I have had 2 seasons in a row where I was sitting in the my stand the first week of November seeing 15 plus does and fawns milling around the food plot and adjacent area for the last 2 hours of daylight and not once seeing a buck worth shooting and very few bucks. I was feeding the deer white tail delite except the days before I hunted and when I was hunting according to the law. I was feeding 200+ pounds a week and would always see deer on the property in groups. I think by feeding them I created an artificial habitat and actually causing the bucks to be pushed away by the heard of does. I have not fed since last November still seeing deer, they still bed on the property just not as many. I am still going to plot and add another but there will be no feeding.
When it used to be legal to feed the deer in my county I had a couple of feeding spots on my land. I used to hunt the trails leading to the food. Eventually, the deer became nocturnal and only showed up after hours. So I stopped feeding in the woods and installed plots. I still fed by the house but not in the woods. The plots gave the deer something to browse on until dark then they would hit the feed. Note: when the acorns were dropping all bets were off. However, if the acorn were dropping in the clover plot...... it was fun!
So much info on deer out there and so many different thoughts on how they react to habitat intervention and how they naturally use lands. I for years have said NO not all deer in ALL areas act/react the same . Herds per areas act differently. I see this because we own land in two different areas of the state with way different land use and human activity. Though the land contour is about the same. Deer react to human activity WAY differently,and move at different times. One thing that through all my observations and what info on line I have gotten is herd dynamics. White tail solutions has been spot on for this. Deer stacking, this as in, food ...doe groups...buck. The more you stack your doe to a food source the farther away you stack your buck outside rut activity. This will cause buck to come to that food later and later. So the farther away you hunt planted food the better chance you have of catching the buck before dark. In a more natural widely dispersed food the better chance of more day buck sightings. This is one reason I mainly have in woods planted trail "plots ". These are lined by natural live browse brush and brush pile fencing. Buck will cruise these and or cross sent them . Even with fencing, for most I provide deer openings they can travel through. Though even the closed ones they will walk along. This is counter to what I see being said on line Here mature buck do not avoid my fencing. We can't feed here only plot.
I do not have a problem with nocturnal deer, just does and only does showing up. Hopefully it will be better this year.
Hhmm that is unusual, even on our two different properties, buck seek doe for breeding. Doe usually remain in core areas. In fact home land here always doe fawn,best rut hunting, except one year. That year I planted soybeans. The buck came in big time and the doe left. Not a good hunting year for me in the rut. GREAT day pics before. Then as horns started to harden all activity went on a decline. About only day time was buck crossing through looking to doe groups on lands around us and yearlings. I had planned on the first big bean planting in years this year. Just to get a better idea of the buck herd and genetics in the area. Now thats on hold. Granted all this based only on natural(as in in ground) food not your feeding situation
It used to rotate every couple years where I would have a couple bucks bed on the property. Past 3 years it has been a doe hole where does give birth and you don't see many deer again till the fawns are a month old or so.
Plant a bunch of soy and cow peas early spring that should help bring in lots of buck and drive the doe out.. seriously they won't tolerate a bunch of buck hanging around them feeding and buck won't give up a great bean field..
When I was inspecting the swamp this morning I did see a set of buck tracks on the driveway, may need to fire up the trail cameras again.
2-1/2 miles east on the other side of hwy 169 you can shoot 5 deer 1 buck. about every other year I can buy a 1 bonus tag.
Time to start inviting more friend and family to shoot does. After a few are taken out, they will disperse and widen there range. Then bucks will run around more to seek them out. Also another tactic that I have heard a few times, is shoot a doe with button buck fawns. Then she won't be around to push them out once the rut starts. Then your property would be in there home range for the future. Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
In our unit Two buck and two doe to start if you have regular and muzzle loader tags. Then it goes to other hunters can sign over up to two doe tags to you. This give you up to two more. Nov. 1 the state lists units with extra tags not sold and you can get up to two more tags. But just for units you apply. That goes for the sign overs as well you have to hunt unit the gifting hunter applied for. My unit has so many tags issue that Nov 1 application is a given. When I say application, doe tags are all a lottery, so supposedly not a given. It's all in how you apply,some get turned down for both I never have.
