The Latest

Habitat

Six Factors in Designing Successful Deer Hunting Plots

May 24, 2023 Kip Adams

There are two main types of food plots for deer, nutritional and hunting plots. In general, nutritional plots are larger (1 to 5 acres) and are intended to provide abundant nutrition over numerous months. Hunting…

NDA Podcasts

The Importance of NDA Volunteers and How You Can Get Involved

May 24, 2023 NDA Staff

The National Deer Association is blessed with dedicated volunteers and Branch leaders that help deliver our mission to serve as the guardian for wild deer, habit, and hunting. Still, most of our members are not…

Deer Science

How Far Can a Deer Swim?

May 17, 2023 Matt Ross

We’ve all seen at least one of numerous amateur video clips floating around the Internet in which a boater or fisherman captures a deer doggy-paddling its four little hooves off so far from shore it…

NDA Podcasts

Part 2 of Our Food Plot Masterclass With Mark Turner

May 17, 2023 NDA Staff

In part two of our Food Plot Masterclass, we are once again talking with Mark Turner of the University of Tennessee about food plots. Mark discusses species selection, annuals vs. perennials, understanding seed labels, summer…

NDA Podcasts

Using Dogs to Detect CWD With Brenna Babiy of Penn Vet’s Wildlife Futures Program

May 10, 2023 NDA Staff

Dogs are remarkable. They’re much more than just “man’s best friend.” When trained, dogs can help humans with a long list of tasks ranging from finding bombs and drugs to searching for lost people, detecting…

Habitat

How to Shop for Food Plot Lime to Maximize Deer Nutrition

May 3, 2023 Kip Adams

Calcium oxide is its chemical name, but we’re deer hunters rather than chemists, so we’ll simply refer to it as lime. It’s like your buddy’s nickname – more personal, fun, and, well, understandable. That’s important…

NDA Podcasts

A Deep Dive Into Forage Soybean Varieties for Food Plots With Dr. Luke Macaulay

May 3, 2023 NDA Staff

In this episode of the Deer Season 365 podcast, we’re talking with Dr. Luke Macaulay, a wildlife management specialist with the University of Maryland, about his research on forage soybeans. And while the primary focus…

Habitat

6 Essential Tools for Managing a Small Property for Deer Hunting

Apr 26, 2023 Brian Grossman

One of the perks of owning a small hunting property is you don’t need a lot of big, expensive equipment to manage it for whitetails. With some basic, inexpensive tools, you can create food plots,…

NDA Podcasts

Connecting Hunters and Landowners With LandTrust CEO Nic Decastro

Apr 26, 2023 NDA Staff

Let’s face it. Most people don’t enjoy knocking on doors to seek hunting or fishing permission. Not only is it awkward for the asker, but it’s also a disruption to the landowner and sometimes an…

NDA Podcasts

Can Blackberries Save Fawns? And Other Cool Findings From Coyote and Fawn Research

Apr 19, 2023 NDA Staff

In this episode of the Deer Season 365 podcast, we’re talking with Mike Muthersbaugh and Alex Jensen, who are both researchers and Ph.D. candidates at Clemson University, about the large-scale fawn and coyote research project…

Habitat

Deer Hunters Should be Weed Farmers

Apr 19, 2023 Cheyne Matzenbacher

Deer hunters should be weed farmers. Wait, not that kind of weed! I’m talking about forbs – all those non-grass, broad-leaved, herbaceous plants that most people call “weeds” and most deer consider food. Common ragweed,…

Hunting

10 Practices of the Most Successful Deer Hunting Mentors

Apr 12, 2023 Hank Forester

I have been fortunate to sit with lots of new deer hunters who have taken their first deer, and I have overseen even more organized programs hosting new hunters on their first hunts. I’ve noticed…

NDA Podcasts

Improve Your Deer Hunting By Starting a Wildlife Cooperative

Apr 12, 2023 NDA Staff

Do you feel that deer management only extends to your boundary line? Or, that what occurs beyond the border has traditionally been looked upon as the wild west? Wildlife Cooperatives (Co-ops) are changing that mindset. A…

Hunting

A Woman’s Guide to Becoming a Self-Sufficient Deer Hunter

Apr 5, 2023 Karli Gill

When I set out to write this article, my first thought was “A woman’s guide to becoming a self-sufficient deer hunter is really just a guide for anyone, right?” That’s true for many aspects of…

