Much of the U.S. is experiencing severe drought conditions.Just wondering what everyones thoughts were on the health of the deer heard.I havent got trail cams out but the bucks I'm seeing appear to have good horn growth.I'm hearing from people that keep feeders up that the deer are eating unbelieveable amounts of food.It's going to be interesting how they fair the winter if plots cant get planted and or the mass crop doesnt produce.I fear the worse is yet to come if we dont get rain soon.diseise spreads easier also because of the limited number of water holes .Rain dance anyone? :(
Several years ago Ohio had the driest summer on record. But that fall the oaks had the biggest acorn crop I have ever seen. The woods floor was covered with acorns.
Last year La. had a bad drought and the largest mast crop ever seen.We are wet this year for a change from the last few years not sure how good the mast will be but grapes are very plentiful.Kip
Down here in Bonnerdale,Arkansas it is dry so dry I'am afraid to bushhog my pastures,seeing 12 to 16 deer a evening feeding in fields it was only 98 yesterday thought I was going to freese to death. temps went down 6 to 14 degrees...was 104 to 112 for a month....ponds are allmost dry..several large oak trees have died...3 years in a row of very dry summers...may have long lasting effects
The last run off rain in my area was mid-July last year. The ponds are all but dried up where I can hunt and the farmer's herd is in the CRP ground again. We'll see how it goes...
The deer herd is in great shape here and the mast crop locally looks fairly normal. I believe the higher number of deer in the herd is due to the mild winter this last year. I have been seeing lots of does with twin fawns out in the fields around our neighborhood over the last month. I am surprised the coyotes haven't gotten more of the little ones to this point. Never-the-less, it looks like this will be an excellent fall for bow hunting in North-central Ohio!
:thumbsup:
Kip,I'm sure i'm not alone in sayin that I would like to have some of that rain.Arky714 describes what we are experiencing here in northern arkansas.Hot and dry for a long time.Its to dry to even think about food plots.A spark would set a blaze in a second.Although, there are a lot of does and fawns and the bucks look healthy.I think were seeing more deer because there hungry.
Paul/ks, I'm headed to kansas in november.It will be intresting how it plays out.When I started hunting Kansas in 03 it had been dry for years but the heard was healthy,fat and good horns,just not as many deer.
Dry years are pretty common in these parts but this has been a long stretch... Where in Ks will you be hunting?
I hunt in the extreme western part.Last year was only the 2nd time I have seen running water in the creeks.
That's out where the mule deer are supposed to be...
Good luck and good hunting.
Thanks,Paul,I have seen some great muley's but I havent been able to draw a tag.
Hillboy,
I hope you shoot a DANDY in Kansas !!!!
Thanks Tom!In my mind there all dandy's these days! :archer2:
Took a walk around the small, now much smaller, pond next door thinking I'd see a bunch of deer tracks. Well, to my surprise I did not see a single deer track. Coon ,coyote and goose but no deer tracks.
Now I am really confused..? :confused:
Almost all of the deer around here are on the creeks and rivers big enough to still have water. I have a lease and hunt in ks and it is on the river. I am going to get a camera or two up next week. Ive seen some good bucks though and im getting excited. It is so dry and dusty here everytime you cough it starts a dust storm.
It is BONE dry here in Northern NE but with ALOT of pivots the deer are doin ok I 'm sure. We normally have quite a few deer in our canyons, but not this year. They are stayin closer to the better feed. Dont look too good for huntin our canyons this fall, maybe it will rain??? Even the dang prairie goats have moved on to a better place.
I can't remember it being this dry around here for many years. A local man mowing his pasture yesterday struck a rock with his brush hog and started a fire, burnt off 50 acres before they got it under control.
The deer seem to be doing OK though. I have seen several good bucks the last few weeks and the doe's and fawns look healthy.
Our season opens on Sept. 17th hopefully it will rain before then. If not I guess we can start hunting water holes like the Antelope hunters do. LOL
Have a great and safe season everyone.
bretto
43 years in Missouri. I've never seen it this dry for this long. We are known for hot, humid summers. Yesterday it was down to only 93 and a whopping 16% humidity!
To top it off, we apparently have an outbreak of CWD going on. Deer season is looking disappointing this year.
We're lucky this year, unlike last year. This past Winter, Spring and so far this Summer, we've had lots of rain in southeast Texas.
During a one week period this past July, we got 14" of rain.
Got a 40% chance of rain for tomorrow, Friday.