ehd cwd dead head deer skull

EHD Versus CWD in Deer | From Bad To Worse

Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD) and Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) are the two biggest diseases that can impact your deer herd, but more specifically, your mature bucks. 

If you have never heard of either one, let me give you a quick summary. 

Before moving on to the specifics of EHD and CWD, here is a table to explain the differences between the two:

EHDCWD
Caused by:Virus Mis-shaped prion protein
Mortality when contracted:5-50%100%
Duration of clinical illness:24 hrs to several weeks18-24 months, followed by death
Antibodies produced:YesNone yet
Long-term herd effect:Build up Immunity, herd rebounds Unknown, but might lower herd productivity if prevalence gets too high.  Mature males harder to grow. 
Geographic range:Almost entire lower 48 Parts of 24 states and 2 Canadian Provinces
Human health impact:Cannot infect people No evidence of human health impacts
EHD vs. CWD
small whitetail buck in corn

Mature bucks may be hard to come by once CWD gets a foothold in the deer herd.

EHD | The Specifics

EHD is in the same group of viruses as Bluetongue (BT) Virus and because clinical symptoms are similar between the two, they are generally clumped together and called Hemorrhagic Disease. 

EHD and Bluetongue viruses are transmitted by a biting midge, usually in late Summer or early Fall but can also occur in the Springtime. 

Clinical symptoms are highly variable. Initial symptoms include a feverish state where some animals can lose their fear of humans. 

buck dead on the ground

CWD can devastate what used to be a healthy deer herd.

There was a video of a buck that went viral because it stumbled through a burning campfire on its way to drowning itself in a river, all while people stood around wondering what the heck was going on. 

Deer with EHD may die within 1-3 days after getting bitten if they have no immunity to the strain of virus that has infected them. 

As deer attempt to relieve their fever, they often become dehydrated and will be found near water. 

Once a hard frost hits the landscape, the threat of further EHD outbreaks is complete for that growing season, but as soon as midges come back in the spring there is a chance for further outbreaks.

map of ehd distribution in us

This is a map from the Southeastern Cooperative Disease Study showing where EHD has been found across the US from 1980-2015:

CWD | The Specifics

Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), on the other hand, is caused by a protein that changes its shape to a non-functional version.  This prion protein normally resides all over the body, but is concentrated in the lymphatic system, brain and spinal tissues. 

Infected deer show no clinical symptoms for up to 18 months but are capable of spreading prions even before they show any outward sign of illness. 

In the later stages of the disease, animals lose coordination and become lame.  They also lose their appetite and fear of humans. They are typically found with dropping ears and head in a lower position. 

buck in velvet

In areas where CWD prevalence is above 50%, mature bucks stand a higher chance of contracting the disease and dying.

CWD has gotten a lot of press lately because of the concern to potentially impact humans, whereas EHD poses no direct threat to humans. 

Notice how I said ‘potentially’ impact?  That’s because there’s currently no evidence that it will impact humans, but that doesn’t mean it will always be that way. 

CWD is in a group of diseases known as Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies and in that same group of diseases is one that infects humans, called Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease (CJD). 

A variant Creutzfeldt Jakob disease (vCJD) can be acquired by eating meat from cattle infected with a similar disease called Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), also known as Mad Cow Disease. 


TROPHY ROCK Redmond All-Natural Mineral Rock/Salt Lick, Deer and Big Game Rock 10 pounds
$23.99
Buy Now
We earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
12/23/2024 02:23 am GMT

The fear is that one day humans will someday be susceptible to CWD, even though that day has yet to come. That’s because all animals carry some type of prion protein, but a major difference is that the human prion protein has slightly different amino acid structure than deer. 

There has also been recent concern that CWD can be transmitted to macaque monkeys, which are genetically much more similar to humans, but that information has yet to be published in scientific literature. 

What causes the normal prion protein to change into the mis-shaped disease state remains uncertain, although there are many theories about how this could happen. 

map of CWD distributiion in deer in the united states

Here is a map from the USGS showing the distribution of CWD across North America.



