5 Essential Summer Activities for Whitetail Deer Hunters in the Midwest

Whitetail Buck

As the warmth of summer starts to settle across the Midwest, whitetail deer hunters might be tempted to relax and take a break from their hunting preparations. However, seasoned hunters know that the off-season is just as crucial as the hunting season itself. To ensure a successful hunt come fall, here are five key activities to focus on during the summer months. These activities include preparation for hunters who own or have access to private land hunting opportunities, and those who hunt public land (Kansas Public Land Hunting...Missouri Public Land Hunting).

1. Scouting and Trail Camera Placement

Summer is the perfect time to get out into the field and start scouting potential hunting spots. Take advantage of the warm weather and longer days to explore new areas and check for deer activity. Look for signs like tracks, droppings, and bedding areas.

Trail cameras are an invaluable tool for monitoring deer movement. Set up cameras in strategic locations such as trails, feeding areas, and water sources. Regularly check and maintain these cameras to gather data on deer patterns and identify potential target bucks. This information will be critical for planning your hunting strategy in the fall.

2. Habitat Management

Creating a favorable environment for whitetail deer on your hunting property can significantly increase your chances of success. Summer is an excellent time to focus on habitat management activities such as:

• Food Plots: Planting and maintaining food plots can attract and sustain deer throughout the year. Opt for nutrient-rich plants like clover, soybeans, and brassicas, which provide essential food sources.
• Water Sources: Ensure that deer have access to clean water by maintaining existing water holes or creating new ones. This is especially important during dry summer months.
• Timber Stand Improvement (TSI): Conduct selective thinning of forests to promote the growth of desirable vegetation and create better bedding and feeding areas for deer.

3. Shooting Practice

Accuracy is crucial for ethical and effective hunting. Use the summer months to hone your shooting skills. Regular practice at the shooting range will help maintain and improve your marksmanship. Here are some tips for effective practice:

• Consistency: Practice shooting from various positions and distances to simulate real hunting scenarios.
• Equipment Check: Ensure that your bow or firearm is in top condition. Inspect for wear and tear, and make any necessary repairs or adjustments.
• Sighting In: Confirm that your sights are accurate. Make any needed adjustments to ensure precise shooting when it matters most.

4. Gear Maintenance and Preparation

Summer is an ideal time to inventory and maintain your hunting gear. Check each item for functionality and repair or replace anything that is worn or damaged. Key items to focus on include:

• Tree Stands and Blinds: Inspect for structural integrity, clean, and perform any necessary maintenance.
• Clothing: Wash and repair hunting apparel. Consider treating clothing with scent-control solutions to minimize human scent.
• Backpack and Essentials: Organize your hunting backpack, ensuring that you have all necessary supplies such as first-aid kits, navigation tools, and field dressing equipment.

5. Landowner Relationships and Permissions

If you hunt on private land, maintaining good relationships with landowners is crucial. Use the summer to touch base with them, express gratitude, and discuss plans for the upcoming hunting season. Clear communication can help secure or renew hunting permissions and might even lead to new opportunities.

Additionally, offering to help with property maintenance tasks, such as fence repairs or invasive species control, can strengthen these relationships and demonstrate your appreciation.

Conclusion

While the fall hunting season might seem far off, the summer months provide a valuable opportunity for preparation. By dedicating time to scouting, habitat management, shooting practice, gear maintenance, and building landowner relationships, you can set the stage for a successful and rewarding whitetail deer hunting season in the Midwest. So, lace up your boots, grab your gear, and make the most of the summer – the deer are waiting!

Wisconsin DNR Confirms CWD In Green Lake County Wild Deer; New Baiting And Feeding Ban In Effect

 

BROOKLYN, Wis. – The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has confirmed a wild deer tested positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD) in Green Lake County. The CWD-positive deer was an adult deer found dead in the Town of Brooklyn in early May 2021. This is the first wild deer that has tested positive for CWD in Green Lake County, and its location is also within ten miles of adjacent Fond du Lac, Winnebago and Waushara counties.

