Have you habitat improvements improved your hunting?

[dipper]

Why or why not?

 

[bueller]

Yes because food plots really attract deer in our lower dpsm area

 

[j-bird]

Without question - yes! I will admit I screwed up at first and cut a lot of corners - however once I got my head straight and started increasing and proving my limiting habitat feature (cover) then and only then did things change.

 

[John-W-WI]

Unquestionably no, this year anyway.

I have no idea why at this point.

Something bigger than me is going on, at least I like to think so.

Jake and I have hunted every day so far this season (4 days) and have only seen deer on 3 sits (9 deer total).

Even if half of what I have done is wrong, I've still done more than 90% of the hunters out there.

I'm questioning everything and have no answers :)

Tonight we sat on a 12 acre field, full of beans, corn, and clover (probably a little volunteer rye too) in a sanctuary that NEVER receives human pressure.

We sat until dark and didn't see a deer. Not sure how that is possible.

When we got back to the cabin, the wireless cameras were beeping away. They only move after dark.

Not discouraged, more like challenged :)

Sent from my 8g phone.

 

[chummer]

Yes. I had nothing but yearlings in year 1 and 2. Year 4 I have had some dandy's show up. Now killing them is a whole different story but at least they are here now. If we can get a couple mild winters things might be headed in the right direction.

 

[scott44]

The first 15 yrs I owned our property we did food plots and that really helped with seeing deer but we weren't keeping them on our property so we started with NWGs and hinge cutting. This has helped with keeping and seeing mature bucks. We've also planted screenings for open areas of fence and open fields to give them a more secure feeling. The plots are in the same general areas but I have slowly moved them closer to the center of the property, I didn't know when I first started aboutththis and just had them anywhere. So I would have to say yes and as the trees we've planted grow I hope it only gets better.

 

[scoot52]

Yes, it has helped a lot on my 40, I have passed up 4 opportunities at great 3 year olds with a bow, I have noticed I am getting more day pics of 4 plus year olds then ever before, I really think its because I leave 20 acres of mine a sanctuary and have hinge cut bedding areas there. I have added a water hole to a bench and that has been the best stand I have this year, not a tub but two pond liners and its a deer magnet, deer just like being their even if they don't get a drink.

 

[gwm]

The food plots and waterholes I've put in have helped tremendously. If I don't screw up the apple trees too bad, I'm hoping those will be huge draws in the coming years.

I still have a lot I want to do but so far everything has made a big difference.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Absolutely !! We have better cover, good food plots, 48 apples and crabs, ( 13 more coming next spring ), 3 pears, serviceberries, elderberries ( seeded naturally ), Hawthorns, Norway & white spruce planted for bedding and thermal cover, and acres of oaks that drop something each year. Periodic timbering and re-planting with spruce, witch hazel and hawthorn have added diversity to our land, as well as increase lower growth that can be browsed.

 

[Bill]

I tell myself it helps so I don't stop. I'm with Scott. I started with food which helped, but acres of hay ground turn to NWSG that matured this year seems to have made a difference. We'll see in years to come.

 

[Greta&Gus]

This question is difficult for a couple of reasons. We saw a huge spike in consistancy of nice bucks when we started food plots in 2003. After 7 or 8 years of great success things have fallen off. Now, I am seeing deer in the hinging we are doing (the next phase) but we have yet to capitalize on it yet. So, it is unknown as to how much everything is improving.

 

[Greta&Gus]

Unquestionably no, this year anyway.

I have no idea why at this point.

Something bigger than me is going on, at least I like to think so.

Jake and I have hunted every day so far this season (4 days) and have only seen deer on 3 sits (9 deer total).

Even if half of what I have done is wrong, I've still done more than 90% of the hunters out there.

I'm questioning everything and have no answers :)

Tonight we sat on a 12 acre field, full of beans, corn, and clover (probably a little volunteer rye too) in a sanctuary that NEVER receives human pressure.

We sat until dark and didn't see a deer. Not sure how that is possible.

When we got back to the cabin, the wireless cameras were beeping away. They only move after dark.

Not discouraged, more like challenged :)

Sent from my 8g phone.

Your comments show that one season doesn't make or break your improvements. In my opinion, questioning everything is good for progress. Maybe you have plateaued some. Do nothing and nothing changes. Do something different, it can't hurt.

 

[Native Hunter]

Yes, because before I started my place was a cattle farm with no deer. Since doing the conversion I've been hunting on it now for only 4 years. In that time I've either shot or passed shots at bucks 4 years old or older every year.

 

[John-W-WI]

Your comments show that one season doesn't make or break your improvements. In my opinion, questioning everything is good for progress. Maybe you have plateaued some. Do nothing and nothing changes. Do something different, it can't hurt.

