Drought changing patterns and activity?

[JWW4]

I have not had a pic of a deer in a month. Over the summer they came through 3-4 days a week. The last pic I got was on Sept 10.
Is it the lack of rain changing them, cause nothing else is different? The only other possibility I can think of is the acorn crop has been so good this year around here they aren't moving.

 

[JCDEERMAN]

I find that not just this year, but every year, that September is the hardest month to get the pictures I want. I run cameras from July - January very successfully....though September always stuns me.

There are many factors because of this, and the changing of the food sources is the #1 factor in my opinion. That and hunters entering the woods, whether it be from scouting or hunting, moving stands, and last minute tweeks to things. Though even with the food sources being mute, they are always going to be changing their patterns during the fall at this time anyways.....especially the bucks as soon as the get into their hard horns.

October is here, and thats normally the time I start getting the "good" pictures . From the start of October till about the mid part of October, I get most of my pictures of older bucks in food plots....I suspect they are "beefin-up" for the rut. Then come the mid part of October, I like to piss in mock scrapes and real scrapes with cameras over them. Those produce the best results. From there, its all about terrain features.

Hope this helps and I understand the frustration of the September blues

 

[BSK]

Great post JCDEERMAN. I couldn't agree more. Although I always have cameras scattered across different set-ups, my BEST buck pictures always sequence through salt licks, then food plots, then scrapes. Bu without any food plots (mine are still unplanted bare dirt) I kept the cameras on salt licks longer than normal and now I've switched (much earlier than normal) to mock scrapes and the few real scrapes I've found.

And it doesn't take long for mock scrapes to start producing. I have one where a spike buck began heavily using the overhanging limb of the scrape exactly 4 1/2 hours after I made the scrape. Within 24 hours I had a doe using it and within 48 hours, had a 3 1/2 year-old buck using it.

 

[Football Hunter]

Great post JCDEERMAN. I couldn't agree more. Although I always have cameras scattered across different set-ups, my BEST buck pictures always sequence through salt licks, then food plots, then scrapes. Bu without any food plots (mine are still unplanted bare dirt) I kept the cameras on salt licks longer than normal and now I've switched (much earlier than normal) to mock scrapes and the few real scrapes I've found.

And it doesn't take long for mock scrapes to start producing. I have one where a spike buck began heavily using the overhanging limb of the scrape exactly 4 1/2 hours after I made the scrape. Within 24 hours I had a doe using it and within 48 hours, had a 3 1/2 year-old buck using it.

all in the dark?Usage that is.

 

[JCDEERMAN]

I only have one over a mock scrape at this time. I will change alot of them this weekend....a couple to fields and a couple to mock scrapes or if I can find a few scrapes. I have been elk hunting out west, so that has altered my plans here at home. I cant wait to get down there this weekend and move my cameras where I want them.

FH - I get most of my pictures of older bucks at scrapes at night, yes. But when it comes to younger deer, its night and day. For some reason, I get more pictures of older bucks in food plots during the day more than them at mock scrapes during the day. It is suprising because we can count on 1 or 2 hands how many times we have seen older bucks in our food plots during the day over the last 10 years :crazy:

 

[Football Hunter]

I only have one over a mock scrape at this time. I will change alot of them this weekend....a couple to fields and a couple to mock scrapes or if I can find a few scrapes. I have been elk hunting out west, so that has altered my plans here at home. I cant wait to get down there this weekend and move my cameras where I want them.

FH - I get most of my pictures of older bucks at scrapes at night, yes. But when it comes to younger deer, its night and day. For some reason, I get more pictures of older bucks in food plots during the day more than them at mock scrapes during the day. It is suprising because we can count on 1 or 2 hands how many times we have seen older bucks in our food plots during the day over the last 10 years :crazy:

Yep,I get very few daylight pics of older/bigger bucks anywhere,after the velvet comes off,but curiously,in a food plot is one place I get them as well,though not often.

 

[Football Hunter]

I only have one over a mock scrape at this time. I will change alot of them this weekend....a couple to fields and a couple to mock scrapes or if I can find a few scrapes. I have been elk hunting out west, so that has altered my plans here at home. I cant wait to get down there this weekend and move my cameras where I want them.

FH - I get most of my pictures of older bucks at scrapes at night, yes. But when it comes to younger deer, its night and day. For some reason, I get more pictures of older bucks in food plots during the day more than them at mock scrapes during the day. It is suprising because we can count on 1 or 2 hands how many times we have seen older bucks in our food plots during the day over the last 10 years :crazy:

Yep,I get very few daylight pics of older/bigger bucks anywhere,after the velvet comes off,but curiously,in a food plot is one place I get them as well,though not often.

I have a cam over a scrape from last year now that I "mocked up" looking forward to checking it out.

 

[BSK]

Great post JCDEERMAN. I couldn't agree more. Although I always have cameras scattered across different set-ups, my BEST buck pictures always sequence through salt licks, then food plots, then scrapes. Bu without any food plots (mine are still unplanted bare dirt) I kept the cameras on salt licks longer than normal and now I've switched (much earlier than normal) to mock scrapes and the few real scrapes I've found.

And it doesn't take long for mock scrapes to start producing. I have one where a spike buck began heavily using the overhanging limb of the scrape exactly 4 1/2 hours after I made the scrape. Within 24 hours I had a doe using it and within 48 hours, had a 3 1/2 year-old buck using it.

all in the dark?Usage that is.

Spike and doe during daylight, 3 1/2 year-old buck at night. But a second mock scrape I made got a 3 1/2 year-old 7-point and a yearling forkhorn between 7 and 9 AM within days of me making the scrape.

 

[BSK]

I messed up my time and date when changing batteries, but look at the time stamps:

Me making the scrape:

Yearling spike 4 1/2 hours later. I put nothing on the overhanging limb, but he sure is working it!

 

[BSK]

I too get even mature bucks in food plots during daylight, but very early in the season; generally in September. Other than that, the vast majority of mature buck pictures in food plots are at night--with one exception--I have just a couple of pictures of mature bucks cruising through a food plot during daylight during the peak of the rut. However, we've never actually seen a mature buck do this with our own eyes. Only on trail-cam.

 

[Boone 58]

Definitely changing patterns as the deer are now feeding heavy on acorns (where available) to gain as much body weight as possible and feeding heavier at night to be protected both from hunters and the heat. Cant wait for the next weather front to come in with rain and bring cooler temps!!!