There are a lot of myths related to whitetail deer when it comes to hunting. For some, the best time to hunt is right after a cold season. There are even beliefs related to the fullness of moon. For instance, it is considered to be the best time to go in the woods when the moon is full. Apparently, whitetail deer get on their feet when the moon is full.
Let us debunk these myths before you take your finest sports fever crossbow to aim at a deer. If you are a hunter and you need some clarity about whitetail deer movement, keep reading!
It is a proven fact now that the phases of moon have no effect on the movement of whitetail deer. A great deal of research has been conducted on this subject by Penn State. Whitetails were collared with GPS by the Penn State researchers and a data of two years was collected. They did not detect even the slightest relation between the moon phase and movement of whitetails.
This myth is the oldest one and there is no hunter out there who has not heard it. It is a common belief that the hunters in the woods affect the movement of deer and they begin to move. A research in Auburn University proved that deer do not start moving when they feel hunting pressure. They flee to the places where there are no hunters in case of any hunting pressure.
PennState proved this myth wrong. They found that rain has nothing to do with deer movement. Rain may impact bucks but not deer, as it was observed that the bucks moved much less in rain. However, there was no change in the movement of deer.
Being a hunter, I have always believed that high winds restrict the movement of deer. Therefore, I always hated hunting when the winds were strong. Recently, I came across a study that proves that theory wrong. Penn State researchers studied the movement of deer in October and they found that wind did not affect their movement. In fact, whitetail deer moved more in the days with high winds than in days with little or no wind.
The rut season is the time when you expect the bucks to be moving in search of a doe. That is why it is rut season is considered to be the best hunting season. However, it is not entirely true. Most of the bucks stay near their core range which is about twenty acres only. It may vary depending on the kind of buck, but most stay in their area.
The hearing capability of the whitetails is almost similar to that of human beings. Scientific research and studies prove that they only hear the higher pitch sound a little better than us and we hear the sounds with low pitch better than them.
Also, they hear the normal range sounds better than human beings. This myth is very important to be aware of so that you can plan on adjusting your voice intensity when in the hunting field.
It is a general belief that the age factor has to do with the ability of doe to breed. However, the real factor that determines the breeding ability of a doe is the quality of food that it gets. If a doe is provided with quality diet, it probably can even breed in its first year. If it does not have a proper diet, it will probably not breed for years.
We cannot exactly ascertain the number of subspecies that there are of the whitetails. The differences in features and other factors determine the number of subspecies. As per the experts, the number of subspecies of whitetails is around 30.