Sodus Area Deer Hunting

[phade]

I have some access through family for a small acreage there to do some deer hunting. The 1/2-1 mile area around it appear to be mostly apple farms. Never hunted apple country before. It's a bit of a drive but can stay the night at family's house nearby.

Seems like there are potato and corn close by too.

DEC shows the deer numbers are lower than where I typically hunt but still decent hunting. Would be a nice change of pace/scenery though. Anyone ahve experience in that general area? I suppose that whole section of Wayne Co. is similar hunting (apple country).

[nyslowhand]

I hunt just north of Sodus with apple orchards bordering my brush lot property.

My problem is there are no agricultural crops within 3-4 miles except the apples.

This makes the deer almost a sub-species of the whitetail, brush deer (bucks).

Anyone that has hunted them knows what I mean.

It's no different than any other stand hunting, find the food sources & bedding areas and get between them.

Apple orchards are no more than large, late maturing food plots or legal baiting areas.

Nothing magical about apple orchards & deer hunting success.

It tends to be a very specific, compressed time frame for hunting.

I've had better luck pre-Halloween and in the AM hunting orchards, except last year when the apples ripened early.

I've seen/harvested more deer setting up in the areas where the does reside than obsessing with the orchards.

In my situation, when the apples are being picked, most deer movement to/from orchards becomes mostly nocturnal.

A neighbor plants a large corn plot that the deer hit harder than the apples, especially closer to rut time.

Hunting orchards can be productive, but if you're a "rack" or trophy hunter- stick with areas with grain crops.

Deer love their apples, but by the time they ripen the deer are already the size they are going to be for that year.

[Cabin Fever]

I hunt nearby (~15 miles away) and have apple orchards all around. I'm not the least bit impressed with the deer population in the area. VERY discouraging! I sure envy the guys that hunt in the southern teir when I hear about all the deer down there! I question if it's that we get hit harder in the winter with deep lake effect snow all winter, being so close to Lake Ontario, or the coyote population or what exactly? I dunno.

It seems like the deer hit the apple orchards around me later in the season and over the winter. I was told they wait until the apples are almost "mush"/rotten as they are easier for them to get in their mouth (big apples, not crabapples!), easier to chew, sweeter, and have a higher sugar content (more calories to add fat and more energy).

I would say scout the property out and maybe throw up a couple trailcams to see whats in the area. Might be a better population of deer than what I have in my immediate area. Don't get me wrong, we have deer, and some good bucks, but you just won't see as many deer as you will down a little further south.

Happy hunting!

[phade]

Thanks for the info. I figured the deer numbers would be a little lower overall than what I am used to seeing.

Thankfully there is a nice corn field to the south about 75 yards from the southern property line and a really solid bedding area on the property so I can get in between them.

[Nomad]

From the late '70's to IDK early 90's I hunted Tunley rd. in Sodus off of Lake rd. We did OK and near the end pretty damn good . Can't help much with today though, but I don't think its to bad. 20 minutes east in Webster we have tons of deer and some very nice bucks.

[132 eight pointer]

My 132 gross eight pointer was taken opening day 2005 in ....... drum roll please - Sodus. I had permission to hunt on a 5 acre plot in another part of Sodus too and saw some nice deer. Things got a little crowded at times so I didn't hunt there last year but was thinking about it this year.Some of the old growth woods out there hold some beautiful bucks too.I say go for it.

[phade]

Checked out the ground this weekend. On paper and aerials/etc. it looks like a deer heaven, but very little sign. Some light paths and a few decent tracks.

Not much in the way of previous rubs, etc.

Very old growth as mentioned...I never see trees that big in my typical hunting area.