With this new CWD-detection, Winnebago County is now considered a CWD-affected county. As required by state law, the DNR will enact a new two-year ban on baiting and feeding of deer in Winnebago County effective July 1, 2021. State law requires the DNR to enact a ban on feeding and baiting deer in counties or portions of counties within a ten-mile radius of a wild or farm-raised deer that tests positive for CWD or tuberculosis.

Green Lake, Fond du Lac and Waushara counties are already identified as CWD-affected counties and already have baiting and feeding bans in place. This new CWD-positive detection will renew a three-year baiting and feeding ban in Green Lake County and two-year bans in Fond du Lac and Waushara counties.

"We are committed to working closely with local communities, including the citizen-based County Deer Advisory Councils as we explore future management options for this disease in Green Lake and the surrounding counties,” said Daniel Lekie, DNR Wildlife Supervisor.

In response to the detection of this CWD-positive wild deer, the DNR will:

• Coordinate swiftly with County Deer Advisory Council members from the counties impacted by this detection to discuss response actions, including issuance of CWD surveillance permits this winter.

• Determine surveillance activities to assess disease distribution and prevalence to also include:
• Encouraging reporting of sick deer
• Sampling vehicle-killed adult deer when feasible
• Sampling adult deer harvested under agricultural damage permits
• Encourage hunters to follow recommendations to help prevent the spread of CWD.

More information regarding baiting and feeding regulations and CWD in Wisconsin is available on the DNR’s baiting and feeding regulations webpage.

More information on how to have deer tested during the upcoming 2021-22 Wisconsin hunting seasons is available on the DNR’s sampling for chronic wasting disease webpage.

Ohio Deer Hunting Regulations Proposals Amended

COLUMBUS, OH – After considering public input and reviewing data, modifications were made to the 2014-2015 hunting regulations proposals that the Ohio Wildlife Council will vote

on at their next meeting, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR).

The amended proposal states that shotguns and pistol cartridge rifles used for white-tailed deer hunting be loaded with no more than three shells in the magazine and chamber combined. The current hunting regulation states a shotgun must be plugged if it is capable of holding more than three shells. The initial proposal required a magazine plug or inert ammunition to limit capacity for pistol cartridge rifles.

Deer bag limit adjustments were proposed in five counties. The updated bag limit proposal would lower limits in Trumbull County to three deer and Mercer County to two deer. The antlerless permit was proposed to be removed from Hardin, Knox and Lawrence counties, where the bag limit remains three deer. Hunters may harvest only one antlered deer in Ohio, regardless of method of take or location.

The ODNR Division of Wildlife remains committed to properly managing Ohio’s deer populations through a combination of regulatory and programmatic changes.

Proposals to reduce many county deer bag limits and allow pistol cartridge rifles for deer hunting were presented at the Ohio Wildlife Council meeting in February.

The Ohio Wildlife Council will vote on proposals at its next regularly scheduled meeting on Wednesday, April 9. Go to wildohio.com for more information about deer and deer hunting.

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Deer harvest down in 2013 but still a top 10 season

Hunters harvested fewer deer in the 2013 season than in each of the previous five seasons. The reported harvest of 125,635 deer was about 10,600 fewer deer than the record harvest of 136,248 in 2012, a decline

of 7.8 percent. It still ranks eighth best since regulated deer hunting began in 1951.

The firearms season accounted for 57 percent of the total, followed by archery at 27 percent. The muzzleloader (8 percent), late antlerless (5 percent), and youth season (2 percent) made up the rest.

At least two and possibly three factors contributed to the lower harvest – carryover from a widespread outbreak of epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD) in 2012 and more in 2013, a record antlerless harvest in 2012, and the second season of new hunting regulations aimed at lowering deer densities in some areas of the state.

The full harvest report is at wildlife.IN.gov, under Featured Topics.

