Send us your best whitetail stuff (and don't forget to attach pictures!)
Russell Graves - Believes whitetails shouldn't be photographed in the back of a truck with their tongue hanging out.
Location - Texas
Brian Strickland - Has 369,518 acres of land that you can hunt on. Call him at (555) 281-HUNT.
Location - Colorado
Tony Hansen - Is pretty confident Michigan will release at least 300,000 archers into the woods this fall.
Location - Michigan
Jake Fagan - He's really just here to hang out, so don't mind him.
Location - Georgia
Will Brantley - Loves hunting in a dorag because it makes him look Ramboish. Some may call it Little Man Syndrome.
Location - Tennessee
Friday, December 12, 2008
Learning from Students Pt. 3
Here's another research project that some of my students did a few years ago.
An Analysis of Harvest Trends of White-tailed Deer in the South Central Texas Rolling Plains
Throughout the Rolling Plains Region of Texas, deer hunting is becoming a big business. Every year hunters from all over the state and parts of the nation flock to the area to pursue the elusive white-tailed deer. When they arrive, millions of dollars are collectively spent on things such as gear, license, land lease fees, fuel, groceries, lodging, and other supplies. Therefore, it is easy to see that the economic impact, although there is not an exact figure, is great. As a result of the influx of hunters, many businesses in the area benefit from the additional capital being pumped into local economies. With the new money, comes a trickle down effect and, in turn, the entire community benefits from money being spent at a single business.
What if businesses could make their goods and services more valuable to their hunting customers? Is there any one time of the deer season when your chances of taking a white-tailed buck are greater than any other time of the season? We believe that there is a best time to hunt. By identifying the time of the season when hunters have, statistically, the best chance of killing a buck, we believe that businesses can benefit from the information.
For example, many businesses currently run specials that are designed to attract a clientele at a particular time of the year. Independence Day specials attract people they know will be barbecuing and partaking in other outdoor activities. Businesses can run the same kinds of specials during the time of the season when hunters are most apt to be afield. Specials may include a discount on lodging or meals if a valid hunting license is shown. Also specials may include simply being more cognizant of a hunter’s early morning and late evening hours and an adjustment of hours to accommodate the schedule of a prospective clientele.
In our agriscience project we will prove to you that more bucks are killed during the breeding season (Nov. 23-Dec. 5) of the South Central Texas Rolling Plains. We will show you this through data that we have recorded how many deer were killed during the 2004 and 2005 white-tailed deer seasons. We are trying to prove that more bucks are killed during the breeding season (also known as the rut) so businesses can increase their profit during this time. The rut is the time of season when the bucks are out looking for the does in order to breed.
Again, this information is important because it can help out the local economy. For example, if businesses know when the rut season begins, they can price their products according to when their customers are more likely to be in the area hunting afield. To further illustrate this concept, businesses could have hunter-oriented specials during the rut.
In Childress County and the surrounding lower Rolling Plains region, deer hunting is becoming big business as hunters from all over the country converge on the area to pursue the big white-tailed deer that are prevalent in the area. In fact, some landowners report that their hunting income from leases exceeds their traditional agriculture income.
Therefore, by analyzing harvest data, we hope to prove the following hypothesis:
Statistically, hunters are more likely to harvest a white-tailed buck in the North Central Texas Rolling Plains between November 23 and December 5 because these dates fall on top of the peak of the breeding season.
MATERIALS-METHODS
We obtained the harvest information from A&K Meat Processing in Wellington, Texas, out of the deer harvest logbooks that the Texas Wildlife and Parks Department requires game processors to keep. From the logbook we counted all of the whitetail deer killed in the 2004 and 2005 deer season, and then we separated the bucks from the does. In 2002 we have data on 576 deer harvested and 582 deer harvested in 2005. Breaking those numbers down, in 2004, 417 bucks and 159 does are represented in this study. In 2003, 398 bucks are represented in the study while 189 does are accounted for in the report.
The data was collected by going through all the general hunting days during the 2004 and 2005 white-tailed deer season and counting the number of deer brought into the game processor each day. We also counted how many bucks and does were brought in to the processing plant.
To obtain harvest data, our only choice was to collect the information from Wellington, Texas since Childress, our hometown, doesn’t have a game processor. Since Wellington is only 30-miles away, the processor we collected data from serves the Childress area as well as much of the South Central Rolling Plains region of Texas.
The reason that the data was collected from a game processor is that Texas doesn’t require hunters to check in deer. Therefore, since there is no organized check-in process on a state level, harvest data is hard to obtain from an area-wide standpoint. Consequently, in order to build a possible trend for the annual harvest, our only choice is to collect data from game processors.
CONCLUSION
We have concluded from our research, that more bucks are killed during the breeding season (rut) than any other time of the year as shown by the two years of harvest records collected. To recap, the rut is the time of the season when the deer are breeding.
Granted, one of the flaws in this study is that we cannot account for the number of hunters afield. Therefore, we must assume that the hunter population afield stays relatively constant throughout the season; and that hunter intent for which sex to harvest stays the same – more work will have to be done in this area. However, we do know that traditionally, most hunters go afield during opening weekend; and the number tends to diminish as the season progresses. Without hard numbers; however, we cannot accurately make that claim.
