Food plots went well, hunting has changed. What are your thoughts?

[eclipseman]

My father and I have been running food plots on 2 different properties for the past 3 years (This was our third year). One property is 120 acres the other is 150. Anyways, we have had a weird season this year. For the first two years, these plots were a doe hot spot. They would come pouring in like clock work all season long until our hunting pressure would have them coming later and later which didn't really stop them from coming the entire hunting season. Buck activity was as one would expect not a ton of early season activity. We would get a shooter here or there on camera but it was very random and mostly at night. Once pre-rut/rut kicked in the bucks would be all around the food plots during the day and some would go into the plots. Anyways, this year was very different. We had much less doe activity (even at the beginning of the season) and this includes night pictures but we still had a decent amount of buck activity...if not a little more buck activity so I am not complaining from that regard. What is your thoughts on this? I know we can only guess but just trying to get some opinions. We literally changed nothing. The food plots were the same. The bedding areas are the same. Our woods have not been touched. Our overall food plotting and hunting pressure was the same if not less than prior. Neighboring woods are the same (i.e. no new food plots close by) and farming in the general area is the same.

 

[swat1018]

Big acorn year?

 

[scott44]

Has your area given out more doe permits so there is less deer? Maybe your neighbors changed their hunting habbits, I know that around me I can tell when the neighbors get their bait piles out.

 

[SwampCat]

I have seen that on my place. Doe numbers can drop but buck numbers will stay fairly consistent because bucks will travel a lot farther to get to an easy, reliable food source to eat and to check for does.

 

[Telemark]

Any ag in the area? Deer activity at my uncle's place depends completely on what is planted/not planted, and where.

 

[Bill]

I often experience this. Sheer speculation on my part but I am convinced the does all but abandon food plots for the most part when the little bucks start harassing them. It gets old being chased around the salad bar by horny 8th graders. Also seemed like that bumping phase started early at my place and lasted longer than normal.

I’ll still hunt a plot because a buck will cruise it, I just know the deer activity won’t be like normal.

 

[Natty Bumppo]

My father and I have been running food plots on 2 different properties for the past 3 years (This was our third year). One property is 120 acres the other is 150. Anyways, we have had a weird season this year. For the first two years, these plots were a doe hot spot. They would come pouring in like clock work all season long until our hunting pressure would have them coming later and later which didn't really stop them from coming the entire hunting season. Buck activity was as one would expect not a ton of early season activity. We would get a shooter here or there on camera but it was very random and mostly at night. Once pre-rut/rut kicked in the bucks would be all around the food plots during the day and some would go into the plots. Anyways, this year was very different. We had much less doe activity (even at the beginning of the season) and this includes night pictures but we still had a decent amount of buck activity...if not a little more buck activity so I am not complaining from that regard. What is your thoughts on this? I know we can only guess but just trying to get some opinions. We literally changed nothing. The food plots were the same. The bedding areas are the same. Our woods have not been touched. Our overall food plotting and hunting pressure was the same if not less than prior. Neighboring woods are the same (i.e. no new food plots close by) and farming in the general area is the same.

You are describing my exact experience...to the letter. My brother lives an hour away and this was his experience also. It was a MASSIVE acorn year here in western Mass. I can't speak for your neck of the woods, but I am assuming the deer around here were in the oaks.

 

[Peplin Creek]

I experienced this as well this year. It’s hard to rely year after year predictability. There is too much change in a deer woods even when it’s overlooked. Cover gets a little taller, even though, to you, it looks the same. Acorns have a bummer crop. Fields get harvested at a different time than the year before. Too much rain, not enough rain. About the only thing truly controllable with food plots is the amount of hunting pressure one applies to it.

There is a period of time when does avoid plots by me and that’s right when chasing starts. Once they bucks start locking down they start coming back. That’s a fairly consistent pattern.

Most likely though acorns or another preferable food source or better cover on a surrounding property.

Use the plots to try and define the deer movement and focus on bedding and daytime browse improvements. They’ll be back. Also less does isn’t always a terrible thing. Just need to capitalize when the time is right.

