[demillo]

I took down my hang on stand the very end of August and put up a two person stand for my son to be able to hunt with me. Stand is in the exact same location as the previous one. I had been getting photos of deer (3 doe specifically and 7 different buck) all summer. I have only got one picture in the last 6 weeks. Granted, I got rid of the salt lick per regulations, but was wondering if it was the new stand or if it was the removal of the salt block. I've been out for one morning hunt and one evening hunt and have seen nothing. Very little sign as well. Three years ago I was seeing 10-12 deer a day. Last year there was construction in the area and the number of seen deer decreased. They appeared to be back on the upswing til now.....
Any thoughts?

 

[Killin'time]

Likely the reason the deer were coming in was for the salt. Salts gone, no reason for the deer to be there. Find the food (acorns right now) and you'll find the deer.
This is why i don't use salt or any food around my stands. You get all excited about deer all summer, then once you take the food away, the deer disappear too. I pretty much exclusively run cameras and my stand sites on trails and pinch points. Don't get as many photos but it's more realistic as to what is naturally going through the area.

Good luck!

 

[TrashPanda]

Good advice.

 

[demillo]

That's a good point killin time. I used to only hang my camera at pinch points. Its a small 5 acre area I hunt. Nobody else around me hunts....and I'm hoping to get access to another five across the creek. This is the first year I've put out a salt block. Mainly did it because of the construction last year and everything that happened. Wanted to see if things were getting back to normal. Guess I'll know more before the end of archery...

 

[R. S. B.]

The deer have shifted their patterns over the past month pretty much everywhere, even where no salt, mineral or other baits have been out at all. They have and will continue to move where they have the best food supplies, probably acorns in some areas, and the bucks also to where they are finding the scent of receptive does. Sometimes those areas are one and the same and other times not as much.

This major shift in deer activity occurs pretty much every year we have a good mast crop. It is also the reason I don't put a lot of stock in using summer sightings and camera images as reliable scouting tools.

Dick Bodenhorn

 

[dpms]

Deer visit salt/mineral much less as summer moves to fall. Plus, food sources undergo and drastic shift this time of the year. As do buck patterns.

 

[WestE]

When the acorns are gone they will go back to their normal patterns.

 

[demillo]

Thanks everyone. Maybe things will switch back soon.

 

[Cummins5.9ho]

Try to locate their security spot.
That where they are. Any other bull stuff can happen. It won't be their only security spot. But hunt it on a good wind and often. Their there. Find the security spot.

 

[JMackanick]

That happens every year around this time. I tried something different and found where the deer were in January and set my cameras in those locations. I think that will be better than focusing on the summer areas.

 

[Cummins5.9ho]

That happens every year around this time. I tried something different and found where the deer were in January and set my cameras in those locations. I think that will be better than focusing on the summer areas.

Ahhh, your learning.
Pay attention to the last of october, all of November and December.

 

[outofstater]

Good points given here. Mine is get rid of the cameras also, then you can enjoy the hunt. I think back in the day we was better hunters with out technology. We knew the things of finding the food, cover, rut, etc. Now I hear people say no deer because the camera didn't show it. Maybe that brut walked 10 yards away from the camera and didn't show up.

 

[TrashPanda]

Good points given here. Mine is get rid of the cameras also, then you can enjoy the hunt. I think back in the day we was better hunters with out technology. We knew the things of finding the food, cover, rut, etc. Now I hear people say no deer because the camera didn't show it. Maybe that brut walked 10 yards away from the camera and didn't show up.

Whoa Nellie!!!! As many points as we've disagreed upon, we have a winner that we AGREE on!

 

[BUBBABUCK]

Good points given here. Mine is get rid of the cameras also, then you can enjoy the hunt. I think back in the day we was better hunters with out technology. We knew the things of finding the food, cover, rut, etc. Now I hear people say no deer because the camera didn't show it. Maybe that brut walked 10 yards away from the camera and didn't show up.

I agree 100%....understanding the woods, and more importantly how the deer are using the terrain and utilizing the food sources will tell you things a camera could never show you

 

[1shot2kills]

Deer patterns shift, also a deer has to take a pretty specific trail in order to cross a trail cam.

The buck I got last Thursday I had on camera for the better part of a month coming past my trailcam every couple days at around the same time each morning, and then it stopped. I thought someone else had gotten him since there are other hunters pretty close to where my stand is hung.

Last Thursday was my very first morning sit and sure enough he came in at around the same exact time I'd had him on cam prior. The difference was the way in which he came in would have missed my trailcam all together.

Moral of the story...just because you don't have them on trailcam doesn't meant they're not there. You'll need some more sits in the woods to confirm/deny that the deer are still there.

 

[mauser06]

As was said patterns change...in my neck of the woods oaks are where it's at... about a week sugar maples will be on fire..then corn..


Everyone has different hunting styles...but once I started hunting mobile my deer hunting got 100x better..

Deer patterns change and you gotta change with them if you wanna see them...

And deer, especially mature deer, became mature by avoiding people...cameras are great..but when yoj check them you're pressuring deer and leaving scent..


Some of my better spots are just out of sight of other hunters stands they leave in the woods and hunt often..stand is in a good location but they over hunt it...the deer still use the area but 90% of the deer are out of that stands view..I've seen them stop and scent check and look at the stands before proceeding passed it...


Pre-hung stadns are really convenient and for kids it's either a 2 man ladder or the ground...

I'd recommend a little scouting during or right before a GOOD rain..find good sign and move the stand to it..get a few more stands and find a few more spots and rotate your hunts so you aren't in the same area so often...

I know stands aren't cheap and hunting ground can be limited..


I used to be in the same boat...I've worked for years now scouting and logging data intoy GPS..I now have spots in most Western PA counties that I'm confident I can go and see deer...every year I add a few more..

And scouting for me is often while doing something else..trout fishing.. running the coon dog..trapping..turkey season..bear and deer drives..whatever..I'm always looking for another spot to kill deer..

 

[Davy Crockett]

In my experience they shift areas from summer to fall. Had a doe with 2 fawns and 2 small bucks hanging around my yard all summer even bedded down next to the house and driveway. Seen this happen year after year, summer deer disappear come fall.The past month or so they've been around less, the past 2 weeks, no where to be seen. I'm sure they're not too far but they're frequenting different areas. The bucks will roam farther once rut hits of course.

 

[browninggold]

If you HAVE to keep the two man stand where it's at now, perhaps create a mock scrape or two to swing the deer back your way....?

 

[demillo]

Part of the problem is I only have 5 acres to work with. There is not a lot of public land around here, and what there is, gets hit very hard. Last year, in November, I saw five different shooter bucks from my stand....in one day. All were across the creek on the neighbors property. I have also seen a number of other deer there regularly. If I can get access to that property it will add another 5 acres to my zone. Where my current stand is there is no food--its all black walnuts. The deer are hitting the local corn fields etc. I expect they will move back into my area as it is one of their normal bedding areas. Obviously I'll know more as the season moves on. Maybe I'll move my camera as well, just to see if they are traveling a different route.