Many people
believe deer management and habitat improvement are projects best left to the
State’s wildlife management division and large landowners with thousands of
acres and expensive farming equipment. But dramatic improvements in the deer herd,
the habitat and the quality of hunting can be made even on small parcels of
land by individuals or small groups of sportsmen working together. Improvement
of the land and the herd takes place one acre at a time and one deer at a time,
no matter the size of the property or how many whitetails it holds.
After more than
35 years of visiting deer hunting properties throughout the country, I’ve seen
the benefits proper management and habitat work can bring even on small parcels
of land. And for the past two decades, I’ve put many these principles to work
on the 117 acres my wife and I purchased and live on in the Shenandoah Valley
of Virginia. Along the way, I’ve developed a set of guidelines for improving
what I call the three H’s — the herd, habitat and hunting. Sound boring?
Believe me, it’s not. One of the things I’ve found through the years is that managing
the deer and the land and working on the habitat are immensely rewarding
activities. In fact, lately I enjoy them as much, if not more, than hunting for
the quality bucks and does that are the fruits of this labor.
Don’t own land?
Don’t worry. Perhaps your hunting club leases a tract you could work on, or
maybe a friend or relative has a farm or piece of property where you can put this
program in place. Most landowners are more than willing to have improvements made
on the property to help wildlife. And make no mistake about it, although you might
be managing for deer and trying to improve the herd, other species such as
quail, rabbits, turkeys, ducks and songbirds will also benefit.
It’s important
to realize that managing small acreages for better deer hunting doesn’t just
involve work on the habitat and the land. It’s a two-part equation and the
other half involves managing people and where, when and how the hunting is
done.
It’s
challenging, for sure. But the rewards of putting this program in place are
many, and they don’t just come during hunting season. Watching the land evolve
into a model of habitat improvement, the deer herd become healthier and the
bucks get older and bigger is a payback you reap anytime you visit the property
— or every day if you’re lucky enough to live there.
Results you can
expect in the whitetails include an increase in the body size of all the deer,
larger antlers on bucks, an older and more natural age structure, a better sex
balance in the herd, a more intense rut and healthier fawns. Hunting will be
more exciting because more large bucks will be chasing fewer does during the
breeding period, and more of that activity will take place in daylight.
As you start
your improvements, keep in mind that managing deer on small acreages is a
continually evolving process, one that never really ends. New challenges will
always arise, and they come in many forms. You will become a farmer, logger,
laborer, dam builder, wildlife manager, recreation planner, game warden and
yes, a hunter. What you won’t become is bored. Here are some of the steps I’ve
found that are vital for successful deer management on small acreages. About half
are directed at people and their actions, and the other half working the land
to better the habitat. One cannot succeed without the other.
Pass
Up Young Bucks
A one-year-old
buck might have spikes or it might have four to eight light, spindly points. In
any case, it should be passed up to reach more of its genetic potential. Some bucks
are late bloomers, starting out with tiny racks and growing into magnificent
animals later. Others start out on a higher level and improve more slowly. A
one-year-old buck generally has a rack 1/10 the size it’s capable of growing as
a mature animal. Such deer are easy to harvest, but unless they are passed up,
a management plan cannot succeed.
Two-year-olds
are slightly more developed than yearlings, but these bucks, too, should be
allowed to grow another year. At three years, a buck’s rack will generally
reach more than half of its full potential, and in some areas you might choose
to harvest such deer. A lot depends on the hunting pressure surrounding the
land you’re managing and the attitudes of neighboring property owners. In an
ideal situation, pass these animals up, too, because bucks need five or more
years to grow their best racks.
Harvest
Enough Does
A tract of land
can only hold so many deer. That could be nine does and one buck, or something
closer to a 50-50 ratio; perhaps three or four bucks to every six or seven
does. The greater the percentage of bucks in the herd, the more likely some
will survive to older age classes.
A lower
percentage of does means more competition among bucks for breeding rights and a
more intense and exciting rut. Another reason to harvest does is that it keeps
young bucks on your property. Studies show that does chase their yearling male
offspring away when they give birth to new fawns, and those outcasts often
travel long distances before setting up a new home range — probably off of your
small hunting property. Harvest the doe, and the yearling buck will be more
likely to stay put.
Establish
No-Hunting Zones
You need at
least one major sanctuary area near the interior of the property that’s
offlimits to hunting. A location with thick cover or rough terrain where bucks
feel secure is best. Try to make it off-limits to virtually all activity, even
hiking.
On my sanctuary
area, I go in only one time a year. That’s in spring, when antlers have
dropped, to look for sheds. If you break down and hunt an off-limits area when
deer get hard to find late in the season, you’ve defeated its purpose.
Sanctuaries are
especially important on properties of 50 to 200 acres. Bucks certainly will
wander off parcels of this size at times, but if you have an area where they
have cover and feel secure during daylight, they’ll tend to return there. Deer
from surrounding properties might also pile in when pressure builds.
Limit
the Amount and Type of Hunting
Even if it’s
just a matter of hiking a few hundred yards in to a tree stand and watching for
a morning, deer — particularly older bucks — can sense this pressure. If you
get four or five people doing this, with a few others choosing to still hunt or
rattle occasionally and this activity goes on every day, you’ll wind up with
one of two outcomes. Bucks two years old or older will most likely become nocturnal,
or they’ll move off the property to find less-pressured ground. Restrict the
number of people on the property, schedule rest days when no one hunts — do
whatever it takes to limit the pressure so that mature bucks don’t flee or
become night roamers.
Restrict
the Type of Hunting
Stand hunting
is best, with a limited amount of still hunting acceptable. Avoid deer drives.
Yes, they are fun and productive. But if you want to create a whitetail
paradise on a small parcel of land, they’re inappropriate. Save them for public
land or large tracts of private land.
