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The Tale of a QDM Club by Dave Edwards
Own Your Own by Virgil Peritts
What Is TSI? by Matt Ross, QDMA
Native vs. Non-Native by Gabriel Karns, M. Colter Chitwood, Chris Moorman, and Dr. Chris DePerno
Oaks For Bucks by Chris Moorman
Go For Broke by Tony Hansen, Realtree Whitetail Team
Deer Season: A Time For Kids by Stephanie Mallory
The Need For Minerals by Brian Murphy, QDMA
Perlitz Ranch Hosts Youth Camp by Kelly Haydel
Timing the Rut With Fawns by Gabriel Karns, M. Colter Chitwood
How to add cover for deer by Realtree Whitetail Team
What percentage of a buck's antler development potential comes from the doe's genes? by Realtree Whitetail Team
Where were the bucks? by Team Realtree
Growths on Deer? by Team Realtree
How Many Teats? by Team Realtree
Special thanks to:
Quality Deer
Management Association
Whitetail Insider
Video Games: Not Like The Real Deal
As hunters and outdoor enthusiasts, we are all familiar with magazines and the Internet promoting large-antlered white-tailed deer bucks and trophy hunting. Whether or not you agree with this practice, it is hard to ignore the abundance of big buck propaganda. Recently, I was confronted with a form of entertainment that violated the principles of deer management. While out to dinner with my 9-year-old son Christopher, we encountered a video game advertising trophy animal hunting. Christopher asked to play and I agreed.
Four quarters later it was apparent the object of the game was to shoot the trophy animals to win. However, if he shot females or small-antlered animals, he lost. As Christopher blasted away at the screen with reckless abandon, I cringed because I knew the premise of the game was completely contradictory to deer management and ethical hunting. First, penalties were administered and the game ultimately ended when females were shot. Second, the game was designed so shots were taken without aiming--the faster the better. Shots were taken at running animals and at bad angles with no regard for aiming at the vital organs.
Deer management is based on harvesting females. As wildlife professionals, we are constantly explaining to hunters and the general public the importance of harvesting female deer. Throughout the country, state agencies are trying to find unique ways to encourage hunters to harvest females. Agencies are offering more antlerless deer tags than ever before and antlerless seasons are being extended. We hesitate to speak for all wildlife biologists, but some video games (along with television programs and magazines) often contradict the basic message from wildlife biologists about shooting females for proper deer management. It is worth noting that not all video games are inherently bad. However, many games continue to focus on and feed the trophy hunting mentality while ignoring the female segment of the population.
Nevertheless, my son enjoyed the unbridled and relentless shooting experience. However, I am not sure he enjoyed the next hour or so as I explained why the game was wrong and inaccurate in so many ways. If you choose to play these types of games we hope you understand they could send the wrong message and create roadblocks to properly educating hunters and non-hunters about science-based deer management. It is important that we get children involved in hunting, and video games may be a way to expose them to the activity, but games should not replace the act of physically taking a child outdoors to experience hunting in the environment. Nothing beats taking a kid into the woods and teaching him/her about proper management and ethical hunting.
About the authors: Christopher S. DePerno, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor and Wildlife Extension Specialist, Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences Program, Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources at North Carolina State University; M. Colter Chitwood is an M. S. candidate, Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences Program, Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources, North Carolina State University; Brandon L. Sherrill, M. S. candidate, Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences Program, Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources, North Carolina State University.