**1. Deer Species and Hunting Locations:**
– New Zealand introduced 10 deer species since the 1850s, including red deer, fallow deer, sambar deer, wapiti, sika deer, rusa deer, and whitetail deer.
– Professional hunters were employed in New Zealand from the 1950s to cull deer populations.
– Deer hunting in New Zealand is now a recreational activity organized by the New Zealand Deerstalkers Association.
– In the United States, mule deer and white-tailed deer are the main species, with mule deer found mostly west of the Rockies and white-tailed deer east of the Rockies.
– Mule deer are found in the western U.S. foothills.
**2. Deer Hunting Regulations:**
– State agencies like DFW or DNR oversee deer hunting regulations in the U.S.
– Deer hunting seasons vary across the U.S., with differences in start dates and lengths.
– Seasons can vary by county within a state based on deer herd health and expected hunter participation.
– Some states have special regulations for controlled hunts, including restrictions on weapon types and specific hunting periods.
– Antlered or antlerless deer hunting restrictions exist in some states.
**3. Deer Antlers and Scoring:**
– Deer antlers are scored based on tine length, beam length, and mass, with categories for typical and nontypical antlers.
– Deductions occur when opposite tines are not the same length.
– Antlers are shed in January and regrow in summer, with velvet covering growing antlers falling off in late summer.
– Resources are available for scoring deer antlers and understanding non-typical antlers.
**4. Hunting Strategies and Techniques:**
– Successful hunting strategies include hunting over food sources like clover, alfalfa, turnips, and radishes.
– Baiting deer with corn or mineral blocks is common, and hunting rub or scrape lines is used closer to the rut.
– Stalking, sitting and waiting, and driving are common hunting methods.
– Archery season often overlaps with firearms seasons in many states, and some states have special seasons for crossbows.
**5. International Deer Hunting Practices:**
– In the UK and Republic of Ireland, deer hunting often involves scent hounds, with six deer species hunted in the UK.
– Bows are illegal for hunting wild animals in the UK, and specific hygiene certificates are required for UK deer stalkers supplying venison.
– Australia has six deer species available for hunting, with varying baiting regulations by region and species such as fallow deer, sambar, and red deer being hunted.
Deer hunting is hunting deer for meat and sport, an activity which dates back tens of thousands of years. Venison, the name for deer meat, is a nutritious and natural food source of animal protein that can be obtained through deer hunting. There are many different types of deer around the world that are hunted for their meat. For sport, often hunters try to kill deer with the largest and most antlers to score them using inches. There are two different categories of antlers. They are typical and nontypical. They measure tine length, beam length, and beam mass by each tine. They will add all these measurements up to get a score. This score is the score without deductions. Deductions occur when the opposite tine is not the same length as it is opposite. That score is the deducted score.
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Hunting deer is a regulated activity in many territories. In the United States, a state government agency such as a Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) or Department of Natural Resources (DNR) oversees the regulations. In the United Kingdom, it is illegal to use bows or rifles chambered in bores smaller than .243 caliber (6mm) for hunting.