I did everything right. I let him grow. I studied his movements. I kept my distance unless conditions were absolutely perfect. I even planted a food plot specifically to harvest this deer over, directly between…
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The Biggest Buck Harvest in 21 Years
Jan 26, 2022NDA Staff
Deer hunters in the United States harvested an estimated 6.3 million white-tailed deer in the 2020-21 hunting season, the most since 2011, according to the National Deer Association’s latest Deer Report released this week. Harvests…
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Find Your Buck Harvest Sweet Spot
May 29, 2018Lindsay Thomas Jr.
Prescribed fire brings a bonus to hunters in the South, where dense forest cover dominates most landscapes: Fire helps us find sheds. Most sheds in my personal collection are blackened by fire, and it was…
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The Payoff of Passing Young Bucks
Oct 18, 2017Mark Turner
As the buck edged along the creek, I tried to get a better glimpse of him. I had yet to see his body well enough to put an age on him. He turned toward me,…
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The Most Important Buck to Pass is the Easiest to Age
Aug 31, 2017Lindsay Thomas Jr.
Aging bucks on the hoof is not simple or foolproof, but I’ve got great news for you. The most important age to protect is the easiest to spot. Aging on the hoof really means determining…
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Kill the Right Bucks
Oct 19, 2015Lindsay Thomas Jr.
Where is the line that separates bucks you will try to kill this year from the bucks you won’t? Maybe it’s between bucks with six antler points and those with more. Maybe it’s based on…
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Will He Be a Good One Next Year?
Sep 19, 2013Lindsay Thomas Jr.
Every buck’s path in life is unique, and so is every buck’s antler growth progression. Ups and downs come with external factors like drought (or, conversely, abundant rain), poor mast crops (or heavy ones), severe…
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The Rewards of Restraint
Sep 13, 2012Lindsay Thomas Jr.
Look carefully at the trail-camera photo above, taken by QDMA member and private lands biologist Joe Lacefield of Kentucky. I love this photo because it captures part of the spirit of Quality Deer Management in a…
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Which Bucks Can I Shoot?
Jul 23, 2012Lindsay Thomas Jr.
Imagine an old friend joins you for a weekend hunt on your QDM lands. The night before the hunt commences, your friend asks an important question: “Which bucks can I shoot?” For you, this is…
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Why We Can’t Manage Deer Genetics
May 30, 2012Lindsay Thomas Jr.
The power of selectively controlled breeding is incredible. With it, we transformed a wolf into a chihuahua over the course of 15,000 years – mere milliseconds in the echoing depths of geologic time. We transformed…
