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National Deer Association

@deerassociation

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is a non-profit conservation organization working to ensure the future of wild deer, wildlife habitat, and hunting.
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Sometimes you're better off sacrificing a little time in the deer stand to do some in-season scouting. by @deerassociation
2
2 days ago
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The #DonateADoe challenge starts today! This fall, harvest a legal antlerless deer, donate or share the venison, and post a photo or video using #DonateADoe. Then challenge three other hunters to do the same. by @deerassociation
14
6 days ago
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Finding a shredded, fencepost-sized tree can get any deer hunter’s heart pumping — but does a big rub really mean a big buck is in the area? Our own @westfall_nda explains why rub size can be misleading and which clues offer a better picture of the bucks using your hunting area. Link in profile! 🦌🔗 by @deerassociation
2
6 days ago
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There are a number of ways to sort buck fawns (or button bucks) from adult does in a group of antlerless deer, including body proportions and behaviors. Head shape is one of these. A doe’s head tends to be rounded between its ears. A buck fawn’s head tends to look flat between the ears. Sometimes there are exceptions, so use good binoculars to look sharp, and consider the other clues as well, before you make your harvest decision. by @deerassociation
21
8 days ago
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As a student at @msudeerlab, Nathan Cowley studied whitetail scrape use and behaviors. He monitored two dozen mock scrapes and as many natural scrapes to see how they compared. Use of both was highest well before the rut and peaked about two weeks before the peak of breeding. However, on average Nathan captured almost four times as many interactions and visits at natural scrapes compared to mock scrapes. Read the full article about Nathan's study and findings at the link in our profile! 🦌🔗 by @deerassociation
4
9 days ago
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Today is National Hunting and Fishing Day and National Public Lands Day—a fitting time to roll up our sleeves for the places we love. NDA volunteers in Mississippi are headed to Leaf River WMA for a wildlife tree planting project that will improve habitat on public land. Thank you to everyone giving their time to make a difference! How will you be spending the day? Tell us in the comments below. #nationalhuntingandfishingday #nationalpubliclandsday #publicland by @deerassociation
0
11 days ago
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What portion of the deer harvest in your state is taken with archery equipment? Our 2026 Deer Report surveyed state wildlife agencies to determine the percentage of the total deer harvest taken with different weapons in the 2024-25 hunting season. See where your state and region ranks in archery deer harvest in our new online article. Link in profile! 🦌🔗 by @deerassociation
0
12 days ago
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Now the Midwest! Here's another look at our survey to determine the percentage of deer hunters by state that shot at least one antlerless deer in the 2024-25 season – this time looking at the Midwest. Shockingly, among the 26 states that responded to our survey, an average of only 30% of deer hunters shot an antlerless deer. A full 70% of hunters didn't fill a single antlerless deer tag. To read the full article and see more states and regions, hit the link in our profile! by @deerassociation
18
13 days ago
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Knowing how effective scrapes are at attracting visits by bucks, many hunters create mock scrapes in locations where they’d like to get a buck to stop. Most who have tried it have seen it work well. But how does use of a mock scrape compare to the real thing? Researchers at @msudeerlab wanted to know. Nathan Cowley, now an NDA DMAP biologist in Arkansas, led the work. Nathan wrote a new article for our website detailing the results. He compared mock and natural scrapes in total visits, behaviors witnessed, age of buck visitors, revisits, and more. Link in profile! 🦌🔗 by @deerassociation
5
13 days ago
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Our congratulations go out to Dr. Craig Harper of @utnaturalresources for winning the 2026 Caesar Kleberg Award for Excellence in Applied Wildlife Research from @thewildlifesociety. In short, that’s an award for producing research that is practical and useful – and if you know anything about Dr. Harper, you know he’s deserving of this recognition. Since 1998, Craig and his students have focused their work on practical questions about food plots, deer nutrition, prescribed fire, herbicides, forest stand improvement, and much more. Craig’s total volume of published research and educational outreach makes him one of the most prolific deer researchers in North America, and his impact on habitat management has been enormous. His scientific research often tested accepted wisdom, proved it wrong, and rewrote the handbook on effective habitat and wildlife management. Many of Craig's former students are now familiar leaders of wildlife habitat research. And across all that time, Craig has been a staunch supporter of our organization, serving as an instructor in our Deer Steward courses every year, contributing articles to our website, and speaking at our events around the nation. Congratulations, Craig, on this honor! by @deerassociation
3
14 days ago
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The good news about buck home-range size: At the finest scale, home-range size is very consistent and relatively small. @msudeerlab found the daily home-range size is only about 200 acres for all bucks they studied. The bad news? It's likely to be a different 200 acres every day! During the rut, bucks are likely to be switching to a different focal area of their home range each day. So, even when a buck’s home range overlaps your hunting area, he’s unlikely to be seen daily in a small, huntable area, especially during the pre-rut and rut. No single bedding area or food source is likely to attract daily visitation by a particular buck during the rut. But if the resources are there (food, does and low hunting pressure), he'll be back eventually. by @deerassociation
0
16 days ago
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We recently surveyed every state wildlife agency’s deer project leader to determine the percentage of their deer hunters that shot at least one antlerless deer during the 2024-25 deer season. Shockingly, among the 26 states that responded with data, an average of only 30% of deer hunters shot an antlerless deer. A full 70% of hunters didn’t fill a single antlerless tag! Here's a look at just the Northeastern states from that analysis. As a region, only 28% of Northeast hunters took an antlerless deer. But there was a wide difference state-by-state in the Northeast. For example, 58% of Maryland hunters filled at least one antlerless tag, tied with Louisiana for the highest rate in the nation! But the Northeast also holds the lowest numbers in the nation, with only 6% of New Jersey and New Hampshire hunters taking an antlerless deer. To read the full article and see more states, hit the link in our profile! Note: the * footnote for Maryland is because this data includes both whitetail and non-native sika deer harvest. by @deerassociation
25
16 days ago
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