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Deer Hunting History

History Of Whitetail Deer Hunting

Deer hunting history in North America dates back to when man first had and made weapons to hunt them.

Deer Hunting - A Necessity For Survival

Besides the food value whitetail deer offered early hunters many items were needed for survival. Early deer hunters used the deer hides for many necessary items. Things like moccasins, skirts, dresses, leggings, robes, mittens, headwear, blankets, pouches, storage bags, shield covers, arm guards, archery quivers, straps, harnesses, and many other essential items came from deer hunting. We also know that early deer hunters were trophy deer hunters. Paintings of Indians archery hunting show them shooting arrows at deer with antlers. These people took pride in their deer hunting. A successful hunter was looked up to by his peers; he even guided deer hunts. Early deer hunters hunting land was vast and immense. The hunting equipment and hunting gear they had back then was not anything like the archery hunting equipment we can use today. To be successful, these hunters had to plan their hunting trips carefully. They made their own hunting blinds. Some of the hunting strategies they used were methods like fire drives, running deer down on horseback, stalking, stalking while disguised as another animal, baiting, traps, snares, pitfalls, and many other hunting methods were used.

Last Few Hundred Years

Some history experts believe that the whitetail deer went through several population stages in the past 500 years due to the hunting of them.

First Deer Hunting Period

The first historical period went up to about 1800. Massive deer hunting harvest occurred primarily at the hands of Indians during their trading with European settlers. They traded deer for things like metal wares, alcohol, textiles, guns, and promises.

Second Historical Period

The second historical period was from early to mid 1800's, in which the numbers of whitetail deer rebounded somewhat. This occurred mainly because of the decreased influence that Indians had on them. Also as settlers abandoned homesteads and move west, the land they had been on reverted back to the whitetails habitat. This rebounded population of the whitetail deer led to the next historical period.

Late 1800's

During this historical period, about 1850 to 1900, we saw an exploitation of the whitetail deer by hunters who hunted for profit, much like the Buffalo hunters. They were almost hunted to extinction, primarily for the venison meat. Railroads with refrigerated cars were available to bring the venison to many markets throughout the country. Venison was considered a delicacy of sort, many families served venison at special occasions, like Christmas. Demand for deer meat, venison, grew and markets sold what they could get. As the deer populations decreased, laws were passed to help protect whitetails. These laws were not enforced very well or taken very seriously. Bounties were paid, by governments, for killing and trapping the natural predators of the whitetail deer like wolves and mountain lions. It wasn't until the federal "Lacey Act" of 1900-which prohibited interstate traffic in wild game taken in violation of state law, that there was any effective legislation passed. The "Lacey Act" was meant to help protect and restore the whitetail deer, along with other game animals and birds. Also at this historical time, deer hunting activity and pressure decreased because the whitetail deer were becoming scarce. At the turn of the century, in 1900, estimates of our nations total whitetail deer herd were about 500,000 animals (that's less than half of what Minnesota has today, in 2006). By this time very few hunters were hunting the whitetail deer.

Modern Whitetail Deer Management

The history of whitetail deer hunting has contributed to modern wildlife management. At first it was a political process of mistakes and adjustments. Today we have a more modern scientific approach to whitetail deer management. Some of today's trophy deer hunters will go down in hunting's history because of there own experimental deer management practices and successes; all within their local game management laws. Many states do offer a comprehensive game land management analysis of a persons privately owned hunting property. I had my privately owned hunting land done in 2006. It is very informative and educational. It cost very little, in fact usually nothing. They may just ask for a volunteer donation of a few dollars that may help cover some printing costs. It is well worth the time and effort to work with local state and federal agencies that will assist in helping you with a land management plan that fits your deer hunting needs.

Articles: Please click on links for more great information.

Hunting Wildlife Management Plan,

Hunting States D.N.R.'s Information,