Why did my spot just "shut off"?

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GRFox
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Why did my spot just "shut off"?

Unread postby GRFox » Wed Jul 13, 2011 1:54 pm

So I started a thread a couple weeks ago, with pictures of all of the different bucks I got on camera. 218 pictures of more than a dozen different bucks at all times of day for a week straight hitting my mineral site.

I went back in tonite to pull my camera, (I figure why keep it in there when I know what Ive got), and I only have 46 pictures, all of a doe and a fawn except for 3 pics all from the same night of the big six pointer I got pics of the first go around.

Why did all these other deer just "vanish"? They still should be coming to a mineral site, or evem just passing through this funnel but no dice.

It rained the same day I puit the cam out and it was pouring rain when I pulled the card last time so Its not like I stunk the whole place up with scent....

Any insight as to what happened? I feel like I just had the wind sucked out of my sails......


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Re: Why did my spot just "shut off"?

Unread postby Spysar » Wed Jul 13, 2011 2:01 pm

Are there other people around, or a more attractive food somewhere?
A buck will see you three times, and hear you twice, but he's only gonna smell you once.
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Re: Why did my spot just "shut off"?

Unread postby gjs4 » Wed Jul 13, 2011 2:06 pm

simply put- social phase change (rut phases..etc..though unlikely this time of year), food change (acrons, apples, fresh cut hay/alfalfa) or human intrusion
Green and growing... Or red and rotting
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Re: Why did my spot just "shut off"?

Unread postby BackWoodsHunter » Wed Jul 13, 2011 2:07 pm

Spysar wrote:or a more attractive food somewhere?



x2 food source switch came to my mind right away too...
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Re: Why did my spot just "shut off"?

Unread postby RUTIN » Wed Jul 13, 2011 2:14 pm

BackWoodsHunter wrote:
Spysar wrote:or a more attractive food somewhere?



x2 food source switch came to my mind right away too...


X3 & they have become a bachelor group somewhere, as soon as you find one more than likely you will find majority of them again. Then around Mid-later Sept. they dissappear again and its bc they break loose and move to acorns usually
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Re: Why did my spot just "shut off"?

Unread postby dan » Wed Jul 13, 2011 8:20 pm

Food source change most likely...
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Re: Why did my spot just "shut off"?

Unread postby 76chevy » Thu Jul 14, 2011 1:37 am

agreed

or human intrustion, atv riding, hikers, etc

dan wrote:Food source change most likely...
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Re: Why did my spot just "shut off"?

Unread postby muddy » Thu Jul 14, 2011 1:45 am

I've had this happen every year for the past few years this time of year. Deer get turned onto other food sources. Now the work begins, you gotta find the other food and where they're hanging out without turning them onto you. Theyr'e still in the area.
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Re: Why did my spot just "shut off"?

Unread postby GRFox » Thu Jul 14, 2011 1:50 am

Thanks guys, im going to go with change in food source. The chance of human intrusion in this spot is pretty much slim to none. It was very depressing to pull the cards and see nothing on there. I can't imagine where they are feeding now.

There isn't any agriculture for about 30 miles. Deer around here just like big woods deer rely on browse acorns and in the summer, open fields full of greens. I glassed the only big field on the property and there was nada.

Thanks for the feed back guys im going to put my cams back out there in different spots in a week or two and we will see what happens.

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Re: Why did my spot just "shut off"?

Unread postby dbl lung » Thu Jul 14, 2011 1:52 am

I have an area like this. Every year from August 20th to Sept 10th I receive picture of some real bruisers. Then around the opener they diappear. Last year I finally figured them out. In my area this is the time the acorns start to fall and it is also a dry/hot time of year. The deer seem to gravitate to the acorn ridge across the valley and stay on the side of the ridge which does not see the afternoon sun. Many times human intrusion can be the blame but I believe if the food is where your cameras are some (but very little) human intrusion will be tolerated.
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Re: Why did my spot just "shut off"?

Unread postby JRM6868 » Thu Jul 14, 2011 3:04 am

muddy wrote:I've had this happen every year for the past few years this time of year. Deer get turned onto other food sources. Now the work begins, you gotta find the other food and where they're hanging out without turning them onto you. Theyr'e still in the area.

X2 the other driving factor with this heat could be water.
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Re: Why did my spot just "shut off"?

Unread postby dan » Thu Jul 14, 2011 5:00 am

Sometimes deer activity will shift for a while and then shift back too for who knows why... So don't completly give up on it.
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Re: Why did my spot just "shut off"?

Unread postby sticknstringarchery » Thu Jul 14, 2011 5:30 am

Mine did this also a few weeks ago. I still have not figured out exactly why. I refreshed the minerals and then bam a couple days after, they were back. I don't have cameras yet so I check them periodically for prints and scrapes in the station. I usually wait a few days after rain. It tends to was out the prints some and I am able to tell if there has been any recent activity. I didn't give up on it and they came back.
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Re: Why did my spot just "shut off"?

Unread postby GRFox » Thu Jul 14, 2011 6:36 am

I don't think they left the property, its close to 1000 acres of unpressured untouchable land. The closest patch of woods is highly pressured public land and I doubt the went there. I just have to find them now.

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Re: Why did my spot just "shut off"?

Unread postby DEERSLAYER » Thu Jul 14, 2011 5:04 pm

GRFox wrote:I don't think they left the property, its close to 1000 acres of unpressured untouchable land...Image

WOW :shock: :shock: :shock: That place should be a big buck factory. That would be fun to hunt!
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