The other side ……..

[802-603hunter]

I walked a few different woods the last couple days. There are a few blown down hemlock and maples around but nothing major. The deer were hitting the hardwood buds, and to a lesser extent the hemlock. I managed to find this antler with my partner Friday. I spotted it under the blow down but let her think she found it. Probably a matter of hours old, it clearly fell after the snow softened up that morning.

 

[sneaky_pete000]

I lost a big poplar and on its way down it smooshed some sumacs. In a matter of hours it was almost like a stampede went through there. I have some shed bucks on my cams, so I took a walk yesterday but no luck. (To be expected - I've walked this same hill for most of my 44yrs of life and never found a single shed on it.)

 

[802-603hunter]

I cut some hemlock today to saw out for timbers to build a woodshed this spring. Took out a couple hardwoods in the process and built a January deer buffet. I had a few takers by the afternoon despite me felling trees 150 yards up the hill. With zero acorns this year I think the deer are hungry.

 

[longbow]

Nice, how much snow do you have?

 

[802-603hunter]

Nice, how much snow do you have?

Maybe 5” under the softwood and 8-9” in the open.

 

[mowbizz]

They are hungry! I have a huge 200 year old apple tree on my property that has been slowly dying. Half the tree split and came down during a previous heavy snow and the deer found it quickly! They have been nipping the buds/tips like crazy.

 

[NH Mountains]

I talked with a non hunter on Friday in Grafton County that has fed deer for years. He’s seeing half the deer at his feeders than he has in the past. He thinks there’s a lot of browse down there from that Christmas storm so the deer haven’t moved in to his feeders. I took a walk yesterday and saw plenty of trees down for browse. He may be right.

 

[NH Mountains]

I took a walk last week in Cheshire County and deer were moving freely in under 3” snow. They were digging ferns. Unfortunately, there’s 12-15” in this area now.

 

[NorthMaine]

I talked with a non hunter on Friday in Grafton County that has fed deer for years. He’s seeing half the deer at his feeders than he has in the past. He thinks there’s a lot of browse down there from that Christmas storm so the deer haven’t moved in to his feeders. I took a walk yesterday and saw plenty of trees down for browse. He may be right.

I think you're right. Since Christmas we've had those heavy, wet storms that have folded the trees right over and/or snapped them, so I think there is a lot of browse making up for the lack of other feed.

 

[802-603hunter]

I cut some hemlock today to saw out for timbers to build a woodshed this spring. Took out a couple hardwoods in the process and built a January deer buffet. I had a few takers by the afternoon despite me felling trees 150 yards up the hill. With zero acorns this year I think the deer are hungry.

View attachment 27256

View attachment 27257

I made a trip up in the woods this afternoon, the deer are definitely hitting the feed I put on the ground pretty hard. After three days there is a pounded runway heading in and out of the area and more sign in general in the outlying area. I wish there were still some deer carrying headgear to increase the odds of finding a shed. I think they cast early this year around these parts. I found one at the end of December and the one below the first week of January. Both were under recent blowdowns where the deer had been feeding. I saw this morning there were still bucks carrying at the Brownsville Deer Pantry, so I set up a cam in the cutting we did to see if some stragglers roll in. Anyone else seen bucks carrying recently?

 

[sneaky_pete000]

I've seen a couple shed bucks on my cams, but not a lot. Those dropped a month ago. However, I have 3 that are on almost every camera pull, regardless of location, that are still holding and they're always together. A unicorn, a mega-spike, and an invincible 3 pointer. I have the unicorn on video about a week ago rubbing a fencepost. The mega-spike just follows the 3 pointer around and the 3 pointer is still chasing does. I have him nose strait out, just sniffing and pushing them around on video. On 1/21 he was on my Spypoint, mouth open breathing heavy, trotting down a run that a group of does had just traveled down. I think his calendar is broken.

Long story short - I still haven't found a shed, but I'm determined to. I want mega-spikes sheds really bad....he's a trophy spike.

 

[mowbizz]

I made a trip up in the woods this afternoon, the deer are definitely hitting the feed I put on the ground pretty hard. After three days there is a pounded runway heading in and out of the area and more sign in general in the outlying area. I wish there were still some deer carrying headgear to increase the odds of finding a shed. I think they cast early this year around these parts. I found one at the end of December and the one below the first week of January. Both were under recent blowdowns where the deer had been feeding. I saw this morning there were still bucks carrying at the Brownsville Deer Pantry, so I set up a cam in the cutting we did to see if some stragglers roll in. Anyone else seen bucks carrying recently?

View attachment 27276

Those spikes are great for making lamp finials! These are from the first buck I shot after moving to where I live now…my wife was in a lamp-crafting mode and built all our lamps for the house…I had the finial idea so she go the hardware and voila! I like how they look…

 

[JJM6]

Funny, I have a mega spike cap like that hanging over my workbench. Those spikes have to be 14" long. Shot him 10+ years ago.

 

[sneaky_pete000]

Funny, I have a mega spike cap like that hanging over my workbench. Those spikes have to be 14" long. Shot him 10+ years ago.

If I find those babies and celebration will ensue....

 

[RememberBaker]

I picked up my cameras the first few days of January so I don’t know what’s going on but between the end of deer season and then I’d seen nothing but small spikes.

 

[NH Hunter]

 

[NH Hunter]

This one is eating the buds around my back pond right now.

 

[mowbizz]

This one is eating the buds around my back pond right now.

How come there is so little snow depth there? Before that last heavy 15-18” snowfall the deer were hitting shrubs and buds all over the property. Since that heavy snow they must have yarded up because no tracks since. Now there’s a crust that the yotes can easily walk on top of…hope the deer can keep them away.

 

[NH Hunter]

There’s at least a foot in the hardwoods. I think the wind blew a lot off the pond , and during the warm spell the watery ice ate up most of it.

 

[Muzzleloader]

Aren't deer killed by predators a natural occurance ?

Feeding stations dramatically increase predation mortality.