The Effects Of Wildfires On Big Game

The long-term benefits outweigh the short-term harm.

I grew up in southern California watching my father, who retired as Deputy Chief of the Ventura County Fire Department, and his teams battle those huge brush fires fueled by racing Santa Ana winds. I also spent time working those fire lines and can tell you firsthand how dangerous out-of-control wildfires can be, and how they affect everything they touch—including big game.

An animal population’s immediate responses are influenced by many factors, including fire intensity, severity, rate of spread, uniformity and size of the fire. Animals with limited mobility, such as the very young and the very old, are more vulnerable to injury and mortality than mature, healthy animals.

But wildfires also benefit wildlife by releasing minerals into the soil that stimulate plant growth. Fire creates and improves habitat for a wide variety of animals by creating a burn pattern that provides vegetative diversity. Surviving elk, deer and other animals will find new pathways for moving to and from water, and improved calving areas and summer/winter ranges.

The habitat changes caused by fire influence wildlife much more profoundly than fire itself. Fires often cause a short-term increase in productivity, availability and nutrient content of forage and browse. These changes can contribute to substantial increases in herbivore populations, but such potential increases are moderated by the animals’ ability to thrive in the altered structure of the post-fire environment.

For example, fires generally favor raptors by reducing hiding cover and exposing prey. Also, understory fires in forests and woodlands generally alter habitat structure less than mixed-severity and stand-replacement fires, and their effects on animal populations are correspondingly less dramatic. Stand-replacing fires in grasslands, shrub lands or forests reduce habitat quality for species that require dense cover and improve it for species that prefer open sites.

Burns, Bucks and Bulls
Un­gulate species often benefit from increased food and nutrition on recent burns. Because ungulates are sensitive to alterations in vegetation structure, however, their net response to fire depends on its severity and uniformity. In one study conducted in northern California’s Lava Beds National Monument during the early 1980s, mule deer populations were little affected by fire; home ranges were neither abandoned nor extended as a result of burning. Mule deer populations in chaparral burned by stand-replacing fire often increase, benefiting from increased availability of browse. Mule deer density in climax chaparral was estimated at 25 per square mile, while density in a severely burned area was 56 per square mile. Fawn production the second spring after burning was 1.15 fawns per doe compared to 0.7 fawns per doe in climax chaparral. Another study reported an even more dramatic increase—deer density in chemise chaparral rose from 30 deer per square mile in unburned brush to 120 deer per square mile the first year after stand-replacing fire. Density decreased each year after that until it reached preburn levels in 5-12 years.

Most other large ungulates either respond neutrally or positively to post-fire changes in habitat. For example, elk rely on browse in seral shrub fields during winter and use dense, pole-sized forest heavily during fall. In two areas converted from sagebrush dominance to grassland with shrub patches by fire, pronghorns were present after fire but not before; they had been absent from one site for 60 years prior to the burn.

You can find numerous other studies on the effects of fire on wildlife and wildlife habitat. But what does it all mean to the modern big game hunter?

First, some perspective. During the past 10,000 years, fire in North American ecosystems has not operated in isolation from other disturbances, and it has certainly not occurred independent of human influence. In many areas, fire has been prevented or excluded for nearly 100 years, but this is unlikely to continue. Government officials and scientists have begun discussing tradeoffs in fire management, and how to better integrate fire management with overall land management objectives to address the potential interactions of fire with other disturbances, such as livestock grazing, floods and insect and fungus infestations.

Because of recent laws prohibiting the harvest of diseased and beetle-killed timber in many Western areas, you can bet the farm that with all this fuel lying around, large backcountry wildfires will occur in the not-too-distant future. When that happens, these areas are often closed to human use for periods of time, including hunting.

When they reopen, however, serious big game hunters should take advantage of these opportunities whenever possible. As the research demonstrates, big game populations often increase right after a big fire. It might take a year or two or three, but once new growth begins to sprout and enough sanctuary cover becomes available, you can often find outstanding deer and elk hunting.

