My Opening Weekend...

[VenaticOutdoors]

I headed to my camp after work on Thursday and hunted until Sunday afternoon. The weather was the best we have ever had for this time of year, with temps in the 50s and a light, steady 5 mph wind. To be honest, you couldn't ask for better deer hunting weather in the first week of October. In fact, when we woke up on Sunday there was a light frost and it was 37 degrees out. All summer we have had good trail camera pictures. And, the food plot I was going to be hunting, an easy short walk from the cabin, was seeing a lot of activity. We had pictures of two shooters visiting it weekly, four other 1.5 year old bucks, and several does and fawns. I noticed that the number of pictures the camera had been taking was dropping off as the season changed, but it didn't bother me.

Well, I didn't see a single deer all weekend! Not a one! Perfect wind, perfect conditions. When I took some time to think back, this is not unusual. The past few years we have seen almost no deer the first week of the season. Then, as the rut starts to roll around we'll see 10-20 deer a day. The deer are still on our property though, it's not hunting pressure, they're just not moving. Does anyone have any ideas why? I've done a little reading on moon phases etc, but is there a movement lull when the seasons change? I don't think it's food sources either but I'm hoping I can find an answer.

[Cabin Fever]

That sucks! Gotta be disappointing looking forward to finally getting out there and seeing nothing! The good news is, you KNOW they're out there. It's just a matter of time before you catch them on their feet!

I have heard and read articles about what some hunters call the "October Lull". Maybe?

[VenaticOutdoors]

I've heard the same - considering that we're 40 minutes from the Canadian border, it would make sense that it hits early.  I will do some research on that - thanks!

[wellsley]

What I've found in years past is it's food related. wether it is apples, corn, acorns usually it is something they are feeding heavily on. If you know someone who gets a deer or a road kill open up there guts and find out what they are feeding on. It seems to happen every year all of a sudden the deer disappear.

[EagleCrag]

I think wellsley hit the nail on the head.  Its most likely food related.  The fact that the trailcam pics were tapering off would be further evidence of this in my mind.  If there are acorn or beechnut trees in the area, I'd start looking there.  Definitely get out and scout.

[outdoorstom]

Sorry to hear about the lack of activity...must have been a little disappointing. Even so, still feels good to be out in the woods!!

[Cabin Fever]

Just keep the faith and know that the best is yet to come!

[Culvercreek hunt club]

Gotta agree with these guys.....food related. The seasonal crops are in and out and they will move to take advantage of them until they are gone and then back to the old stand by. I think of myself.....I love steak and potatoes....but for every meal......if I found out or stumbled across someplace offering free spaghetti and meatballs....I'd have to hit it...lol

[20ftupatree]

I have a complete bust since the 27th. I have seen A LOT of sign, and usually my stands produce SOMETHING, but not this year. I do feel something different this season not sure what can't put my finger on it but I have noticed that even fields that usually are loaded with deer don't seem to be AS active. Maybe it's me but I haven't lucky so far. I know in my area the corn has been cut extra early this year why I'm not sure. In my SZ there is a field of corn that usually stands till october this year it was cut before the 27th of september when NZ opened...found this strange.

[outdoorstom]

Farmers were able to get the corn planted earlier than normal this year, so it's coming out earlier.

[VenaticOutdoors]

We're not in an agricultural area so there is really no food around.  Then again, there is a farmer who does corn down about 1 mile down the road which I completely forgot about.  Oaks aren't that abundant and I have scouted heavily for them in the past.  I do believe that it is food related coupled with the changing seasons, I do not believe this movement has anything to do with the moon phase.  I'm struggling to pinpoint the exact cause though, but the deer always show up in November like rats so I'm not too worried about it.  It would just be nice to figure it out so I'm not wasting my opening weekend year after year.  I shoot quite a few deer every year, and that weekend I've only shot one in four-five years.  And...it may have been the only deer that came within bow range now that I think of it.

[wellsley]

Mast crops are just a sample of what deer will feed heavily on. But aren't found every where. Mushrooms and ferns are other things deer will consume alot of. My neighbor hit a spike with his car one fall and asked me to gut it for him. I did and opened up the guts to find these red topped mushrooms the size of a half a dollar. With all this rain you can bet the mushrooms will be growing.

Good luck.

[growalot]

before I could venture a guess I'd have to ask a few ?'s

how much land is your camp on?

how is camp located on the land?...edge...center...near cams/plots..wind relation to pic area?

What kinds of activities do you engage in when first arriving...cutting wood...shooting driving 4 wheeler...checking cams...starting wood stove..ect

These could all be a factor in the first week lull...when deer aren't use to the sudden turf activity..... may make the nocturnal for a bit/or change patterns

[VenaticOutdoors]

I can do you one better and include a little map for you.  We hunt on 236 acres and I can assure you that it's not us.  We hunt very smart, sometimes too smart, and only touch a stand if the wind is absolutely perfect, not just for hunting, but also for accessing the stand.  We actually have a map with all of our stand locations on the refrigerator and corresponding wind directions. 

There are several stands that we won't even touch until November and most of our access is done through the neighbors fields.  We have 236 acres and only check trail cameras between 11 and 1.  I prefer to walk to check cameras, but if there is one that is tough to get to, we'll take an ATV.  We travel the property all year long in ATVs and always get pictures, they do not bother the deer on our property.  Because of this, they are used to them.

In the map attached, red dots are tree stands, blue is the cabin, and I tried by best to lay out food plots in the green lines.

[Culvercreek hunt club]

LOL...we do the same thing on Google Earth. Gotta love a hand held GPS. out plots are Orange----stands red---creeks blue

[VenaticOutdoors]

It's the best way to do it.  I actually too the time last year to create one in photoshop.  I numbered all the stands and then created another document that had wind directions on it.  Next to each wind direction was a list of numbers (stands).  We have problems with a family member who just hunts whatever he wants to.  He has got much better though and he tries hard.  But the map really helps.  It's easier for us all and it's laminated on the fridge.

[Culvercreek hunt club]

ous is laminated on the wall...since some may come in or out at different times., we use a dry erase marker to leave messages where we are going. No sense heading to an evening watch if someone is already there...lol

[wellsley]

You guys are high tech. I like it. How do you get your way points from your GPS to the google earth map?

[Culvercreek hunt club]

Set a pin....go to properties and type them in....it relocates that pin to the coordinates and let's u label it....doesn't work too good for trails though...I just hit the intersections and freehand them

[VenaticOutdoors]

Oh I'm not that sophisticated, I just play around with Photoshop or Paint until I have something I like.  I can tell you that it really helps to have a large laminated copy in your camp though.

[wellsley]

Thanks guys. Good luck in the up coming season.