Deer Hunter's Almanac
By Tom Fegely
1) Number of Bow Hunters in North America in 1997: 3.2 million
2) Number of Bow Hunters in Canada in 1997: 112,806
3) Average bowhunter success rate for taking deer in states with high deer populations: 15%
4) General recommendation among northeast U.S. biologists of ideal "balanced" deer population levels (per square mile): 20
5) Deer per square mile in Fairmont Park, within Philadelphia city limits: 50
6) Year in which Michigan gun hunters were first allowed to use tree stands: 1998
7) Toll free number for free Quebec hunting and fishing packages booklet, featuring whitetail hunts on the famed Anticost Island in the Gulf of St. Lawrence: 1-800-363-7777
8) Age after which oak trees produce their top mast crops: 40
9) Heaviest verified weight of a "modern day" buck shot near Blencoe, Iowa in 1962: 440 lbs
10) Money spent by New York hunters in 1996 for trips and equipment: $806 million
11) Number of hours in which a doe in heat is fertile: 24
12) Phone number of the NRA's Women Hunters Network for females who want to meet other women to share hunts: (703) 267-1372
13) Age of the late Fred Bear when he arrowed his first whitetail: 33
14) Amount of money requested from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service by the anit-hunting fund for animals for the purpose of "educating" public school students to their agenda: $142,000
15) Amount deer hunting alone generated in spending across the U.S. in 1996: $10.3 billion
16) Amount of money America's deer hunters spent on food during hunting trips in 1996: $1,026,778,640
17) Amount of money America's deer hunters spent on taxidermy in 1996: $224,975,018
18) Percentage of diet alewives represent in deer living in North Manitou Island in Lake Michigan during the peak spring - summer die off of the small fish: 1/3 to 1/2
19) Approximate daily growth of antlers on a whitetailed buck when in velvet: 1/2 inch
20) Amount of browse made available in clearcutting an acre of mature white cedar swamp: 5000 pounds
21) Weight of the winter hair on an average size (140 lb) adult buck: 2.8 lbs
22) Year in which the Lacey Act - still in effect today - which "prohibits interstate traffic in wild game taken in violation of state law" was passed: 1900
23) Cost of an "all-game" resident hunting license in Alabama for sportsmen and women ages 65 and older: 0 (Free)
24) Number of 511 national wildlife refuges permitting hunting: 287
This page was excerpted from Tom Fegely's article "Deer Hunter's Almanac" in the Spring, 1999 issue of Buckmaster's Whitetail Magazine.
Tom Fegely list's his sources for this information as follows: (1-2) Pennsylvania Game News; (3) Whitetail Business/American Archery council; (4) American Forests; (5) Biologist Bryon Shissler (6) Michigan Dept. of Natural Resources; (7) Quebec Tourism; (8-9) The Deer of N.A.; (10) International Assn. of Fish & Wildlife Agencies; (11) Whitetail Deer Hunting/NRA; (12) NRA; (13) Outdoor Life; (14) NRA; (15-17) Southwick Associates; (18-19) Whitetail Spring/Willow Creek Press; (20) Whitetail Winter/Willow Creek Press; (21,22) White-tailed deer: Ecology & Management; (23) Alabama Hunting & Fishing Digest; (24) U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service