TRMichels

Since the administrator has told me to either "be here to become friends"(sit and chat), or else - I'll bow out. God bless, T.R.

Very well said all of you. But, I'll continue as I have been, hoping you realize, that as a student of animal behavior, I'm just trying to share what I have learnned. Maybe the difference betwen me an other is that I've devoted 10 years to deer research (not hunting), 4 years to turkey research (not hunting), 4 years to elk research (not hunting), and 4 years to duck and goose research (not hunting). While I do research I do not hunt, so I can pay attention to everything that is going on, and I take into account every concievable meteorological condition (that might affect the animals), so that I can learn when and where to expect to see them, on a fairly regular basis, under the wetehr conditons that day. And, the weather conditions are one of the most relevenat factors when it comes to predicting animal activity. I don't carry a weapon (so I don't have to worry about how to kill the animal), I just take notes on over 4000 deer sightings, I'm not sure how many turkey sightings (nore than deer), and the activities of over 1500 elk. Either I learned something from that or I didn't. I've seen this reaction on other talk forums, and once members figure out what I do and why, most of them enjoy it, and I've become friends with many of them as a result of it. If people here are different from other forums, and can't accept me for who I am, and what I do, so be it. As I said, I don't have time to sit and just chat. I do have time to post my articles, listen to comments on them, and answer questions about what I write - especially if I can help someone else. This, with my limited capabilities to work and enjoy life, is what I do. Help others. If you can't see past your preconcieved ideas or me, and don't think I've learned anything, and don't think I am able to help you, then don't log on to my threads. May God bless all of you, T.R. PS There is alot to learned from this thread, because this deer is teaching me a lot, and reminding me of a lot of things - that can make people better able to understand deer, which could make them better hunters.

I get it, you think that I am pretentious, when I am not trying toe be, I just am a product of what I do, I write the way I do because I am not a Pro-Staffer as such, but a writer. I write because that is the way I've been taught (if you will) by my editors, whether, they are book or magazine editors. I have all of this stuff written down, and becuuse I do have a business to run, I try to put out as much valid (what I hope is useful) informtion as I can, in as short amount of time as I have to do it. And the easiest way to do it (and not leave anything out), is simply to cut and paste what I've already written. I've been doing this on talk forums like Bowhunting.Net for over 10 years now, it is just part of my daily regime. If I were to post a long topic on patterning deer, and have to write it all out, it would take me at least three days to - to get it right, to the point where I felt comfortable that I had presented the best information I could, and not leave anything important out. I simply do not have time to do that. I do not have time to just sit and write here, chating with others, because I have dozens of e-mails to answer daily, plus provide articles for all of the other websites I write for. I'm kind of trapped into a "hit and run" scenario. Either I do it this way, or I do not post at all. See ... this has taken me 17 minutes to write this. So, for now, I'll continue to post, and hope someone enjoys it, or gets something out of it. If you do not want to read it, don't log on to the topic. that is easy and simple. But, please, don't just come on my threads to bash me, you must have better things to do. I would not do it to you. May God bless all of you, T.R.

This is my full time job, it is not a hobby, or a part time job, or a sport I participate in on wekends. It is a job 10 hour a day job, 300 days a year. Being a hunting guide and outfitter, writer and author, speaker, and game researcher, is all I have done since 1989. Let me ask these questions. Are you good ar your job? Do you think you are better at it than someone who does it as a sport, or who only does it part time, part of the year? Does your perception of how good you are at your job have anything to do with how long you have been at it, and how hard you work at it? I'll be most of you think you are pretty darn good at what you do. And you have a right to feel that way, because you have worked at it. Do I have a right to think I've learned a thing or two since 1989? God bless, T.R.

You are missing about 36 other forums. Why not "try" to help as many people as I can? God bless, T.R.

No I do not believe in territorial behavior, because they do not "defend" their teritory, nor do they mark the dges of their loosely defined "home ranges". Plus - home ranges often overlap each other - by several acres. If they were territorial, they would drive the other deer out, or at least mark the edges - which they do not. Several deer biologists have come to this conclusion, and so have I. God bless, T.R.

