Hill Country food sources

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mattfish
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Hill Country food sources

Unread postby mattfish » Tue Nov 26, 2019 7:57 am

I scoured an area In Northern Pa throughout winter. It is a large expanse of hardwoods in a mountainous region. Finding what I thought where potential buck beds in February and March.

So I placed trail cameras in the area and did my darnedest to not over check them. Maybe once a month I would check to ensure it was worth keeping them in the spots I had chosen.

I regularly got pics of deer in velvet throughout spring and summer. In early July I went in and did some minimal tree trimming to have trees prepared for October opener.
During this time I had plenty of deer pics. Buck and doe. Day and night.

Fast forward to early October season opener. I had not entered the area since July and went to check the cameras on my morning hunt.

I had tons of pics up until the point I didn’t!


September 21st the pics ended as if some large gate had dropped and blocked deer movement. Not a single deer.

Fortunately I was able to kill several deer with my bow during the Pa archery season.

Now it’s time to review and improve.

My question :


Am I to believe the end of deer pics were a food source change? Lots of Oaks throughout the woods with a solid acorn supply that began dropping in August.

No other major events such as storms occurred or any other explanation for the drastic drop in pics.

If it were a food source change what should I be looking for in my scouting missions to adjust for such a change at the start of each season?


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JShea
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Re: Hill Country food sources

Unread postby JShea » Tue Nov 26, 2019 8:18 am

They do sell corn in Walmart...even though baiting is illegal in Pa.

Maybe it's open woods with leaves on the trees it's a good summer area then when leaves start coming off they move to thicker areas for fall.
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fenderbender62
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Re: Hill Country food sources

Unread postby fenderbender62 » Wed Nov 27, 2019 2:23 pm

Most likely its a food source change and the sudden influx of human scent in the woods, AKA pressure

The acorns get sucked up pretty quick, deer arent the only ones eating them, the squirrels and turkeys put a hurt on them also during the day while the deer are bedded.. Also, check the acorns once they hit the ground, make sure they resemble a nice fresh, crisp, dry nut you would want to eat not a spongy half rotten turd. There are levels to acorn priority.

In terms of pressure, im not sure where you're hunting and what kind of property it is, but deer get wise REAL quick 2 or 3 hunts in a 100 acre radius and the deer start moving later and later in the day and stay closer and closer to their beds and security cover. Around here as the season progresses I start to key in on honeysuckle. It grows like crazy and the deer bed in it, stand up and eat it, and bed again
what one man can do another can do
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thepennsylvanian
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Re: Hill Country food sources

Unread postby thepennsylvanian » Wed Nov 27, 2019 3:40 pm

I would say that there are multiple factor at work. Food change, seasonal cover change, elevated human pressure, among other things. Those big woods seem incredibly impossible to narrow down, but your still looking for two basic things food and cover. You can break several different areas but online scouting, look for terrain first, then try to locate habitat diversity, locate the edges, areas of thicker vegetation. If yo uh already located oaks up there, next would be to locate nearest possible bedding. Also remember that your camera has a very narrow window of opportunity, quick scout for fresh sign may reveal that they are still in the area only using a different trail.... try to keep in mind that a trail camera can only tell you was there.. good luck with the rest of your season!!
Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet.
mattfish
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Re: Hill Country food sources

Unread postby mattfish » Thu Nov 28, 2019 12:07 am

I appreciate the reply’s guys. I really didn’t consider pressure a possibility due to the fact that myself and two buddies kinda frequent the surrounding areas checking their cameras. I deliberately stay outta the areas I hunt beginning in August. That being said I have no idea who else maybe pressuring/ preparing for archery in the area.

I guess the surprising thing for me was the lack of all critters on camera for myself as well as my buddies. Area is so large we have yet to pin down any type of regular pattern for mature bucks.

I will head back to the woods after rifle and in the meantime restudy aerial and topos of the area.

Thanks again for the food for thought.


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