Burrr!!! There’s an arctic blast impacting much of the whitetail’s range. Colder temperatures mean deer need more calories to stay warm. These conditions often result in some great hunting opportunities!
This seems to be especially true when the nighttime temperatures are much colder than during the day. Deer easily sense the energy savings of being active and feeding during the warmer daytime temperatures.
In addition, deer strongly prefer to bed on south facing slopes during such conditions so they can benefit from the sun’s radiant energy.
Knowing where deer prefer to bed and eat and when they will be feeding is a huge advantage!
The arctic blast is forecast to impact much of North American for several more days. Layer up and go fill some tags! That’s what I’ll be doing!
The GrowingDeer Team has had multiple encounters with hit list bucks! Learn our hunting strategies for late season buck hunting as we close in on Southpaw, Hitch, Herman and Cactus Jack.
Flatwood Natives is offering a “Giving Season” discount: 20% off all tree packages. Visit their informative website to see all the quality trees for wildlife and planting/care tutorials. We plant these trees and have had great survival and success even in these poor Ozark soils!
We’ve changed our hunting strategies for the late season and are now focusing on food. Find out how we have prepared for this time of the year by protecting standing soybeans!
December is a very special time of year for deer hunters. We’ve changed our tactics from the rut phase to get bucks into range. Deer are really hitting food sources right now. For that reason, we’ve opened the gate where the Hot Zone fence is protecting standing beans. These were strategically placed so that with the gate open, deer would be in range of our stands. Standing beans are one of the best attractants for the late season.
But more importantly, I want to invite you all to join the Woods family in truly celebrating Christmas this year. Not the gift giving and all the ceremonies we have, but the reason Christmas was first started; the reason we do it is to remember the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Without that tremendous gift from God, we’d have no chance of knowing eternity, of knowing salvation or even enjoying Creation that we all enjoy today.
Doe patrol continues at The Proving Grounds. Watch as Daniel removes two more does and we get to closer to our management goal! Plus, Brandon Pittman harvests his first buck in years. Watch this buck go down during the Oklahoma muzzleloader season! Then, Grant shares late season hunting tips for reopening scrapes and scouting.
Visit our Facebook page and enter the giveaway for a BoneView, carry case, and decal! To enter: like the post, and tell us your phone model (Android or Apple) in the comments.
There’s more! Use coupon code GDTV20 for 20% off at BoneView. To receive by Christmas order by December 20, 2017.
Grant shares the memories and joys of hunting with his father, Pops. Pops taught Grant to hunt years ago but now Grant can bless his 87-year-old father by taking him hunting! Read more on why taking a mature person hunting is a great gift to them and yourself!
Normally I pass along hunting and habitat management tips, but in this blog I wish to share some tips for an even more important topic — I want to talk about taking my dad hunting.
Pops, as I affectionately call him, is my 87-year-old father. He’s the guy that taught me how to hunt, and took me hunting when he could have been hunting with his buddies.
I clearly remember the first time Pops took me deer hunting. I was 6 years old and in first grade. We went on a primitive weapons (muzzleloader) deer hunt on public land near Caney Mountain in southern Missouri. It was during October and I got to skip school! Many of Pops’ buddies went and I was the only child in our camp.
While Pops’ friends walked deep into the woods to hunt, he couldn’t go far from the road with me tagging along. When we’d sit behind a log or against a tree, I’d pretend that his muzzleloader’s ramrod was a gun and “shoot” at every squirrel and bird in sight. I constantly waved the ramrod like a flag!
Of course, we didn’t see a deer. I was fidgeting, “shooting” squirrels and asking about lunch. A few of Pops’ buddies tagged deer, which was a huge accomplishment during those days. Pop must have not been mad because he kept taking me hunting. Click here to read more.
Sauté onions in some canola oil until browned, then remove from pan.
Brown the venison brats in the canola oil.
