Apples this year!

[PREDATE]

I think the point is floating over your head. It's all in conjunction...a piece to the puzzle. If you are within the buck's safe zone...then hunting over the food source is A-OK. That's the key...knowing all or most of the pieces.

I understand your logic. My area has little to no AG activity. Your does.

One could say that those select few producing trees in your area are just a supplement to ag crops which sustain them well year after year. So there must be other contributing factors as to what's holding them on that specific tree(s), like safe bedding areas. I prefer to head the dear off at a confluence of bedding areas and feeding grounds. It is there where they are most patternable.

In years where buck groups are still holding together well into bow season, I like to watch a confluence to see which bucks are coming off the beds before dark. In my experiences the inferior bucks will visit the food first and it could be well past shooting light before the mature guys show up under the tree. This is where trailcams prove invaluable.

 Like you said, finding the specific tree makes it easier. Yes, but that could change overnight and then there you go bumping around looking for the next tree,which could be on the next guys land. Bedding areas on the other hand remain unchanged, unless they get too much pressure. Which is why setting up closer to them will give more chances at a shot. Also, their route of approach is more predictable, which allows the hunter to hunt the right wind.

 

I'm not trying to argue points or to dissect yours, just stating why I try not to put all confidence in food sources(or lack thereof) or a specific tree. Whatever works!

  The deer will be lucky to even get any apples after I pick the orchard! I like em' more! lol

Edited March 25, 2013 by PREDATE

[Doc]

A 1 in 100 yr event shouldn't be included in normal conversation...that's hopefully an anomaly.

 

Hopefully it's not a repeat for you in '13.

Lol ..... I don't want to ever see that again.

[G-Man]

i agree doc the total failure sucked last year, a bad apple year is a good hunting year ,just takes some scouting to find the tree that has friut on it. when there is mast at all like last year its hard as your areas herd is spread out looking for food. a good year by me is 15 acres of apple trees bent to the ground and thr forest floor is like walking on softballs. deer can enter and exit anywhere. i would like to see a good mast crop just for the extra food it produces for all the wildlife, i fully expect smaller antlers this year due to the lack of excess food through the winter.

[Five Seasons]

  I can shoot 2 1/2 year old bucks every year with the bow but that's not what I'm looking for.  If I don't tag out on a mature buck my season isn't a failure in my eyes.  I'm at a different stage in my hunting career.  All I can say is each hunter sets their own expectations and they are the only ones that have to live with them.  I'm very confortable with mine.  Happy hunting!

 

I think few of us view a 2.5 year old as a failure. We just hope and try for the mounter. But I think you realized your issue "time in the field". I had 130 and 140 class bucks on trail cams and only actually saw a few 130's. You can work your ass off in the spring and summer but it wont matter if you cant get the time in the woods with a little lady luck on your side.

 

Honestly I enjoy the prep and QDM. I just love being outside, so if I fail to grow the bigger deer, I'm not going to lose sleep over it.

 

 

 

i agree doc the total failure sucked last year, a bad apple year is a good hunting year ,just takes some scouting to find the tree that has friut on it. when there is mast at all like last year its hard as your areas herd is spread out looking for food. a good year by me is 15 acres of apple trees bent to the ground and thr forest floor is like walking on softballs. deer can enter and exit anywhere. i would like to see a good mast crop just for the extra food it produces for all the wildlife, i fully expect smaller antlers this year due to the lack of excess food through the winter.

 

this is where I agree with phade. 15acres of apples is almost too much. A localized 5 acre plot of a few trees surrounded by corn is easier to hunt as there are only a few approaches to the area that funnel them from corn field to apples. In between is the bedding area you want to hunt.

Edited March 26, 2013 by Belo

[Doc]

I think few of us view a 2.5 year old as a failure. We just hope and try for the mounter. But I think you realized your issue "time in the field". I had 130 and 140 class bucks on trail cams and only actually saw a few 130's. You can work your ass off in the spring and summer but it wont matter if you cant get the time in the woods with a little lady luck on your side.

 

Honestly I enjoy the prep and QDM. I just love being outside, so if I fail to grow the bigger deer, I'm not going to lose sleep over it.

 

 

 

 

this is where I agree with phade. 15acres of apples is almost too much. A localized 5 acre plot of a few trees surrounded by corn is easier to hunt as there are only a few approaches to the area that funnel them from corn field to apples. In between is the bedding area you want to hunt.

Lol ..... How about a year with NO apples and NO acorns. That's what we had. Not one or two trees here and there, but zero. This was not only just my observation, but everyone I talked to in the valley said exactly the same thing. Now that sets you up for some widely roaming deer that are scattered far and wide looking who knows where for food. They did alright from what I am seeing, but they didn't have any of the usual kinds of preferred food for the hunters to capitalize on. That did a better job of scattering the deer than an overload of their favorite kind of food.

[PREDATE]

Same scenario here. The only apple I saw was floating down the river. Never did find it's source.