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PAGE 10B PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS THURSDAY. OCTOBER 28. 2021
O'NEILL OUTDOORS
By 0'KieiLL WILUXMS
Tips to see and
harvest more
whitetails
{O’Neill’s column appears
twice monthly in the
Progress, generally on the
first and third weeks of the
month.}
1. Hunt where the deer
live. Simple isn’t it? A fellow
approached me during a visit
to Bass Pro Shop and intro
duced himself and asked if he
could present a question. I’m
always flattered that a
stranger, because of the tele
vision and radio show, does
that.
I’m flattered that anyone
would think I am a good
source of reliable informa
tion. Anyway, he asked, “I’ve
been hunting this particular
track of land and I’m not see
ing any Whitetails”.
My response was, “are
you seeing any tracks, trails,
rubs, scrapes, etc”. His an
swer was no. Well, that’s
easy, Deer walk around,
leave tracks and develop
trails, and during the rutting
period, make scrapes along
the ground, and rub their
antlers on the small trees and
limbs.
If you’re not seeing those
signs, deer do not live there.
Gosh, I’m so smart. Hope he
changed his destination and
became successful else
where.
2. Give them something
to eat. Whitetails don’t do
much. They sleep, eat, and,
with the exception of the rut
ting or mating period, just
kinda hang out, does herd to
gether with the fawns and
yearlings from the previous
spawn and bucks in bachelor
groups.
It’s my feeling that the big
guys kinda hang mostly
alone and distain the younger
males.
That’s a feeling I have and
can’t prove it. So what does
this mean to you as a hunter
so you can see and harvest
more? Put in a year-round
food plot. Remember the part
about eating? That’s what
they do mostly. So, give them
a place to come to breakfast
and dinner. That’s where
you’ll be waiting. But make
the plot a year-round one, not
just before the hunting season
begins. The plot will pro
duce better if the deer have
been frequenting it all year
long. Many varieties of food
plots grow and provide nour
ishing sources of plants all
fr
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Hunt where the deer live and when they are active, says O’Neill.
year. If it’s there all year,
they’ll visit all year. There
you are.
3. Hunt during the
rut. The bucks are most vul
nerable during the rutting pe
riod. You’ll see more, kill
more and enjoy hunting
more. In most states the sea
son, the length being propor
tional to the number of
Whitetails in the state, is
scheduled during this rutting
period. If it were not, and
was scheduled before or
after, we’d never see any
bucks. They’re mostly noc
turnal except during the rut.
So, when is this rutting
period? Smart alec answer
is: Same time as last year.
The rutting period is deter
mined by the declining num
ber of hours of daylight. It’s
called Photoperiodism.
It’s always the same to the
day. There are many differ
ent sub-species of Whitetails
and, without exhaustingly ex
plaining why, as this would
require another book and I’m
getting tired already, the tim
ing of the rut is different from
other areas. Georgia is dif
ferent from Alabama. Wis
consin is different from
Kansas. Accept it. But you
can count on the fact that it’s
the same in each of those
places every year.
4. During prime time,
the rut, hunt all day. So,
you’re sitting in the blind ei
ther up high or on the ground.
You’re quiet, scent elimi
nated and it’s 10 AM. The
other hunters in your club or
on the open land think it’s
time to go to camp and talk
and eat and maybe nap. OK,
let’em go. You stick around
and let all that activity stir up
the deer and drive them to
you.
The bucks are up and alert
looking for a doe in estrus so
all the human activity, walk
ers, trucks, 4-wheelers and
such will round up the deer
and send them over to you.
5. Cover your scent and
play the wind. OK, you
were hungry for something to
eat so you stopped for break
fast and gassed up the truck
on the way to camp. You
smell like bacon and eggs
and gasoline.
After the morning hunt,
you tell everyone at camp
you didn’t see anything that
morning. Wonder why? Do
this....Wash your camo in
Cloak twice, dry it two times
also. Put it in a large plastic
bag with some green pine
needles. When you get to the
stand, if there’s room in the
stand to do so, or at least as
you leave camp, change your
clothes into the outfit in the
bag. If you have to do that at
camp instead of the blind,
after you’ve changed, stand
in the smoke at the campfire.
It’ll help also.
Finally, what about your
boots. Did you eliminate that
scent also? A few days be
fore the hunting trip, put a ta
blespoon of Borax in your
boots. It’ll eliminate your
scent. Even with all this, if
the wind is at your back,
change stands. The Whitetail
deer’s ability to scent foreign
smells is 10,000 times better
than yours. You have to have
the wind in your face.