At to teh Astral Table: Conclusions: It appears that the deer is somewhat predictably active within 2 hours of sunrise and sunset, but it is unpredictable as to how often it will be seen within a given week at those times. And it is fairly predictable as to where it will be at those times. In the last week the doe has been in the meadow within 2 hours of sunrise 5 times; and has been in the meadow within 2 hours of sunset 3 times. None of those times was within the timeframe given by the Astral Table for those days. These sightings do not prove that this doe did not feed at times correlating with the overhead or underfoot position of the moon, or the times predicted by several popular Game Activity Tables that use the position (or other factors) of the moon, in their predictions. But, since several scientific studies show that deer are most active on a daily basis within 1-2 hours of sunrise and sunset, I think it is unlikely that this deer was also active at those times. This study suggests that Game Activity Tables (that rely on the overhead/underfoot position of the moon) are unreliable at predicting the best times to see deer - at least this particular deer. After 10 years of research I've found that none of the tables (Solunar Table, Feeding & Fishing Times, Moon Guide) are accurate more than 20% of the time. I don't know about you - but that is not good enough for me. ----------------------------- But, what other conclusions can you conme to from this, about the times the deer was seen and the places it was seen. Think guys - think God bless and good hunting, T.R.

I did not use the word "boundary" in respect to deer home ranges. But it could be used, but is it not marked. Deer do not defend any part of their home range. Since they do not have a territory, they do not mark the "boundary" of their territory. Rubs and scrapes generally mark the travel route of a buck through its home range, not the outside edge (boundary) of its home range. God bless, T.R.

Does of the same age on the same mountain may breed during different weeks. Marchintons studies show that deer from the same herd bred from Oct 17 - December 1. The Minnesota study shows breeding from October 15 to early February.