Cooperate
with Surrounding Landowners
This might be a
challenge, but you have to try it. Use a low-key approach, asking questions such
as whether they’re seeing as many or as good a quality of bucks as they’d like.
Tell them some of the things you’ve been trying to do and some of the goals you
have. Teach by example, offer to help, and just maybe they’ll see the wisdom of
harvesting does, passing up young bucks and improving the habitat.
Plant
Food Plots
A one-acre food
plot can provide more forage than 100 acres of mature woods. Not only that, but
it can be high-protein food rich with the calcium, phosphorous and other minerals
deer need to thrive. Food plots can take the pressure off native vegetation so
it is less likely to be over-browsed. Food plots also attract deer into the
open where you can evaluate antlers, judge the age of bucks and monitor the
buck-to-doe ratio.
The more plots
you can plant and maintain, annual and perennial, the better. Three percent to
10 percent of the land devoted to plots is not too much. Good crops to consider
include clover, chicory, brassicas, lablab, forage soybeans and oats. You can
use generics, but a much better bet is to buy carefully developed mixtures from
the Whitetail Institute of North America. The company carefully researches which
seeds do best in each region of the country and mixes them in just the right
proportions so the plants complement each other and are available at different
time frames so deer always have something that attracts them to your land.
Whitetail Institute also has specially engineered plants that were developed
not for cattle but specifically to appeal to the taste preferences and
nutritional needs of whitetail deer.
Don’t
overextend yourself, though. Plots require time and care for site preparation,
soil testing, fertilizing, planting and weed control. Better to have five acres
in high-quality plots than 10 acres poorly prepared and crowded with weeds. Be
sure to plant two kinds of food plots, though. Plant some larger parcels that
are designed exclusively to improve the nutrition of deer. Never hunt over
those. Instead, plant a few smaller, irregular-shaped plots tucked away along
the deer’s travel routes and close to bedding cover that you can hunt over
lightly, skipping days in between sessions. If you hunt over the main larger
food plots, mature bucks may stay away from them entirely or use them only at night.
You can hunt trails leading to them, but don’t hunt over the plot itself.
Create
Cover
Your food plot
might attract a buck. Without cover he will not stay. All wildlife needs food,
water and cover. Deer need cover for two reasons: thermal protection in winter
and security needs year-round. You can create it two ways: by planting
appropriate vegetation or by manipulating existing vegetation.
Planting
evergreens such as pines is a good place to start. Place them in clusters in
areas where deer might naturally bed if cover was present. They’ll not only
offer visual security but also thermal protection. Low, bush-type plants are
also valuable not only for cover, but also food in their leaves, stems and
fruits. Plant bushes as hedges along a stream or at the edge of woods where they
border a field. Planting warm-season grasses such as switchgrass, Indian and
big bluestem is another option. These grow 5 to 7 feet tall and provide great
sanctuary areas for bucks.
Open forests
can be devoid of cover, but by taking a chainsaw to them, you can create cover
quickly. Cut old, poor value, misshapen or pest-infested trees. Leave some of
them, or at least the tops, on the ground. Clearcut a few small,
irregular-shaped areas and the brush and low saplings that grow back will make
wonderful, almost jungle-like cover in a few years.
Construct
a Pond
A deer needs an
average of 1½ quarts of water a day. Some of this they get from vegetation, but
during dry periods, having water available might mean the difference between bucks
staying on your property or going to the neighbor’s.
Study the
topography and you’ll see low spots that drain surrounding hillsides or hollows
that would make good pond sites. They don’t have to be large. A quarter-acre
pond will serve the water needs of an entire herd using a small property. You
can even make small dams by hand on wet-weather streams with rocks, shovels and
logs that can help hold water during summer.
Take
Advantage of Government Programs
Biologists,
foresters and agricultural specialists that know far more than you and I about wildlife
and timber management, crops, soil, dam construction and other habitat topics
are at your fingertips. Consult the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources
Conservation Service, the State forestry department, your local agricultural
extension agent and the Wildlife Resources Commission. Some of the services
I’ve taken advantage of are an on-site analysis and long-range forest plan, a
walk-through and habitat-improvement plan by a senior wildlife biologist and
the development of a cost-share Wildlife Habitat Improvement Plan that called
for planting acres of native warm-season grasses and shrubs along a stream
lacking cover.
Cost? Nothing.
In fact, the WHIP plan helped pay some of the cost of purchasing the warm-season
grasses and shrubs. And those stands of warm-season grasses, mostly switchgrass,
have turned out to be some of the best mature buck cover on the property.
Collect
Data and Keep Records
Through time,
you will see dramatic improvements with the steps outlined here. They will come
gradually, though, and the best way to monitor them and see where you could
make further improvements is to keep thorough records. Keep track of how many deer
are harvested and their age, weight and sex. Measure the racks for antler
circumference above the burr and beam length, and also keep complete
gross-score measurements. Make notes on the productivity of various food plots,
when it’s best to plant them, how well deer use them, dates when rutting
activity begins and ends, number of fawns with does and other important data. You
can’t store all this in your head, but with thorough records, you can see ways
to change your approach and improve as you work on the constantly evolving
process of creating a whitetail paradise.
It’s a project
that never ends, but if you have as much fun with it as I do, you’ll never want
it to.
Keep
Your Expectations in Check
It’s crucial
not to have unrealistic goals as you work on improving the three H’s: habitat, herd
and hunting. Don’t expect every deer you see scouting or working the land to stay
on the property or every buck you pass up as a youngster to live to a ripe old
age. But the more effort you put into the program, the greater the rewards will
be. Just knowing there are 3- and 4-year old bucks out there and that does and
fawns are healthier is reward in itself.
