Observation Scouting - a summer teaser

[Forester]

Well I went out this evening to sit in the truck and glass the local whitetail herd.  There is a convenient high spot in the neighbor's hay field, and if I stay in the truck the deer will accept my presence and filter out of the woods.  With some glasses I can see quite a bit of woods/field edge.

And this evening I saw quite a few deer between 7:45 and dark.  There were 32 does and 18 fawns.  There were 22 bucks including 5 with 8 points that I would guess were 2+ years old and one 8-point and 3 9-points that I would guess at 3+ years old.  I saw several dominance displays between the bucks, including three interchanges with the deer going antler to antler.  They were not pushing hard but they were using their headgear a little bit.  They are starting to fatten up a tad as well, not as summer skinny as they were a month ago.

The earliest rub I have ever found was August 8 but the majority of our bucks didn't shed velvet until Labor Day last year.  I will be keeping an eye on them.

I will be picking stand sites and stillhunting corridors pretty soon.  I must admit it is getting me a little anxious for the coming months.              

How do things look in your hunting grounds?

[BlkDog]

Back when I was in college 10-15 years ago, I used to bowhunt the National Forest in Craig county along Sinking Creek.  I loved that area and often think about heading back for a hunt or two at my old spots.  By any chance is this the same Sinking Creek.  

I will likely be hunting my resident population in north eastern VA.  Looks to be a decent year for antler growth.  I have been watching 5-6 bucks regularly via game cams. There is a prospect or two in the bunch.  Not the best genetics, but letting them grow is paying off.  They way it looks, I might have a 24" wide 6 pt (eastern) running around.  Not quite sure on his age, but he might be hard to pass if he is still young.  I am definitely anxious for the season to kick off.  This will be my first year with traditional and I can't wait!

[Forester]

That's the place BlkDog.  I used to hunt the Jefferson and travel through the area when I was in college.  It was a dream to live here and so far it has worked out - don't know how long it will last but I am enjoying the deer and turkey while I can.  Still more deer than people in Craig Co.

Where are your "old spots"?  I'll let you know how they are holdin' up if I am familiar with them.  I promise not to hunt them if I am not already.

It sounds like you have a few opportunities where you are.  I have not seen anything 24" wide around here yet.  Keep up with them and post some pics from the trail cam if you can.  Shoot straight, pick a spot and good luck this season.

[BlkDog]

That sounds like the place!  I will have to break out my old topo maps as I have forgetten the names of the area.  Now I am getting the itch to go back there!  Ahh, the memories...  I only had two or three stand sites. I was to poor to afford more stands and there was so many deer, I didn't need more.  My favorite spot was North of 460, on the western side of the creek, half way up the mountain and 3 miles back a closed forest service road where there were 3 clear cuts or burn areas.  Chased a 150 class buck for 3 years in there.  Never connected with him but can remember the images of him like it was yesterday.  That was back in the early 90's.

[Forester]

Sounds like a few areas around here, but my first guess says you were on the back side of Johns Creek Mt along the Forest Service road off of 658.  That's a long walk in to the cuts and an even longer drag out.  I have hunted that area since 1988, maybe we have seen each other in the woods - but I have met very few that far back with a bow.  I was up on top there two weeks ago - the understory is changing as the deer have eaten most everything within reach in the older woods around the cuts.  

Let me know if I guessed right or drop a few names after you pull out the maps.  This may just be the spark that draws you south after you kill the wide buck at home.

[BlkDog]

Forester, See if this sounds familiar.  I was off of Craigs Ck Road hunting Sinking Creek Mtn.  The forest rd headed up the mountain around Caldwell Fields.  I was actually parking in Montgomery county and hunting in Craig county where the burns were located (about 3 miles across the mountain).  It was actually Craig Crk that ran through the bottom along the road going in.  Also hunted the other side of 460 at a clear cut off of Poverty Ck south of Pandapas Pond.  Another large clear cut...scrape line running beside a rub line on 10-15" diameter trees.  Never saw that one unfortunately.  Just the memories may bring me out that way again this year..think it has been about 15 years now.

