BANKS BLOG

Though the temperatures aren’t even close to spring-like yet in Minnesota thanks to a March blizzard, we have to look ahead to sunnier times and know that they’re waiting for us just beyond the horizon once the snow eventually melts. As you dream about those sunnier times, start planning how you’ll set up your water systems to draw in the big game for the fall deer season. Check out the benefits of our Wild Water Systems, below.

Spring cleaning can apply to more than just your home. You can also take this time to clean out your Stump blinds. Spring into the next season by double-checking your Banks Outdoors products to clear them from deer hunting, transition to turkey hunting, and prep them for the next deer season. Check out our tips, below, for a spring maintenance checklist.

As the temperature begins to rise and the snow starts to melt, many deer herds will take advantage of the spring thaw and start to search for new food sources under the newly melted snow. Below are some tips on early spring deer patterns and how you can track their movements as the snow melts and a new phase emerges.

Starting now and continuing through April, deer will be shedding their antlers as they discard the current year’s set to regrow a new pair throughout the spring and summer. Head out and collect these antler sheds this spring and discover clues about the herd’s health.

In February, the temperatures are still cold and there is still snow on the ground, so the deer will conserve their energy during this last winter push and hold onto their vital fat stores until it’s over. They’re starting to drop their antlers, so as you continue to offer them bedding and food sources, start looking for antlers on the ground around your property.

As we begin to close out the winter months and look toward spring, now is a good time to start thinking about the deer herd’s health. Spring is the season for fawn births and antler growth. Late winter into spring is when deer shed their antlers and begin to grow new ones. So, by keeping your herd healthy now, you’ll set them up with a solid nutritional base as they go into this formative season.

Most hunters know that an overhunted area is an underpopulated one. Spending too much time in one spot or having too many hunters in an area too often will lead to hunting pressure. Deer can sense this pressure and will learn not to return to it during hunting season. That said, once that pressure cools down, the deer will start migrating to those areas again and the pattern can start over. Learn more, below, about how a deer’s behavior changes post-season when the hunting pressure drops.

Like many animals, and certainly many humans, deer hunker down and stay in one place to stay warm during cold temperatures. Winter can be a great time to observe the deer herd’s path because you can scout them and follow them without worrying about interfering with hunting pressure. Check out our tips, below, on how to scout bedding areas when everything is frozen.

Keeping your feeders stocked during the winter months can help provide the deer herd with nutrition when their natural food sources are unobtainable. If you continue to feed your deer herd even during the off season, you’ll keep the deer on your property and create a dependency that will last well into next season. Check out our tips, below, for how our Feedbank Gravity Deer Feeders can help keep deer close this winter.

Deer have adapted their lifestyles to accommodate the harsh winter months. Their normal food sources might be completely buried in snow, so they’ve not only adapted to eat branches and other shrubs, their bodies have become conditioned to conserve energy and not expend unnecessary calories. Below, we’ve got some ways that deer survive Midwest winters and how Banks Outdoors products can fit into that lifestyle.