From the terms you are using "community scrapes" and "territorial scrapes" it sound to me like you hve been reading some of the writings of self-styled deer expersts, and not the research papers of deer biologists or deer researchers. Which means I have a lot to explain, adn this is going to be a long post. I've spent 10 years researchng scrapes, checking over 104 scrapes, every other day, from late August to late December in 2000 alone. I've read every every scientific research paper I could get my hand on - about scrapes and scrape activity. I'd like to think I've learned a bit from all of that. 1. Deer Scietnitsts do not believe white-tailed deer are territorial, if they where they would protect their home ranges, daytime core areas, food sources, and rubs and scrapes; which is not the case. Fights do not break out over these places - as a sign of ownership or territoriality. IN factr, studies have shown that individual deer home ranges overlap each other. So we have to throw out the the term territoriality and "territorial scrapes". 2. Research has shown that because bucks do not own a scrape, that in fact most scrapes are used by most bucks that actually walk by them, especially the overhanging branch at any scrape, which may be used by most bucks, and a very few does - all year long - if there are deer near the scrape all year long. So, most scrapes could be termed as "communal" scrapes, with several different bucks, and possibly a doe or two acually sniffing them, but rarely urinating in them, maybe near them though. So the term "communal" is kind of redundant. 3. Bucks scrapes near food sources, in or near stream bottoms, alond old logging roads, and in or near doe trails and daytime doe core area - all places that does use on a fairly regula basis. It only make sense that, if a scrape is made to tell not only bucks - but also does - the age, social hierarchy and age of a buck (that worked the scrape - that a buck would make scrapes where does would come in contact with them. Studies have shown that 1.5 year old bucks may lick the overhaning branch, and that is all they do. 2 year old bucks may lick the overhaning branch and paw the ground by not rub-urinate in them. 3 year old and older bucks bucks usually lick the branch, paw the ground and rub-urinate in the scrape. Here is another excerpt from my book that may help. Types of Scrapes Many experts claim there are three different types of scrapes; primary, secondary and boundary. Basically these designations define the importance and locality of the scrape. Primary scrapes are made in strategic locations with trails leading to them. These scrapes are often traditional (used year after year) because of the cover in the area. They usually occur in staging or doe use areas. Secondary scrapes are generally found in travel corridors, along trails, and in natural funnels between core and feeding areas. It could be said that all scrapes start out as secondary scrapes, but that some of them are elevated to primary status because of their importance, which results in some scrapes being used more frequently during the pre-primary breeding phase. Some scrapes are referred to as boundary scrapes because they appear along boundaries of a buck’s home range, or between two different types of habitat. They are often located along trails, creeks, fences, and old roads and field edges. Because of the openness of these areas these scrapes are often made at night. Boundary scrapes may be randomly made by traveling bucks. For hunting purposes we can classify scrapes into four groups: 1. Scrapes that have been recently made. All scrapes appear recent at first. 2. Scrapes that may not be used frequently. I have seen bucks make four scrapes in an hour and then never use them again. 3. Scrapes that may be used frequently at certain times of the season and then be abandoned. These scrapes are often near food sources that are then depleted, causing the deer to seek other foods or a more preferred food may become available, and the deer use it, but they may return to the previous source and the scrape becomes active again. All scrapes are abandoned at some time, either during or after the rut. 4. Scrapes that are used frequently for most of the season. These scrapes are usually in doe use or staging areas near food sources (corn, browse, and clover) that are used during most of the rut The recent use of the scrape, especially just before peak breeding, tells you the buck uses the area at that time. Any recent scrape is worth investigating further and possibly hunting. Recently used scrapes that are never used again, or are not used frequently, are not good hunting sites, and a higher use area should be looked for. You can only determine this by checking the scrape regularly or hunting it. Traditional Scrapes Frequently used scrapes, showing recent use, should be watched closely and hunted. Frequently used scrapes that do not show recent use should be noted because they may be traditional scrapes, used at specific times during the season. Try to figure out why the scrape was used and when, then use the information to hunt the area next year. Scrapes made early in the season may be made simply out of rutting urge. Scrapes made near early seasonal food sources may not be used after the food is gone and the does stop using it. This often occurs after the breeding period. If a scrape is near an all season food source (browse, clover), and a more preferred food source (acorns, corn) becomes available, the deer may temporarily abandon the area and then return. A scrape in this area may be re-opened later. Recently used scrapes made late in the season, after the breeding period, may be those of subdominants that begin scraping, because the older bucks have quit checking their scrapes and exerting dominance over the younger bucks; the older bucks are busy chasing does. Frequently used scrapes of any type are often traditional; used year after year, used by subsequent bucks, used by numerous bucks, and possibly checked by all bucks in the area. Frequently used traditional scrapes in heavy cover may be used during the day and often occur in travel corridors and near doe use areas. Hunter Use Determining how recently and how frequently the scrape is used helps you decide if you want to hunt near it. The importance of scrapes changes as the seasons change; as food sources are depleted or become available; and as the rut progresses. Scrapes may attract does, and may occur in traditional areas year after year, but they may be used only during certain times of the season. What you have to do is determine how frequently and recently they are used, and hunt them accordingly. God bless dn good hunting, T.R. 　

Thank you. Stay with me - there is a lot more to come - on deer, elk, turkeys, ducks, geese, scents, calls, decoys, flagging, deer management, habitat conservation, birding, and outdoor photography. If you have questions - fire away - I'm here to help. God bless, T.R.

