Ok, there's not much deer behavior that I haven't seen before, but I found a new deer thing that I can't stop thinkin about.
Any clue what it is???
Yesterday afternoon, when I pulled into the soybean field where I park, there was a small buck standing in the field on the edge of the woods. This is a square patch of woods, about 4 acres big, that is surrounded by an immense soy bean field. He was about 120 yards away. It looked like he was feeding from the ground, as well as feeding from some overhanging branches. I figured he was eatin acorns....
I watched him from the truck for about 15 minutes, until he meandered into the "island" of woods (which also happens to be a bedding area).
Anyway, I decided to still-hunt into the wind yesterday, because I wanted to see how the deer sign was shapin up on the property.
Found a few scrapes, and saw a surprising amount of new rubs.
With about an hour left of light, I silently slipped along the island of woods, and positioned myself 20 yards downwind of where the small buck was hangin out ealier in the afternoon.
It was at this point that I saw 2 doe pickin their way through the beans towards the wooded island. Wind was in my favor, and I decided I needed to stalk up to the spot the buck was earlier to intercept these 2 doe.
Well, when I got to the spot he was standing...my jaw fell open. It wasnt acorns that he was eating.
There on the corner of the woods, IN the soybean field was a HUGE patch of bare ground.
This patch of ground was about a 12' diameter circle. There was not a single blade of grass, leaf, or soybean in it. The dirt in this patch was fine tilled by hundreds of deer hooves. Tracks on top of tracks filled this patch of bare earth. It looked like a thousand deer danced for a week on this spot.
I have never seen anything like it. There wasn't any actual "scraping" hoof prints like you see in a scrape...but there was plenty of overhanging licking branches above it (the buck I saw was working those overhanging branches).
It was just hoof prints...big, medium, fawn size...etc.
There were no acorns, or other food sources in the immediate area.
I have heard of communtiy scrapes....and have seen a few supersized communtiy scrapes....but NEVER anything this size. I could have parked 2 full size trucks in this patch.
The spot is basically unhuntable by tree or ground...it is right next to a bedding area, and every deer in there would hear or see you approach.
The only thing I could think of is someone poured some type of scent in that spot....but that just doesnt add up. Noone else hunts the property, and that spot is along an island of woods in the middle of a 100 acre soybean field. It's not even a huntable spot.
Any clue?????
BTW, the does ended up changing course and meandered away...right before dark a nice buck entered the field and followed the doe's. Lot's of buck sign and sightings this year so far!!
More than in years past! That makes me smile!
Hunt
Any clue what it is???
Yesterday afternoon, when I pulled into the soybean field where I park, there was a small buck standing in the field on the edge of the woods. This is a square patch of woods, about 4 acres big, that is surrounded by an immense soy bean field. He was about 120 yards away. It looked like he was feeding from the ground, as well as feeding from some overhanging branches. I figured he was eatin acorns....
I watched him from the truck for about 15 minutes, until he meandered into the "island" of woods (which also happens to be a bedding area).
Anyway, I decided to still-hunt into the wind yesterday, because I wanted to see how the deer sign was shapin up on the property.
Found a few scrapes, and saw a surprising amount of new rubs.
With about an hour left of light, I silently slipped along the island of woods, and positioned myself 20 yards downwind of where the small buck was hangin out ealier in the afternoon.
It was at this point that I saw 2 doe pickin their way through the beans towards the wooded island. Wind was in my favor, and I decided I needed to stalk up to the spot the buck was earlier to intercept these 2 doe.
Well, when I got to the spot he was standing...my jaw fell open. It wasnt acorns that he was eating.
There on the corner of the woods, IN the soybean field was a HUGE patch of bare ground.
This patch of ground was about a 12' diameter circle. There was not a single blade of grass, leaf, or soybean in it. The dirt in this patch was fine tilled by hundreds of deer hooves. Tracks on top of tracks filled this patch of bare earth. It looked like a thousand deer danced for a week on this spot.
I have never seen anything like it. There wasn't any actual "scraping" hoof prints like you see in a scrape...but there was plenty of overhanging licking branches above it (the buck I saw was working those overhanging branches).
It was just hoof prints...big, medium, fawn size...etc.
There were no acorns, or other food sources in the immediate area.
I have heard of communtiy scrapes....and have seen a few supersized communtiy scrapes....but NEVER anything this size. I could have parked 2 full size trucks in this patch.
The spot is basically unhuntable by tree or ground...it is right next to a bedding area, and every deer in there would hear or see you approach.
The only thing I could think of is someone poured some type of scent in that spot....but that just doesnt add up. Noone else hunts the property, and that spot is along an island of woods in the middle of a 100 acre soybean field. It's not even a huntable spot.
Any clue?????
BTW, the does ended up changing course and meandered away...right before dark a nice buck entered the field and followed the doe's. Lot's of buck sign and sightings this year so far!!
More than in years past! That makes me smile!
Hunt
