Late season vs fall

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mauser06
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Late season vs fall

Unread postby mauser06 » Thu Feb 02, 2023 6:17 am

If you read my prior post about a small food plot, you'll know I picked up a 240 acre parcel of primarily big timber.


I personally seen 7 different bucks and a herd of around 30 deer in 1 corner of the property.


There is 0 good food this year because we had some kind of Acorn disaster. I've never seen such a wide spread absolute lack of acorns. It's wide spread. The deer have been digging at fern roots since at least December which is not common.



When the season ended, I took up 150lbs of various commercial deer feed. I tried to get stuff without corn or minimal corn but still ended up with more corn than I wanted...


I made 2 separate feed areas. One on the edge of the Hopefully future plot...just to try to condition them a bit to going to the plot for food. The other was right in their core area where they are naturally feeding and bedding. About 200yds from the other area.


The number of bucks I got pics of is borderline ridiculous. And I can tell the bigger bucks aren't hitting the food like the younger ones. Just by dumb luck I caught a couple skirting the area or in the background of pics.


I had very little hope for the area due to the lack of cover. But it's obviously holding a lot of deer and way more bucks than I ever thought.

I know there are at least 3 3.5+yo. A number of 2.5 and 1.5yos. No giants. But at least 3 that should be really nice bucks come fall.

Also a number of half rack and shed bucks...I had 4000 pics in a week. I had 2 cameras at each site but set them with only 2 or 3 shot bursts with a longer delay than I normally use on scrapes or trails.


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A 2.5yo....but look in the background. That halfrack is a pretty dang good buck. Photobombed 1 picture like a ghost.

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He's the biggest that commits to the food regularly. Just a beauty.


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That buck hung back and never came in. I'm 99% sure he is one I actually missed with my flintlock due to a.....flash in my eye...literally lol. Dumb mistake...rested the gun against a tree...lock and vent positioned right against the tree which deflected all the gas back into my eye....never got better pics but he's a nice 120 class from what I saw in person.


I can't do any cutting (leasing off a timber company) we aren't even 100% sure we'll be allowed to plant a plot...if we cant...I'll still try to do what I can to get more than weeds to grow in that open area.


I saw a number of those bucks over the last month in person....so it's not like my food piles brought bucks in from everywhere.

Surprisingly didn't get a ton of doe.


Any ideas on what fall may look like??

There is fresh cutting going on not overly far away. Pieces of the property to the north was cut 10 or so years ago and looks like it has much better browse and cover.

Seems crazy there are that many bucks in that small area. I don't know what to expect and didn't get to see the place till post rut.


I'm going to keep feeding them for a month or so. Continue to take inventory and hopefully keep them in the area so I can find sheds. Also going to add minerals. Lots of stuff going on sale...I'm grabbing what I can every time I'm at the store. I'll keep a mineral site going into the summer and let it dry up before the season per our laws.

This coming week I'd like to start another site on the other corner of the property. The topography of the place really plays in our favor and we have a few good points that all seem to hold deer. Getting late and a lot of antlers are starting to fall but I can usually spot a shed buck at the camera.


Excited to see the place come fall....but not sure what to expect.


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szwampdonkey
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Re: Late season vs fall

Unread postby szwampdonkey » Thu Feb 02, 2023 7:03 am

What’s the fall sign look like? Meaning rubs primarily as they should be leaving rut sign if they’re there during the rut?

Otherwise, no telling as deer will move a long long way for a stable food source in the late season. Heck, i get zero deer at my back yard bird feeders all year but come late Jan and Feb when we have cold temps and deep snow as we do now i get herds of them every night picking up scraps. The trail leading to my feeders comes right across 300 yards of frozen lake into my yard with nothing but rich homes and manicured lawns on that far side. So they’re coming from quite a ways just to raid bird feeders.

Point being, they definitely aren’t in the area by my house during fall. As such, there is zero fall sign like rubs in the small woods next to my house where the feeders are. But right now you’d think it’s a deer hunters paradise with the insane amount of deer sign in the snow.
mauser06
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Re: Late season vs fall

Unread postby mauser06 » Thu Feb 02, 2023 7:26 am

Thats what has me baffled a bit. They were definitely there in early December before winter set in. There is definitely better food around. They seem content digging fern root in this particular area.

I haven't gotten to see it much without snow. Most every day I've been through has had a dusting despite this winter being fairly snow less thus far. I've also been actively hunting...still hunting mostly..so I'm not seeing all of the sign as I'm looking for deer.. I'm still seeing a bit of fall sign and older rubs as well.


Just seems odd there are so many bucks in 1 area and from what I'm seeing in the snow, they have been there and aren't traveling. I definitely didn't bring them in with the food.. they were there prior.

Looking at historic stands...I've found 3 left in the general area. So I'm guessing the deer like that area for whatever reason.

I know the deer aren't contained to our property and we'll see different deer throughout the seasons.