With all of that said, we can say that, for two years in a row, we did prove our hypothesis by showing that more bucks are killed during the rut. By knowing when the rut is and exploiting its potential for hunters, both landowners and businesses can benefit from this natural phenomenon by promoting hunter-friendly specials during that time of year in order to increase their traffic. By changing the prices of their hotel rooms, food, etc. to suit the hunters, the businesses can potentially increase their profits substantially.
The study hinges upon when your chances of harvesting a white-tailed buck are statistically the greatest.
Read on for some interesting info from this abbreviated study...
***
An Analysis of Harvest Trends of White-tailed Deer in the South Central Texas Rolling Plains
Throughout the Rolling Plains Region of Texas, deer hunting is becoming a big business. Every year hunters from all over the state and parts of the nation flock to the area to pursue the elusive white-tailed deer. When they arrive, millions of dollars are collectively spent on things such as gear, license, land lease fees, fuel, groceries, lodging, and other supplies. Therefore, it is easy to see that the economic impact, although there is not an exact figure, is great. As a result of the influx of hunters, many businesses in the area benefit from the additional capital being pumped into local economies. With the new money, comes a trickle down effect and, in turn, the entire community benefits from money being spent at a single business.
What if businesses could make their goods and services more valuable to their hunting customers? Is there any one time of the deer season when your chances of taking a white-tailed buck are greater than any other time of the season? We believe that there is a best time to hunt. By identifying the time of the season when hunters have, statistically, the best chance of killing a buck, we believe that businesses can benefit from the information.
For example, many businesses currently run specials that are designed to attract a clientele at a particular time of the year. Independence Day specials attract people they know will be barbecuing and partaking in other outdoor activities. Businesses can run the same kinds of specials during the time of the season when hunters are most apt to be afield. Specials may include a discount on lodging or meals if a valid hunting license is shown. Also specials may include simply being more cognizant of a hunter’s early morning and late evening hours and an adjustment of hours to accommodate the schedule of a prospective clientele.
In our agriscience project we will prove to you that more bucks are killed during the breeding season (Nov. 23-Dec. 5) of the South Central Texas Rolling Plains. We will show you this through data that we have recorded how many deer were killed during the 2004 and 2005 white-tailed deer seasons. We are trying to prove that more bucks are killed during the breeding season (also known as the rut) so businesses can increase their profit during this time. The rut is the time of season when the bucks are out looking for the does in order to breed.
Again, this information is important because it can help out the local economy. For example, if businesses know when the rut season begins, they can price their products according to when their customers are more likely to be in the area hunting afield. To further illustrate this concept, businesses could have hunter-oriented specials during the rut.
In Childress County and the surrounding lower Rolling Plains region, deer hunting is becoming big business as hunters from all over the country converge on the area to pursue the big white-tailed deer that are prevalent in the area. In fact, some landowners report that their hunting income from leases exceeds their traditional agriculture income.
Therefore, by analyzing harvest data, we hope to prove the following hypothesis:
Statistically, hunters are more likely to harvest a white-tailed buck in the North Central Texas Rolling Plains between November 23 and December 5 because these dates fall on top of the peak of the breeding season.
MATERIALS-METHODS
We obtained the harvest information from A&K Meat Processing in Wellington, Texas, out of the deer harvest logbooks that the Texas Wildlife and Parks Department requires game processors to keep. From the logbook we counted all of the whitetail deer killed in the 2004 and 2005 deer season, and then we separated the bucks from the does. In 2002 we have data on 576 deer harvested and 582 deer harvested in 2005. Breaking those numbers down, in 2004, 417 bucks and 159 does are represented in this study. In 2003, 398 bucks are represented in the study while 189 does are accounted for in the report.
The data was collected by going through all the general hunting days during the 2004 and 2005 white-tailed deer season and counting the number of deer brought into the game processor each day. We also counted how many bucks and does were brought in to the processing plant.
To obtain harvest data, our only choice was to collect the information from Wellington, Texas since Childress, our hometown, doesn’t have a game processor. Since Wellington is only 30-miles away, the processor we collected data from serves the Childress area as well as much of the South Central Rolling Plains region of Texas.
The reason that the data was collected from a game processor is that Texas doesn’t require hunters to check in deer. Therefore, since there is no organized check-in process on a state level, harvest data is hard to obtain from an area-wide standpoint. Consequently, in order to build a possible trend for the annual harvest, our only choice is to collect data from game processors.
CONCLUSION
We have concluded from our research, that more bucks are killed during the breeding season (rut) than any other time of the year as shown by the two years of harvest records collected. To recap, the rut is the time of the season when the deer are breeding.
Granted, one of the flaws in this study is that we cannot account for the number of hunters afield. Therefore, we must assume that the hunter population afield stays relatively constant throughout the season; and that hunter intent for which sex to harvest stays the same – more work will have to be done in this area. However, we do know that traditionally, most hunters go afield during opening weekend; and the number tends to diminish as the season progresses. Without hard numbers; however, we cannot accurately make that claim.
With all of that said, we can say that, for two years in a row, we did prove our hypothesis by showing that more bucks are killed during the rut. By knowing when the rut is and exploiting its potential for hunters, both landowners and businesses can benefit from this natural phenomenon by promoting hunter-friendly specials during that time of year in order to increase their traffic. By changing the prices of their hotel rooms, food, etc. to suit the hunters, the businesses can potentially increase their profits substantially.
Labels: Texas
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