This snow seems to have shut down every deer here

[luberhill]

This sucks,,, I see tracks covered in snow so I know they are moving at night...

Then I head home at noon and see deer in my neighbors back yard eating out of his bird feeder at noon !

Maybe I need a bird feeder

Only upside is I’m seeing the routes  they travel ... now weather they will still use these next year ???

Maybe tomorrow people will start pushing them around

 

i assume they are moving at night because I’ve seem zero during daylight hours and I’m out every day

 

 

[DTG3k]

On 12/7/2019 at 8:43 AM, luberhill said:

Maybe I need a bird feeder

Baiting deer is illegal. Technically your neighbor could be fined also. 

[Culvercreek hunt club]

2 minutes ago, DTG3k said:

Baiting deer is illegal. Technically your neighbor could be fined also. 

Depends on where the neighbor is. Baiting is a function with the act of hunting. Feeding deer in some areas of NY had some court case that made it not an issue. Was it Sullivan County? 

 

 

[Culvercreek hunt club]

On 12/7/2019 at 8:43 AM, luberhill said:

This sucks,,, I see tracks covered in snow so I know they are moving at night...

Then I head home at noon and see deer in my neighbors back yard eating out of his bird feeder at noon !

Maybe I need a bird feeder

Only upside is I’m seeing the routes  they travel ... now weather they will still use these next year ???

Maybe tomorrow people will start pushing them around

 

i assume they are moving at night because I’ve seem zero during daylight hours and I’m out every day

 

 

They are definitely on the food and moving later. They are also going to be concentrated to areas that had less pressure. I was in a blind last night on a piece that had not been hunted all firearms season. I had a button buck at 330ish and then a parade of 17 does out into a clover field at about 415 followed by a little 4 pointer.  Then at about 430-435 another parade of 22 does and fawns came by single file at 40 yards.  it was pretty exciting seeing all those deer. It's been a lot of years since I have seen a single group walk by like that. 

[Steuben Jerry]

2 minutes ago, DTG3k said:

Baiting deer is illegal. Technically your neighbor could be fined also. 

I've got half a dozen bird feeders ringing the tree line of the border of my back yard along with a couple of "spikes" to stick a cob of corn on for the squirrels. I hang them as high as I can, yet still be able to refill without a ladder. I find them laying on the ground occasionally as the deer will rear up and bat them with their hooves to knock them down or at least spill them to get at the seed. 

I don't care if it's a technicality or not. We enjoy feeding the birds and squirrels. Keeps it lively around the yard through the winter and seems to get more local songbird nesting/breeding in the Spring. I'd rather the deer didn't knock them around. They just makes me go through expensive seed too fast!

[mlammerhirt]

They are definitely on the food and moving later. They are also going to be concentrated to areas that had less pressure. I was in a blind last night on a piece that had not been hunted all firearms season. I had a button buck at 330ish and then a parade of 17 does out into a clover field at about 415 followed by a little 4 pointer.  Then at about 430-435 another parade of 22 does and fawns came by single file at 40 yards.  it was pretty exciting seeing all those deer. It's been a lot of years since I have seen a single group walk by like that. 

Culver.....a little off topic.....but when do you decide a doe or two needs to be taken from that group for the good of the herd/property?

Last January I counted a group of +25......we made a plan to take does once the gun season started....we have also been asked by the lease manager who farms the property to not pass on doe either.....they punish his crop and needs deer taken off the property.

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[Hock3y24]

Pines during the day

[Culvercreek hunt club]

24 minutes ago, mlammerhirt said:

Culver.....a little off topic.....but when do you decide a doe or two needs to be taken from that group for the good of the herd/property?

Last January I counted a group of +25......we made a plan to take does once the gun season started....we have also been asked by the lease manager who farms the property to not pass on doe either.....they punish his crop and needs deer taken off the property.

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There really sin't a "mathematical" calculation. It really is habitat driven. In a property like I just saw all of those deer I wouldn't rely on a count like I saw becasue, even though it is a high population area that concentration was artificial. The property I was on ended up being a sanctuary because it didn't get hunted. I would start a late winter and early spring and summer trail camera census. Eyes on the ground works well to add to the trail cams. Above that I would also look at the natural food sources. How heavily is it being hit? is there a heavy brows line?  Typically you can take 20-30% of the ADULT doe population to maintain the current population level. If you want to reduce the population it needs to be more. 

Edited December 9, 2019 by Culvercreek hunt club

[moog5050]

29 minutes ago, mlammerhirt said:

Culver.....a little off topic.....but when do you decide a doe or two needs to be taken from that group for the good of the herd/property?

Last January I counted a group of +25......we made a plan to take does once the gun season started....we have also been asked by the lease manager who farms the property to not pass on doe either.....they punish his crop and needs deer taken off the property.

Sent from my moto z3 using Tapatalk
 

This is big AG country that is heavily hunted all around.  My parcel is wetland with tons of cover bordering large fields and one sanctuary (no hunting preserve).  This year we just didn't get there much as we had success early on another parcel and Culver spent much of gun season at his own camp.  I did kill one doe there early and generally there is a solid population of both bucks and does, but I suspect they were all hiding in our heavy cover from the pressure on surrounding lands and lack of pressure on my parcel.  I certainly have no problem killing does there and don't think as a general matter that we have an unbalanced heard in the area.

Edited December 9, 2019 by moog5050

[luberhill]

5 hours ago, DTG3k said:

Baiting deer is illegal. Technically your neighbor could be fined also. 

I understand its illegal to bait deer, but I hardly think anyone could or would fine an 90 yr old man with birdfeeders in his back yard with sunflower seeds in it that the deer come and destroy....I love to hear a judge fine someone that cant feed birds in their yard...

[Jeremy K]

As far as them traveling the same route next year, don't look for them early season where you saw them late season the year before . At least where we are at the patterns really change throughout the season. I place my cameras where I see the most rut activity and get very few pictures before or after the rut. Best thing is to make mental notes for next year late season.