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IOWA’S DEER HARVEST DECLINED FOR EIGHTH STRAIGHT YEAR

For the first time since the mid-1990s, Iowa’s deer harvest has dropped below 100,000. Hunters reported 99,406 deer for the 2013 season, which is a decline of 14 percent, from 2012, and 34 percent from its high in 2006. The 2012 reported deer harvest was 115,606.

 “Hunters responded when we asked them to reduce the size of the herd, but now we are encouraging them to work with landowners and base their harvest decisions on local herd conditions,” said Dr. Dale Garner, chief of Wildlife for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

The harvest data will be used as a consideration when the DNR begins the process of discussing hunting seasons later this winter.

Deer hunters purchased 359,956 licenses, nearly 18,500 fewer than in 2012.

Deer hunting in Iowa provides an economic impact of nearly $214 million, paying more than $15 million in federal taxes and nearly $15 million in state taxes. It supports more than 2,800 jobs, and provides more than $67 million in earnings.

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Wisconsin Natural Resources Board approves rules to implement Deer Trustee Report for 2014 season

The Natural Resources Board approved today emergency rules to begin

implementing Deer Trustee Report recommendations on the ground, authorizing a new deer program and regulations that will be in place prior to the 2014 deer hunting season.

"This is a major milestone in the Deer Trustee Report implementation process and the future of deer management in Wisconsin," said Department of Natural Resources Secretary Cathy Stepp. "Throughout the process, DNR has been the ears while partner groups, tribes, and the public have been the voices. This has been no small feat, and many thanks go to all who have provided input - and to DNR staff who have continued to move implementation forward. We have embraced this opportunity to build on our strong deer management foundation, and look forward to implementing the rules in cooperation with deer hunters, landowners, and other partners."

The rules revise deer hunting season frameworks, management units, and revise antlerless deer hunting permits. The rule provides additional opportunities to evaluate herd size and impacts in counties in addition to using population models to estimate the size of the herd, simplifies state park deer hunting regulations, and establishes a Deer Management Assistance Program. Not all provisions will be in implemented in time for the 2014 season. Some are delayed until 2015. The permanent rule hearings and Board approval will occur in 2014, so that it can be implemented in time for the 2015 season.

For an executive summary of the Deer Trustee Report rule package, visit dnr.wi.gov and search keywords "deer trustee report."

"The Deer Trustee Report rule package is a culmination of the recommendations of Dr. James Kroll, a robust public outreach effort involving volunteer action team implementation proposals, surveys, online feedback, 35 public hearings, conservation roundtables, and stakeholder feedback," Stepp said. "This is Wisconsin's deer herd, not the DNR's, and these rules are reflective of Wisconsin's desires for enhancing deer management in the state."

The implementation of the approved rules will involve public outreach to inform hunters, landowners and others about changes and opportunities prior to deer season. From here, the department will proceed with development of draft permanent rules with anticipated public review and Natural Resources Board action in 2014.

For more information, please visit dnr.wi.gov and search keywords "deer trustee report."

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Tom Hauge, DNR wildlife management bureau director, 608-266-2193; Eric Lobner, Deer Trustee Report implementation coordinator, 608-235-0860

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Ohio Deer-Gun Season Opens Monday, Dec. 2, with More Hunting Time after Sunset

COLUMBUS, OH - Deer-gun season, one of Ohio’s most revered hunting traditions, begins Monday, Dec. 2, with 30 more minutes of prime hunting time each day, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR). Ohio’s deer-gun season is open through Sunday, Dec. 8.

Hunting time is extended 30 minutes for all deer-gun seasons. Hunters were already allowed to hunt deer 30 minutes before sunrise, and this year an additional 30 minutes has been added after sunset for gun seasons.

“We are eager to increase opportunities for Ohio’s sportsmen and women,” said ODNR Director James Zehringer. “Ohio is a top 10 whitetail hunting destination, and the extra half-hour after sunset will give hunters more opportunities to bag a deer.”

