Aedc where are the deer gone

[catman]

What has happened to all the deer out here

 

[Hawk103161]

I'm due to hunt the Nov 8 9 10. Very interested in what you see... Sounds like not much

 

[catman]

I have the muzzleloader hunt the weekend after thanksgiving I haven't muzzleloader hunted out here in a long time. But the few places that I have bow hunted haven't been appealing

 

[catman]

But I will be glad to let you know how things go

 

[ImThere]

You won't find them in here! Lol.
Here the Food source changed in the last week. We had deer every morning eating under the big oak tree. This week very sporadic. The last two days nothing. The oaks are still dropping. So find that new food source. IMHO

 

[catman]

I have found numerous oaks but only a few were dropping anything

 

[ROB]

Site specific deer numbers are more fluid right now than at any time during the year. Several white oaks can start dropping acorns & an area that was previously a deer wasteland will get crowded in a hurry. As always, food sources are key.

 

[ImThere]

Site specific deer numbers are more fluid right now than at any time during the year. Several white oaks can start dropping acorns & an area that was previously a deer wasteland will get crowded in a hurry. As always, food sources are key.

I've always thought this was the reason for the "October Lull" hard to stay on them as fast as food sources change this time of year.

 

[Ski]

What has happened to all the deer out here

Good to see you popping in again.

I'd guess what you're seeing is the result of hurricane debris. The high winds brought down an ocean of small branches loaded with tender bud tips that typically are 100ft out of a deer's reach. What they usually have to hug against thickets for is now literally laying everywhere trees grow, and the deer aren't going to let it go to waste. It won't last but a couple weeks. By ML they'll be back congregated on more predictable food sources.

 

[oldmanelrod]

Catman PM sent.

 

[basshound]

Can't speak for the deer herd, but that is one of the few places I've ever truly been lost. I somehow got turned around and wandered for a long long time

 

[oldmanelrod]

I'm due to hunt the Nov 8 9 10. Very interested in what you see... Sounds like not much

PM sent

 

[Carlos Viagra]

Good to see you popping in again.

I'd guess what you're seeing is the result of hurricane debris. The high winds brought down an ocean of small branches loaded with tender bud tips that typically are 100ft out of a deer's reach. What they usually have to hug against thickets for is now literally laying everywhere trees grow, and the deer aren't going to let it go to waste. It won't last but a couple weeks. By ML they'll be back congregated on more predictable food sources.

Wrong Catman…
@oldmanelrod

 

[Lost Lake]

Good to see you popping in again.

I'd guess what you're seeing is the result of hurricane debris. The high winds brought down an ocean of small branches loaded with tender bud tips that typically are 100ft out of a deer's reach. What they usually have to hug against thickets for is now literally laying everywhere trees grow, and the deer aren't going to let it go to waste. It won't last but a couple weeks. By ML they'll be back congregated on more predictable food sources.

I never thought of that. Great observation Ski.

 

[Ski]

Wrong Catman…
@oldmanelrod

Appreciate the clarification

 

[Ski]

I never thought of that. Great observation Ski.

I'd have never thought of it had I not seen a bunch of down branches with all the tips nipped off. Then I realized it's EVERYWHERE and that makes it tough to narrow down where the deer are.

 

[lol]

I'd have never thought of it had I not seen a bunch of down branches with all the tips nipped off. Then I realized it's EVERYWHERE and that makes it tough to narrow down where the deer are.

I watched a video not long ago. It was up north somewhere like Wisconsin during the winter, and they were felling a tree to feed the deer. They'd set up a camera to catch all the deer eating the tips of the branches and they basically picked the tree clean in a day or two.

 

[Ski]

I watched a video not long ago. It was up north somewhere like Wisconsin during the winter, and they were felling a tree to feed the deer. They'd set up a camera to catch all the deer eating the tips of the branches and they basically picked the tree clean in a day or two.

Oh for sure. Bud tips are by far the biggest staple food for deer and it's a year round source so long as it's within their reach. Hinge cutting, TSI, and habitat cuts are all different ways to increase the amount of bud tips available for deer on managed properties. The hurricane did the same thing but over super massive scale.

 

[killingtime 41]

Wrong Catman…
@oldmanelrod

Not the original Catman I was fooled myself

 

[timberjack86]

Buddy of mine is seeing deer every sit on Aedc. Hunt the white oaks

 

[Hawk103161]

Can't speak for the deer herd, but that is one of the few places I've ever truly been lost. I somehow got turned around and wandered for a long long time

I can relate.. I was home on leave 1 time. Dad was hunting AEDC. I camped with him and then hunted some public down the road. First and only time I've been turned around to where I said "Self you just might be lost". That flat wash property was wild. A lone train whistle way off in the distance is what got me straight. I parked close to the train tracks. I came out about a 1 mile below my truck just before dark.... Almost.....Almost..

 

[Huntaholic]

Deer absolutely LOVE fresh green leaves! Acorns are falling now so they have moved off from what I feed them every day at work. All summer long its been a chore to keep from cutting trees on them!