Add 2 cups beef broth to pan with venison brats and top with browned onions.
Simmer for approximately 15 minutes until thoroughly cooked.
Optional step: Using kitchen shears, remove the casings before serving.
Serve in buns with toppings as desired.
This post was originally shared on the GrowingDeer Facebook page. Click this link to read the original post and comments.
Lindsey Martin has a crack at a hit list buck named Twin Towers! Plus, GrowingDeer interns get in on the action as they help our doe management goal and remove predators at The Proving Grounds!
Folks have been asking us about GrowingDeer logo wear for Christmas presents. Drake has quality hats available with the GrowingDeer logo. Orders placed by December 18th will arrive in time for Christmas!
12 buns
8 ounces Swiss cheese, grated
Seasoned salt and black pepper, to taste
4 tablespoons butter, divided
1 large sweet onion, sliced
2 pounds ground venison
1/2 tablespoon beef base (such as Better Than Bouillon)
1/2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Topping:
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 tablespoon beef base (such as Better than Bouillon)
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Directions:
Cook onion in butter until it starts to caramelize (about 20 minutes).
Add in ground venison, beef base and Worcestershire sauce and cook until heated throughout.
Place bun bottoms in lightly greased 13′ x 9′ pan and top with meat mixture.
Season with salt and pepper if desired.
Top meat mixture with shredded Swiss cheese.
Place bun tops on.
Melt together: 4 T. butter, 1/2 tablespoon beef base, 1 teaspoon onion powder and 1 teaspoon garlic powder.
Brush/spoon the butter mixture over the top buns.
Bake in 350 degree oven until the cheese is fully melted and the tops of the rolls are lightly browned, about 20 minutes.
This post was originally shared on the GrowingDeer Facebook page. Click this link to read the original post and comments.
If you were unable to fill a tag by the end of the rut, it can be easy to get discouraged. Don’t give up! Post rut hunting can be very productive. Similar to the pre rut, it comes down to predicting when the deer are going to move and being in your stand when they do.
We are currently in one of the first real cold fronts of the season here at The Proving Grounds. This seasonal, colder weather will impact deer movements after several weeks of warmer than average temperatures. It’s also “post rut” so our hunting strategies have changed. We’re hoping to close the gap on a hit list buck. Cactus Jack and Swoops seem to be on a regular pattern. We’ll be hunting stands in their home range given the right wind direction. In the meantime, the does and fawns will be going to the plots to feed along with bucks that are trying to replenish calories lost during the rut. Chances are most of the does will already be bred but there is one variable that’s still in play: the “fawn rut.” This is the time frame when doe fawns have reached approximately 70 pounds and enter puberty making them receptive for breeding.
When this occurs depends heavily on the food sources available. A doe fawn that lives in ag country where there are plenty of crops to eat will come into estrus sooner than a doe fawn living in heavily forested areas. In our area, typically the “fawn rut” will occur during late December to early January. However, due to the wicked drought in our area body weights are down and fawns may reach puberty later than average this year.
In years past we’ve used this strategy successfully: find food plots frequently being used by does and fawns, then hunt those plots where a hit list buck might follow in one of those receptive fawns. This is exactly what I did during December 2013 when “The Trashman” went down (watch episode 163 here).
Whether you’ve already filled a tag or not, don’t let the post rut blues take you out of the hunt!
It is the rut and Grant’s hunting a mature buck! Learn how Grant adjusted his hunting strategy specifically for the rut. The plan worked and Grant tagged one of our top hit list bucks, Head Turner!
Montana Decoy is offering the perfect gift or starter pack for any deer hunter! Includes Freshman Decoy, Teaser Tail, Rattle Cage by Rocky Mountain Hunting Calls and Messenger Grunt call by Hook’s Custom Calls. Only at Montana Decoy.
Wanting to spice up your meals and try something different? Here
is a standard recipe for jambalaya with a few modifications to make
it work with venison!
