America’s Darling – The Whitetail Deer
In 1900 there were about 500,000 whitetail deer living in the US and 76 million people. With the huge increase in human population to 322 million, you would think deer populations would have been decreased because of human encroachment.
To the contrary, today there are over 30 million whitetails. This is testament to US citizens’ conservation efforts toward this species, one that is the top This population is so high that Time magazine did a cover story about deer and other wildlife populations that are “out of control.”
There are some interesting statistics in the article like; 200 people are killed annually in car crashes involving whitetails, 79% of Americans are in favor of legal hunting, and over $24 billion is spent annually by hunters who hunt this species.
We as hunters know first hand how high deer populations are today, and we know that this resource that we have done so well to grow, has passed the breaking point and carrying capacity in many areas. The Time article gave an example of a suburb of the Bronx that has a deer population of 70-200 deer per 2 square miles. The healthy carrying capacity for this area is 5-15 animals. This is not an isolated case, and new and more liberal seasons are popping up all over the country, many in suburban and even urban areas.
As hunters, we need to help with population control on our favorite game animal. We all want to take a big trophy buck every year, but we also need to make an effort to take a doe or two, or many more every year in most areas to help manage. Many states now have a “hunters for the hungry” type program where you can donate deer free or at a very minimal charge that goes to the less fortunate or to stock food banks and soup kitchens.
I have also found that many folks that do not hunt are happy to receive deer meat if they don’t have to butcher it, etc. I have a few friends that have me and my sons harvest a doe for them every year, and we drop it off at the processor. My friends are happy to stop by, pick up the packaged meat, and pay the processor. It works great as we are able to help manage our deer herd, and a number of people get the benefit of healthy, lean, natural, protein.
Winchester has done its part by taking the initiative to develop an ammunition line especially for the whitetail deer hunter, and one that makes things much easier for us.
Deer Season XP is a new line of ammo that has offerings in the eight most popular whitetail calibers ranging from .243 to .300, and was made specifically to drop deer in their tracks.
Deer season XP has an oversized polymer tip that flattens the front section of the bullet on impact and has huge energy transfer in the first 5-6 inches of penetration. What does this really mean? It means that Deer Season XP hits like a sledgehammer and dumps most deer in their tracks, even the largest bodied bucks.
If you plan to shoot multiple deer each season like I do, you will also appreciate this premium deer ammunition at a very inexpensive price. Winchester has given us a great tool, so get yourself some Deer Season XP, hit the field, and do your part to help manage our incredible whitetail herd!
