PewPewPew
Button Buck
I've been scouting and running trail cameras for about a year now. I don't feel like I've scratched the surface on patterning WNC deer. It's all starting to feel very random to me.
Food- There are no Ag fields. There is an unimaginable amount of food sources spread out in the woods. There are enough oak trees that I'm still finding piles of uneaten acorns in April. Setting up on a food source sounds like a wild goose chase to me.
Water- Where I am, there is a seep, draw holding water, puddle, or river within 200 yards in any direction. I don't see water influencing deer movement.
Bedding- Finding bedding is very predictable. I've found dozen of beds on points and SMALL benches on hill sides. On any given point there could be 5-10 established beds. Is this a bedding area? Sure. Do deer bed on a certain point consistently? I don't think so. I've run trail cameras over top of beds for weeks at a time and found that any given bed is empty 99.5% of the time. I tend to think deer are not returning to the same bed. I also believe they might use a bed for an hour or two on move on, not an 8 hour daytime nap. Contrary to popular belief, I don't think this cover is a major factor in bedding. I've found the vast majority in open hardwoods with little undergrowth.
Funnels/trails- I've set out trail cameras on what I believed to be some pretty obvious funnels, and have been very disappointed. I'm still trying to find the "a deer HAS TO pass through here" to get to from point A to B funnel. I'm also finding that trails are used by every animal in the jungle. A beaten down "deer trail" is getting more coyote and raccoon traffic than it is deer traffic. To me, deer trails occur like contour lines on a topo map, every 25 feet.
I once heard someone say that WNC deer are nomadic and walk through every square inch of the woods. Drop some knowledge on me, before I start bashing my head on a wall trying to figure this out.
Food- There are no Ag fields. There is an unimaginable amount of food sources spread out in the woods. There are enough oak trees that I'm still finding piles of uneaten acorns in April. Setting up on a food source sounds like a wild goose chase to me.
Water- Where I am, there is a seep, draw holding water, puddle, or river within 200 yards in any direction. I don't see water influencing deer movement.
Bedding- Finding bedding is very predictable. I've found dozen of beds on points and SMALL benches on hill sides. On any given point there could be 5-10 established beds. Is this a bedding area? Sure. Do deer bed on a certain point consistently? I don't think so. I've run trail cameras over top of beds for weeks at a time and found that any given bed is empty 99.5% of the time. I tend to think deer are not returning to the same bed. I also believe they might use a bed for an hour or two on move on, not an 8 hour daytime nap. Contrary to popular belief, I don't think this cover is a major factor in bedding. I've found the vast majority in open hardwoods with little undergrowth.
Funnels/trails- I've set out trail cameras on what I believed to be some pretty obvious funnels, and have been very disappointed. I'm still trying to find the "a deer HAS TO pass through here" to get to from point A to B funnel. I'm also finding that trails are used by every animal in the jungle. A beaten down "deer trail" is getting more coyote and raccoon traffic than it is deer traffic. To me, deer trails occur like contour lines on a topo map, every 25 feet.
I once heard someone say that WNC deer are nomadic and walk through every square inch of the woods. Drop some knowledge on me, before I start bashing my head on a wall trying to figure this out.
