SchrnLker

Deer & Deer Hunting 26 mins · It is with heavy hearts and deep sadness that we report the sudden passing of longtime D&DH Senior Field Editor Charles J. Alsheimer of Bath, N.Y. Charlie was not only our longest-tenured contributor (since 1979), he was a very dear friend to everyone on our staff. His insights on deer behavior and hunting helped educated countless thousands of whitetail fanatics. Rest in peace, sir.

Hard to beat any of Gene and Barry Wensel's books on hunting whitetails. You can find them on ebay.

I'd like to through out a few ideas on why guys had such a tough season. First, the rut. I went back to Alsheimers rut prediction in the Oct. Deer & Deer Hunting Mag. Now looking back on it is pretty interesting. He called for a trickle rut, spread out from late Oct through almost all of Nov, and that's what we had. No real intense periods, which makes for hard hunting. Now, many big bucks were taken this year. If you have a Facebook Acct. look at the postings on the NYS Big Buck Club page, wow, it will blow you away. But in a trickle rut year you really had to be in the right place, right time, which those guys and gals were. Another factor, food. You guys remember how rainy it was this spring, almost into mid summer. That created very lush, nutritious feed deep in the woods. Years like this are always tough when deer, particularly bucks don't have roam for food, its everywhere. They still hit the fields, but mostly at night. (Sound familiar) My last factor could be a little controversial, trail-cams. While I admit, it's the coolest thing to get pictures of those big bucks that live in the areas that we hunt, I wonder how many times these bucks have US patterned, especially if we are not really careful on the frequency that we check our cams, and the scent we leave behind. On a more optimistic note,a trickle rut doesn't happen two years in a row, so all those bucks that you didn't get this year will be real big next year!!!

Anyone hunting the Adirondacks and not hunting between 10-2 is missing out on what I think is the best chance at a big buck. Evergreen fingers are travel corridors that they use to check doe groups. Find those areas that have buck sign, and set up for mid day hunts, or, if conditions are good for still hunting, work those areas slowly. Over the last 24 yrs of hunting the ADKs these methods have paided off with quite a few trophy bucks.

I lived and hunted Dutchess County from the 70's to 1999, we had about 8000 acres in Millbrook, and the hunting was fantastic. Slowly, however, we lost properties to high end hunt and sporting clay clubs. Now, living in the Adirondacks I have 8 miles of state forest right in my backyard, and the buck in my avitar was taken there. Much harder hunting, but I don't have to worry about hunting permission.

Some deer just don't read the manuel on how to react when shot! You could have high lunged him, it would take a bit for you to see blood. Try to find the exact spot he was standing when you shot, should be some hair, if nothing else. Good luck

Used to hunt laurels in NW CT, look for rub lines entering or exiting, and set up using the wind to your advantage. Make sure you are well covered, as the above post says, those deer will stay on the edge of the laurel forever, looking for danger, before they exit the thick stuff.

Does have preferred bedding areas that change as the fall progresses. In early bow season most of the leaves are still on the trees and brush, providing them cover and security. As the fall goes on their bedding areas change to more secure locations. Remember, cover is key. By the time gun season rolls around, they can be found in swamps, honeysuckle, laurel, or evergreen thickets, and on the down-wind side of those areas. I'll never forget a time I was hunting northern Maine in the pouring rain, and was stillhunting a logging road, and jumped 8 or more deer that were bedded right in open hardwoods. They must have felt insecure in heavy cover in the pouring rain, so they bedded where they could see danger.

The grassy beds you are finding are probably night-time beds. Weather and wind play a huge role on where deer bed each day. Sometimes in thickets, sometimes in open hardwoods. Deer prefer bedding on some sort of elevation, with the wind to their back, so that they can smell danger behind them, and see danger in front of them. Knowing that, in hilly country, you can figure which side of a hill they most likely will be. You will often find rub lines to these areas as well. Following rub lines during POST season scouting will really help you unravel bedding areas and travel patterns.

Many other naturally occuring things have been 2-3 weeks ahead of schedule this year, blooms,insect hatches, leaf color and drop, fish spawning, etc. Some have said 80's for a week in mid March plus non existent winter is the cause. Makes you wonder about the rut.

I've kept early season deer cool by hanging head down, filling chest and abdomen cavity with ice bags, and tying a bag of ice between the hind quarters. Cover with a tarp. Also wash out the insides before all this with cold water helps cool the body quickly.