Another 6 weeks or so till winter typically fades out...I'll scout it thoroughly and make plans for the fall.
Evanszach7
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Re: Late season vs fall

Unread postby Evanszach7 » Fri Feb 03, 2023 6:02 am

I'd say fall activity is going to be dependent upon how the property holds does. I picked up 120 acres this past spring. Didn't hunt it, but soaked cameras and just pulled most of them. Spring-Early season was regular doe bedding with a few 2 year olds. 3 yr olds showed up mid October-Thanksgiving. Corn field to my east. Propert has been a transition zone all late season. The best bucks didn't show up until after Ohio's gun week. 1 is now a resident with the same 2 year olds from early season.

I'm planning to only hunt this as a late season spot going forward. More of a safety net. It's hard to locate shooters post gun season and I've got better rut spots, plus I'd rather travel out of state during the rut. Might be worth a thought for your new lease.
mauser06
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Re: Late season vs fall

Unread postby mauser06 » Fri Feb 03, 2023 10:09 am

Makes sense. I can't control the other 5 members....I don't forsee them being there much at all....but maybe I'm wrong...if they are there much, no offense to them...but they aren't super knowledgeable so that can help or hurt me. It's gunna be a learning curve.


I didn't get to see the place till our gun season. So I have a head start....but not a full picture of fall.


Scouting will help untangle that mystery a bit...


I'll have camera sites and potential stand locations picked before green up. I'll probably run 2 or 3 mineral sites on the place through the summer to take an inventory and then move the cams to scrapes to have a good idea of live inventory.

I just got a cell cam to play with. I'm probably going to add more for my private places to run in a few areas.


I'm pleasantly surprised at what I've seen so far. No giants but there'll be a handful of pretty good bucks in the area somewhere come fall. I'd like to start targeting 125"+ and I'm just not finding them with any consistency on public. I ran 15 cameras on various public pieces this season on long soaks in areas that were previously scouted i felt very well. I got more people than I got of bucks that I'd lift a bow for. It was eye opening really.
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szwampdonkey
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Re: Late season vs fall

Unread postby szwampdonkey » Fri Feb 03, 2023 3:12 pm

mauser06 wrote:Makes sense. I can't control the other 5 members....I don't forsee them being there much at all....but maybe I'm wrong...if they are there much, no offense to them...but they aren't super knowledgeable so that can help or hurt me. It's gunna be a learning curve.


I didn't get to see the place till our gun season. So I have a head start....but not a full picture of fall.


Scouting will help untangle that mystery a bit...


I'll have camera sites and potential stand locations picked before green up. I'll probably run 2 or 3 mineral sites on the place through the summer to take an inventory and then move the cams to scrapes to have a good idea of live inventory.

I just got a cell cam to play with. I'm probably going to add more for my private places to run in a few areas.


I'm pleasantly surprised at what I've seen so far. No giants but there'll be a handful of pretty good bucks in the area somewhere come fall. I'd like to start targeting 125"+ and I'm just not finding them with any consistency on public. I ran 15 cameras on various public pieces this season on long soaks in areas that were previously scouted i felt very well. I got more people than I got of bucks that I'd lift a bow for. It was eye opening really.


Just curious, did you soak those cams in hardwoods or swamp?
mauser06
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Re: Late season vs fall

Unread postby mauser06 » Fri Feb 03, 2023 6:23 pm

I had cameras in various areas...most of them were in hardwood corridors with known scouted marsh bedding closeby. These cams went up in june/July when we got cooler days and I let em soak till the velvet came off.

To be completely fair, I had a few things at play....0 acorns and there are crops near enough that could have pulled the deer. And I believe EHD hit. EHD has been popping up especially in our swamps and marshes.


We also had a fairly cool Sept which brought out an abnormal number of squirrel and goose and whatever else hunters.


I had 2 cams in a hill spot. About 125yds apart covering different elevation. Both cams were on fire and had different bucks on them.

Another in the same hills but a couple ridges away I spotted a shooter one day and hung a cam and had a bachelor group come...one REALLY good buck.

Again, 0 acorns and I simply struggled to get on them...

Another are that shouldnhave been very hot was looking promising....then the state decided to mow a path literally to my cameras. Before this year, it wasn't easy to get back there and didn't look like it was worth going back there. I almost cried when I went to check the cameras and found a trail brush hogged right to it. I still got a couple really good bucks in the rut in the wee hours of the morning. My guess is it was out of habit. I could tell by the sign is was a rut breeding area. Looked like mature bucks went in there and shredded the place every fall.

I had a lot of "life" thrown my way this fall and it effected my hunting and my mental state of mind..aka I wasn't my typical me and fully in the game.


I'm leasing this piece and hopefully a couple other pieces to see what else I have access to....I kinda hit the point where I have killed a number of 70-110" bucks. Killing a 135" buck in Ohio in 2020 kinda lit a fire. I actually actually didn't kill a single deer this year...between life and me not wanting to kill anything I saw (till my flintlock mishap) I just didn't shoot a buck. I passed countless. I had an enjoyable season and don't regret or care that I didn't fill my tag for the first time in 10+ years.


I'll keep monitoring public...I have a few areas I want to scout.....but all my private is going to be more rut stuff. I struggle pretty hard especially for mature bucks in the timber before the 3rd week of October or so when they start traveling and laying down sign. Historically, I'd hunt the marshes till then because it's a very predictable hunt and my scouting made it work. I just haven't found the bucks I now wanna target.


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