I haven't plateaued, the first year I owned my property (before doing any improvements) I saw 10x the deer. I've regressed o_O

It's a down year for everyone in my immediate area. Not sure why but the deer numbers are just DOWN. Doesn't seem logical with a mild winter last year and tons of rain this summer (lots of food). Last year gun season I _know_ there were only 4 or 5 deer shot on a block of ~1500 acres. All private, and I personally know the owners. So they weren't killed last gun season either.

The other odd data point is that the black bears have disappeared as well. Last year a neighbor and his brother were arguing if they had 13 or 18 unique bears on their best bait. This year they basically had NO bears on that same bait. I setup 2 bait stations, one was hit 4 or 5 times, the other never touched. It isn't a black bear problem.

Its not wolves either, on that same ~1500 acres, we all run pretty extensive trail camera setups. Once in a blue moon we'll get one that MIGHT be a wolf, but never sure if it is or not.

As I've said, I'm not discouraged. I'll keep working at it. It will only get better.

One good thing that has come of it, is Jake is hanging right in there. Not discouraged at all that we haven't gotten anything. It's good that he has to work for them once in a while.

-John

 

[Tree Spud]

Your comments show that one season doesn't make or break your improvements. In my opinion, questioning everything is good for progress. Maybe you have plateaued some. Do nothing and nothing changes. Do something different, it can't hurt.

Or doing something for the sake of doing something can be more disruptive than helpful. A wildlife ecosystem has a balance that it achieves which meets the occupants needs ... water, shelter, food, security. Too much disruption to that and wildlife may find their needs met elsewhere. A mature buck looks to locate his core area with little or no disruption.

In John's case, his issue may be as simple as a neighboring farmer has 100 acres of standing corn still up this year. The deer are located there for the time being. If the does have found a new food source, then the bucks are tagging along.

 

[chummer]

I average a deer once every 3 years so I feel your pain. It is part of the reason I now enjoy the habitat work more than hunting. Our deer just got a free winter month. Last year we were snow covered for the all of November. This year only a couple dustings and we look warm for the next couple weeks. I think the only thing that can fix the deer problem all over the north is 2-3 mild winters in a row. I know we are due.

 

[j-bird]

What kills me is how I can bust my butt doing plots and cover improvements and yet a neighbor less than half a mile away does absolutely nothing and kills nice bucks just like I do. It makes me wonder if I am spending time and money on things I should simply leave well enough alone. The work has really helped my place but it isn't as stark of an improvement when compared to other properties near me that have done nothing.

 

[NorthPotter]

.... I think the only thing that can fix the deer problem all over the north is 2-3 mild winters in a row. I know we are due.

I would say a mild winter would benefit our area too. We saw -25 and several -teen's at camp with 24-30 inches of snow cover in Northcentral PA. (not anything compared to chummers area but really tough conditions for our area) We still had 5-7 inches of snow on the ground the first week of April. I tried to get into camp for April spraying/frost seeding and almost got stuck in the snow/ice. haha. Previous year was similar.

Anyhow, when I started habitat improvement back in 1991, after a couple years I came to the conclusion that the winter food and cover were going to give my area the best return on investment for local turkey and deer populations. Establishing that winter food and cover takes time,...sometimes several years. Gosh nowadays there is SO MUCH ACCESS to all kinds of information via the internet. There was zero info. back in the 90's. We are all so very fortunate.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

I'm of the mind that says you can't cure all ills in 1,2, or even 5 years. If you need more cover, you probably won't achieve max results in a short time span. Food plots CAN be quicker if you have tillable ground to start with. If you have to clear the land ..... more years involved. Lime doesn't work overnight either, it takes time to leach down into the soil to where it's usable. Fruit / nut trees take 3 to 5 years to bear a crop usually. And even with all that - you compete with Ma Nature. In big acorn years ( like we've had for 2 years in a row at my camp ), the acorns win over apples and food plots. We didn't see deer coming to our food plots OR apple trees while acorns covered the ground. Now that many of the acorns are cleaned up or buried under leaves, deer are starting to come to the apples and plots. ( Mostly after dark ). I attribute that to more human activity ....... 4 - wheelers.

I believe that if you offer diversity and some year-round food sources, combined with good thick cover, at very least you'll attract doe groups and with that come the bucks. Once the cover is established, staying out of the holding - sanctuary areas will keep more deer around. The nicest bucks tend to be loners and don't hang with the big family groups all year long. They tend to bed and have a core area separate from the does and yearlings from my observations. They may end up feeding in the same food plots, but they usually come from different directions. But if we can hold the does and yearlings, the bucks will show up come October and November. Everything takes time, and Ma Nature has the last say.

I posted just after North Potter did. ^^^^^ My camp is also in NC Pa. Similar areas.

 

[shawnv]

It hard to say because over harvest, drought and two bad winters really did a number on the deer population. I know sightings and camera activity has picked up over the past two seasons and being able to let deer hide during gun season at my place has kept a few bucks alive who might not otherwise get shot by neighbors.