NDA Podcasts

A Food Plot Preparation Masterclass (Part 1) With Mark Turner

Apr 5, 2023 Brian Grossman

If you’re a food plotter, or just interested in learning more about food plots, then you’re going to love this week’s episode. We’re talking with Mark Turner, who’s seeking his doctoral degree researching food plots…

NDA Podcasts

Dave Maas Talks Deer Hunting, His Writing Career, and Becoming an Outdoor Writer

Mar 29, 2023 NDA Staff

It’s hard to beat a good, old deer hunting story. Imagine sitting around a campfire with the drink of your choice in hand as you listen to this podcast episode with our guest, outdoor writer…

Deer Science

Wild Pig Fertility Crushes Deer. Learn 5 Ways to Use It Against Them.

Mar 29, 2023 Lindsay Thomas Jr.

There’s a grim joke circulating among wildlife biologists who fought wild pigs and lost: “The average sow gives birth to eight piglets, and nine of them will survive.” Plug this fatalistic humor into a mathematical…

Deer Science

Why Do Squirrels Gnaw on Shed Antlers?

Mar 22, 2023 Karli Gill

If every buck in your woods and fields drops their antlers every winter, why isn’t the landscape littered with them? Why haven’t you walked a few steps into the trees and found not only this…

Habitat

The Benefits of Growing-Season Burns With Luke Resop of Mississippi State University

Mar 22, 2023 NDA Staff

In this episode, we’re talking with Luke Resop of Mississippi State University about prescribed fire. More specifically, we’re discussing the pros and cons of growing season burns, as well as considerations and expectations for burning…

Deer Science

3 Promising New Ways to Detect CWD, Dead Deer Not Required

Mar 15, 2023 Lindsay Thomas Jr.

Good news is scarce in the fight against chronic wasting disease, so I’m pleased that I have some to share. A series of new tools could give us the ability to detect CWD in deer…

Habitat

3 Easy Options for Summer Deer Nutrition and Food Plots

Mar 15, 2023 Ben Westfall

“What should I plant in my food plot?” This is the most common question I receive from deer hunters. Fortunately, my experience as a land manager has prepared me to answer this question. I also…

NDA Podcasts

Choosing the Perfect Hunting Pack With Zach Scheidegger and Joe Schroeder of ALPS Outdoorz

Mar 15, 2023 NDA Staff

In this episode of the Coffee and Deer podcast, we’re talking hunting packs and what to look for when buying a pack to match your hunting needs. Nick and The Doctor talk with Zach Scheidegger…

Deer Science

8 Ways Deer Are the Opposite of What Many Hunters Think

Mar 8, 2023 Lindsay Thomas Jr.

Using your common sense isn’t always a good method for understanding deer behavior and biology. It’s easy to believe deer move more on a full moon night because it makes common sense: They must be…

NDA Podcasts

The State of the Deer Address and NDA’s 2023 Deer Report With Kip Adams

Mar 8, 2023 Brian Grossman

In this week’s Deer Season 365 podcast episode, we discuss NDA’s recently released 2023 Deer Report with Kip Adams. Kip hits the highlights of the state-by-state harvest data, including buck and doe harvest, the age…

Habitat

Creating Deer Food Plots With Minimal Equipment

Mar 1, 2023 Cheyne Matzenbacher

Many hunters want to maximize their hunting success by planting a food plot but might not think they have the equipment to do so. However, if you are willing to roll up your sleeves and…

NDA Podcasts

Optics for Shed Hunting and Turkey Hunting with Mark Boardman of Vortex Optics

Mar 1, 2023 NDA Staff

Shed antler hunting season is upon us and turkey seasons are opening across the country, which makes this the perfect time to have Mark Boardman from Vortex Optics join the show. Nick and The Doctor…

Advocating for wild deer and hunting

The NDA regularly engages on important conservation issues impacting wild deer and deer hunting at the local, state and federal levels. We ask all our members and followers to get engaged with these important policy issues to help us ensure the future of wild deer, wildlife habitat and hunting.

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Action Alert: Support Southeast Deer Partnership Funding in the 2023 Florida Budget

May 26, 2023 Torin Miller

Florida’s 2023 budget bill, which passed the Florida legislature in early May, includes a line item that provides $200,000 for Florida to become a financial partner of the Southeast Deer Partnership (SDP). Florida’s contribution is…

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