by cy weichert - Whitetail Slam

A
deer manager from New York once explained gun
season to me this way: “Ever wonder where all the
deer go after the guns start going off on opening
day? They are hiding ... right in everyone’s freezers!” That
quote caught my attention then, and it reminds me each
season that for late-season success I need to plan better to
make my days afield more successful.
Statistics on the percentage of bucks killed on opening day and opening week are staggeringly high in my
home state of New York. We shoot approximately 75
percent of all the bucks on the land each season, and
nearly 70 percent of those will be killed by the end of the
first week of gun season. Couple that with the increasing reclusiveness of those remaining bucks, and it often
seems like there are no bucks left going into the second
week of gun season.
Every hunter knows bucks seem to disappear late
in the season. Whether they are shuddering in fear in
thickets or indeed are in your neighbors’ freezers is
irrelevant. The net result when you get past the rut and
into late season is the same — your chance of success is
greatly diminished the later it gets.
Many hunters spend numerous days in the stand
during the late season, often with limited success despite
their efforts, specialty food plots and other strategies.
It’s a tough game, especially in northern states where
late November and early December cold can temper
even the heartiest desire to hunt.
Where
DoThey
Go?
BY CY WEICHERT
www.deeranddeerhunting.com
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December 2012
| 65
Prime time for my favorite practice
of mouth-calling bucks into bow range
is the pre-rut. In New York and many
other northern states, that means the
end of October through about Nov.
7. After the rut hits its second week
— when bucks are chasing hard and
breeding does — calling becomes less
effective. Then, after gun season starts
in late November, I might as well take a
throat lozenge and stay in bed.
For decades, I wasted time hanging
to the hope of that remnant buck stepping out in daylight in the late season.
Last season, I devised a plan to get
myself back in the game in a better way.
I stopped trying to strategize how to
find bucks that didn’t exist, and refocused on a foolproof plan for success:
Get out of the Northeast and travel to
states that have late ruts and season
structures that ensure more bucks on
the land after the seasons are diminished up North.
I can hunt the pre-rut in New York
in early November, and then pack my
truck and drive to visit my brother-inlaw in Georgia. There, I hunt the rut
after Thanksgiving. Or, I can hunt sparingly through the late season and save
my time and money for a Christmas
present of a reasonably-priced guided
hunt in Alabama in January. That far
south, I can still get peak rut thrills and
enjoy one of the greatest deer populations in the country, with plenty of
bucks on the land and harvest opportunities.
Few hunters realize or ever consider
the differences between whitetails from
region to region, but the eight recognized whitetail sub-groups in North
America showcase variances in rut
times that allow you to plan to hunt the
peak rut in your area, and one or more
extra peak ruts in another area before
or after the rut in your home state.
This year, I used the HuntSwap
concept of WhitetailSlam.com to
discuss trading a hunt with a fellow
Slammer from Alabama. If the stars
align, I’ll be hunting in the Yellowhammer State in mid-January while my
buddies are shoveling snow back home.
Savvy buck hunters know there is
a whitetail rut somewhere in North
America every month from August to
February. This allows traveling hunters
unique opportunities to witness deer
behavior and hunt during the best part
of the season, for a much longer period
than they would find in just their own
back yards.
66 | D e c e m b e r
Getting into these areas is the only
foolproof method of being able to
increase your odds on late season
bucks.
Here are some notes on Rut Timing
for great late season hunts with high
numbers of deer and tremendous hunting heritage and traditions:
South-Central Plains Whitetails
Texas Late Rut: The Texas Parks and
Wildlife Department has published
peak breeding dates online for the
state’s eight ecological zones. Breeding
peaks range from as early as Nov. 7 to as
late as Dec. 24 for Central Plains deer.
The latest breeding peak was in South
Texas. Definitely check the site when
making plans for a Texas trip.
Southeastern Whitetails Mid- to
Late Rut: Average breeding dates begin
the second and third weeks of November. West Virginia begins as early as
Nov. 8 and Georgia as late as Dec. 15,
with heavy activity around Thanksgiving. In Alabama and Mississippi,
breeding varies depending on specific
geographic regions. Depending on the
area, breeding peaks anywhere from
late November through mid-January.
Northern hunters can hunt the full
season back home, and then enjoy a
second rut and extended season in the
South.
Desert Whitetails (Coues) Southwest Late Rut: Arizona and Mexico
offer the most hunting opportunities
where you can hunt public land without a guide. Arizona Coues deer hunts
are “draw” hunts and Mexico’s private
ranches require a guide. In New Mexico,
resident and non-resident hunters can
purchase tags online from New Mexico
Fish and Game. Breeding occurs from
December to February with the rut
peak in January. They are much the
same as other whitetails across North
America with bucks becoming more
vulnerable to hunters from the increase
in daylight rut activity.