The Premise: Several popular Game Activity Tables predict that fish and game animals will be most active or feed within a 1-3 hour timeframe of when the moon is either directly overhead or underfoot of their position on the earth. The question is; Are these Tables and Predictors correct in there predictions? I will tell you that I conducted an exhaustive research project of this subject between 1990 and 2000, on 5 different herds of deer in three widely separated locations. One of the problems with the study was that I was seeing dozens of deer, and was often unable to determine if I was seeing one of the deer on several occasions, or several deer on several occasions. However, in our new location, we have only one whitetail doe in the area. So, I will be able to determine if the activity of one particular deer is correlated with the times predicted by one of the several Game Activity Tables currently available to hunters. For the purposes of this study I will be using the Astro table. Which is available on the ESPN web site at http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/general/news/story?page=g_fea_astro_tables. To determine the meteorological conditions at the time of the deer sightings I will be using the weather station closest to our house, which is within 3 miles. The address of the website is http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=eagan, mn &wuSelect=WEATHER. Following are the sightings of the doe so far, and the weather data and predicted activity times. We can deduce several things about deer behavior from this data, if we know what to look for. My question to you is - "What do YOU deduce from this information?" I'll keep you updated as the days go by. Thursday, June 04, 2009 At about 5:45 AM I saw a Coyote sniffing the air right near out apartment. It was a lot of fun watching the animal look for the source of my burnt bacon, which I am sure wafted out the kitchen window to the meadow below. Astro Table 10:02 - 11:18 AM. From 6:30 AM until 6:50 AM I watched a doe White-tailed Deer feeding in the meadow. I did not see where the deer came from, but when it left, it went west into the trees, down a hill toward one of the lakes. You can view the video here. I hope to see the doe's fawn in the next few weeks. Astro Table 9:57-10:53 AM and 9:07 - 10:39 PM. Friday, June 05, 2009 At 3:15 AM we heard a coyote howling, presumably in the woods behind the house. Astro Table 11:26 - midnight. Saturday, June 6, 2009 The whitetail doe was in the meadow feeding at 7:23PM; it came from the woods north of the meadow and left at 7:29 going south toward another patch of woods. Astro Table 11:51 AM - 12:43PM. Sunday, June 07, 2009 The whitetail doe was in the meadow feeding at 6:20AM; it came from woods to the south of the meadow and left at 6:31 going north into the woods. Astro Table 12:21-1:07AM. Sunday, June 08, 2009 The whitetail doe was in the meadow at 8:50 PM. She left going south. Astro Table 1:37-2:32 PM. Monday, June 08, 2009 The whitetail doe was in the meadow at 7:44 AM; she came from the woods south of the meadow and went to the woods north of the meadow. The Astro Table 1:27 - 2:23. At 7:54 PM The doe stepped into the meadow from the woods on the north and fed there until 8:02, when she left going south. Partly cloudy, no wind, temperature 60 degrees. Astro Table2:28 - 3:14 PM. Thursday, June 11, 2009 Cloudy, no wind, 51 degrees, Twilight 4:48 AM, Sunrise 5:25 AM. At 5.36 AM the doe was leaving the meadow going north. Astro Table 2:47-3:43 AM. Diane saw the doe in the meadow at 8:30 PM; it came from the woods north of meadow, and it left going to the woods south of the meadow. Astro Table time was 3:54-5:00 PM. God bless and good hunting. T.R.

