I love this time of the year!

[adkmountainken]

LOL rocket science, ok good luck to ya all.

[Shawn Leonard]

Actually Curt may be the first to sit it, as I set it for a lefty with him in mind!! I will post some pics. of the scrapes in the next day or two as well. Shawn

[Shawn Leonard]

Should clarify that the area I found the rubs is about a quarter mile from where I actually hung the stand. Shawn

[elkken]

Yes it is a great time of year ... Curt, great pics to get the blood and thoughts of the up coming season running quickly through my old body.

We are between early and late seasons now in Washington so I took a hike up in the Cascades yesterday. I saw nine Mt Goats, one deer and one bear. The berries are out now at 5,000 feet and that bear was a busy boy. I was hoping to hear a few elk bugling but no such luck. Sorry no pics my camera is in the shop getting fixed and my back up does not have the zoom needed for good pics in the high country.

Good luck to all    

[Ray Hammond]

Nice thread Curt!

[Ray Hammond]

Ken

You're in the Adirondacks right?

In my experience there's a world of difference between a place where deer density can be measured on two hands- compared to woodlot and agricultural areas where you need a calculator-

Bucks have to be way more market savvy and begin advertising programs earlier - they see each other more frequently, spar more, smell each other more

We have deer stocks in GA from MN TX VA and native deer all the transplants were put in regions separately

We have rutting in Ga that's in full swing in some areas  in
early October and some peaks in late Nov and into December elsewhere

Our mountain deer act a lot like what u describe

Our metro and rural deer below the Smokies act more like what curt and Shawn describe

I saw scrapes in SC last weekend while hunting pigs!
Whitetails are amazing huh?

[Jim Brennen]

This has been my favorite time for allmost 50 years

[adkmountainken]

Ray,
    yes deer dinsity is LOW at best where i hunt. never killed one with the bow, killed many otherwise including a B&C and 2 in the 140's. i LOVE the area i hunt and would have it no other way.

[Cyclic-Rivers]

Ray,  the deer I saw in SC must have been the MN deer.          

They were no where near as small as I expected a "southern" deer to be       .

Good luck everyone this Fall however, whatever and wherever you hunt        .

[ron w]

Where Ken and I hunt in the Adirondacks the deer numbers are very, very low. There is .5 bucks per square mile and 1.5 deer per square mile. Those numbers are from the State. so in 2 square miles you will have 1 buck and 3 does/yearlings. That takes deer activity off the charts compared to other areas where number are higher. Even where I hunt in the southern Zone those numbers are the same. Makes a big difference when scouting and looking at spots to hunt deer. There is also very little food sources. Mast crops and the main one but some years they just don't produce! Have a good season!!      

[JimL]

Great time of the year.

[Shawn Leonard]

Ron, than I would say there are at least 5-6 times that many. This state does a terrible job at managing the deer herd. They say there are only 8-10 coyotes per ten square miles also, I know in the ten square miles around my home their is at least 10 times that many. I know there are less deer but the same rules apply, when going into bedding areas you only get a brief opportunity and therules about wind and scent are the same. Give me a few days up by you guys and some foot time and I promise I could find rubs ad scrapes as well, even this time of the year. Deer are deer whether there is 5 per square mile or 10, they just may be harder to figure out is all. This heat we are having has slowed everything down again, but it won't be long and it will pick up again. Shawn

[ron w]

       

[adkmountainken]

good luck this season, guess i'm just REALLY needing to get in the woods and hunt!

[Guru]

Well, I know when I started this is not the direction I wanted it to go.  

Somehow Ken, while doubting the validity of what Shawn was saying changed the whole focus of the thread....

Ken, If you enjoy hunting where there's hardly any deer, that's fine man, have at it....but please don't doubt what guys like Shawn and I post about the areas we hunt!

In case you haven't figured it out yet, Shawn's a no BS type guy...he tells it like it is, doesn't sugar coat a thing. He knows his areas, and he gets it done every year!

So please, lets stop with the my area, your area non-sense and get this thread back to it's original focus please...

[Shawn Leonard]

Thanks bud! Back to the thread, I went out again this am and it is without a doubt a great time of the year. The smell of fall in the air and tons of deer sign. Should be a great year! Shawn

[Don Stokes]

A great outdoor author, Halivah Babcock, once wrote a story called "My Health Is Better in November".  I know what he meant. Those first cool mornings, finding that first rub of the season, getting the gear ready... love it!

[hayslope]

Gotta agree with you Curt.......NOTHING like this time of year....right through December!  The only thing that I would change is to make it a rule that no work is allowed....at least until deer season ends!!!      

   

[Izzy]

No deer hunting yet but every time I hit the woods to scout or squirrel hunt I can feel the clumsiness of urban living falling away. My hearing gets more acute, my vision sharper and Im starting to use my sense of smell to interpret my surroundings. The best time of year for sure. Good luck to all of you and may you each enjoy your time in the ways that reward you and you alone.

[adkmountainken]

getting close now, will be chasing them this weekend!