EHD Compared to CWD

The take home point is that both EHD and CWD can impact deer, but EHD is less of a long-term concern with your deer herd, because the more a deer herd is exposed, the more immunity it can build up. 

whitetail buck walking in high grass

Bucks have a greater chance of spreading CWD to the herd because the mutually groom each other while in their bachelor groups during the summer months. (photography by Jeff Coldwell)

CWD, on the other hand, progressively gets worse until mature bucks are almost impossible to grow on the landscape because they become infected and die before they can reach the older age classes. 

This phenomenon is rare because CWD prevalence is low across most of the range of white-tailed deer, but can occur in certain areas where the prevalence is above 50%. 



That means the chance of a buck having CWD would be the same as flipping a coin to heads, and if you see a buck older than 3 years old in that area, they are more and more likely to contract it and die before reaching 6 years old. 

This is because mature bucks move about the landscape more often than females, especially during the breeding season. 

Bucks also mutually groom each other in bachelor groups during the summer months, so they have more opportunity to spread the disease than female groups, which tend to keep a more consistent home range throughout their lifetime.      





How to limit EHD In Your Deer Herd

So, what should you do as a hunter to help prevent the spread of EHD on your hunting property?

  • If you have a pond edge, plant vegetation that can withstand moist soil right up the edge of the water.
  • Spread quick growing seeds like rye grain on areas of a creek bottom that have been exposed to flooding and try to reduce the amount of mud exposed.
  • Fogging for insects around ponds on a still morning may also reduce adult populations thus limiting the spread of disease. 
  • You can also keep your herd healthy by supplemental feeding and using minerals. Ani-Logics Outdoors has produced a health additive for their feed and minerals that can increase immune system function.  When the immune system is firing on all cylinders, the deer that gets bitten by an infected midge has an increased chance of survival.  Those that are in poor bodily condition when bitten by the midge have a much higher chance of dying.


 How To Limit CWD

As for CWD, the best thing you can do to prevent the spread is not to move the carcass of deer harvested in a CWD area. Also, dispose of the remains in a state approved landfill or incinerator. 

If you harvest a trophy buck in a CWD area, make sure the taxidermist you use is local, and make sure they properly dispose of the brain and spinal cord tissue without putting it back on the landscape. 

If everyone hunting deer in a CWD area removed all the CWD positive carcasses off the landscape, prevalence would remain low enough that no population level concerns would ever occur. 



There would be no way to eliminate the amount of prion proteins already deposited on the landscape, but at least we wouldn’t be adding more fuel to the CWD fire by always putting more diseased prions in the woods. 

If you hunt in an area that is not known to have CWD, you should still get your deer tested because deer have been known to make very long excursions outside of their normal range. 



Here in Minnesota, the DNR recently tracked a collared deer that made a 75-mile one-way trek.  Thankfully it was not CWD positive at the time, but if one deer did it, that means other can as well.

Best of luck in having a healthy deer herd!

*deer skull article photo used by permission from Brad Alan

bow hunting tips picture of man with bow and arrow

Draw length made easy [draw length calculator!]

Are you wondering how to determine the draw length you need for bowhunting? Check out our draw length calculator below to easily and quickly determine it!

Draw Length Calculator
Wingspan (take a measurement of your wingspan between the fingertips of your middle fingers)
move slider or enter value
inches
Draw Length:


What is draw length?

With traditional bows, you can basically pull back as far as you are able, based on the draw weight of that particular bow. The same is true for a recurve bow.

bare shaft tuning arrows through paper when arrow building

Draw length is an extremely important component to good form and repeatable shot mechanics.

However, you will typically find that draw length is discussed in regards to compound bows. This is because a compound bow has a set maximum draw length, once you hit the “back wall” of the draw cycle (the back wall is the place in the draw cycle where you can no longer pull the bow any farther.)



How to find your draw length

Time needed: 1 minute

If you don’t want to use the N1 Outdoors draw length calculator above and instead want to figure your estimated draw length with good ‘ole mathematics, the first thing you need to do is measure your armspan (or wingspan).

  1. Spread out

    First you need to determine your armspan. Simply spread out your arms (don’t over-stretch) with your palms facing forward.

  2. Measure

    Measure the distance from the tip of one middle finger to the tip of the other middle finger.man measuring armspan for bowhunting

  3. Do some old school calculating

    Take the measurement from step 2 and divide it by 2.5. This will provide you with a fairly reliable estimate of your appropriate draw length. Check with your local bow shop to help you fine tune.





