- Tyler Knarr 11/29/2004, ID=2378

Tyler: Of all the questions I receive on deer, this has to be one of the most commonly asked. If you are a "deer-a-holic", colleges such as Mississippi State University, University of Georgia, or Texas A&M would be good choices. Although you may want to stay in Virginia their schools are not known as the better deer colleges. Please listen to me. If you are really interested in deer biology, you MUST go elsewhere! Employers are always looking for job experience and diversity. The best decision I have ever made in my college career was to switch schools from Penn State to Texas A&M to West Virginia. Yes, I was a professional student for 8 1/2 years.

Because of the intense competition within the profession, plan on going for a Master's degree in wildlife management/biology. Sure you can get a job with a 4-year degree, but nowadays most folks are looking for advanced degrees. You should know that the wildlife profession does NOT pay very well. In fact, you can plan on eating pinto beans and cornbread for years. But, if you want it, and I mean really want it, the job as a wildlife biologist has many benefits. Once you get a job your next challenge is convincing your spouse that your work is not only your hobby, but your hobby is your work! Good luck and keep the fire burning!

C.J. Winand - Wildlife Biologist

- R. Rhodes 07/09/2004, ID=2362

R. Rhodes: A lot of folks are in your situation. Do you know about the Plotmaster? If not check out, http://www.theplotmaster.com/ I simply love this little machine. In fact, the Plotmaster is to food plots as the compound bow is to archery! Yes, it's a little expensive, BUT it's a lot cheaper than purchasing all the assorted farm machinery you need for food plots. Many times, I've had individuals or clubs all go together in purchasing one. When you split $3,000. among a bunch of folks, the Plotmaster is well worth the price.

If you choose not on purchasing any equipment, a simple way of creating a food plot is called "frost seeding." This entails you to simply hand-broadcast your seed during the last frost. When thawing occurs, the little seeds go down into the soil to germinate. Many folks do the same thing right before an expected rain. The rain drops literally drill the seed into the ground so that germination occurs.

Some many times, folks call me and complain about their food plot not coming up. After a few questions, I generally find out that it's been days (sometimes weeks) since the last rain and they planted following, not before the rain! Germination is the key to successful food plots and of course, timing of the rain / thawing is everything.

C.J. Winand

- Dale Lefever 07/08/2004, ID=2361

Dale: A number of options could occur. If a buck castrates himself (don't you just hate when that happens?), he'll never form hardened antlers . . . that is, if this occurs while he's in velvet. Or, if the injury occurs with hardened antlers they will most likely fall off early. The following year's antlers will grow, but remain in velvet. In northern climates, many times the antlers will suffer from frost bite and form all kinds of weird antler formations.

C.J. Winand

- Marty Bernier 07/01/2004, ID=2359

Marty: The answer to your question is to wait. I know it doesn't make much sense, but deer are very picky eaters. Eventually, the deer will hit your food plot. Why do I say this? Well, deer will eat whatever plant that has the available mineral/nutrient they need. Depending on what the deer are eating in your surrounding areas, they'll key in on certain plants and then change their food patterns. This pattern will change throughout the year and your question isn't all that uncommon.

I had one landowner that told me that his deer where not eating the alfalfa he had planted. Admittedly, I thought he was crazy? But upon a site visit I saw what he was talking about. The very next week, the deer had "found" his alfalfa and all but mowed it down. Thus, eventually your deer will find your food plot.

C.J. Winand

- Roger 06/26/2004, ID=2354

Roger: The best document of deer vision is given by Brain Murphy of the Quality Deer Management Association. Brian was one of the researchers on this interesting topic. Clink on http://www.qdma.com/articles/details.asp?id=48

Within the after mentioned article, Brian states the following:

Implications for Hunters:

What do the results of this study mean for hunters? Should you throw away all of your camouflage clothes? Definitely not. It is important to keep the findings of this study in perspective. There is no question that scent and movement are far more important than the color of your clothing or whether or not it contains UV brighteners.

As far as a deer's senses are concerned, their daytime and color vision is pretty average. In fact, the actual color of the fabric is relatively unimportant as long as the pattern blends with your surroundings. Therefore, camouflage clothing is still recommended. In contrast, solid unbroken patterns, especially of light colors, are not recommended. Similarly, garments made from vinyl or plastic can alert deer because they reflect light. This works much like the glare from a blued gun barrel. It is not the color of the barrel that alerts the game, but rather the light the barrel reflects. The best of both worlds would be a product that provides both camouflage for concealment and blaze orange for safety. Such camouflage blaze orange hunting apparel is available but unfortunately is not legal in many states.

Should hunters be concerned about the UV brightness of their clothes? Perhaps. Keep in mind that this would only be problem during low light conditions such as early morning and late evening. However, this is when deer are most active. One option is to stop washing your hunting clothes in laundry products containing "brighteners." This may prove difficult because most laundry products currently available contain these agents. However, there are now products available that eliminate UV light from clothing. Should you purchase such a product? This is difficult to answer. Hunters have been successfully harvesting deer for hundreds of years without the aid of such products. However, armed with our latest knowledge it remains possible, even likely, that such a product may help. On the other hand, it definitely can't hurt.

C.J. Winand

Be sure to visit C.J. Winand's Website - CJ is a wildlife biologist and an outdoor writer for Bowhunter and North American Hunter magazines. In addition to his writing, CJ is highly sought as a speaker on deer management topics and has worked on a Masters of Science degree in Wildlife Management at West Virginia University under Dr. David Samuel. CJ manages and guides on several quality deer management programs around the country.