Episode #108 - Mind Blowing Deer Management with Dr. Bronson Strickland

Published: 2022-03-13
Episode page
Duration: 83 min

In this episode

access

• What is Travis’s strategy for approaching his stand access — waiting for daylight or moving in the dark? 35:31
• Does Don go in completely without a light, not even a red light? 36:21

announcement

• Terry announces the podcast will return next week with episode one zero nine for the following weekend’s class crowd. 81:18

baiting

• Alan asks the best way to get corn-pile baiting banned in a state, since he’d like to eliminate it. 74:49

bedding-areas

• What’s the best way to define specific buck bedding areas on a swampy, hardwood-and-conifer property surrounded by ag? 59:41

buck-fawn-dispersal

• Trey asks whether Mel and Smokey were fawns born on Don’s farm. 37:49

buck-harvest

• Don explains that on his farm he culls the smaller two-and-a-half and three-and-a-half year old bucks first, leaving the best two to mature to five and six years old. 29:11

cold-fronts

• Should he hunt more in early season instead of waiting, after a target buck got killed on a neighbor’s property? 24:17

doe-culling

• Terry recounts shooting a doe covered in ticks and losing weight, reasoning she shouldn’t take up food or breeding time given her poor health. 51:19

doe-dispersal

• Alan asks whether doe fawns stay and get bred by the same buck, or get pushed off, or remain in a family group. 30:06

doe-management

• Has anyone considered identifying and removing a specific doe to prevent her from passing on an unwanted gene? 48:50

faith

• He asks Don how he keeps hunting from becoming an idol rather than just a passion. 52:27

fibroma

• Are the black wart-like growths on his buck’s face and body genetic, will they return, and what causes them? 63:09

food-plots

• Is it a good idea to mow the weedy field and plant clover among newly planted fruit and nut trees? 20:31

genetics

• Amos asks whether removing all mature deer on a high-graded farm would let a bigger buck class emerge next generation. 27:58
• Can removing bucks without brow tines realistically alter that trait across the herd? 78:45

home-range

• When do bucks typically shift into their fall home range, referencing a buck that appears mid-November two years running? 38:53

humor

• Don jokes that he’ll wear a gifted t-shirt blaming the media and Democrats as ‘the deadliest virus.’ 56:43 (light moment)

hunting-regulations

• If Terry could rewrite Kentucky’s season dates and hunting regulations, what would he change? 41:21

hunting-strategy

• Bronson observes that Don’s success comes from extremely measured, intentional decisions with no slop in his system, rather than sheer hunting frequency. 73:12

master-class

• Don says there is no other class like this one, where attendees can learn from a credentialed biologist and tour it. 10:26
• Don confirms Bronson Strickland will return to teach the Whitetail Master Class again next year. 81:08
• Don notes the master class drew 124 students from 23 different states this spring. 70:05

moon-phase

• Does research support that weather fronts matter more than moon phase for daylight deer movement? 25:27

nutrition

• Bronson Strickland says he fundamentally disagrees with limiting summer food to control doe numbers, arguing compromising nutrition only hurts the herd. 6:27

sponsors

• Terry notes Mathews Archery has long sponsored the podcast and each week sponsors a segment called Lester’s Feet. 11:55
• Terry notes QuietKat brought demo bikes for attendees to try through the cornfield and ASIO Gear provided new camo samples at the master class. 81:53

stand-placement

• How should he pick the right entry/exit trails and scout doe activity on his rectangular, river-bordered property? 21:48

supplemental-feeding

• Bronson Strickland explains that only feeding corn during hunting season with one feed type is baiting, not true supplemental feeding, which must raise diet quality year-round. 8:09

validation

• Don says Bronson scientifically validated things Don had been asserting from experience for years, without Don realizing it was science-backed. 4:22

Deer activity

• unnamed buck (harvest) 24:52
• Mel (history) 37:49
• Smokey (history) 37:49
• unnamed buck (trail-camera) 39:05
• the fork tine buck (history) 66:55

Listener questions

Question: Is it a good idea to mow the weedy field and plant clover among newly planted fruit and nut trees? 20:31 — asked by Mark Jackson

• Answer: Don says planting clover is a great idea since it’s a legume that adds nitrogen, benefits the trees, suppresses weeds, and adds a food source for deer. 20:42

Question: How should he pick the right entry/exit trails and scout doe activity on his rectangular, river-bordered property? 21:48

• Answer: Don says access is everything — without good access, hunters push deer off the property by hunting sign-heavy interior spots instead of edges. 21:56

Question: Should he hunt more in early season instead of waiting, after a target buck got killed on a neighbor’s property? 24:17