One other advantage my friends and I have discovered is when ultra-heavy cover is burned over but deer and elk numbers return, it’s much easier to glass them up since they have fewer impenetrable thickets in which to hide. How long this lasts depends on how fast the brushy cover grows back.

For many years, fires have been a big influence on how I apply for choice deer and elk tags. For example, Arizona’s Kaibab Plateau region is justifiably known as a super spot for big mule deer bucks. It’s a very difficult area to efficiently hunt, however, because much of the region is flat and covered in thick brush, junipers and pine cover. Many years ago, a large portion of the area burned, and that’s when my friends and I began hunting it in earnest. It was so good that even if we didn’t draw a tag we went along with a buddy who did just so we could help him glass and share in the excitement. We spotted many incredible bucks, and killed some of them. Since then the area has grown back up, and while the deer are still there, it’s much more difficult to hunt them.

Wildfires are an important part of the world of Mother Nature, and while they can cause us some short-term grief, during the long term they generally do much more good than harm. If you play it right, they can also open the door to some of the best hunting you’ve ever experienced.

GREENHORN HUNTS WHITETAILS

Q: I'm a greenhorn to the bowhunting scene, and I have a few questions. My bow is currently set with a 70-pound draw, and I can draw it easily. Should I start at a lower draw weight because I've never hunted with a bow? Will it affect my shooting by beginning at a high draw weight? Also, what's the correct arrow and broadhead combination for hunting whitetails? I'm planning to shoot Easton XX78 arrows tipped with G5 Montec broadheads.–Chris Glennon/Crestline, OH

A: With archery technology changing every year, we're all greenhorns. First, don't worry about how many pounds you can draw: Instead, consider what draw weight you can comfortably draw and hold. You might need to hold that draw on a nervous whitetail for 30 seconds or more. That said, if you can comfortably hold the 70 pounds your bow is set for, you're ready to tackle most big game found in North America. If not, drop the weight down to a range you can easily hold and still produce accurate hits. Most modern compound bows produce ample kinetic energy for killing shots on most big game animals with bows set as low as 50 pounds when matched with the proper arrow.

Your choices in broadheads and arrows are also good. Just make sure you choose an arrow with the proper spine to match your draw weight and draw length. Failing to do so will result in erratic accuracy. My good friend Al Kraus at Black Hills Archery has shot numerous animals with G5 Montec broadheads and swears by them. As for Easton XX78 arrows, I have just one name for you: Chuck Adams. If you're hoping to pick up some speed and possibly more kinetic energy from your setup, try a carbon arrow. Any knowledgeable archery technician can help you with arrow selection and bow tuning.  –Mark Kayser


BROADHEAD-BLADE DEBATE

Q: In what situation would a four-blade broadhead be better than a three-blade or two-blade model? I'm assuming that hemorrhaging would be more profound with more blades, but how would those extra blades impact arrow flight from high-speed bows? If I shoot carbon arrows, what would be a good arrow and broadhead combination, including grain and weight, for use on Midwest whitetails? What's a good starting point?  –Jarred Maynard/Via E-mail

A: The one and only purpose of a broadhead is to cut a hole through hair, hide, muscle and internal organs, inflicting as much organ/tissue damage and creating as much bleeding as possible. Therefore, the largest hole you can cut into an animal is the most desirable. The qualifier, of course, is that to first create this damage the broadhead and shaft combination must be accurate enough to hit the animal in the intended spot.

Because a broadhead's blades can catch air, they can also steer the shaft off-course unless adequate fletching is used. Today, few compound shooters use a fixed two-blade head. The most popular weight of broadhead sold is 100 grains, followed by 125 grains, with three-blade models far and away the most popular, and four-blade models second. The most popular cutting diameter sold is 11/8 inches.

