Whitetails & Extreme Heat

“It’s Time!”

Summer has been unseasonably hot and unfortunately dry. Finally, the “weather guessers” are predicting cool breezes and at least a chance of rain. Got to love those early days of autumn. “Our” time is here!

The heat and extended dry have definitely had an effect on whitetailed deer. In many areas of the state, antler development will not be as good as in previous years.

Old bucks five-years old and older, will have been affected less than younger bucks, as well as those bucks that chased really hard last fall. Body development always takes precedence over antlers.

Some bucks that are run down from the rigors of last fall’s rut might not have recovered in time to develop antlers as big or bigger than they had last year. Because of this, some multi-tined three and four-year old bucks scoring 140 B&C points or more last fall will revert to 120-class eight points this year. This is something to consider if you are into “culling” all mature eight-point bucks.

On properties that I am involved in through H3 Whitetail Solutions (www.h3whitetailsolutions.com) most eight-points will likely get a pass this year, unless we know the history of a particular buck. Too, we will likely not put much pressure on spikes. There will be exceptions however, if the deer herd’s nutrition was daily, free-choice supplemented with cottonseed and/or pelleted rations.

Whitetail does? I no longer bowhunt, but on my property our family will be doing our best to take does as early as possible.

Some family members hunt with crossbows. We plan on removing at least one doe per 50 acres, based on our current population and long-term management goal.

 

The hunting lease I am involved in west of San Angelo, is under Texas’s Managed Land Deer Program (MLDP). We plan to shoot the appropriate number of does as early as possible, starting in October.

I will be hunting primarily this year with my Taurus Raging Hunter .44 Mag and .454 Casull handguns topped with Trijicon RMR red dot sights and shooting Hornady’s XTP ammo. Which does will we concentrate on taking? The ones we can keep our sights on long enough to pull the trigger!

One of the worst negatives about the lack of spring and summer rainfall has been lowered fawn survival rates. Because of sparse rainfall. we had few forbs or “weeds” that provide forage and ground cover. Forbs normally hide fawn from predators.

The lower fawn survival rate will be felt for several years into the future. Four and more ensuing years hence, we will have very few mature bucks.

Although those are the negatives, the positive and more important fact is, this whitetail season will be fabulous, and it is time to get started!

 

Email Larry Weishuhn at ContactUs@fishgame.com

 

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