Evicted from BSK’s

[UPSman]

1st picture of him

 

[Ski]

That's a beauty right there!

 

[Andy S.]

Nice buck, hope he sticks around for you.

 

[BSK]

Man, have you all got the big bucks this year! Something tells me one or two is going to spend time in my cooler!

Do you think bucks are coming up out of the bottomlands early this year? I've picked up a couple of new bucks in the last week that seem to be bottomland deer.

 

[UPSman]

That's what I'm guessing Brian. We are flat covered with next years bucks also. We have by far more small bucks this year than ever.

 

[wcw280]

That's what I'm guessing Brian. We are flat covered with next years bucks also. We have by far more small bucks this year than ever.

Que the EHD. Seems like the deer are back to where they were last time we had a big kill in middle TN. Everyone is talking about how many deer they are seeing.

 

[bowhunterfanatic]

Weee doggy that's a good one! Good luck with him this year.

 

[DoubleRidge]

Love the long 2s and 3s! Nice!

 

[DoubleRidge]

Que the EHD. Seems like the deer are back to where they were last time we had a big kill in middle TN....

Hush....dont talk like that.

 

[BSK]

That's what I'm guessing Brian. We are flat covered with next years bucks also. We have by far more small bucks this year than ever.

We definitely have the highest summer population we've ever had. Normally, the vast majority of deer we have to hunt in November don't come out of the bottomlands until late September and October. However, this year, we censused 20 different bucks, plus around 40 does and their fawns. That's an extraordinarily high summer population for us.

 

[backyardtndeer]

Nice tall buck. Good luck on him.

 

[killingtime 41]

Very nice buck

 

[BSK]

Although he's not going to score that high, I'm still enamored with this buck. He's at the top of my list. How often do you get the chance to hunt a 13-point buck?

 

[Ski]

Although he's not going to score that high, I'm still enamored with this buck. He's at the top of my list. How often do you get the chance to hunt a 13-point buck?

That triple brow is cool!!!

 

[UPSman]

Although he's not going to score that high, I'm still enamored with this buck. He's at the top of my list. How often do you get the chance to hunt a 13-point buck?

We will trade you 10 6 points and a feathered rat for him

 

[BSK]

No thank you on the feather rat!

For some odd reason, we have seen a pretty serious improvement in our feathered rat population. Perhaps a decline in coyote population?

 

[TheLBLman]

For some odd reason, we have seen a pretty serious improvement in our feathered rat population. Perhaps a decline in coyote population?

Believe the increase in turkeys can be most attributed to fair to good nesting success in '23 & '24 across most of Western Middle TN & the Highland Rim.

Unfortunately for many of us, fortunately for you, the '25 nesting success appears below average, and we'll likely see the downside of the "boom & bust" turkey population cycles within a couple years.

Coyote populations seem about the same.

 

[BSK]

Believe the increase in turkeys can be most attributed to fair to good nesting success in '23 & '24 across most of Western Middle TN & the Highland Rim.

Unfortunately for many of us, fortunately for you, the '25 nesting success appears below average, and we'll likely see the downside of the "boom & bust" turkey population cycles within a couple years.

Coyote populations seem about the same.

Interesting.

Our local coyote population is way down. Don't know why. But in the last two years we have become OVERRUN by foxes, which usually is an indication the coyote population is down. If I get 50 trail-cam videos from a food plot, 15 will be foxes.

 

[TheLBLman]

Our local coyote population is way down. Don't know why. But in the last two years we have become OVERRUN by foxes, which usually is an indication the coyote population is down. If I get 50 trail-cam videos from a food plot, 15 will be foxes.

I am also getting more pics of foxes, but little different than over the past 3 years. Coyote pics seem about the same, although I do believe a reduction in coyote populations allows for more foxes to survive.

Prior to about 5 years ago, I had had only a couple fox pics in over a decade, but now am getting them regularly, but not even close to the number of coyote pics.

May also be as much a case of foxes becoming more adaptive?

Suspect the increase in foxes may be somewhat attributed to widespread habitat improvements for foxes. Much of Western Middle TN has experienced tremendous timber cutting over the past 5 years, producing a significant widespread increase in the rabbit & small ground rodent populations. Look at the habit changes (improvements) you've yourself made over the past 5 years.

There is also more cover for a fox to avoid a coyote.

 

[BSK]

I am also getting more pics of foxes, but little different than over the past 3 years. Coyote pics seem about the same, although I do believe a reduction in coyote populations allows for more foxes to survive.

Prior to about 5 years ago, I had had only a couple fox pics in over a decade, but now am getting them regularly, but not even close to the number of coyote pics.

May also be as much a case of foxes becoming more adaptive?

Suspect the increase in foxes may be somewhat attributed to widespread habitat improvements for foxes. Much of Western Middle TN has experienced tremendous timber cutting over the past 5 years, producing a significant widespread increase in the rabbit & small ground rodent populations. Look at the habit changes (improvements) you've yourself made over the past 5 years.

There is also more cover for a fox to avoid a coyote.

Very, very possible TheLBLman. We have done a lot of habitat work that makes our property more "fox friendly," and this may be some of the reason for the fox explosion. But we are also seeing a lot less coyote pictures. And that may not be due to a "die-off," but because the habitat is no longer conducive to 'yotes. They are "sight" hunters, and with all the thick cover habitat we have produced, coyotes can no longer hunt as efficiently as they could in open hardwoods.

 

[Ski]

I'm seeing far less coyotes than in recent years as well. Seems starting around 2020 there was a boon in yote population but now it seems back to "normal", although zero is technically normal. I'm also seeing more foxes, as well as rabbits. I don't specifically hunt or trap coyotes so it's not anything I'm doing. But for certain there's a down cycle of the rascals at the moment. I just figured it was the natural flux of predator/prey cycle. More prey spurs more predators and visa versa. I expect to see another coyote boon in next couple years.

 

[DoubleRidge]

I'm seeing far less coyotes than in recent years as well. Seems starting around 2020 there was a boon in yote population but now it seems back to "normal", although zero is technically normal. I'm also seeing more foxes, as well as rabbits. I don't specifically hunt or trap coyotes so it's not anything I'm doing. But for certain there's a down cycle of the rascals at the moment. I just figured it was the natural flux of predator/prey cycle. More prey spurs more predators and visa versa. I expect to see another coyote boon in next couple years.

I'm having the same observations...rabbit numbers are solid around the house and property and I've seen more red fox this spring than I have coyotes? Interesting.

 

[UPSman]

We have an abundance of bobcats and foxes. We may get an occasional coyote picture. I have one rabbit that has set up residency in front of one of my cameras. I don't know how he's made it this long.

 

[BSK]

We have an abundance of bobcats and foxes. We may get an occasional coyote picture. I have one rabbit that has set up residency in front of one of my cameras. I don't know how he's made it this long.

Yes, we are crawling with bobcats and foxes.