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation
http://ohiodnr.com/tabid/4414/Default.aspx http://www.wildlifedepartment.com/hunting.htm
Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife Penn. Dept of Conservation and Natural Resources
www.dfw.state.or.us/ www.dcnr.state.pa.us/
Rhode Island Dept of Environmental Management South Carolina Dept of Natural Resources
www.state.ri.us/dem www.dnr.sc.gov/
South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Department Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency
www.sdgfp.info/Index.htm www.state.tn.us/twra/index.html
Texas Parks & Wildlife Department Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
www.tpwd.state.tx.us/ www.wildlife.utah.gov/
Vermont Department of Fish & Wildlife Virginia Dept of Game & Inland Fisheries
www.anr.state.vt.us/ www.dgif.virginia.gov/
Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife West Virginia Division of Natural Resources
wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/ www.wvdnr.gov/
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Wyoming Game & Fish Department
www.dnr.state.wi.us/ gf.state.wy.us/
Chapter Summary (Rod’s Tips and Points):
Don’t Waste Time Hunting Poor/Unhuntable Properties!
MORE CHAPTERS COMING SOON!
Chapter 2
How to inventory and ID bucks on your property, and how to know the kind of deer (if any) that live on your property.
Chapter 3
Scouting – Key points include positive buck sign on the property, terrain and doe density.
Chapter 4
Scent Control/Mental and Physical Self Improvement.
Chapter 5
Equipment.
Chapter 6
Hunting the rut including stand placement, charts and best dates/times to hunt in your area.
Chapter 7
Late Season Hunting – food sources, feeder and feed, effects of snow and cold and how it impacts big bucks: Food plots, Feeders, Cold and Snow.
Chapter 8
Trophy care after the hunt.