This is from my book The Complete Whitetail Addict's Manual The Rut Most deer hunters know that whitetails act differently during the rut than they do at any other time of the year. After spending time with and talking to a number of different whitetail hunters, most of them experienced and some of them quite knowledgeable, I realized many of them did not understand the progression of the rut, or the time frame of the rut. Most of them knew that in the upper Midwest rubbing usually begins in September, scraping in mid-October, and that the “peak of the rut” occurs during the second week of November. But there seemed to be a difference of opinion about what the “peak of the rut” meant. To some it meant the time when they most often saw bucks during the day, usually the two weeks before the breeding phase. Others thought the peak of the rut meant peak breeding activity, which it does. Some thought all the breeding activity occurred during the week of the peak of the rut, and resigned themselves to the belief that once the peak of the rut was over no more breeding would occur. If they did not get a buck by the peak of the rut they believed there was no reason to hunt as hard, because there was less activity. Rubbing, Scraping and Breeding Peaks Rubbing, scraping and breeding all have their own time frames (which overlap each other), and their own peaks during the rut. Rut related activity in northern areas usually starts when bucks begin rubbing small trees and brush to remove velvet from their antlers and making scrapes. This may occur as early as late August or early September in area above the 38th parallel. Rubbing may peak in mid-September and generally diminishes throughout the rut, but it may rise again during later breeding phases. Scraping activity may begin as early as the first week of September, but without much activity until mid to late October. Breeding may begin in mid-October, and breeding begins to increase as scraping increases in late October. Scraping often peaks from mid to late October as bucks continue to make new scrapes and maintain existing scrapes. As breeding activity increases in early November scraping activity decreases. Breeding in northern areas may be intermittent from mid to late October; fairly continuous throughout November, with peak breeding occurring sometime between the first and the third week of November; and intermittent from early December into January. But, hold on what was that about breeding beginning in mid-October? (This graph is on the "Rut Dates" page on my site.) Data provided by the MN Department of Natural Resources Note: The above graph shows the breeding dates of 1600+ does in Minnesota between 1980 and 1987. It clearly shows that that breeding of both yearling and older does begins in mid October and continues to mid January, for a breeding season length of 120 plus days. It shows that peak breeding during all years, and for all years combined, occurs during the second week of November. In addition, it shows that rarely do any more than 35 percent of the does in any one area get bred during the one-week time frame of the Peak of the Rut. It also shows that doe fawns in Minnesota breed from late October to early February; and that peak breeding of doe fawns occurs from late November to late December. Estrus Cycles Marchinton found that the estrus cycles of does ranged from 21 to 30 days, with an average of 26 days, and that does may recycle up to 7 times. My own observations, those of several other writers and photographers, and the studies of Dr. Larry Marchinton in Georgia show that breeding occurs as early as September 24 in northern Minnesota, October 15 in southern Minnesota, October 17 in Georgia, and October 24 in central Wisconsin. Thanks to Marchinton's studies we can actually pinpoint estrus cycles in captive deer. The study was conducted to find out how many estrus cycles unbred does would experience. During the study recurrent estrus ranged from 2 to 7 times. Of the eight does studied one 2.5 year old came into a first estrus on October 17, another on October 24, three 1.5 year olds on November 11, one 2.5 year old on November 19, one 1.5 year old on November 21, and one 5.5 year old on December 1. The last recurrent estrus occurred on April 7. This shows that, even without recurrent estrus, some does will be in estrus from mid-October to early December, resulting in a breeding period of more than 45 days. In northern areas the breeding period may last in excess of 60 days; from mid-October to late December. In southern areas it may last more than 90 days; into February. In most areas a small portion of the adult does may be bred in October, most of them in November, and a few more in December. This is typical of most deer populations. In northern areas 1.5 year old does may experience their first estrus in December. Doe fawns (5+ months) may experience their first estrus and breed in December, January or February. Late Breeding Phase As a result of Marchinton's study we know we cannot reliably predict when the late breeding phase may occur. Even if the majority of the does come into estrus at the same time, the research shows that recurrent estrus cycles are variable. Instead of occurring every 28 days as previously thought the cycles ranged from 21 to 30 days. This would make it difficult to pinpoint the late breeding period, especially when coupled with the knowledge that the first estrus of a doe may occur anytime from mid-October to mid-December. Another note of interest is that the does were in estrus from 24 to 48 hours, not the 22-24 hours previously thought. Any buck chasing a doe may spend up to three days with her without returning to its core area. May God bless you and yours, and good hunting, T.R.