• Answer: Don says October cold fronts trigger rut-like buck movement, so he hunts those fronts hard rather than waiting for November. 24:27

Question: Amos asks whether removing all mature deer on a high-graded farm would let a bigger buck class emerge next generation. 27:58 — asked by Amos

• Answer: Don says no — the young deer left behind carry essentially the same genetics as the mature deer removed, since they are their offspring. 28:16

Question: Alan asks whether doe fawns stay and get bred by the same buck, or get pushed off, or remain in a family group. 30:06 — asked by Alan

• Answer: Bronson says data shows doe fawns typically do not disperse from their mother’s home range, unlike yearling bucks. 30:42

Question: What is Travis’s strategy for approaching his stand access — waiting for daylight or moving in the dark? 35:31 — asked by Travis

• Answer: Don says he typically does not wait for daylight; he goes in while it is still dark before entering his stand. 35:57

Question: Does Don go in completely without a light, not even a red light? 36:21

• Answer: Don confirms he goes in without a light. 36:25

Question: Trey asks whether Mel and Smokey were fawns born on Don’s farm. 37:49 — asked by Trey Hutchison

• Answer: Don says there’s no way to know for sure, but guesses Mel and Smokey probably were not born on his farm since he’s shot very few does there. 38:49

Question: When do bucks typically shift into their fall home range, referencing a buck that appears mid-November two years running? 38:53

• Answer: Bronson explains most bucks don’t shift ranges seasonally, but shift timing for those that do clusters around pre-rut, so a buck appearing near the rut likely stays through most of it. 40:42

Question: If Terry could rewrite Kentucky’s season dates and hunting regulations, what would he change? 41:21

• Answer: Terry says Kentucky could rival any state if rifle season moved outside the rut, while keeping the one-buck limit, to improve buck age structure. 42:25

Question: Has anyone considered identifying and removing a specific doe to prevent her from passing on an unwanted gene? 48:50 — asked by Chris Hyatt

• Answer: Bronson says you cannot manage genetics that way; culling a doe is only justified for behavioral reasons, not genetic control. 49:18

Question: He asks Don how he keeps hunting from becoming an idol rather than just a passion. 52:27

• Answer: Don says his faith has grown stronger over the years, and the stronger one’s faith, the more God reveals himself, keeping hunting in perspective. 53:22

Question: What’s the best way to define specific buck bedding areas on a swampy, hardwood-and-conifer property surrounded by ag? 59:41

• Answer: Don recommends scouting for deer beds in the snow, focusing on single beds rather than doe-group clusters, with ridge points as prime buck bedding spots. 59:46

Question: Are the black wart-like growths on his buck’s face and body genetic, will they return, and what causes them? 63:09

• Answer: Bronson explains the growths are cutaneous fibromas (warts), never fatal, non-contagious in a concerning way, and safe to eat since they don’t penetrate the meat. 63:25

Question: Alan asks the best way to get corn-pile baiting banned in a state, since he’d like to eliminate it. 74:49 — asked by Alan

• Answer: Bronson says ending baiting takes grassroots hunter support petitioning the state wildlife agency, noting many hunters privately dislike it but feel pressured by neighbors. 75:28
• Answer: Don says baiting pressure among neighbors is real in Ohio, but believes there’s far more grassroots support for banning it than people realize. 76:39

Question: Can removing bucks without brow tines realistically alter that trait across the herd? 78:45 — asked by Jeff Lawton

• Answer: Bronson says removing a few deer virtually cannot change a population’s genetics, since does carry the trait too without any visible indicator. 79:40

Question: Does research support that weather fronts matter more than moon phase for daylight deer movement? 25:27

• Answer: Bronson says they see no measurable moon-phase effect on deer movement, a stance that draws angry pushback on social media. 25:46

Sponsors this episode

• QuietKat
• BuyAFarm.com

The episode recapped the Whitetail Master Class, where Don noted 124 students from 23 states attended and thanked sponsors Mathews Archery, QuietKat, and ASIO Gear. Don and biologist Bronson Strickland discussed herd management: Bronson argued against limiting summer feed to control doe numbers and explained true supplemental feeding must raise diet quality year-round, unlike season-only corn baiting. He also said removing mature bucks or does for genetics doesn’t work, since offspring share the same genes, and that doe fawns typically stay in their mother’s range. Listener questions covered scouting bedding in snow, October cold-front movement, stand access without lights, cutaneous fibromas on a buck, and whether weather beats moon phase for movement, which Bronson said shows no measurable effect. Terry floated moving Kentucky’s rifle season outside the rut. Don also shared how his own faith keeps hunting from becoming an idol.

Unofficial fan project. AI-synthesized from public episodes; may contain errors.