Following in the steps of Gordon, an industry titan, Haynes says he is really excited to have the opportunity to lead North American Whitetail. Gordon built an incredible foundation for the brand, he says, and he has no intention of making dramatic changes, rather he is committed to delivering the great content readers are accustomed to. Part of that commitment comes with getting stories to readers quicker and Haynes says he hopes to do that by revolutionizing the brand throughout the digital space. It's his goal to deliver more great whitetail hunting content, more big buck profiles, and more how-to stories using the North American Whitetail website and social media in a way they've never been able to do before. Fans of North American Whitetail can expect to see a lot more stories showing up on-line at a rapid pace, he says.
North American Whitetail does a great job of sharing big bucks stories with readers, finding the most impressive deer tagged across the country and the most intriguing stories that go with them from hunting seasons past and present. Haynes says it will be hard to find a better big buck story this year than that of the NAW Spring 2021 cover feature on diehard Pennsylvania whitetail hunter Cory Gulvas. In short, he took a giant Pennsylvania typical on public land with a recurve, but the circumstances were anything but easy and the outcome was anything but guaranteed. Haynes says Cory discovered this big typical on public land in 2018 and committed to pursuing it. Putting in a lot of work over several seasons, Cory found sheds, kept activity logs, watched feeding patterns, kept track of mast patterns at different elevations and followed deer activity that coincided with the mast pattern. In October of 2020 his hard work paid off as he was able to put an arrow in the giant buck which took the #2 slot for typical whitetail by bow Pennsylvania. It's a tremendous deer with some of the longest main beams in history, Haynes says.
Although spring is right around the corner, when talking about wildlife and habitat much attention will have to be paid to the crippling cold winter storms that ravaged the country, and particularly the South, recently. Winter Storm Uri sent a chill through the spine of the south in early February, and significantly impacted the wildlife population. Big game, small game, non-game animals, game birds, songbirds, fish and more were lost to freezing temperatures and frozen waterways. Mass losses of whitetails aren't expected as they are fairly cold hardy animals, however, their food sources are a different story. Haynes says this time of year is already a very fragile and demanding time for the whitetail. They've come through the winter months and forage in the woods is already at a minimum before spring green up, he says. That minimal forage combined with winter storm's freezing/browning/burning impact on food sources could leave many deer at a higher risk. As a management strategy, planning for this time of year and having viable food sources available is important as whitetails are at a point where they might need help, Haynes says.
In the realm of food sources, Haynes talks about the benefits of winter timber management. Every whitetail manager needs to have a part of their management plan dedicated to hardwoods, he says. Those woods are critical as they provide such a large amount of annual forage for deer. Regardless of your preferred method - select cutting, removing old growth hardwoods, etc - getting a good amount of the tree canopy laying at ground level provides deer with access to the soft stemmy browse from the tops of those trees. If they can lay on the forest floor for any period of time, that becomes an instant food plot for deer, Haynes says. Many winter logging operations are flooded with deer as they come in and eat the soft tops of those trees laying on the ground, he says. There are also opportunities to create food sources with food plots within the timber if you're willing to do the work. It's an area that many overlook, but in the most recent issue of North American Whitetail there are tips for people looking to sneak a food plot into the timber and other hard to reach areas. Haynes talks about the use of forestry mulchers to thin out small trees and create open areas to be planted. He also discusses the use of herbicides in forest management. There are more ways to create food in the woods than we sometimes talk about, Haynes says. When working in the woods he urges managers to remember the "deer zone". A whitetail's world is really chest down, he says, and that's where the browse has to be to be consumed. Anything you can do to bring down the browseable cover to the "deer zone" is important and should be a part of your plan.
Be sure to listen in as Haynes Shelton, Editor in Chief of North American Whitetail, joins The Revolution to talk about the future of North American Whitetail, winter timber management, shed hunting, big buck stories, critical late winter/early spring food sources and much more. Pick up a subscription to North American Whitetail, in print and digital form for less than $10.00. Also be sure to watch "North American Whitetail TV" on Sportsman Channel, Wednesdays at 8:00 p.m. ET or anytime on MyOutdoorTV.
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