Three-blade heads offer a great combination of aerodynamic stability and cutting surface area for all North American big game animals. As far as your own hunting arrow's total weight, assuming you're shooting a compound bow with a draw weight of 60-70 pounds, a total arrow/broadhead weight of 350-410 grains will give you plenty of kinetic energy to pass through even the largest white-tailed buck.  –Bob Robb

RELEARNING THE RECURVE

Q: I haven't shot a bow in many years, and arch­ery has changed dramatically since that time. I plan to restring and use my old recurve bow, but I need to get different arrows. Is it safe to shoot anything but wooden arrows from a wooden recurve bow?–Derrick Moore/Via E-mail

A: I have a number of recurve bows that I still shoot regularly, and I've shot aluminum, fiberglass and carbon arrows from them with no problem. However, you must shoot feather-fletched arrows off an arrow shelf rather than plastic vanes—vanes simply cause too much deflection.

Trust me: I've tried many different options, and feathers are the only fletch I'll shoot from my recurve setup. Most archers now shoot carbon or aluminum arrows through their recurve bows. –Judd Cooney

Turkey Hunting Tip: Walking And Calling To Beat Birds

My first turkey hunt of the season is in the books, but no breasts are in the freezer. Let's just say the birds flipped me the bird in South Carolina.

It was my first time chasing Southern swamp gobblers. I joined several other NAHC Life Members with the rock-solid guides at Bang's Paradise Valley Hunting Club, situated near the small town of Ehrhardt. It's a place where there are undoubtedly more turkeys per square mile than humans, and if anyone knows how to collect beards from these birds, it's the guys at Bang's.

Owner Tom Collins (pictured above) and his crew of dedicated guides live for longbeards during the spring, while supplementing their hunting addicition—and booming business—with wild hogs and whitetails the rest of the year. They'll smoke an occasional snake if it gets in their way, too. Thankfully for my snake-hating self, the slithering suckers were kept at bay because of poor weather. On that same note, the gobblers were hunkered down for the most part, too.

I didn't hear a single gobble in 4 days. But it wasn't because we were too busy sipping moonshine.

Tom sent me to time-tested hotspots, including one of his "personal honey-holes." (Had I not been able to spend time in camp with Tom to realize he's a salt-of-the-earth guy, I might have thought he was blowing smoke up my backside.) Some of the other hunters in camp had decent action, but it seemed that no matter where I went, the birds were on lockdown. It was probably a combination of the cold temps, wind and rain. And the gobblers that were seeking love likely had plenty of hot hens to keep them busy.

So, what's a turkey hunter to do when strutters aren't strutting or rattling ribs with gobbles? I want you to comment with your advice below, but I'll tell you what we tried.

I hunted with two different guides—both avid turkey hunters, one more than the other. Our strategy was to stalk as much ground as possible to try and put a bead on birds before they could spot us. Up until the final day, we walked and called lightly. Then, when it came down to the wire during the final morning of my hunt, one of the more experienced guides and I tag-teamed a ridgeline above a swamp and wailed into the woods with every call we had. Part of this tactic involved spreading out and calling back and forth to one another to make the gobblers think the woods were infiltrated with sassy hens. This is a technique that has worked for both of us in the past, but on this particular day, the tight-lipped toms didn't want to talk.

In the final minutes of our hunt, we bumped a tom. He disappeared behind a bush in an instant. I leaned up against a tree, readied my Remington and prepared to put the red dot of my EOTech XPS2 on his brain when he stepped out. Unexpectedly, three hens appeared. He'll be right behind them, I thought. But, like wise gobblers do, he vanished without a trace.

Because we were walking and talking like turkeys, we were able to get within range of the birds. Had we been stomping around like hasty humans, they would've buggered out long before we could've crept into their comfort zone. That henned-up gobbler saw his life flash before his eyes ... but he's still out there strutting his stuff.

Next, I'm off to Winnebago Indian Reservation in northeastern Nebraska where Lowcountry longbeards will continue to haunt my memories.

You can read the full story from my South Carolina turkey hunt in a future issue of North American Hunter. In the meantime, keep following my blog as spring turkey season unfolds.