Deer Movement

[Erik Hendricks]

I'm heading north in a little bit and going to hunt for a couple days. I will not be able to check my cameras tonight before I hit the stand this evening and it would be nice to know what people have been seeing. Thought we should start a thread about deer movement with the rutting activity starting up. So post the info of what you have been seeing out in the stands, on the way to work and on your cameras and where you're at.
I'll either be on a green plot or back off of it in the oaks tonight. Still undecided. I'll post tonight on how the action is. This morning on my way into work (south of St. Cloud, MN) I saw a 2 1/2 year old cruising at about 8:45 am. Pheasant hunting yesterday I saw a lot of scrapes on the edges of fields.

 

[bueller]

I'm heading north in a little bit and going to hunt for a couple days. I will not be able to check my cameras tonight before I hit the stand this evening and it would be nice to know what people have been seeing. Thought we should start a thread about deer movement with the rutting activity starting up. So post the info of what you have been seeing out in the stands, on the way to work and on your cameras and where you're at.
I'll either be on a green plot or back off of it in the oaks tonight. Still undecided. I'll post tonight on how the action is. This morning on my way into work (south of St. Cloud, MN) I saw a 2 1/2 year old cruising at about 8:45 am. Pheasant hunting yesterday I saw a lot of scrapes on the edges of fields.

I saw a lot of deer out crossing roads and feeding in fields well before sunset last night. Also saw a spike buck get whacked attempting to cross the state highway during the middle of the day on Saturday. Had our first good buck on camera during shooting hours (late afternoon) this week since our season opened mid-sept. Not a whole lot of scrapes or rubs showing up yet from what I can tell though.

edit....forgot to add that I had another good buck on camera during the first hour of light Saturday morning. He along with the other I mentioned were both on food plots.

 

[phil@thesidehill]

i'm in NE PA, so not sure it will relate to your area at all....but the past few days things have really picked up. A buddy of mine killed a bruiser of a buck on friday night as it was bumping a doe down a power line.

I checked my cameras today and my scrapes have been pummeled. I had 7 different bucks on camera in a 4 day period. One of those bucks appeared to be chasing a doe across the plot at about 745 AM on the 24th. This AM on the ride to work i saw two different groups of does all bunched up together looking around nervously...in spots that i dont normally see deer at that time of day. Although i didnt see any bucks (i didnt stop to look either i was running late!) i'm sure both doe groups had been harassed and pushed to where i saw them by bucks. It seems like bucks are really starting to get interested in the ladies in last 3-4 days here in this area.

 

[chummer]

Upstate NY, I saw my first scrapes Saturday. I had a mature buck make one right in front of my camera. No daylight sightings yet. First couple road kills showed up last Friday. Rifle season opened Saturday and I didn't have a shot within 5 miles. I still have bucks hanging out together.

 

[Bill]

I can monitor cams from home. Last few days the smaller bucks are really cruising around. Not so many big boys out before dark.

Lots of head pushing and They can't seem to lay off the rubbing posts so it's about to change.

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[Native Hunter]

I'm so far away my info wouldn't mean much, but deer here aren't moving much yet. Lot's of fighting going on with the young bucks, and I see an occasional pic of a young ones running in on does causing them to scamper, but nothing like what I would call real chasing.

Our acorn crop is poor this time, so almost everything going on is around plots right now.

Last week during ML season we did see the old pot bellied 8 come out in daylight with his lip curled. He got a whiff of something, but I think it was just an early doe. We are far from any serious rutting.

 

[SD51555]

My guess is the acorn boom is over in our part of MN. We had a real drought picture-wise in September. Now, we've got consistent action on the plots each day, and the boys are taking notice. Last camera pull we counted a button buck, a spike, a 3 pt, a small basket 6, a basket 8, and an almost trophy 10. We don't have white oaks within at least a half mile of us. That is except for the dozen bur I planted last year, but they aren't yielding quite yet. Maybe ten to fifteen years we'll see acorns.

 

[Erik Hendricks]

Tonight was a bust, not a single deer. Sat in oaks between my green plot and the 10 acres of standing beans. Heard a lone timber wolf howl early at about 5:00 to the East. Coyotes started up to the west as I was getting down. Normally if wolves moved in, yotes moved the hell out. Past 3 years I've had both on camera and hear both when hunting. Coyotes way more than wolves. We will see what the morning brings and what the cameras say.

 

[scott44]

I hunted thurs and fri nights and the deer sightings have dropped off since the week before last, saw 2 small bucks thurs and 3 does and a small buck on fri. Had to work all weekend so tomorrow will be the first time out since fri. The little buck that came in fri was grunting and bump check the does after finding nothing he just put his head down and started eating. The last couple mornings here we have had a hard frost but tomorrow morning it's supposed to be in the low 40's