Where Are The Whitetail Deer?Written by David Selman, Tracker-Outdoors.com
Where Did The Deer Go?, Early Season Thoughts..You have worked all spring and summer keeping your feeders filled, building new deer stands or fixing old ones, planting food plots and planning hunting strategies for your first fall hunt. Each time you checked your feeders, food plots or game trails, you were encouraged by new deer sign, fresh tracks, rubs, scrapes and other signs that deer continue to use area. But, now that archery or early gun season opening day are here, you’re not seeing deer you expected to see and now you may be asking yourself, “where are deer?” or, “what did I do wrong?”When this happens, and believe me it happens to all of us, there are several factors to keep in mind. Let’s discuss a few.First, most of us observe deer patterns over spring and summer and work to draw deer into our areas using any number of tactics including feeders, food plots, salt licks and other game getting techniques. While all of these are good strategies, many of us forget that deer also require a good source of water. By late summer and early fall, water sources can “dry up” leaving few locations for deer and other wildlife to get that life sustaining fluid.If your hunting area that has shown good promise all summer long suddenly stops showing deer activity and deer sighting are down, it may be that deer are seeking a water source. If you believe this is case, try to locate a creek bed, small pond or any other water source, no matter how small. Chances are that if you find water, you will find fresh deer signs. Even if a creek appears to be dried up, search up and down creek bed for any remaining pools of water and look for deer signs. Once you find water and fresh deer sign, consider using a portable deer stand to set up on this location for early season success. Second, regardless of how much corn and feed supplement is around your feeder or how well your food plot has grown, deer, especially mature bucks, prefer natural forage of woods and field edges. If your deer feeders and food plots are not located near natural food sources, you may be waiting until natural food sources run low before deer seek your feeders and food plots more actively. If your man made food sources are not drawing in deer and other wildlife, it may be because natural food sources such as acorns or other mast crops have attention and your stand is not in path of natural sources. Your choices are to either wait for natural food sources to dwindle and for deer to return to your feeders and food plots, or, you hunter will have to become mobile and hunt natural food supply using portable stands. With this in mind, you will also want to choose future permanent stand locations that are close to natural food sources when possible. Another good strategy is to place your stands between natural food sources, between food and water sources or between food or water sources and deer bedding areas.
| | Hunting Tradition Passed On Written by David Selman, Tracker-Outdoors.com
It’s a cold crisp winter day, cloudy and damp, just right for still hunting or stalking game in woods of central Texas . The hunt takes place in Bosque Co. just west of Lake Whitney which is a mix of hardwood’s, mesquite, and of course cactus. Along for hunt is a son and his daughter. They are bow hunting for white tail deer she is along for experience and does not carry or shot a bow yet, being about twelve years old. Not quite strong enough yet to pull and hold minimum draw weight of a compound bow. Dressed in full camo, they slowly still hunt along edge of a well used game trail. Reaching on area that has been pre-scouted and tree stands set up. One in a large tall oak, and other in a short distance away, over looking small pound and feeder. With game trails leading in to pond and clearing. He places Elizabeth in a concealed pocket of brush at base of old oak, so she may safely observe clearing and any game that shows up. A short time later a hunting companion Mike comes in to same oak tree stand. Totally unaware someone is sitting so quiet and still and camouflaged. He does not see her. Into tree stand he climbs. He settles in, she wonders, should I say something or just stay Quite and still. Finally Beth decides it might be best to make mike aware of her presence, since he dips and might have to or
|
