-With all of this corn still standing in the bread basket of big buck country USA.... And with harvest numbers being down in those states..... If they get back to normal next year on crop harvest... Imagine the caliber of bucks that will probably get killed. Allowing a genetic and nutrition rich areas bucks another year to mature and put one size.... There is no telling the giants that may fall next year.
Mike and I were having this same discussion a few weeks back. I know of only 2 deer in our area (Knox County) that were shot during the first gun season there. (neither of them recovered) Landowner knows everyone around there and it sounds like no one is shooting anything. I agree, there should be some real bruisers next year.
Scott, I wasn't going to ask....but will. Earlier in the season, when guys were saying the deer weren't coming out of the corn, it seemed you didn't buy that excuse. Change of heart or opinion?
Boy I've heard the same thing from those in PA, and the same thoughts have crossed my mind. We don't really have much corn where I hunt in NY though so it hasn't affected much there. My father has been out a handful of times since the PA rifle opener, and has said that it's been many years since he heard so little shooting. We have more 3.5's this year on the property than I've ever seen or imagined was possible, and I'm hoping this will translate into a pile of 4.5's running around next year.
My area I call BS... Though, we do not have 1000's of acres of corn in my area like IL, IA and the likes do. A big field in my area is 100 acres. But.... I cannot speak for other areas though, I can only go by what I am told by people I trust from those areas. They say it sucks there... Than it sucks. Although, I still subscribe to the fact that deer do not live 100% of their days inside standing corn.
Gotcha and I agree that they do not spend 100% of their days in the corn. We had standing corn all around us this year and though I do believe its a big reason we haven't killed anything, its not the only. For the number of 3.5+ yr old bucks we had on cameras, we hardly saw any crusing or chasing by these deer. It almost seems as if they went from seeking (at night mainly) straight to lockdown....minus about 2-3 days of daylight chasing. (which I beleive we missed after looking at the trail cams) On November 11th Johnny watched 15 does/fawns and 9 bucks walk into the big patch of CRP in the middle of the property. There was a little bit of chasing by the 1.5 & 2.5 year olds, but that was the only chasing going on. He even watched Bill Brasky walk in and bed down, presumably with a doe as V was hanging around as well. By 9:30 all the deer were bedded and there was no movement. I ended up moving a set to the other side of the CRP from him where they come out and go around an old creek and head to on of the big corn fields. By dark, he saw nothing and I watched 4 does/fawns walk out of the CRP. What happened to the other 20 deer during that 8 hour period? They never got up.......on November 11th. Hell, maybe I'm missing something, I don't know. By the middle of the month I had never been so frustrated in my life. I have never had that many "shooter" bucks on camera in my life, and end up only seeing 1 of them in 20 days of hunting. Again, the corn had something to do with it.....but it wasn't the only reason.
We're witnessing something similar here in PA. Corn is just now being picked, and with this snow fall today, it will again stall the process. Our 90 acres which has ~25 acres of corn has not been picked as is the case with many of the fields/farms nearby. Today was the "doe opener" for rifle hunters in our WMU, and my dad heard ONE shot all morning. That's almost unheard of around here, and it certainly wasn't weather related because today was a picture perfect day (cool morning, overcast, and snow showers). This is the latest corn has been standing in many years around here.
I was out with my fiance yesterday and even with the corn all cut (they were finishing the last stip yesterday), there was very little shooting. I heard 2 shots all evening and it isn't uncommon to hear several hundred shots while hunting this spot. Guys were out, I saw about a half dozen in my "honey hole" now that it is opened up, but nobody was seeing anything. On the way out, we were walking to the house when a group of deer got up out of my neighbors back yard and ran into the woods.
Along with all of the corn still In the fields I think one could say the warmer then usual weather could be part of It too. I lean more towards the warmer weather then the corn around my parts with making the hunting tougher and we have a pile of corn here In central Mn. Most of the corn Is out now around me, only one 30 acre field left that I know of. The gun hunters did awesome around here though, the ones that did/do drives. I know of 2 170"+ bucks shot with In 7 miles of here, that's very, very unusual for around here.
I agree 100% I would rather hunt next to 1000 acres of standing corn in a cold front, than no corn with above normal temps like we had all during the rut here.
Your thinking on the right track Scott. Its got to benifit the Herd with all the corn being out this time of year. Its just now getting actually cold here to. With all the Bucks I seen this year and only 2 bucks killed on our lease, it ought to be a Great year next season. I cant wait to get out and shed hunt and stratigize for the next season. There are going to be some Pigs killed next season
RJ and I were talking about this the other night and also the weather in PA has helped some bucks live a few more days. We thought that today might be a big day, but with the snow all day, they bucks may only have one more day (next Sat) to evade and survive. Could produce some great potential for '10.
I've actually been drooling over the same thoughts the last few weeks... Could at least be some consolation for the tough hunting in my 'home area' the last 2 years...
I love snow. We got a fresh blanket and it was gorgeous sitting in the stand. (As some of you saw in my text pic). This is why I had to laugh though. I walked in looking for any fresh tracks. The only ones I found were of a cat. LMAO. On my way out ( the field access road cuts two standing corn fields) in the dark, there were fresh deer tracks in my foot prints. And, they were all within eye sight of the homes and none where I could see. :p
I agree with Schultzy on this one seemed on Nov-6th and 7th we were seeing alot of bucks most little with one wopper but then the temps rose again and the sightings dropped. It should make for some big boys next year I agree 100%..Walt
The Gun kill in MI is down 20%, the next couple years are going to be very good. Ohio is where I need to start focusing 100% next year, but can i find the time.
For our 1st shotgun season at our farm, we had roughly 60 acres of corn still standing spread out over our farm. Over 3 days, 7 hunters killed 7 deer. This weekend was our 2nd gun season. All the corn is gone, but the neighbors still had a field standing to the south, and another very large field to the east. Over 4 days, 7 hunters SAW 5 deer, and killed zero. I would say the standing corn had something to do with it. And for the record I had a great year bowhunting for getting on bucks with the corn standing. Talk about an awesome bedding area and a great funnel all in the same spot.
