Soil & Antlers

blacktail slayer · 01-27-2009, 09:15 PM

Thought I would post a great website for those that are interested in seeing the types of soils they hunt on or would like to hunt in the future. This may be new for blacktail and mule deer hunters, but the whitetail hunters have made up maps correlating soil types and antlers grow/size. I'm not sure what would be the best types of soil for antler growth/size here in Oregon. I would like to do some research on that. Maybe someone on here might know.
1. Click on website. 2. Zoom in close to area you wish to know soil type. 3. Click on box that has a red square and will say "AOI". 4. Drag square to cover area you wish to know soil type. That is it. Good luck and have fun. They constantly do updates on the website; so you may not be able to get on all the time.
http://websoilsurvey.nrcs.usda.gov/app/WebSoilSurvey.aspx

blacktail slayer · 01-28-2009, 01:46 PM

http://www.state.tn.us/twra/pdfs/deerantlers.pdf

Here is a link that talks about how soils are just as important as age and genetics for antler size. I will try and do more research to find the best quality soils; other than the couple that they listed in the article.

blacktail slayer · 01-29-2009, 03:56 PM

While doing steps 1-4 you are on the tab that says "Area of Interest AOI" up above. Step 5: Click on the tab "Soil Map" and then the soil types should pop up. I am currently trying to talk with some soil scientist that deal with forests, vegetation, and such. I will let everyone know what information I find later on. This all may lead to easy scouting from home. If a person is interested in finding a new area to hunt or would like to know where the best piece of private property to hunt or lease; this may be the way to go. High nutrient rich food for deer should allow them to reach their genetic potential, while area of poor soil, nutrients, vegetation quality will have deer that don't reach their genetic potential.

blacktail slayer · 01-29-2009, 05:41 PM

I thought it might just help in determining potential spots. This in no way would be a 100% guarantee big buck hunting area method. Hard on the ground scouting and time will tell a person that. I would like to see what peoples ratings are with cation, organic matter, and such ratings in their big buck areas and small buck areas. No one would have to give locations, but just soil data and if big body/antler bucks are found or small body/antler bucks. It would be pretty interesting to see what everyone gets.