I had pursued my quarry for over an hour. Belly-crawling through the tall, thick, overgrown grass to within 30 yards; she had no idea I was there. While the whitetail stayed bedded I slowly rose to one knee, lifted my weapon, emulated a doe bleat and fired a shot. The result was a beautiful picture of a month old fawn staring curiously into the lens of my Cannon Rebel XT.
As obsessed as I am with deer and deer hunting, I am equally engulfed in practices of Quality Deer Management (QDM). On our property we practice QDM to its fullest extent through healthy harvests of does, established food plots and mineral stations, created sanctuaries and eliminated the harvest of younger bucks. All of the aforementioned ingredients are vital in creating a true QDM establishment. However, understanding the habitat in which your hunting property provides, and how to improve for the benefit of your deer herd is equally important.
That “photo-op” of the young fawn would not have been possible had the field I was stalking through had not been overgrown. From the moment a whitetail is born, it instinctively knows and quickly learns thick, dense habitat provides safety from predators and shelter from extreme weather.
In regards to deer habitat, the saying “thicker is better” is often used. A big, mature buck will almost always have a thick, overgrown bedding or staging area to which he can retreat to and feel secure in. Does alike will also congregate and rear their fawns in heavy woodlots, or tall, dense grasslands.
