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Articles

Learn all about wild deer behavior, habitat improvement, food plots, hunting techniques, and much more with over 500 free articles available on our website. If you enjoy our content, we'd love to have you as an NDA member!

Hunting

Deer Report: Doe Harvest Jumps, Mature Buck Harvest Sets Another Record

Jan 9, 2026 NDA Staff

U.S. deer hunters gave the antlerless deer harvest a much-needed boost in the 2024-25 season, putting the total back above 3 million for only the third time in 11 years and ahead of the antlered…

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Venison

How to Make Venison Sausage Like a Professional Chef

Jan 7, 2026 Evan Barrett

Please allow me to be frank. Making sausage is fun, easy, and once you know the basics, the possibilities seem limitless. As a professional chef who became a deer hunter through NDA’s Field to Fork…

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Hunting

NDA’s Best Late-Season Deer Hunting Advice

Dec 17, 2025 NDA Staff

The late days of hunting season are a challenging time to fill deer tags. Deer are moving less as the rut becomes a memory. They’re wary and elusive after weeks of dodging hunters. Meanwhile, we…

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Deer Science

This “Frosty” Silver Buck Has Biologists Stumped. See the Photos.

Dec 10, 2025 Lindsay Thomas Jr.

For three seasons now, Kevin O’Brien and his uncle and cousins, who all hunt in the same area of northwest Wisconsin, have been seeing and photographing a ghostly deer. Lots of whitetail bucks “ghost” us,…

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Bucks, Does, and Dewclaws: Clearing Up One of Hunting’s Biggest Myths

Dec 3, 2025 Lindsay Thomas Jr.

At NDA, we frequently share emerging science that sometimes shatters old beliefs about deer, so we’re accustomed to hearing from skeptical hunters who are reluctant to let go of time-honored ideas. Lots of hunters have…

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Two Does, One Lesson: The Value of CWD Testing

Dec 1, 2025 Nick Pinizzotto

It was one of those evenings when you just feel like something good is about to happen. While I would have obviously taken a shot opportunity on a mature buck if presented, my focus was…

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What Deer Research Really Says About the Rut (Most Hunters Get This Wrong)

Nov 19, 2025 Brian Grossman

While there’s still much to be learned about the whitetail rut, decades of deer research has taught us a lot about this special time of year. And much of this information will not only improve…

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The Benefits of Balancing Deer With the Carrying Capacity of Their Habitat

Nov 17, 2025 Kip Adams

“Carrying capacity” is an often-used concept in deer management discussions. Biologists, managers and hunters routinely refer to the carrying capacity of an area, or whether a deer herd is above or below this magical point….

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Don’t Be Afraid to Call an Audible When Hunting Mature Bucks

Nov 12, 2025 Cole Gander

For many hunters across the whitetail’s range, the rut represents the best time to be in the deer woods and provides the best opportunity all season to fill a tag on a mature buck. Buck…

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5 Forest Wildlife Species That Benefit When Hunters Improve Deer Habitat

Nov 11, 2025 Kip Adams

Deer are valuable for many reasons. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates big game hunting provides over 250,000 jobs and nearly $70 billion in federal, state and local taxes annually. Whitetails provide American families…

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New Study Investigates Peak Rut Buck Movement

Nov 5, 2025 Lindsay Thomas Jr.

Bucks move more during the rut than any other time of year. The rut will peak at the same time every year in a given location. These two basic rules of the whitetail rut keep…

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There is No Such Thing as a Nocturnal Buck

Oct 29, 2025 Cole Gander

We’ve all heard it before and some of us may have even said it ourselves at some point: “That buck has gone nocturnal.” After capturing countless daylight trail-camera photos all summer long, those same cameras…

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