Here’s what the Archery Manufacturer’s and Mechants Organization (now the Archery Trade Association) says about draw length:

“Draw length is a specified distance, or the distance at the archer’s full draw, from
the nocking point on the string to the pivot point of the bow grip (or the theoretical vertical projection of a tangency line to the pivot point parallel to the string)
plus 1 3/4”. Draw length from pivot point shall be designed at DLPP and shall be
called TRUE DRAW LENGTH.
EXAMPLE: 26 1/4” DLPP plus 1 3/4” is the equivalent of 28” draw”

AMO Standards Committee FIELD PUBLICATION FP-3, 2000

So, by this definition, if you have a “28-inch draw length”, that means that at full draw the distance from the deepest point of the grip to the nocking point of the string would be 26.25 inches.




Draw Length vs. Arrow Length

It’s important not to confuse draw length with arrow length. While they may be similar lengths, they are measured differently.

Arrow length is measured from the front end of the arrow shaft (not including the broadhead or field point) to the throat of the nock.

Your arrow length can vary depending on what you are trying to achieve regarding the FOC and spine of your arrow. (Spine is how much your arrow flexes at a set length with a set weight attached. More on arrow spine here.)

how to measure arrow length

Arrow length is the measurement from the end of the arrow shaft to the throat, or groove, of the arrow’s nock.




What is “full draw?”

When it comes to archery and bowhunting in regards to compound bows, “full draw” is when you have reached the farthest point that the bow can go in the draw cycle, reaching your anchor point.

What is an “anchor point?”

The “anchor point” is a reference point for an archer or bowhunting that they can “anchor” the bow string or the shooting hand when they are at full draw.

An anchor point helps make the archer’s shot repeatable, so that shot consistency can be achieved.


Leupold RX-2800 Rangefinder, TBR/W
$495.00
Buy Now
We earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
12/23/2024 01:33 am GMT


For example, many bowhunters will anchor the knuckle of their index finger just below their ear lobe behind the jaw.

Others may use a “kisser button,” (of all the parts on a bow, this might be the most memorable) which is usually a small disc that is installed on the bow string, above the nocking point.

man shooting compound bow at target

Many bowhunters will use an anchor point just below the ear, resting the knuckle of the index finger in the area right behind the jaw.



Conclusion

As you can see, draw length measurement is a critical part of becoming a good archer. We hope this article and our draw length calculator has been helpful to you!

palomar knot bass pic

Super Strong Fishing Knots | How to tie the palomar knot (and double palomar knot)

Simple and strong.

That’s how you could describe these fishing knots. Who doesn’t like simple and strong?

So, let’s show you how to tie the palomar knot as well as the double palomar knot.

How to tie the palomar knot step-by-step


Time needed: 1 minute

Step-by-step instructions for tying the palomar knot:

  1. Thread fishing line through the eyelet of the hook.

    threading line through hook eyelet for palomar knot

  2. Thread tag end of line back through the hook eyelet.

    threading line back through hook eyelet for palomar knot

  3. With loop end and other end, tie a simple overhand knot, but be sure to keep it very loose and large (you’ll need that loop in the next step!)

    tying overhand knot for palomar knot

  4. Now, take the hook and insert it through the loop end of the line…

    inserting hook through loop for palomar knot

  5. Grab the hook in one hand and the line strands in the other and pull slowly. The knot will begin to cinch. (Be sure that the loop cinches above the eyelet of the hook!)

    pulling line and hook for palomar knot

  6. Trim the tag end of the line and you’ve completed the palomar knot!

    trimming the tag end of line on palomar knot








When I was a kid and learning how to fish… one of the first knots my Dad showed me was the clinch knot. I used that for years. And then I came across the palomar knot. It’s the go-to knot for me. It’s very strong and it’s very easy to tie.

Want more instruction? View video below!



Check out these other related articles on N1 Outdoors!



How to tie the double palomar knot

This next video shows you how to tie it DOUBLE!

Shop N1 Outdoors Apparel





Final thoughts

We hope you’ve enjoyed these tutorials on tying some of the strongest fishing knots there are! So, grab your favorite fishing rod and reel and get out there an Put A Hook N1!


Other popular fishing knots:

Learn the Trilene knot

Learn the Uni-knot