Deer numbers in northern Maine, where hunting traditions run deep and the bucks grow big, have taken a nose-dive in recent years. According to a story in the Bangor Daily News, Governor Paul Lepage hoped to reverse those trends when he signed a bill aimed at improving winter habitat and putting increased pressure on coyotes, the chief predator of Maine whitetails.
Think you’re not seeing enough deer in your area? Whitetail populations in some areas of northern Maine are estimated at 1-4 deer per square mile. Given the dense forests of this region, the odds of seeing deer -- much less tagging a trophy buck -- are slim indeed. Maine’s annual whitetail harvest, which peaked at 28,000 animals in the late 1980s, has dropped to under 20,000 recently. Statewide population estimates place the herd at some 250,000 animals.
So it comes down to this: One last buck to decide which of our finalists, IND_NRA or lamphere29, will be hunting with a spanking new Bowtech Insanity CPX this fall. And just for fun, we’re going to make it extra tough with this straight-on photo.
It’s simple, finalists. Enter your best guess for this buck’s gross B&C score in the comment section below; whoever is closest to the buck’s actual score wins the bow. You only get one guess, so get it right the first time. You’ve got until Monday, June 4.
The first Minnesota timber wolf killed during a regulated hunting season may fall to a deer hunter. According to this story in the Brainerd Dispatch, the DNR is taking public comment on a proposed two-part wolf season, with the first hunt coinciding with the deer opener on Nov. 3. The second season—which will include both hunting and trapping—will take reopen in late November and close in mid-January, unless a quota of 400 wolves is reached earlier.
Yes this is Whitetail365, and I know that the spring turkey season is either over or nearly so depending on where you hunt. But most of you whitetail nuts are also turkey hunters, and it’s never too late to become a better caller. So here’s a quick video (in truth it goes on a bit too long, sorry) describing two ways to yelp on a mouth call, as shown to me by a couple of damn good callers.
This is it. This is the fourth and final buck in our contest and your chance to win a new Bowtech Insanity CPX compound bow, the company’s flagship model for 2012.
All you have to do is guess the gross B&C score of this here critter, add it to your guesses for the first three bucks (linked below), and post your grand total in the comment section below.
If this damnable recession has robbed you of your job or you're bored to tears at work or you just hate your boss like most people (but not me, definitely not me)--well, here's a little inspiration from jobs.aol.com and Jim Brown of Wildlife Encounters taxidermy.
Okay people, here is the third buck in our scoring contest. I’ll say again that you are playing for a brand new Bowtech Insanity CPX compound bow, the company’s flagship model for 2012.
If you are joining us late, here’s what is going on: I have now posted three of four bucks photos. (Click here if you missed the first one, here for the second one.) I will post the fourth and last buck next week. Your job is to guess the gross B&C score of each and keep track of your guesses. Fractionals will count. When I post the final buck, I’ll ask you for your grand total. Whoever is closest wins the bow*. If there is a tie, we will have a tiebreaker buck.
Like most bowhunters, I consider a laser rangefinder pretty standard gear. Though I do most of my whitetail hunting from tree stands (where most shots are under 30 yards), I still zap the exact distance to the trails, scrapes and openings around my stand.
And of course when I hunt more open territory or any type of ground-pounding situation, a range finder becomes critical. I’ve found my range-estimating capabilities—which I consider pretty good in heavily timbered terrain— simply fall apart in the prairies or mountains.
The velvet-covered antlers of whitetail deer—long regarded as one of the fastest-growing tissues in the animal kingdom—have been studied for years for everything from simple cell replication to cancer research. Well, apparently companies like Nutronics Labs have jumped on the wondrous properties of velvet and are promoting (oh, and selling) it in spray form as a means to “increase lean muscle tissue, experience quicker recovery, and overall healthy natural performance gains.”
Well, hey, this is America. If folks can make a buck off some velvet, no harm, no foul...right?
Well, Major League Baseball thought differently, and last August issued a warning to its players to abandon use of the spray because it “contained potentially contaminated nutritional supplements” that might cause a player test positive for banned substances, according to this “ESPNGO” story filed last fall. Scientists have discovered the presences of IGF-1 (a banned performance enhancer) in the velvet of deer antlers, which caused the league to issue the warning.