Sorry guys, gonna vent a little. Nearly a month into the season and I've seen a grand total of......drum roll please........... THREE friggin deer. 3. Really?? Uhhhhhhhh........WTF??? I'm not sure what's going on around here, but it's different. Ya'll remember the storm this past spring that nearly blew me and my best bud to Arkansas, right? Well, I really think that has things messed up. Firstly, there are ZERO acorns around there, zero. None. It's the damndest thing I've ever seen. I'm sure that's what a lot of the problem is, they're somewhere that is dropping acorns. I think what happened there is, that storm blew trough just as the oaks were setting their pollen pods......Think they were blown to hell before the trees could pollinate. On top of that, there are trees on the ground everywhere. The place doesn't even look the same. I'm also quite sure that's altered their patterns somewhat. I'm trying to use those downed trees to my advantage as they have created some pinch points. I know the deer haven't vacated the area, they're still there, we just need to relocate them. I set one stand this weekend that's gonna be KILLER for the rut. It's on a point the deer not only bed on, but during the rut the bucks really cruise that point as a route between bedding areas. Last fall, I saw 7 different bucks on that point in one evening. Where the point breaks off of the ridge it's really wide, nearly 200 yards. Yeah, no sense sitting there. So I always go down the point farther......Where it narrows down. Well, when the storm blew through, it dominoed some trees across the base of that point. It has literally blocked it. There is only 1 way around, the deer HAVE to travel the eastern edge of the point. Also, the eastern edge is bordered by a seriously steep hill that drops into a valley. So this summer, we took the tractor back there w/ the brush hog and cut a 5' path along the edge of the point. Then sprayed it. No weeds. Wide open. Easy walking. With a predominately west wind, that spot should be really, really good come the last of October. So all is not lost. I'm frustrated at the lack of deer sightings right now, but.......it's early. Things can, and will, turn around nearly instantly.
hang in there... long season! im sure the terrain change has just caught you off guard but sounds like you are using it to your advantage! keep adapting and keep hunting! bad days in the woods are better than good days in the office =-)
Jeff, that's most defietly what needs to happen. The particular point I spoke about in my opening, though, we aren't gonna touch. It's done nothing but help that spot. Problem is, there are, quite literally, hundreds of trees on the ground. We've opened a few spots back up but......We can't do a damn thing about the neighbors properties. Obviously, these blowdowns on their property is affecting us as well.
Jeff, that's precisely what we need to do. We've been hunting this farm for quite a few years and have worked hard planting food plots and improving the land. We've taken lots of does and the hunting has just been getting better every year. I'm sure the lack of acorns isn't helping us, either. I realized how bad it was Saturday morning when I saw the squirrels eating the bark off of some downed trees. I thought, oh boy, this is gonna be a tough winter. I spent Saturday afternoon doing some speed scouting. I went to every stand of white oaks I know of (and in the missouri ozarks, 90% of the oaks are black) and NONE of them have any acorns dropping. There are a few, emphasis on 'few', black oaks dropping, but not many. And the ones that are don't have many to drop. It's gonna be a tough fall I believe. But, we will succeed. It's a matter of time. Like I said, it's not like they've left the county. They're still there. We just need to figure them out, and we will.
Dam Don, thats just not good at all, I remember the storm incodent and seeing the pics from the destruction I really hope it gets better for ya!!
Where is this piece at? I was hunting down around salem opening weekend but didn't notice many acorns dropping. Up around my house in Eureka, the acorns are literally weighing down the branches a foot or so. Hope it picks up for you, I've had about the same luck so far.
South of Salem, pretty close to Montauk State Park. Yours is the description I'm hearing everywhere........It seems that that area is about the only place without, so that's why I've deduced it must be associated w/ the storm somehow. Or Japenese beetles. Those are bad in that area as well.
Keep your head up! Deer movement will only improve once the crops are out and it gets closer and closer to that special time of the season.
