DEER HERE IN BIG NUMBERS; HUNTERS WATCH FOR `GOOD' SIGNS

The deer are here - in big numbers.

The whitetail, often described as the most popular "big-game" animal in the U.S., is easy to find these days.

Fall and winter are great times for observation. When the leaves drop the deer move into fields to feed. They often can be seen from roadsides where crop fields join tree lines. They also can been seen in parts of Cape Girardeau and other communities.

Whitetail deer are thriving.

The deer population has hit 20 million in United States and Canada, say conservation officials. It hasn't always been that way.

The history of the enormous deer population is a remarkable paradox, running the gamut from times of plenty to scarcity, and back again to a population greater than was known when settlers first set foot on the North American continent.

No one really knows how many whitetail deer were around before the plow and the musket, but some conservationists figure they were distributed from coast-to-coast and from Canada into Mexico.

What is known is that in the early part of this century the whitetail population had been decimated to about a half-million deer.

During the early 1900s the word was out: "No deer in Illinois ... Low deer count in Missouri."

The final line of those reports: "We may never see deer plentiful again."

But more than 100,000 deer have been harvested during each of the past six seasons in Missouri, including the record high of almost 174,000 during the 1988 season.

Conservation officials are expecting to see the first 100,000-harvest in Illinois this year, topping the 1991 record harvest of 82,130 animals.

Deer hunters are growing in numbers in Missouri and Illinois. All this is a lasting credit to modern conservation practices.

1944 is a historic one for Missouri outdoorsmen; it was then that the deer season returned to the Show-Me State after modern wildlife management started to heal the awful wounds caused by a century of outdoor pillage.

The new beginning was moderate. Only 7,557 deer hunting permits were issued in 1944 and hunters bagged 583 deer in 20 counties during a two-day season. Thirty years later more than 200,000 deer hunters came away with more than 33,000 deer.

Deer hunting has continued to improve.

Stephen Wilson of the Missouri Department of Conservation and an avid hunter, said hunters can never really learn enough about whitetail deer.

"They're puzzling and mysterious animals," said Wilson. "But they do have a vulnerability in the signs they leave behind, thus making deer scouting a very important factor in any hunters's success rate."

Most average deer hunters spend a lot of time in the field, said Wilson.

"Deer season is not just a nine-day, Nov. 14-to-22 season," said Wilson. "Deer hunters usually get serious about pre-season scouting during the Labor Day weekend. They start watching for tracks, scrapes, rubs and droppings. That's where the vulnerability of deer starts. Hunters can tell a lot by these signs."

One of the most evident forms of deer signs is the buck rub, according to Wilson. Bucks rub their antlers from late August until they shed them, often as late as March. Rubs found from October to December indicate where the buck is traveling to seek out does.

"These rubs will also show a hunter a predictable pattern in the buck's travels," said Wilson. "It can reveal what food sources he's heading toward most frequently, and most important, rubs can betray a buck's bedding area."

For instance: If a hunter finds a spot where a buck has rubbed as many as 15 to 20 trees within 50 yards, he has discovered the buck's core area, where the buck spends most of his time.

Tracks can provide evidence that deer are living and traveling in specific areas, and, in some cases, whether the deer is a buck or doe. Tracks that show spreading of the toes on a hoof and do not appear to be pigeon-toed generally belong to a buck. Tracks that meander throughout the woods are probably those of a doe.

Deer experts say deer signs allow hunters to eliminate a majority of the guesswork and to place themselves at the right place at the right time.

"Luck in deer hunting now takes a back seat to knowledge and skill," said Wilson. "If hunters can `read the sign' they can become better deer hunters."

Wilson, who has been hunting deer for more than 20 years, now looks for the big ones.

"I look for trophy deer," he said. "And I almost exclusively use black powder weapons now. Over the years I have hunted successfully with every legal weapon except a crossbow.

"I've been fortunate in hunting," he said. "I've taken deer with rifle, handgun, pistol, shotgun and bow-and-arrow. I killed my first deer with a muzzleloader in 1980, and really enjoy hunting with that type of weapon."

"We're looking at another big season," said Wilson. "The success rate, of course, will depend on the weather. Last year we had a rainy opening day, but wound up with a successful harvest. We certainly don't have any shortage of hunters or deer."

Deer hunters are reminded to wear the required blaze-orange color during the firearms season.

"Hunters must wear a blaze-orange shirt, vest or jacket and a hat or cap," said Wilson.

Bowhunters are not required to wear the blaze orange unless they are hunting during the firearms season, said Wilson. Archers who do hunt during the firearms season must observe all firearms rules, including purchasing a firearms permit and wearing the blaze orange.

The Missouri Conservation Commission established the 1992 firearms season to run from Nov. 14 through Nov. 22. A special season includes a split muzzle-loading firearms deer season that will run from Nov. 14 through Nov. 22 and from Dec. 5 through Dec. 13. The archery deer season started in October and runs through Nov. 13, and from Nov. 23 through Dec. 31.

"We also have a very healthy deer herd this year," said John Kube, deer biologist for the Illinois Department of Conservation. "We're offering 30 percent more firearms permits this year, which could put the permit total at more than 275,000.

The Illinois firearms season is a split season consisting of a total of seven days Nov. 20-22 and Dec. 3-6. Bowhunting started in October and will end Jan. 14. (Bowhunting will be closed in counties that have firearms hunting during the seasons).

Other Illinois deer seasons include the muzzleloader seasons Dec. 2-6 and Dec. 11-13, and the handgun season Jan. 15-17.