I've "hunted hard" over most of the past few days in Stewart Co.
The observed deer behavior now seems to be the typical post-rut for this time of year, except most of the afternoon feeding in fields is still beginning after dark. My take is the deer (where I'm hunting) still have quite a bit of food resources in the thicker cover areas.
So far, the deer have hit the food plots less than normal, and mostly at night. But deer sign in terms of tracks and droppings appears above normal. By contrast, rut sign (rubs & scrapes) is perhaps the least I've ever seen.
At my local level, I'm observing deer feeding heavily on honeysuckle more than any other single food item. I know honeysuckle is not the most nutritious thing, but it's more abundant this year than ever before, and seems to be satisfying the deer at least enough to keep them out of the more open areas that human hunters prefer during daylight. Seriously, I'm finding lots of honeysuckle in thick pine where I never would have thought much anything would grow due to a lack of sunlight --- but it did this year.
Could excessive rainfall allow certain plants (like honeysuckle) to thrive without their usual sunlight requirements?