6. Hunt high in the
morning and low in the af
ternoon. You say there is no
Georgia Wildlife Viewing Grants
By Georgia Dept, of Natu
ral Resources
Georgia is offering a help
ing hand to projects that help
people experience the ani
mals, plants and natural habi
tats emphasized in Georgia’s
State Wildlife Action Plan.
The opportunity comes by
way of the state Department
of Natural Resources’
Wildlife Viewing Grants Pro
gram. The agency is now ac
cepting proposals for 2022.
New this year, applicants will
file online at georgiaw-
ildli fe. com/Wildli fe Vi e wing-
Grants. The deadline to apply
is Jan. 7, 2022.
The grants are capped at
$3,000 per project and sup
ported through the Nongame
Wildlife Conservation Fund,
which is managed by DNR’s
Wildlife Conservation Sec
tion.
Wildlife Conservation
Section Chief Dr. Jon Am
brose said the goal is to pro
vide viewing opportunities
that raise awareness of native
animals not fished for or
hunted, rare native plants and
natural habitats - particularly
those considered conserva
tion priorities in the Wildlife
Action Plan. This compre
hensive strategy (georgiaw-
ildlife.com/WildlifeActionPl
an) is focused on conserving
Georgia wildlife and their
habitats before these plants,
animals and places become
rarer and costly to conserve
or restore.
“Offering opportunities
for people to get outdoors
and see and better appreciate
wildlife in need of conserva
tion is not only important for
these species, it’s vital for
Georgians,” Ambrose said.
“Research shows that conser
vation of natural environ
ments is a significant factor
in maintaining human health
and quality of life. And even
more so during these chal
lenging times.”
The six projects approved
last year varied from building
viewing platforms along na
ture trails at historic Prater’s
Mill in Whitfield County to
helping the Abraham Bald
win Agricultural College
Foundation replace and up
grade a boardwalk in the
Tifton school’s nature study
area, which is open to the
public.
Although the grants are
small, the interest they tap is
big. About 2.4 million people
took part in wildlife-viewing
activities in Georgia in 2011,
spending related spending es
timated at $1.8 billion, ac
cording to a U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service survey. Na
tionwide, the number of peo
ple involved in wildlife
viewing surged from about
72 million in 2011 to 86 mil
lion in 2016, the Fish and
Wildlife Service reports.
Grant proposals can in
clude facilities, improve
ments and other initiatives
that provide opportunities for
the public to observe
wind on a given day. There
are air currents that you can
not tndy witness. As the air
warms as the sun rises, it’ll
carry the gently air currents
up to you in your stand high
on the hill. In the afternoon,
take a stand low down along
a creek bottom or some such.
As the evening progresses
and the sun drops toward the
horizon, the air temperature
will drop and the current will
descend to you. It’s one
more way to play the wind
and protect being scented by
the Whitetail.
See more about whitetail
tips as the season continues.
O'Neill Williams, born in At
lanta, is host of O'Neill Outside,
which reaches 277,000,000 sub
scriber households weekly on
FOX Sports Southeast and oth
ers. His "O'Neill Outside" radio
broadcasts are heard via WSB
Radio. "O'Neill Outside" radio
is the #1 outdoor based live
radio talk show in the country.
Find out more or contact him at
O 'NeillOutside. com.
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WELCOME
TRIN
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HOMES BUILT ON YOUR LAND!
nongame animals, plants and
natural habitats. Notification
of awards will be made by
Feb. 23, 2022. Visit geor-
giawildlife.com/Wildlife-
ViewingGrants to leam more
and submit proposals.
DNR’s Wildlife Conser
vation Section is charged
with restoring and conserv
ing rare and other native
species not hunted, fished for
or collected and natural habi
tats through research, man
agement and public
education. The section relies
largely on fundraisers, grants
and contributions. Sales and
renewals of DNR’s eagle,
hummingbird and
monarch/pollinator license
plates are the top fundraiser
annually.
Grants at a Glance
Project proposals should
provide public opportunities
to observe native wildlife
and natural habitats, with an
emphasis on species consid
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in Georgia’s State Wildlife
Action Plan (georgiaw-
ildlife.com/WildlifeAction-
Plan).
File proposals and details
can be found at georgiaw-
ildlife.com/WildlifeView-
ingGrants. Deadline to
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$3,000 each. Funding is pro
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