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Will lack of crops hurt?

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Fletch

Member
Last year I got access to hunt a new property. Having taken a good buck on another property before I got much opportunity to hunt this one, I spent most of last year video taping from observation stands. Although I didn’t see anything huge I saw a lot of deer including a number of 2 ½ or 3 ½ year olds with some great potential. One of the features I believe made the property so active is that it had one of the few crop fields in the general area. Well I just talked with the landowner and this year (the first time in many years) he planted the field in hay. Will the absence of crops push the deer to a couple corn fields that are a mile or more away? There are oaks and locust trees around but not large numbers.

On a good note, however, he said that 2 weeks ago on three consecutive days he saw a buck with the biggest rack he has ever seen – and he was in an area where I located a great terrain funnel. In general though, what are your opinions - will the change in food source change the herds travel patterns substantially?

Thanks - Fletch
 
Fletch,
Down this way, everything revolves around the crops. You might have success there this year, but a couple of years without feed will definitely make a difference in the number of deer you see. Just my experience here in Kansas...
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My best spot last year was a newly planted field of alfafa. The deer seemed to go to like a magnet. We had beans all around us, but on any given night you could see 20 or more deer in the alfalfa.

So I'd say your spot should be fine. Good luck, I look forward to hearing about the big one.
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mole
 
I would say that if the property has good security cover/bedding areas that the deer will remain until the weather turns cold.

They may travel to the corn fields right now but many of them are likely to return to their home bedding areas.

This is a good thing if there are a number of travel corridors/funnels between the corn and your hunting area.

Once the weather turns cold deer are less likely to move great distances unless they have to. It requires them to expend too much energy, they will move very closer to the corn fields then.
 
blake took the words right out of my mout...................

if you were able to glass a number of 2 1/2 & 3 1/2 year old bucks last year, there certainly has to be some sort of cover/security on the property for you to see them a lot like you said.

so personally i feel that you will have a "hotspot" for quite sometime. however i do feel that even though they don't like to exert too much energy when it gets bitterly cold, if these bucks see good hunting pressure, not from you, but from other hunters, they will forfeit the excellent foodsource and will definetly settle for the security and hay/alfalfa. do you feel these bucks will see good hunting pressure?
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SplitG3
There is almost no bow hunting pressure in this area. The only others hunting this property are a father and his 12 year old during youth season. The property to the North is all timber and leased for hunting and surrounding properties are basically only hunted during shotgun season by the locals. The deer behave like unpressured animals too, often feeding in the fields throughout the day. The terrain is very rugged with good security cover.
 
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