Where are the deer????

[mtbyak]

Well I have sat in this location for almost 20 hours this week alone & have yet to see a deer :unsure:

I know they are around as the amount of sign I have seen is proof :unsure:


Here are some pics of what I have seen this week as to sign.

This is approximately 250 yds. along the fenceline I walk in along



This is approximately 50 yds. further along the same fenceline



Approximately 125 yds west of the second rub is this island of trees (approx. 30 ft. X 50 ft.)



3/4's of the way across the field to the island I find this on Friday afternoon ????



On the southeast edge of the island I have this



Then approximately 300 yds further south at the bushline I find this



There are tracks everywhere & I have sat all times of the day & even up to 6.5 hours straight in one day & have not seen a deer :unsure:

What is going on???

It is approximately 450 yds across this field & I have sat both my popup blind (when I am doing the long sits on the west edge of the property) & my ladder stand which is approx. 75 yds east of my popup???

Shoot Straight
Kirk

[R.J.]

Kirk : ... they must be nocturnal ? ... I have a spare trail camera if you want to try it out ... it will answer the question for sure ...

[mtbyak]

RJ, that would be great, but I would hesitate putting a trailcam out right now as we are into the screwy gun hunts around here for the next month & would not like to see it go missing.

I am going to sit it this weekend as well but it will be hit & miss over the next month with the gun hunts

Maybe come December we will get together on it.


Shoot Straight
Kirk

[R.J.]

Kirk : Soundsl ike a plan .... I have next week off for the gun hunt ... I have to go back to work Monday Novemeber 13th night shift ... I was planning to meet Nelson S. for breakfast , that a.m. at the Olympic ... let me know if you can make it ? I could drop off the trail camera then ?

No hurry to return it ... I picked up a digital that I will be using later in the season ...

[GaryM]

I haven't been seeing a whole lot of daytime activity where I am either. I know the deer are there. The camera will tell you for sure.

Tonight I sat in a stand overlooking a field of corn stalks. Just a few minutes before shooting time ended, one lone doe came out. I stayed put, just to see if anything else showed up. The moon is bright tonight so I figured I'd see something. Within 20 minutes, 6 more deer came in. Does I assume, but the moon wasn't quite light enought to let me see antlers. A few minutes later, the bucks showed up. They were cracking antlers in a couple of places in the field, and chasing at least one of the does around. More does came, and at one point I had 15 deer out about 50 yds. from me.

I wanted to get down, but didn't want to spook off the that many deer. Finally, there were only a couple deer left out there that I could make out. I thought I'd try blowing my grunt call and spook them off, assuming they were does. One grunt and here comes two of them. They circled my tree a couple of times, and I can't believe they didn't smell me. I assume they were small bucks, but it was too dark to see antlers.
I think in the next few days if the weather holds things are going to break loose around here.

[mtbyak]

RJ,

That sounds like a plan, I will mark it on the calander.

Let me know what time to be there.


Shoot Straight
Kirk

[wildwindom]

RJ, that would be great, but I would hesitate putting a trailcam out right now as we are into the screwy gun hunts around here for the next month & would not like to see it go missing.

I am going to sit it this weekend as well but it will be hit & miss over the next month with the gun hunts

Maybe come December we will get together on it.


Shoot Straight
Kirk

Maybe the gun hunting is whats keeping them nocturnal??????

[wsmitty01]

They are all in my back yard,,,lookin from th back porch..YES they are wild mulies,,NOT pen raised,,there was a 7 point sleeping in the shed,,,my brother was putting out some feed,,i don't really have an explanation for their behavior except they aren't messed with,,the cabin is in the mountains in New Mexico,,exact location will remain a secret!!!

[kendo kid]

mtbyak,
Everything changed 3 days ago. The seeking/chasing phase is going full bore with the big boys in the game. The does will stay out of the fields as long as they can because they know the boys will start chasing them and not let them feed. So the does are hanging to the bush more. Additionally, the combines and tractor jockeys are out in force as the weather has cleared and allowed folks to start the harvest. Soys and corn are going down from first light until 11:00 PM. This also contributes to changes in feeding patterns. You need to move from the fields and start setting up in the travel corridors between bedding areas. Scrapes are more hit or miss then 5 days ago. The travel corridors is where you want to if you are looking form Mr. Big who is looking for Becky Easy.

[mtbyak]

Well I found out this morning that the big guy is moving in this area during the dark.

This is what I found 50 yds. from my stand this morning






and this was right in front of it



Shoot Straight
Kirk

[pphoenix]

so the big boy smokes players

[vapredhunter]

Mybyak, Looks like a great place I think you need to scout a little more. What you are saying sound like that’s a social area between feeding and bedding since it's mostly field from the looks of it or edges then I’m feel sure their nocturnal. Most areas have a large deer trail back in the woods 100 yards or so that will run parallel with the field. There should be several smaller trails heading to the field and others heading to the bedding areas which they will use depending on the wind and weather. So I think you should go deeper find their bedding areas then hunt closer to them in the morning but not right in the middle of them. Try to find a back entrance so you don’t push them back in the woods when you enter, make sure you get their early and set up before daylight. In the afternoon hunt that parallel or a well worked trail that should be somewhere a 100 to couple hundreds from your hunting area on the fields. Don’t push close to the bedding areas for the evening hunt and watch the wind. Good luck Chris,