 

[hillrunner]

I'm not sure what happened but I wish I could duplicate it. The only thing that massive numbers of does are good for is destroying crops and food plots imo.

 

[yoderjac]

Lots of factors come into play. Mast crop, alternative foods, changes in hunting pressure (yours or elsewhere), changes in population dynamics,... the list goes on. When you make a significant change to the habitat deer can respond one way when it is new and then differently as they adapt to it over time. Our deer have changed patterns based on a lot of factors. They have certainly become more wary since coyotes have begun using our farm regularly.

 

[Lee Haakenson]

For a while I would only shoot a buck or two a year. Every year i saw more and more does and less decent buck activity. Now I am shooting off as many does as I can. I think they took over my place and the bucks are now bedding farther away.

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[Peplin Creek]

For a while I would only shoot a buck or two a year. Every year i saw more and more does and less decent buck activity. Now I am shooting off as many does as I can. I think they took over my place and the bucks are now bedding farther away.

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Does will bed adjacent to food. Don’t plant summer food. They’ll leave or atleast have few does use the property in the summer Should help your situation and free some space. Hopefully for Mr. Big.

 

[Lee Haakenson]

For a while I would only shoot a buck or two a year. Every year i saw more and more does and less decent buck activity. Now I am shooting off as many does as I can. I think they took over my place and the bucks are now bedding farther away.

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Does will bed adjacent to food. Don’t plant summer food. They’ll leave or atleast have few does use the property in the summer Should help your situation and free some space. Hopefully for Mr. Big.

Right now i only have a half acre plot of winter rye and brassica, so no summer food. I did have the place logged recently so lots of browse and fawning cover may be keeping them around

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[bzb_1]

I am assuming you are managing your bucks...Letting the little guys grow...I noticed when we started several years ago the same thing happened...my theory (by no means am I an expert) is that the does cleared out because of the constant harassment by the little bucks which you now have a lot more of because your passing on them. We noticed a ton more buck activity in our plots and less doe activity around our third year of managing

 

[eclipseman]

Lots of factors come into play. Mast crop, alternative foods, changes in hunting pressure (yours or elsewhere), changes in population dynamics,... the list goes on. When you make a significant change to the habitat deer can respond one way when it is new and then differently as they adapt to it over time. Our deer have changed patterns based on a lot of factors. They have certainly become more wary since coyotes have begun using our farm regularly.

Yeah I was wondering if maybe it just took the deer 3 years to adapt to the change. It was just really weird to see. I mean last year, all year, I could sit on a food plot and say to myself between 3-4pm the doe will show up and sure enough here came the train of doe. This would be all season long and hunting pressure did not seem to change it too much. There were times we would see 15 doe in the field. Fast forward to this year, we have 5 doe show up opening day bow season. Since then it has been very random when they would show up if at all but the bucks still came (especially during the rut). We took a couple nice bucks this year.

 

[eclipseman]

I am assuming you are managing your bucks...Letting the little guys grow...I noticed when we started several years ago the same thing happened...my theory (by no means am I an expert) is that the does cleared out because of the constant harassment by the little bucks which you now have a lot more of because your passing on them. We noticed a ton more buck activity in our plots and less doe activity around our third year of managing

I wonder if this could be a possibility. Us and most the neighbors have started passing small bucks 3 years ago and yes we have been seeing many more younger bucks. Maybe that is part of the issue as well.

 

[Gross144]

Im in Southern New York on the border of Chenango and Delaware County and observed the same thing. RIDICULOUS acorn crop this year. Over the plots had only a couple hundred pics (set at a 5 pic capture) from Late August to October opener first of October. However, the field next to my house with a large oak that is a great producer and the memory card maxed out at 1800 pics in the same time period. Had tons of does and several nice bucks through the area following the does. But with the moon most activity was at night. Great year for the trail cameras and what we caught on camera but not so good in the woods and we put in a lot of seat time.

Can't compete with mother nature and a crazy acorn crop. Happens around seems like every 3 years.