Where did the Deer go?

[fishinmajishin]

Red oaks produce a more bitter tasting acorn from what I've been told.

[fishinmajishin]

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/volunteer/index.html

Check the Volunteer info on acorns/oak trees

[TriggerHappyOle]

We have the same situation on our property. We have 180 acres by remer, and the last three years we would see 20-30 deer. Just last week I hunted hard for four days in a row and saw maybe 10 deer. Only difference I can think of with this year is the wolves. We hear them every night and morning and find scat everywhere. Its frustrating. Anyone else have property up around Remer that can give me some insight?

[Sorgy]

Mattkimk,

I do believe that the local pack has decided to take up residence in the area. Hopefully they will up and move off- or better yet they will meet up with a rival pack wich could possibly thin their numbers for a short while

We have had them move into our area (a Potlatch lease near Angora) a month before rifle opener. When that happens the deer are on full alert and in lock down mode like they get after opening weekend of rifle hunting. We did very poorly that year but several in our group saw individual wolves or the pack. My cousin saw the big Alpha male while setting up his stand and he saw the pack the second weekend with the big Alfa male. He was a black or very dark colored wolf.

We are in 175 and I still find it hard to believe that we are in a intesive harvest area. One thing about the area we hunt it is thick. Potlatch and the State/County have logged our entire area off over the last 15 years. We have very few older patches of woods still standing and lots of ground we can cover.

Don't give up on your area. The entire pack can relocate and as that happens the deer will start to return to their home areas. Wolves are an intersting piece of the puzzle when it comes to deer. The deer really learn how to "live" in wolf territory.

Good Luck

Steve

p.s. Some great information on Oaks and the acorn crop I wish we had more than a couple in our neck of the woods.

Joel-N--- Good luck this fall bowhunting and fall turkey hunting. I had a good time with you this spring. Thanks for the help w/ my bird.

[Roofer]

The wolves will like the open ground after logging. That's when you will notice them more. Especially if a large area is clear cut (more than 80 acres).

Seen it time and time again. The wolves move in and the deer are gone.

[sticknstring]

Would make perfect sense as our property had the north and northeast public boundaries clear cut over the winter... several hundred acres. However no wolves on camera except back in March. I found one deer carcass this spring but that's pretty typical. Definitely a lack of deer in 172 compared to the past two years. Normally you have the opportunity to fill a doe tag every weekend but not this year. However I don't think it's any coincidence that lack of deer numbers can be partially attributed to the surplus of acorns across the state. Deer don't need to travel very far for food and there aren't that many wolves around to affect that much of the state.

[Odonata]

The neighbor clear cut at least 80 acres prior to last season and the county select cut approx 40 acres off our southeast corner this winter. If the lack of deer is due to wolves moving in, how long do they stick around? I thought they made more of a circuit like a cougar vs. having a home territory?

[harvey lee]

I have noticed for years that during a 2 week period in October, its very hard to see alot of traffic in the woods. I call it the October Lull and after that the rut turns on and the deer are really moving. We are now close to or in that period.

Food sources can also play a huge role in deer movement this time of year too.

[Insp Gadget]

We are in the Aitkin area and I've had a new trail cam out for three weeks. The first, 70% of the activity was daytime, these last 2 it's been 80% nocturnal. I have it located on a trail that enters a new clear cut and has been somewhat active. I thinks it's a pre rut phase, but in combination with mild weather.

In our area the deer aren't forced to the fields until after a couple hard freezes have killed off much of the easy food supply. It also seems that around the 3rd week of October or perhaps right after the full Moon of last night (the 1st after the fall equinox) all of a sudden the scrapes start showing up and daytime activity increases. When we've taken our drive around the country at dusk to see what's in fields, they are "usually" much fuller in late October than early. The number of "different" deer on the camera isn't as big as I'd like, but for now they are using the clear cut on a regular basis. It's full of nice new grass, some clover, and of course aspen saplings about 3 to 4 ft high which they are snipping off like crazy!