Deer patterns nixxed

[Rather_B_Fishing]

From October 11 to November 8 I had the deer pretty well patterned. They were coming through one area in the last hour of light to go eat. But since the guns started going off, all is out the window. The last 2 hunts I've been on (afternoon of 11/10 and all day on 11/15), I haven't even seen a deer. Every other hunt I've been on this year (10 hunts), I've seen between 1 and 8 deer.

This is only my second year hunting and I am a lot more in tune with things this year than last. So I ask:

1) Is this normal?

2) Is this a result of them rutting or hunting pressure or both?

3) Do you think they will return to their "normal" patterns once the rut and gun season is over?

Thanks for any replies.

[brassman]

1. yes this is normal

2. Yes rutting will change patterns, sometimes it won't hunting definately will.

3. They will return to normal feeding habits but the prefered food might have changed, maybe not.

4. Remember that you are now hunting pressured, edjucated deer.

[Random guy]

Tell you what in and around Waskish they all but vanished...as far as we know. My family has not seen it this tough since the seventies when they closed the deer season. Three of us out scouting over many many miles and acres and we cut one track.

[archerystud]

I'm seeing more tracks than Jonny but daytime movement is down to nothing. In gun hunting this past weekend I saw one deer the entire weekend and that was while walking into my stand.

[Mark Christianson]

One trail cam I have out had 42 pics since last Sunday night.

One picture of a doe at 7am.

One pic of another doe right at legal shooting light.

Otherwise the majority of pics were midnight to 4am.

Pretty typical after rifle season begins in our area.

[sparcebag]

Here firearms season has ended,I have been seein NO deer,The last two days the last of the corn is commin out,Took a drive to town and the corn that was striped 10 rows out 20 standing 10 out etc. we saw 40-50 deer in 6 mile drive in these rows that are out.Where I hunt is right in this area I've only seen a few tracks,6-8 scrapes and two rubs since sept.! I will be out even tho the deer seem nocternal I think there;s not much hiding areas left.

I couldn't believe how many deer we saw yesterday!When I haven't been seein any sign.

[archerystud]

The corn is having an impact where I hunt. Ten years ago it was rare to see a corn field still standing in my area by gun opener. And then it might be just one field.

This year there was a least 4 of them within a mile of our woods. One of them is at LEAST 300 acres. I had a lot of pictures with the trail camera in Aug and Sept but we didn't see a deer OR hear a shot in our woods this past weekend.

I wonder where they are???

On the flip side for me there are many more smaller bucks making it through out there. I'll have to go after them a little harder (and earlier) next year with the bow.

[Meat-Run]

Yes, if there is anything positive with this rifle season is that some of the younger bucks have a better chance to make it another year with the corn still in. I hunt around the Frazee area and it too is full of corn and ok with tag soup for a better chance at a nice buck next year.

Fortunetly I still have my bow tag and can hunt till the end of the year so i'm not do down and out.

mr

[archerystud]

Hopefully I can get out as well but coaching hockey will take up a lot of my time.

I should add on the corn fields that in the last 5 years there are consistantly 3-5 big field still in during gun season around us. We've owned the land since the 1980's and it never used to be like that until the last couple of years.