Deer hunting in Ohio continues to be a popular activity for many who enjoy the outdoors. The ODNR Division of Wildlife anticipates 80,000-90,000 deer will be harvested during the weeklong hunt. Approximately 420,000 hunters are expected to participate in this year's season, including many out-of-state hunters. Hunters checked 86,964 deer in the 2012 weeklong deer-gun season.

Deer can be hunted with a plugged shotgun capable of holding no more than three slugs, a muzzleloader .38 caliber or larger, a handgun .357 caliber or larger and bows during deer-gun week.

“Hunters are reminded to use safety precautions while hunting, including wearing required hunter orange clothing, using a safety harness while in a tree stand and safe handling of firearms,” said Scott Zody, chief of the ODNR Division of Wildlife.

Deer bag limits are now determined by county. The statewide bag limit is nine deer, but a hunter cannot exceed an individual county bag limit. Hunters may harvest only one antlered deer, regardless of hunting method or season. A valid deer permit is required in addition to a valid Ohio hunting license. Hunters must purchase an additional deer permit to hunt more than one deer. Antlerless deer permits will not be sold after Sunday, Dec. 1, and these permits are not valid after that date unless used for an ODNR Division of

Wildlife authorized controlled hunt.

A new tagging procedure administered by the ODNR Division of Wildlife requires hunters to make their own game tag to attach to a deer. Game tags can be made of any material (cardboard, plastic, paper, etc.) as long as it contains the hunter’s name, date, time and county of kill. Go to the Deer Hunting Resources page at wildohio.com for more information on changes to the game check process.

More deer hunting information can be found in the 2013-14 Ohio Hunting and Trapping Regulations and at wildohio.com. Hunters can share photos by clicking on the Photo Gallery tab online.

Hunters are encouraged to harvest more antlerless deer in some areas of Ohio this season to help the needy in their area and also manage deer populations. The ODNR Division of Wildlife is working with Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry (FHFH) to help pay for the processing of donated venison. Hunters who donate a deer to a food bank are not required to pay the processing cost as long as funding for the effort is available. More information about this program can be found online at fhfh.org. Hunters can also donate venison through Safari Club International’s Sportsmen Against Hunger program by learning more at safariclubfoundation.org. Whitetails Unlimited chapters also use local funds for programs such as venison donation. Go to whitetailsunlimited.com to find a local chapter and make a donation.

Ohio ranks fifth nationally in resident hunters and 11th in the number of jobs associated with hunting-related industries. Hunting has a more than $853 million economic impact in Ohio through the sale of equipment, fuel, food, lodging and more, according to the National Shooting Sports Foundation’s Hunting in America: An Economic Force for Conservation publication.

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BASIC FIREARM RULES ARE IMPORTANT FOR A SAFE HUNT

The first of Iowa’s two shotgun deer seasons opens on Dec. 7, and while optimism for a successful hunt is the primary focus, hunters are encouraged to brush up on safe hunting practices.

Basic firearm rules are pretty straight forward: always point the muzzle in a safe direction; treat every firearm as though it were loaded; unload the firearm and open the action, especially when crossing obstacles, until you are ready to shoot; keep the barrel clear and choose the proper ammunition.

“Our deer hunting tradition is shared with our friends and our family,” said Megan Wisecup, hunter education administrator for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.  “Practicing safe hunting techniques is important to make sure we all get home at the end of the day.”

An estimated 140,000 hunters are expected to take to the timber during Iowa’s two shotgun deer seasons and Wisecup said self inflicted injuries and property damage continue to be prominent.

“Those incidents could be avoided by simply following the basic rules of firearm safety and ensuring there is a safe backdrop prior to taking a shot,” she said.

“Hunters tend to get fixated on their target and when a deer is running, they forget about their surroundings. Look beyond your target and clearly identify the target before taking the shot,” Wisecup said.  “You must be certain you have a clear, safe shot. Never point your firearm at anything you do not want to shoot.”

That advice can help to prevent self inflicted wounds as well. 

Wisecup encouraged hunters to wear plenty of blaze orange and to discuss the hunting plan with everyone in the group.

