With deer season just around the comer, here are a few more tips that might help the hunter and/or game manager in his daily travels:

·         When removing female deer in order to better balance the sex ratio and maintain proper densities, always select the largest and oldest female avail­able. This harvest strategy accomplishes several things, but primarily it reduces the chances of accidentally removing a buck fawn and increases your chances of harvesting an older deer that is not contributing to the pro­duction of the herd, but is still occupying feed and space. In addition, it will help any and all management schemes to realize a faster genetic improve­ment in the herd. Harvesting a female deer during any open and legal deer season will not have any adverse health effects on the remaining fawn(s).

·         If you and your neighbors are interested in producing a higher quality wildlife experience, consider the idea of joining together to pro­duce a wildlife management association or a co‑op. With land being sold off onto smaller parcels and an increase in hunting pressure, the quality of wildlife will only deteriorate. Co‑ops are getting more popular and their results are quite impressive. It does take strong leadership, determination and long‑term planning, but with a little effort, the quality outdoor experi­ence can be enjoyed by more people for a longer period of time.

·         If deer management is your plan, plan on doing it correctly. Deer man­agement is not defined as placing corn in a spin feeder in September and shooting deer from under it during the season just to let it run dry after the season. Deer management is often misunderstood and misinterpreted. Corn does little for deer, short of giving them a quick boost of energy and carbo­hydrates for heat production and to satisfy the sweet tooth. Serious deer managers do feed corn, but combine it with protein feeds such as pellets or some other arrangement of supplementation. Supplemental feeding takes time, money and effort before any results are realized. Some will argue the order of those three, but time, money and effort are a basic minimum for success. Deer management is also a 12‑month a year process. It is similar to managing a registered cattle operation. There are some long days and short nights involved in the process of producing top quality animals. If serious deer management is not for you, but you would like to do what you can, don't be alarmed. There are many steps you can take to provide the best habitat possible. At the minimum, anyone wanting to help the local deer herd could and should consider the following:

1.       Inventory the population to assess your options. Discuss the options and

their associated cost/benefits with a professional.

2.       Formulate a game plan with goals and objectives.

3.       Implement the plan in a correct and well‑informed manner to reduce waste and redundance.

4.       Look, listen and learn from your efforts to be better prepared in the future. The old adage "Measure twice, cut once" was never more true than in deer management.

·         Placing your stands and feeders in a manner that takes full advan­tage of prevailing winds and sunrise and sunset is one simple tactic that will have a dramatic effect on hunter success. Some stand locations may be set up for strictly one specific time (a.m. or p.m.) to hunt. The major­ity of big bucks are harvested with mobile stands such as tripod stands. This technique keeps the deer guessing where you might be and does not allow them to pattern the hunter.

·         When designing a brush management plan, consider the require­ments of the targeted wildlife species. Also take into consideration the lay of the land, rainfall runoff patterns, prevailing wind directions, types of soil, goals and objectives and the feasibility of the practice. A well planned brush management strategy can improve a wildlife management plan, but a poor one can easily ruin years of hard work.

·         When trying to age deer "on the hoof' there are a few simple things to look for. Keep in mind that deer age in the same way as humans: as they age, they develop a "pot belly." Young deer do not have a gut. Notice the loose skin on and around the face and neck area. See if you notice a "dewlap" or "jowls" that denotes a mature deer. In most cases, the back line will be swayed and even the legs will appear to be short. The deep, barrel chest cavity will give the appearance of short legs. Old deer even act arthritic at times and walk with a stiff limp. Look at the hair color around the eyes, ears and forehead. Most old deer are gray­haired in these areas. If given a profile of the head, the nose will be rounded off or called Roman nose. From the profile, notice how the brisket area flows smoothly into the chest below the front legs. Young deer have sharp and pointed facial features and the brisket is well de­fined between the front legs.

·         Another important facet of deer management is record keeping. It is often overlooked and misunderstood, but may well be the single most important part. It would be like running a business without keeping records of receipts and transactions. In order to track the progress (either positively or otherwise), accurate records must be kept. At a bare mini­mum, data such as number and sex of deer harvested, age and field dressed weights and some form of antler measurements should be re­corded. You can get as detailed as you please, but these are the basic measurements needed to fairly and accurately judge whether your man­agement plan is working or not. Detailed record keeping is informative over a series of years and can be graphed or charted to fully observe the direction of the management effort. Record keeping also helps the man­ager to recognize a potential problem long before it becomes apparent to the casual observer.