Deer Management Tips

[godores]

Hi all,

I've been hunting for about 7 or 8 years, with 5 of it being on my own land. I have 53 acres (basically a year round creek and then a big rocky top hill) that is on the Hickman/Maury border. Hunting was good the first 3 years, with us taking 2-3 does and 1 buck per season. The last 2 years, I haven't even seen a deer. The strange thing is that we don't go there near as much anymore, so I was hoping that less pressure would mean more deer.

I'm pretty new at this, but it's very discouraging getting skunked for 2 years in a row, and not even seeing does for that matter. We don't really do anything to attract them, and soil doesn't allow for food plots. Any tips or ideas for how to bring deer back to the land? Any resources that have been particularly helpful? Or is this just the way it goes and I should just tough it out and they'll come back someday?

Thanks

 

[Crappieaddict]

IMO, food, water, and shelter. I'm working on the same thing...had my property for just over a year. The soil is mostly sand, but lime and fertilizer produced a small, but lush plot. I buy the 50lb bags of Trace Minerals from RK, and have made a couple of salt licks. Last year I took a doe and got an 8 point last week. I may not hunt it again this year. There are deer, but not huge numbers. I've already passed on a few, and that's not easy. I also contacted the Soil Conservation Dept, and the guy has already been out a few times. He's going to file for some grants for food plots in what has been determined to be Wetland, as well as selective tree cutting. There were no grants remaining for 2020 when I contacted him, so he'll file in 2021. I'm excited about these projects as I've never got anything from the Government! I've always just been a payer. This must be how the Democrats feel!

 

[DRSJ35]

Did the bear population explode cause that'll do it.

 

[DoubleRidge]

I've read on here that parts of Hickman and Perry county got hit hard with EHD last year and lost several deer....but don't give up....the herd will bounce back from EHD if that's what you're dealing with.....but if numbers are low I'd lay off the does and let them raise young....if you have marketable timber on the property you may have the opportunity to do timber stand improvement projects and you can also create thick bedding areas....areas you can dedicate as refuge areas which nobody ever goes period (unless to retrieve a deer)...no property is too small to make habitat improvements.... lastly as you've already mentioned....don't put too much pressure on them...good luck on your property management.

 

[Safari Hunt]

I believe the TWRA has a habitat program. Check with the local regional office.

 

[Ski]

I'd say take the does off the menu until you're certain you have a sustainable number. If you're in an area with nothing to attract deer, then your family groups will be spread out. There will only be as many deer as the property can support. If it's not many to begin with, then taking out 2-3 does per year could really devastate the herd. In a few years you'd no longer have baby makers, and nothing to attract new ones. Sounds like that might be what happened, and an EHD wave only amplifies it.

I've had really good luck with "poor man" plots. I like setting up several, spread around the area, so that family groups of does don't have to compete for food or be on top of one another while feeding. I do it in the woods with an ATV & disc, or just a rake & leaf blower. Once established I don't till anymore. I weed-eat the standing vegetation after I spread new seed, and the cut green cover allows germination same way as if I had tilled. So I only till new plots. If you can thin some timber to allow for undergrowth to pop up, it'll give fawning cover to keep does on your place. There are lots of things you can do to attract & hold deer close by, without having to spend much. It's fascinating to me and has become a big part of my hunting experience. I love doing habitat work. It doesn't just work for deer. It attracts all wildlife.

 

[Boll Weevil]

The rule of thumb on my farm is to remove 1 doe per 100 acres to maintain the current population density. Anything more than that on an annual basis will reduce the local herd. If you've been killing 2-3 does per year on 53 acres for a few years that works out to 2-6 does per 100 acres. If others around you are doing the same, could very easily have knocked the numbers back to a point it's challenging to see deer.

Are you at least seeing sign? Deer can't fly so if there's tracks, poo, etc at least you know there's a few around. If no sign you might have a deer numbers issue.

 

[FLTENNHUNTER1]

IMO 53 acres isn't enough to hold deer. Average home range is 600 to 700 acres. Core areas can be much smaller; but it is real easy to bump deer on smaller properties. Once you take away their feeling of security, they might not return. My property is 80 acres, and I have designated a central area as a sanctuary to try to give them the sense of security. That said, with shifting winds, it only takes deer on my property 3-4 days to pattern me and disappear. My sightings drop dramatically the longer I stay. And this is rotating stands playing the wind, and only sitting in the same stand 2 times in a row max. Many times I will hunt a stand in the morning and change to a different stand in the evening.

I see bachelor groups of outstanding bucks on camera in early bow season, only to have them disappear and never be seen again later in the year.

The game changer is the rut. At any given time a deer can enter and or exit my property at any time of the day. Granted, most of the activity is in the first two hours and the last two hours of the day; but I have also killed good bucks between 10 and 2.

Acorn mast can affect deer sightings also. I am a firm believer the less acorns the better, when they are everywhere I see less movement.

What I have learned over the 5 or 6 years I have owned the property and ran cameras is all deer are nocturnal; some more than others. Activity on my cameras are all hours of the night. There is no rhyme or reason, they just like to move around I guess.

One thing I have noticed, I have heard upon many occasions during archery season single gunshots right at or close to dark. I think as many or more deer are poached every year as are taken legally. This truly is a shame; I have no respect for poachers at all.

 

[Ski]

53 acres may not contain a deer's every movement, but it's certainly big enough to be where a deer spends the vast majority of its time. If it has food, cover, water, and low pressure, it'll keep deer in close proximity. Pressure also seems to affect bucks more than does, especially older bucks. A big guy can catch your ground scent and avoid that trail the rest of the season. A doe can be bumped over & over. They only readjust their travel or timing. And I think every deer has its own personality. Some are more tolerant than others, and some are flat paranoid.

I hate poachers, too. My brother called this morning from Ohio to tell me he had just broken up a deer drive. They had several hunters spanning the hollow up each ridge, one of which is ours. Gun season doesn't open until tomorrow. The guys scattered down hollow & jumped on ATV's, then fled, before he was able to get to them. About 20yrs ago that family had gotten busted by wardens for poaching & selling meat. One of them did prison time for it. The deer numbers were nil until about 3yrs ago. I began making plots, fawning cover, hinges, planing chestnut trees, a water hole, etc. This year it really exploded with a few doe families, several bucks of various age, and a few old matures staying near and frequenting the property.

My brother got a big 9pt after the poacher mess, plus my dad and I both got bucks in there this year. First time all three of us got good bucks on the old family plot, first time my 51yr old brother got a bow kill period there, and the biggest buck dad ever got in 70yrs of hunting there. A few years of habitat work completely flipped that property from a deer desert to a pretty darn good spot. Now if we can keep the poachers at bay, I feel good about the future. Wardens are going to help us out with that part.