yoderjac
5 year old buck +
I think it has for us. When we first bought the place, it was overrun with deer. We had reasonably good cover that was nearing its end but quality food was absent. As soon as we implemented a food plot program, deer were easy pickins. They moved from cover to food plots and you could hunt them anywhere in between. We have continued the food plot program but added large scale timber management with herbicide application and controlled burns. We now have our populations under control and we have increased the Biological Carrying Capacity. Our fawn weights are increasing but archery hunting is becoming much more difficult.
The first week of our season was in the high 70s and low 80s and deer were not moving much. Toward the end of the first week, we had a cold front move through and temps dropped significantly, both highs and lows. The first two days of the cold front, deer were all over me. I had a shooter buck in range (but did not present a shot) and multiple opportunities to harvest does and young bucks but passed. It has been a cool week but I haven't seen a deer all week. They are still using our fields and hardwoods but very unpredictably. I hunt a location and see nothing and the next day when I hunt somewhere else, I get multiple pictures at eh first location. I've been out of sync with the deer all week.
Why? They now have food in cover. Our thinned pines and clear-cuts that have been burned are loaded with native vegetation. There are plenty of acorns this year as well. Deer now have lots of options for both bedding and food. They are as active as ever but much less predictable an much harder to pattern. I know what we are doing is good for deer and wildlife, but it can be frustrating.
Thanks,
Jack
The first week of our season was in the high 70s and low 80s and deer were not moving much. Toward the end of the first week, we had a cold front move through and temps dropped significantly, both highs and lows. The first two days of the cold front, deer were all over me. I had a shooter buck in range (but did not present a shot) and multiple opportunities to harvest does and young bucks but passed. It has been a cool week but I haven't seen a deer all week. They are still using our fields and hardwoods but very unpredictably. I hunt a location and see nothing and the next day when I hunt somewhere else, I get multiple pictures at eh first location. I've been out of sync with the deer all week.
Why? They now have food in cover. Our thinned pines and clear-cuts that have been burned are loaded with native vegetation. There are plenty of acorns this year as well. Deer now have lots of options for both bedding and food. They are as active as ever but much less predictable an much harder to pattern. I know what we are doing is good for deer and wildlife, but it can be frustrating.
Thanks,
Jack