Squirrels and Deer

[NumberOne]

Have any of you seen a correlation between having a lot of squirrels in a area and having more deer movement in that area? Or the opposite more squirrels and less deer movement?

The worst years on our property for deer hunting usually correlates with basically zero squirrels as well. Granted we had zero acorns those years and we are all big timber and clear cuts so that makes sense.

But in years with a good mast crop, seems like the more squirrels around the more deer I see. Maybe this is in my head haha

 

[BSK]

Lots of acorns, lots of squirrels AND deer. Yes, I've seen a correlation.

 

[catman529]

Acorns are king

 

[Trapper John]

Good years for deer are good years for everything. Turkey, squirrels...you name it. When the acorns are abundant I see more of pretty much everything.

 

[Topshelf]

Agree with all above statements and will also add it attracts more predators as well. Bobcats seem more common my spots when we have bumper crops of mast.

 

[megalomaniac]

Absolutely! Habitat for squirrels is also good habitat for deer because of acorns. I love hunting with squirrels around. They will often tip me off to look for an approaching deer when they scamper and bark. Had one do that for me yest eve... squirrel went on alert, I went on alert, and spotted a deer slipping thru the thick underbrush 80y away. Too thick to even identify the deer, but I would have never seen it if the squirrel didn't tip me off first.

 

[TheLBLman]

Some people hate to have turkeys around, but nothing will pull deer out of the thick stuff better than a flock of turkeys. Having turkeys feeding around you in the afternoons greatly increases your odds of having deer coming around.
Just don't spook the turkeys!

 

[Omega]

Seems deer use squirrels and other timid wildlife as an extension of their senses. I've often seen more deer when other wildlife has been active like turkey and squirrel. I guess they figure they will alert if they spot you.

 

[DRSJ35]

I've often thought that when they scamper up a tree barking back and forth has got to mean something is there they can see. Probably not always but more so than not. Could be a deer or whatever. But I wouldn't think they would do that for nothing.

 

[catman529]

Some people hate to have turkeys around, but nothing will pull deer out of the thick stuff better than a flock of turkeys. Having turkeys feeding around you in the afternoons greatly increases your odds of having deer coming around.
Just don't spook the turkeys!

Turkeys will see you in a tree 5x better than a deer

 

[Omega]

I've often thought that when they scamper up a tree barking back and forth has got to mean something is there they can see. Probably not always but more so than not. Could be a deer or whatever. But I wouldn't think they would do that for nothing.

All I know is that when I hear something scampering through the leaves if I look it's squirrels if I don't, it's a deer.

 

[74MOPAR]

I've seen more squirrels this year than ever,
and less deer than ever so who knows.

 

[philsanchez76]

I think so. I almost always see and hear squirrels moving first. It's almost like the deer wait for them to move, see that it's safe and then after a few minutes deer start popping out.

 

[tnpete]

Something else to watch on the Squirrels. If you see one turn fast, looking in a direction. Watch that way. They will spot a deer minutes before you will ever know its there. If the tree rat goes back to normal. Keep looking for that deer. But if that Rat starts sneaking off, you can bet its someone or something that's going to try to eat it.

 

[dogsled]

Well we are covered up with squirrels and chipmunks. I always see squirrels, but don't always see deer, so I think the correlation is about 0.5. P(deer | squirrel) = 0.5. P(squirrel | hunting) = 1.0. P(squirrel | drinking morning coffee) = 1.0

 

[dogsled]

All I know is that when I hear something scampering through the leaves if I look it's squirrels if I don't, it's a deer.

In my neck of the wood could also be an armadillo. Sometimes when they are rooting around out of sight sounds too big for a squirrel. I have had that happen a couple of times when hunting and spent a long time trying to see what it was to finally see a 'dillo come out.

 

[BSK]

Has anyone else noticed how small/young the squirrels look this year? I saw very few big, fat adult squirrels. Seemed like all of them were this summer's batch. The vast majority are small, young squirrels.

 

[Mugwamper]

If you want to squirrel hunt an are just put out some buck lure. They love it and come right to it. I've seen this many times. Almost everytime I have put out lure on a tree the squirrels are all over it.

 

[Trapper John]

Has anyone else noticed how small/young the squirrels look this year? I saw very few big, fat adult squirrels. Seemed like all of them were this summer's batch. The vast majority are small, young squirrels.

Now that you mention it, all but maybe three or four of the ones I shot this year were young. We had massive damage to our timber from previous storms and finally got the salvageable timber plus some mature stuff cut so I figured the population took a hit and was just now rebounding.

 

[GOHUNT]

The "if you plant it they will come" effect…

 

[Bone Collector]

All my bow sets are on acorns. With the "Bumper" crop of acorns we got this year I thought it may be outstanding, but could be tough as more acorns means less looking for the deer. My season started out really bad as far a sightings go and despite hearing acorns fall I noticed squirrel activity in the area was WAY down. once I found the acorns they were hitting I had squirrels practically climbing into my stand with me. They are annoying, but there is a correlation, IMO.

 

[BSK]

Now that you mention it, all but maybe three or four of the ones I shot this year were young. We had massive damage to our timber from previous storms and finally got the salvageable timber plus some mature stuff cut so I figured the population took a hit and was just now rebounding.

I think last year's very poor acorn crop (in my area) really knocked down the squirrel population.

 

[NumberOne]

I guess my question

All my bow sets are on acorns. With the "Bumper" crop of acorns we got this year I thought it may be outstanding, but could be tough as more acorns means less looking for the deer. My season started out really bad as far a sightings go and despite hearing acorns fall I noticed squirrel activity in the area was WAY down. once I found the acorns they were hitting I had squirrels practically climbing into my stand with me. They are annoying, but there is a correlation, IMO.

This is kind of what I was hitting at here. During a bumper crop, do more squirrels in an area correlate to more deer sightings. Are squirrels finding the "hotter" acorns. Basically can squirrels help you find the better oaks/areas to hunt.

 

[Bone Collector]

I guess my question

This is kind of what I was hitting at here. During a bumper crop, do more squirrels in an area correlate to more deer sightings. Are squirrels finding the "hotter" acorns. Basically can squirrels help you find the better oaks/areas to hunt.

I don't know if there is a way to know for sure, but it appeared that way this year. Everywhere I hunted with the exception of one, had red and white oaks. for whatever reason, the deer were not there when I was. Usually that is not the case.

when I found the last area I have been hunting, it also has whites and reds. Tons of squirrels and the deer were there too.