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Author Topic: Strange deer year here!!!  (Read 1968 times)

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Offline IronKnees

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Strange deer year here!!!
« on: December 29, 2002, 05:01:04 AM »
Strange year here in Indiana... the rut was definitely EARLY... and the deer went totally nocturnal early as well. First year in at least 10 that I did not see the first single deer on opening morning of firearms season. My game camera confirmed what I suspected... they were running at night. By the third week in Nov., all the scrapes had completely been abandoned... In talking to my buds around the country, this seems to have happened nation wide... How bout' you guys...  :?  BTW, if you use this link, you can see my latest game cam pictures... http://www.accs.net/users/drquick/gamecampics.html
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Offline huntsman

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Strange deer year here!!!
« Reply #1 on: December 31, 2002, 08:00:26 PM »
Strange as it may seem, here in central Texas bucks do not make scrapes! In 28 years of hard hunting I have never seen nor heard of anyone who has seen a buck scrape in these parts. When I visited Indiana at age 17, I saw my first buck scrapes.

We've had 40+ inches of rain here since July 1. That's more than our yearly average total (36"). Looks like springtime in all the pastures--green like I've never seen it. Bucks coming and going, everywhere, everyday, in the early season (Nov. 2-7). Shot my 10-point wallhanger on the fourth day and haven't been back since (I hunt in a one-buck county). Usually things don't start picking up here until Thanksgiving.

I heard it's been terrible dry in the Midwest this year--perhaps this could have some bearing on the deer behavior you've seen.
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Offline dakotashooter2

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Strange deer year here!!!
« Reply #2 on: January 03, 2003, 03:13:24 PM »
About the same here in ND. I speculate the reason for lack of scrape activity during the rut may be related to the high deer numbers in the nation. At least in my area, doe numbers are so high the bucks don't need to advertize. There was plenty of scape activity up til the rut then, nothing, all the scrapes went dead.
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Offline volshooter

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Strange deer year here!!!
« Reply #3 on: January 07, 2003, 04:22:57 PM »
WE HAD THE SAME KIND OF SEASON HERE IN THE SOUTH EAST. DEER ARE ONLY BEING SEE AT NIGHT AND A FEW MID DAY. LIGHTS POINTED TOWARDS FEILDS DURING THE DARK SHOW LITERALLY 100'S OF EYES. I TOOK 9 OR BETTER LAST YEAR, ONLY UP TO ONE THIS SEASON AND SEASON CLOSES IN 4 DAYS.
RICK
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Offline bullet maker

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Great Pictures
« Reply #4 on: January 15, 2003, 06:13:13 PM »
Hello IronKnees;
  I really enjoyed your deer pictures. Especially the does standing with the big moon behind them.
   Here in Okla, Our deer did not comply like we thought they would either. The weather turned really cold, and alot more rain for that time of year. OPening morning, was a lot of gun shots, and after that the next day very little gunfire going on. And like you, I have a lot of game cameras up around the property, and saw what was happening, they were all going nocturnal.  That was very strange for just them to do that after just one day of hunting.
   I haven`t head the latest deer count, but overall I think we are placeing, 8 percent low from last year. Did notice a lot of young buck`s, very few big bucks.
   Keep those pictures coming. Enjoyed them. :D
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Offline I am CAL.........

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Deer Season
« Reply #5 on: January 18, 2003, 05:28:01 PM »
Guys,it was the same here in So.Ga. All the bucks were nocturnal the whole season,I did not see a one.Plenty of scrapes and rubs just no daytime movement.Talked to a friend in Florida tonight and he reported the same about the movement.His camera did not take a single picture in the daylight.Sure is strange that things were the same all over. :D I am CAL.....
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Offline IronKnees

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Strange deer year here!!!
« Reply #6 on: January 24, 2003, 04:12:06 AM »
This is a fairly old post, but here is a bit of an update... During the late muzzleloader season here in Indiana, the deer came out of their night only mode and started being seen during early morning hours and early evening hours again... some guys did score if they hung in there long enough... Strange year boys....!!!
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Offline longwinters

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Strange deer year here!!!
« Reply #7 on: January 24, 2003, 05:52:45 PM »
When you can walk a 2 mile loop after a fresh snow and cut 5 deer tracks in the area I hunt in something is definitely wrong.  Yes the deer were moving mostly at nite, but there are far fewer deer than previous years (at least in our area).  Thanks to a bad spring, the state re-introduced wolves (which kill EVERYTHING) and a hugh coyote population.  Who knows . . . maybe it is a sign of the times?
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Offline IronKnees

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Strange deer year here!!!
« Reply #8 on: January 25, 2003, 04:17:51 AM »
Longwinters... take a look at my game cam pictures, and look at the very bottom picture... Click here: http://www.accs.net/users/drquick/gamecampics.html This one was caught on camera right in the middle of the season...!!! And, right on the main trail... IronKnees
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I want to finish well
I want to end this race
Still leaning on HIS AMAZING GRACE
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