By Brandon Wikman

The bone-chilling Canadian air has advanced across the Midwest. Daily temperatures have dive-bombed into the single digits, while the wind-chill has plummeted into the negative degree marks. Snow and sheets of ice frost the landscape as far as the eye can see. It is safe to say that we are in the heart of winter.

The remarkable ability for whitetails to cope with such harsh conditions never ceases to amaze me. The paralyzing wintry weather prods against the whitetail deer’s aptitude to survive. It is a yearly North Country battle that truly defines the old axiom, “Survival of the fittest.”

Small families of whitetail will usually cluster together in tight pockets of shelter, also known as deeryards. These dense havens of underbrush keep whitetail a few degrees warmer by blocking out the wind and winter weather elements. Doe and fawn stay together with their sisters, while many mature bucks seek refuge elsewhere.

Winter brings a new importance to food. A whitetail deer feeds every day, except during extremely nasty storms. In the case of numbing whiteout blizzards, deer will lie low and preserve their much-needed energy. Their calorie count is on a clock and forces life or death decisions. The forage of summer has all but disappeared. Tender grasses, agriculture fields and weeds have vanished. Deer turn to pine needles, evergreen trees and even tree bark.

As said, whitetail will generally not move during extremely frigid temperatures. They will sit tight and conserve as much energy as they can. They will find food, bed near it and lie low. This gives them an opportunity to survive during sub-arctic temperatures that we find common across the upper portions of the U.S. The hide that wraps their body is like a sleeping bag. Their fur is dense, which boosts their ability to stay warm. As many of us know, snow is an insulator, which keeps deer slightly warmer.

One of the most amazing points to note is that a whitetail’s blood flow varies according to different situations and circumstances. In freezing climates, such as Minnesota and upper Michigan, a whitetail’s blood flows to the brain and critical organs, such as the heart. The blood flow avoids the animals’ extremities because those are the least important parts of the body that will help them survive.

If a deer’s blood flowed to its legs, they’d lose heat and much colder blood would flow back into the deer’s body. This would make the animals much chillier and begin shutting down systems from hypothermia. The legs fall into a state of senseless stasis. This incredible capability of adaptation intrigues deer aficionados.

As humans drag out their winter jackets, snow-pants and gloves, deer grow their own jacket and let there body systems take control. This is just another astonishing attribute to the amazing world of whitetail deer.

By Brandon Wikman

As the ATA show comes down to a simmer, another gargantuan show begins to sizzle. Nearly halfway across the country, the world-renowned SHOT Show kicks off in Las Vegas.

The ATA show, which is held in Indianapolis, caters to  archery hunters, whereas the SHOT Show is targeted to the general hunting population. Both shows are huge and electrifying.

The SHOT Show is an annual tradeshow for the shooting and firearms industry. It is one the biggest event of this type in the world, together with IWA & Outdoor (“IWA Nuremberg”) which also takes place annually. “SHOT”, besides being a general reference to shooting, is an acronym for “Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade” (show). This trade show is open only to those in the trade and the press. It is not open to the general public.

SHOT Show attendance remained strong in 2010, rising 11,000 above 2009’s show in Orlando.You will find some of the following show statistics quite intriguing. The total attendance averages to be about 58,444 people. There are 1,633 exhibitors showcasing outdoor and hunting products. There are over 31,2800 people who attend to write orders, look at the new and exciting products, and meet fellow industry partners. Lastly, there’s 700,000 net square feet for hardcore hunters to use.

The first SHOT Show was held in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1979. The show is owned and sponsored by the National Shooting Sports Foundation. It rotates between Las Vegas, Nevada; Orlando, Florida; New Orleans, Louisiana, and several other U.S. cities, although in the last few years it has taken place mostly in Las Vegas.

A show like this lasts for several days and makes for an incredible experience. If you ever have a chance to attend such an event, please do. You will be glad you did.

By Brandon Wikman

This weekend, many disgusted Wisconsin hunters puts their rifles back in the case, safe, or closet, and are ready to either call it quits or bust out the muzzleloaders for late season prayer.

The official 9-day, 2010 Deer Gun Season ended this past weekend. The hype of tradition, heritage, and deer camps across the northern state lost another breath of air. For many hunters across Wisconsin, it will be a bleak final month of late season hunting before realizing their tags won’t be used any time soon.

The blaze orange barrage of Wisconsin’s finest deer enthusiasts hoped to witness a better firearm season than last year’s gong show. The state’s firearm season deer kill was down nearly 30 percent in 2009 as mass numbers of deer were killed thanks to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. The WDNR licensed and issued stacks of freebie doe permits. Many hunters took that opportunity to eradicate every fur-bearing critter that roamed the Dairy State. This was a shocking outcome and conclusion for many hunting families.

In some parts of Wisconsin, hunters had to shoot a doe before legally killing a buck. This was called, “Earn-a-Buck.” The entire concept of the WDNR was to exterminate mass numbers of deer that apparently suffered from the Chronic Wasting Disease scandal. At the end of the day, there was no real winner.

This year’s opening weekend firearm season kill was up a smidge at 6%. That ultimately means the average deer kill was still down around 24%. Many hunters have called it quits after seeing more wolves, coyotes, and mountain lions in their woods than whitetail deer!

As for myself, firearm season lacked just about everything… for not only me, but also my family. Opening weekend for me was spent overlooking a large field in the middle of the woods. This was a perfect hot spot for food, travel intersections, and putting my tag on a deer. I sat the spot for two long days and saw three does and one yearling buck. However, I did spot a few coyotes.

As for my family, it wasn’t good. Our farm in central Wisconsin used to be a deer mecca. Farmland mixed with woodlots made for an ideal hunting location. Although, after the last few years of the WDNR eradicating our deer herd, my family saw four does.

It seems that there are several instances of real-life problems that have hit the state of Wisconsin. Our deer herd is not what it used to be and quite frankly, I don’t know if we’ll ever have it back. The days of seeing piles of deer across the Dairy State for many farm families are now only fond memories.