Seminole Whitetails Florida Variable Rut: Florida is a fascinating study
of how deer have evolved to maximize
survival. In states north of Florida, rut
behavior of males is highly synchronized. In Florida and other tropical
regions, breeding is not as synchronized and occurs in all months. Breeding dates for Seminole deer peak in
August and September. This variability
indicates the reproductive patterns of
Florida’s deer have evolved to unique
environmental pressures. For instance,
peak periods of fawning in the Ever-
glades in south Florida have been found
to occur during the January-March dry
season. Fawns from northern states are
typically born during June, a period of
heavy rainfall and seasonal flooding in
south Florida.
Gulf Coast Whitetails Coastal Variable Rut: Perhaps the most striking
differences among coastal deer are the
variations in rut timing — which ultimately result in amazing opportunity
for hunters to capitalize on peak ruts
while only traveling short distances.
Hunters can pursue bucks in southern
parts of coastal Florida and catch the
peak rut in August or September, then
in other parts of the state through October or November, and in the Panhandle
in February. Or, they can take a short
ride to Alabama or Mississippi and
catch the January Rut.
Slammers can hunt this area in
steps. The Osceola subspecies in the
Florida panhandle breeds in February
and March with a peak of Feb. 21. The
Osceola subspecies in coastal Alabama
breeds from late December through
February with a peak between Jan.
18 and 23. In coastal Mississippi the
coastal subspecies breeds from Jan. 16
to Feb. 6 with a peak date of Jan. 24.
The peak of coastal breeding in Louisiana is Dec. 14 to 29.
IT’S NOT ALL
ABOUT INCHES
Whitetail Slam allows bucks of
all sizes to qualify as part of your
Whitetail Slam. We also aim to
educate people on how to manage
for increased buck age structure.
Most hunters dream of harvesting
a whitetail buck with giant antlers
— a monster buck. Yet today, deer
hunting goals are changing. Quality deer management has led more
hunters to realize that hunting is
not really all about the rack. It’s
about enjoying our resource and
managing the herd for a more natural buck age structure by protecting
immature bucks and balancing sex
ratios.
This modern understanding of
deer has started a new wave of
hunting and collecting mature
whitetails, rather than those with
the biggest racks.
2 0 1 2 www.deeranddeerhunting.com
Full
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BY TOM MIRANDA
I
have been blessed to have a successful
career doing what I love most, bowhunting
and making television shows.
Last year I successfully completed the harvest
of all 29 North American big game animals, all
with a bow and all on camera. It was a challenge for sure, taking 13 years to complete. It
was filled with excitement, thrills and travels,
but I remain just as passionate about my first
love of hunting whitetails, whether in my home
state of Ohio, or across the continent.
Deer season is in full swing throughout
North America and Whitetail Slam TV season
is midway through its fall run. Each season,
approximately 12 million hunters take to the
woods in one of our most cherished and exhilarating outdoor activities. Collectively, we are
the men, women and children who are the
stewards of the future of the wilderness, wild
game, and our heritage.
Whitetail Slam TV chronicles the adventures of the average hunter across North
America in pursuit of their favorite game
animal. It is not about guys like me who
hunt professionally, or other big name celebrity hunters. It is about fellows like Jim Sisley
(shown below) from western Pennsylvania
who registered four
bucks for a Whitetail
Slam last spring and
is now featured in the
opening segment of
every show standing
proudly with his four
bucks surrounding
him. It is about every
hunter, their passion,
their skills and their
accomplishments.
Whitetail
Slam
is about educating,
inspiring and honoring hunters for their
achievements afield.
It is the only big
game Slam attainable by anyone. Any
legal buck from the
past qualifies, and
it’s simple to register
on WhitetailSlam.
com.
www.deeranddeerhunting.com
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December 2012
| 67
Watch
Whitetail
Slam TV
Watch Whitetail Slam TV,
by award winning producer Tom
Miranda, and experience the stunning imagery and action, featuring
hunters who have registered their
bucks on Whitetail Slam while
traveling the country in pursuit of
the Whitetail Slam!
This fall, Whitetail Slam is filming 2013 shows, with some hunters
who have registered their bucks
on whitetailslam.com and won
our monthly hunt giveaways being
featured on the show. Thousands
of hunters who have seen Whitetail Slam TV have immediately
gone to the website and regis-
68 | D e c e m b e r
tered their buck(s), and entered
the monthly hunt giveaways
with world class outfitters. Hunt
winners will be screened for filming for Whitetail Slam TV! There
are also weekly gear giveaways
for Mathews bows, Cuddeback
cameras and more. All drawings are completely free. All you
have to do is register on the site
and return each week or month to
enter, using your email address.
Tune in to Whitetail Slam TV
to learn strategies for all eight
subgroups of bucks, and also visit
www.whitetailslam.com to register your bucks today for a chance
to be featured on the show!
Be a part of the ultimate deer
hunting challenge! Create your
personal Slam Page to showcase
your favorite bucks, hunting methods or products. Post a Classified
ad for a HuntSwap and trade for
hunts with Slammers from other
regions.
2 0 1 2 www.deeranddeerhunting.com