[Forester]

That sounds better BlkDog.  That's the road I wanted to say you were on but it is above Craig Creek, not Sinking Creek, so I wasn't sure.  My hunting partners were coming out of that valley and saw the burns get started by a careless camper. You may be surprised at the development that has gone in along the hard surface road in the valley.

They still keep the FS road gated though.  I have not been up in there for a few years, the last time in I was looking for a specific shelf/funnel.  When I got there somebody had built two permanent stands on USFS land so I didn't follow through and hunt the spot.  That was within 300 yards of the county line.  My prime hunting spots were on the private land on the other side of the ridge, and the big bucks would climb over to your side quite often.  

I have hiked the Poverty Creek area some and hunted turkeys in there, but I never fought the crowds for the deer.

I don't know what the mast looks like over there yet this year but I will post when I find out.  You may want to head for the hills this fall - I won't be in any of your spots:)

It's a small world....

[Forester]

Well, true to form, the deer are quite visible in the late evenings and it is pretty easy to see what is around.  I had a repeat evening of the first post in this thread and I have seen a few additions.  A group of six bucks with a field of does and fawns has been pretty visible on another farm.  And there are some deer right here at the house - two does and two fawns that we are seeing regular, and six bucks, one of which we see about five days of the week.

There has been a lot of mid-day feeding out in the fields and along the roads by does and fawns.  It has been consistent, for about four weeks now, to see several deer out between noon and 5:00 in the sun, and not necessarily near water.

I have seen a few white oaks with small acorns and many white oaks with none.  I will keep looking.

[Forester]

Still seeing the mid/late afternoon deer movement, although it does seem to be more related to water as the dry spell continues.

The acorn production seems spotty with a few trees producing.  Many trees seem to have small acorns forming and many trees seem to have none.

[hogdancer]

sounds like you have a good season ahead of you, I never saw that many deer in all my seasons put together in Louisiana, I KNOW that Ms. will be differant, been seeing quite a few deer in my neighbors yard eating his crabapples.

[Forester]

Good luck in the new location.  I hope Oxford is good to you.  I'll have a good season just knowing they are around.  Me actually getting one is a different story.

[Forester]

This evening was a little different than normal.  The older bucks have not been out in the fields lately, at least not before dark, but the does and fawns have been stable in their numbers and appearance.  But tonight I saw more fawns than normal, and more fawns than does which is very unusual for this observation spot.  22 does, 23 fawns and 10 bucks.

All the bucks I've seen in the last four days are still in velvet, but if the drought persists I expect the velvet to dry up and fall off pretty soon  

[Forester]

Plenty of acorns down at 1400 to 1600 feet in the low lands around Craig Creek.  I have been seeing more at higher elevations as well.  Chestnut oaks are producing for sure, white oak is a little better than spotty and red oaks seem to be spotty.

There were four bucks along the neighbors field edge this morning - the largest had velvet hanging in shreds, the next was starting to rub velvet covered antlers in the bushes and saplings.  The two smaller bucks were in velvet and oblivious.

It looks like the summer teaser is over and observation scouting will wind down.  It's almost time to hunt.....

[Kip]

I just wish I had a place with those numbers of deer.You are lucky Louisiana doesn't have the pop. like some other states but it is growing.Kip

[Talondale]

Good to hear the acorns are producing.  Not sure how good they're doing up here.  We had a hard frost that got all my apple/pear blooms and I don't know if they got the oaks. I'll be looking when we set our stands up.

[Forester]

Good luck down there Kip.  You probably get as many deer as I do.  I do enjoy seeing them though and know that I am lucky to live in such a place.

Talondale - Keep your fingers crossed for the acorns.  The deep freze that we all had was not too premature and I think most of the oaks in the mountain counties came through o.k.  The unusually warm two weeks prior to the freeze tricked some trees, fruit trees in particular, to break bud early and they paid the price.  I didn't see too many oaks breaking bud until normal time and I don't recall too much frost after that, not at my location anyway.