Although it is early for elk hunting, it is not too early to start offering some information on the biology and behavior of elk , so that we can talk about elk hunting tips, tactics and techniques - when the time is right. The premise of my articles, books and seminars revolves around the fact that the more you know about the biology and behavior of the animal you are hunting, the better prepared you are to predict when, where and how to hunt it. This is from my book - Elk Addict's Manual: Chapter 1: Introduction to North American Elk Class: Ungulata (hoofed) Order: Artiodactyla (even-toed ungulates) Family: Cervidae (antlered artiodactyls) Genus: Cervus (Eurasian red deer, North American elk and allies) Species: canadensis (Northern and Eastern Asia Red Dee and Wapiti and North AmericaElk/Wapiti) North American elk, also referred to as wapiti, reach lengths of 7-9.5 feet, heights of 4.5-5 feet; males reach weights of 600-1100 pounds, females 450-650 pounds; and they may live 15-20 years. Their body color is brown to tan in color with a dark brown head, neck, belly and legs; and a rump patch of light tan to yellowish. They breed from September through November, have a gestation period of 250-265 days and normally have one and rarely two calves, born from late May to early July; usually late May to early June. The tracks of their front hooves are 4-4.5 inches long, with the hind hooves slightly smaller; the hind hoof generally falls in or near the front hoof print, and the marks of the dewclaws may appear behind the hoofs in mud or snow. Their droppings are usually clumps in the spring and summer, and large pellets in the fall and winter. During the fall/rut the bulls rub trees and thrash brush and evergreens with their antlers, often make scrapes on dry ground with their antlers when they get up out of their beds, and make wallows with their antlers in muddy or wet areas during the fall. During the rut the bulls often urinate in the scrape or wallow and on themselves, then they roll in the scrape or wallow to cover themselves with mud, urine and testosterone, which is used to express dominance and attract females during the rut. Bull elk generally carry antlers of from 1-6 points on each side of their rack during their first year, 4 or more points during their second year, 5 or more points after their second year, and 6 or more points after the third year; with the main beams becoming heavier, longer and spreading wider apart until the seventh year, when the lengths of the tines may become shorter. Elk, like moose and caribou, are an Old World deer species that originated in Eurasia, probably near the Hindu Kush Mountains of western India. They eventually spread to North America, crossing the Bering Land Bridge during the ice age. North American elk were once considered a separate species, and the Eurasian red deer another species. Then the North American elk were considered a subspecies of the European red deer. But, recent mitochondrial DNA research suggests that the Red Deer of western Asia and Europe, the Middle East and Africa (referred to as Western Red Deer), are a distinct species from the Red Deer and Wapiti of northern and eastern Asia and the Elk of North America (referred to as Eastern Red Deer. The results of the study shows a very high probability for the existence of two different species of red deer with three subspecies in Asia and America (Eastern Red Deer) and four subspecies in Eurasia (Western Red Deer) and additional one or two primordial subspecies in Central Asia (Tarim group). At one time there were thought to be six subspecies of elk in North America, with an estimated total population of about 10 million animals; the Rocky Mountain or Yellowstone elk (C.c. nelsoni), Manitoba elk (C. c. manatobensis), Olympic or Roosevelt elk (C. c. roosevelti) and the Tule elk (C. c. nannodes) still survive. The Eastern elk (C. c. canadensis) and the Merriam's elk (C. c. merriami) are considered extinct. This list has now been narrowed to two subspecies (C .c. nelsoni) Rocky Mountain Wapiti/Elk now known as C.c. nelsoni; and (C. c. canadensis) American Wapiti/Elk; both which occur in North America. The other members of the Cervus canadensis group include: (C. e. sibericus) Siberian Wapiti of China and Mongolia, now known as C. e. sibericus; (C. c. songaricus) Tien Shan Wapiti of China, Tien Shan province, now known as C. c. sibericus; (C. e. hanglu) Kashmir Red Deer of India; (C. e. kansuensis) Kansu Red Deer of China, Dong Da Shan province, now known as C. c. kansuensis; (C. e. macneilli) McNeill's Deer China, Qinghai province, now known as C. c . macnelli; (C. e. wallichi) Shou of China and Tibet, now known as C. e. kansuensis. If you have questions - fire away. I'll get more into depth on the biology and behavior of elk in the next few posts. God bless and good hunting, T.R.

The particulars of the law suit aren't public yet. But, I suspect it has more to do with false advertising as is indicated by the word "Fraud" as the reason for the suit, rather than whether it actually worked or not. Science says it can't work as they claim. (Read Shivik's Search & Rescue Dog study and the US Govt's findings on re-activation on the internet.) You can research a lot about the reacitvation of activated carbon on the internet. May Yahweh-God bLess all of you, T.R.