Where are the deer?

timandkimandshea

timandkimandshea

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First of all, I know lots of people have got their deer...
Not me. I am in Southern Ontario, family farm 85 acres mix of fields in alfalfa, hardwood bush, cedar gut/swamp, apple orchard full of apples. I have been hunting hard and smart all week, saw one deer only. Hardly any sign, feed piles which I have been putting small amounts of grain/apples out for several weeks. I think I am just feeding the squirrels there. The property has little to no hunting pressure, it has good deer habitat on two sides. First week of the gun hunt heard lots of shooting in the vicinity. I have been racking my brain as to whats going on, this morning it occurred to me that two fields were sprayed down with roundup about 3-4 weeks ago, then scratched up with a soil saver just before the hunt. My question is, do you think the sprayed fields are the reason the deer are staying away??
Thx I know there is a ton of knowledge on this forum.
T
 
One of the farms that I have access to, had overgrown fields & lots of deer activity... It was surrounded by other working farms...

The farmer decided to plant corn & tilled over his fields in prep for the next year. This REALLY affected the deer movements on the property! They were still around, but now stayed clear of the fields that were tilled over. Heck, I had trouble walking in those tilled fields with all the mud sticking on my boots! I imagine the deer thought the same...

I haven't a clue what the spraying would have done, other than to agree with the other member & say that deer have a good sense of smell... I guess it's possible they are avoiding the feed in that area because of it???

Cheers
Jay
 
On our stomping grounds the deer get a bit antsy after that first week of rifle season. If you have plenty of shooters in the area, especially the kind that drives around real slow with the lights on, it can put them damn near nocturnal. I find we don't see much outside of first and last light once the pressure is on. Field work could definitely change the patterns as well, especially if there was previously something they liked to chew on in that particular spot.
 
Dunno. In my part of Sw Ontario, could be the guys who sight their guns in the day before gun week starts! Or those same guys, who take 10 deer on their little sliver of property. Yeah, no trespassing going on there.
 
Where are the deer?

They're on my front lawn. 5 of them this morning napping under the spruce trees to stay out of the snowfall. One better than average buck in the neighbors trees.
 
Another though occurred to me. I have been doing a fair bit of plinking back there the last 12 months. Maybe once a week, maybe 100 rds a session. Stopped a month before deer season. Do you think this would impact the resident deer??

timandkimandshea said:
First of all, I know lots of people have got their deer...
Not me. I am in Southern Ontario, family farm 85 acres mix of fields in alfalfa, hardwood bush, cedar gut/swamp, apple orchard full of apples. I have been hunting hard and smart all week, saw one deer only. Hardly any sign, feed piles which I have been putting small amounts of grain/apples out for several weeks. I think I am just feeding the squirrels there. The property has little to no hunting pressure, it has good deer habitat on two sides. First week of the gun hunt heard lots of shooting in the vicinity. I have been racking my brain as to whats going on, this morning it occurred to me that two fields were sprayed down with roundup about 3-4 weeks ago, then scratched up with a soil saver just before the hunt. My question is, do you think the sprayed fields are the reason the deer are staying away??
Thx I know there is a ton of knowledge on this forum.
T
Click to expand...
 
In Forestry cuts where they spray brush, moose traffic is drastically reduced. Traffic of any kind, shooting, walking, dogs, lights at night, all impact deer movement. Wildlife, especially deer, respond to this by going nocturnal.Deer are typically "crepuscular"
 
timandkimandshea said:
Another though occurred to me. I have been doing a fair bit of plinking back there the last 12 months. Maybe once a week, maybe 100 rds a session. Stopped a month before deer season. Do you think this would impact the resident deer??
Click to expand...


No the deer are not bothered longterm by gunshots, unless the lead hits them.No, farmers have been spraying fields for a long time,that won't move the deer completely off 80 acres.If you have apple orchards full of apples why are you not hunting the orchard?Why try to bring deer to your pile instead of the source?I would be looking to setup between the swamp and the apple orchard If you want it narrowed down better show us a picture of your property from the air.Look on google earth and find your natural funnels.
 
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