“You want to be seen from all sides in the woods,” she said.  “It is also important to discuss the hunting plan that will outline the role for each person and where they will be during the hunt.  Plan your hunt and hunt your plan.  It is critical to communicate with your hunting partners to ensure everyone knows where each other is at all times.”

In 2012, there were nine deer hunting related incidents in Iowa: five personal injuries and four property damage.  There were no deer hunting fatalities in 2012.

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Michigan Firearm deer season starts soon – helpful reminders

On Friday, Nov. 15, tens of thousands of Michigan residents and nonresidents will take to the field to

enjoy deer hunting. The firearm season runs from Nov. 15-30. Once a deer has been harvested, the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) encourages hunters to get their deer “checked” at a local DNR office. Check station hours vary, so hunters should review the list of locations, times and hours atwww.michigan.gov/deercheck.

At DNR check stations, DNR staff members record the harvest location and date, gender and antler measurements. Deer heads may be collected for bovine TB surveillance in select counties, on a voluntary basis. This year, the DNR encourages hunters to submit samples for TB if they harvested a deer in the following 19 counties: Alcona, Alpena, Bay, Cheboygan, Crawford, Genesee, Gratiot, Iosco, Isabella, Midland, Montmorency, Ogemaw, Oscoda, Otsego, Presque Isle, Roscommon, Saginaw, Shiawassee and Tuscola. Data and TB samples collected at check stations help to assess the biological health of the herd and assist with future population management recommendations.

Other reminders:

• Still looking for places to hunt on public land? Visit www.michigan.gov/mihunt to search by county.
• Antlerless licenses are still available. Visit www.michigan.gov/huntdrawings for a listing of licenses available for public and private land.
• Antler point restrictions are in place for certain areas in the state. Visit www.michigan.gov/deerunder License Information to find a chart that can help you determine the restrictions for your area.
• Archery equipment, including crossbows, can be used during the firearm season.
• Don’t forget to wear hunter orange.
• There are limits on the amount of bait that can be placed around the state. Visitwww.michigan.gov/dnrlaws and click on Baiting and Feeding on the left navigation bar to learn more.
• Deer hunting hours are available in the 2013-14 Hunting and Trapping Digest, which can be found at www.michigan.gov/dnrdigests.

Lastly, don’t forget to apply for the Pure Michigan Hunt! Only $4 for each application, and hunters may apply as many times as they would like from now until Dec. 31. Win elk and bear licenses and a prize package worth more than $4,000. Check out www.michigan.gov/puremichiganhunt to purchase.

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IOWA DEER HUNTERS HAVING ANOTHER GOOD SEASON

This week is the heart of the rut and deer hunters are having good results, although they are reporting seeing many fewer deer. The number of licenses sold and the number of

deer taken are similar to last year, but lower than its peak in 2006.

However, there is still time to take advantage of the 2013 bow season. Iowa’s deer are among the most sought after big game in the country and the season runs through Jan. 10, 2014.

“The reported harvest for the early muzzleloader season and the deer season for youth and disabled hunters were very similar to last year,” said Willie Suchy, wildlife research supervisor for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

As of Tuesday morning, more than 20,000 deer have been reported through the harvest reporting system which is nearly identical to this time last year. Hunters are required to report any deer taken with 24 hours after the deer is recovered.

 “Harvest information is a very important management tool for Iowa’s deer herd,” said Suchy.

The DNR uses the harvest and deer population trend surveys to evaluate the results after all seasons end in January. Iowa’s upcoming shotgun seasons in December are when most deer are taken.

Hunters can report the harvest on line at www.iowadnr.gov/Hunting/DeerHunting/ReportYourHarvest.aspx or by phone at 1-800-771-4692.

Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD) has been reported in Iowa again this fall but at a lower level than in 2012. If hunters find dead or decomposing deer near water, they should report the finding to either their local conservation officer or wildlife biologist.

Hunters who are seeing fewer deer may want to refrain from shooting does even if there are antlerless licenses available in their county.

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