I get LOTS of email from folks wondering when they should schedule their vacation so they can hunt the peak of the rut. I define “the peak of the rut” as when the biggest percentage of does are being bred. Using that definition it is…Read more at Winchester.com
White-tailed deer have been eating acorns since both deer and acorns existed. Acorns are a huge amount of a deer’s diet, but there are different variables that can help you determine what type of acorn is the preferred food source. Knowing the time of year, previous rainfall, and daily temperatures can all play into making you a successful hunter this fall.
Deer usually do not consume sprouting acorns.
Hunting acorns is a huge part of our hunting strategy here at The Proving Grounds. Grant and I spend a lot of time talking about acorns, scouting for them, observing feeding habits of other animals, and trying to understand the acorn status for our current hunting situation. Late this summer we realized that most of our oak trees had a high amount of acorns. This included both red oaks and white oaks. You can hear Grant discuss the difference in episode #139, Antlers at Dusk. In summary of that episode, we generally hunt white oaks during the early to mid season and focus more on red oaks during the late season. White oak acorns aren’t as “hardy” as red oak acorns, so during years with lots of rain and warmer temperatures acorns that have already fallen tend to start sprouting or spoil. This “spoiling” will cause the deer to stop feeding on them as heavily and the deer will transition to another food source.
What is that other food source? That could be a green food plot, soybeans, a corn field, or another area of acorns. This past week I started noticing a transition of squirrels feeding on typical White Oak acorns to post oak acorns, which are also in the white oak family, but from a different variety of tree. Post oak acorns are generally smaller and harder than a typical White Oak acorn, but the deer still love them. In southern Missouri the post oak acorns tend to fall slightly later than the typical White Oak acorns so we’ll be keeping a close eye on the post oak trees. If post oak acorns become the main food source, it will not only shift our hunting strategy, but also change which areas we hunt the most.
Knowing the preferred food source is critical to hunting success. By finding the main food source, especially this time of year, we find the does, which also means finding those rut-crazed bucks!
Get out this week and enjoy this beautiful time of year!
Daydreaming of Whitetails,
Adam
I really enjoy scouting for locations to put blinds or stands. I like trying to figure out the ever changing puzzle of how deer are using food, cover, and water. In addition, I’m always looking for sign that indicates the habitat quality for deer and other critters. Click HERE to read the full article at Winchester.com.
In this episode: Grant takes the mystery out of hunting scrapes! What are they? Why do bucks make them? Plus, watch this episode to see a Missouri buck turn the tables on a stalking predator. It’s rare video of one of those awesome moments in nature! Click here to view the show now!
Hunting that big old nocturnal buck may not be wise.
Understanding a buck’s characteristics will be the deciding factor in your success or failure this fall. When the calendar changes from September to October and bucks start to shift into pre-rut phase you never know who will step in front of your camera. When that buck does make his appearance, it’s important for you to know how to plan your strategy.
Royal George making his usual stop just after midnight. If his pattern doesn’t change it will be tough to harvest this buck.
Bucks that would gross score over 160” are extremely rare for us here in the Ozark Mountains of southern Missouri. So when a buck we call “Royal George” walked in front of our Reconyx camera last summer, we quickly put him at the top of our minds, but since he was only three we wanted to give him another year. George is an incredible buck, and once we got to know him, we found out one of his characteristics that helped him get so big. Looking through all the images we have of him, it’s safe to say that 95% of them are at night. The remaining 5% of pictures were taken during June when bucks are seen more regularly during daylight. Now that George has reached 4.5 years old he’s on the hit list, but there is a difference between being on the hit list and being hunted. Here is where a lot of hunters will make mistakes. Listen up! Just because a hit list buck is showing up at one of your cameras, that doesn’t mean you should be hunting him with regularity. Why should you waste time and put pressure on a buck that probably won’t step out while you’re hunting anyway? You shouldn’t. This brings us back to George who is very nocturnal. When I say very, I’m saying that every picture taken this year of George has been before or after legal shooting hours. Yes, George is living on The Proving Grounds, but he has shown no signs of moving during daylight. What does this mean? We’re not focusing our time hunting a buck that we have a very small chance of even seeing, let alone harvesting. The best approach we can have with bucks like George is to stay out. Let him experience life with little to no pressure, and hope that when the time comes for him to be searching for a receptive doe he’ll choose her over darkness. When that day comes we’ll be ready to capitalize on his decision to choose does over darkness.
One of the biggest mistakes a hunter can make is getting anxious and spending hours hunting a buck that isn’t moving during daylight. This mistake can push a buck even farther into cover and darkness. By limiting the amount of pressure on your deer herd during early season, you can reap the rewards of daylight activity when the temperatures are cool and the hit list bucks are on their feet.
Daydreaming of Whitetails,
Adam
When you think big bear, do you think of Arkansas? You will after watching this episode. Of course, we’re all about growing deer, but when Pro Staffer Heath Martin sends a Havoc through a 500lb black bear, we wanted to share the hunt.
Strange wind: Numerous days of southeast winds has made hunting tough at The Proving Grounds…but Adam Keith figures out a plan, and puts some venison on the ground.
Tip of the week: Big Bucks And Scrapes
It’s that time of year!
The Pre Rut occurs during late July in south Florida, September in the South Carolina coastal counties, late October/early November during most of the whitetail’s range, and late December in south Texas. No matter when it occurs, where you hunt the pre rut is a great time to deer hunt! Click HERE to read the full article at Winchester.com.
The last two weeks of October are two of my favorite weeks of the year. The leaves are starting to take on lots of color, while the deer are beginning the yearly ritual. It’s an exciting time of year, especially for deer hunters! A lot of bucks will be loaded up in the back of trucks over the next few weeks; don’t you want to be one of those happy hunters? Use scrapes to find where bucks are active and move in for the kill!
Before and after of the mock scrape created to monitor bucks in the area.
There are many reasons why I love this time of year, fall leaf color, cool temperatures, MLB postseason baseball, but one of my favorites is the whitetail pre-rut. It is a great time of year to have those trail cameras out! Bucks are spending a lot of time working scrapes right now and that can make for great trail camera locations! We put several of our Reconyx cameras overlooking scrapes this time of year. Not only do we find scrapes, we also make them. If we’re in an area with very limited scrape limbs, we will make a scrape tree. Making a mock scrape is a very simple process. Start by bringing in a small tree with horizontal limbs about 4.5 to 5 feet off the ground. Drive a t-post into the ground at your desired location and then tie the tree to the post securely; making sure the tree is stable and secure. Once the tree is secure, scrape the ground under the limbs exposing bare dirt, just like a buck would do. This is a great way to locate bucks in areas where scrapes are very limited.
Bucks of all age classes will be checking scrapes over the next few weeks. If your cameras are watching the scrapes you’ve got a great chance at catching a hit list buck! Once you locate a buck, you should move in quick! It could be a brief window of time before he’s off cruising for receptive does.
It’s an amazing time of year, find time this week to get outside and enjoy this wonderful world God created for us!
Daydreaming of whitetails,
Adam
It’s almost impossible to pattern deer with acorns everywhere. When Grant discovers a pattern in a food plot, he and Adam go for it! Then Grant takes the stage at the Northwoods Church in central Illinois. It’s mature bucks, good food and the good Word. Continuing north on this 1,400 mile road trip Grant explores a central Wisconsin hunting property. Meanwhile, back in Missouri, Adam Brooke bow hunts in a stand of white oaks. It’s a self-filmed success story.
Tip of the Week: World’s Best Deer Food?
It’s the best quality forage they don’t associate with danger. Hunt your food plots with care. Mature deer will pattern you.
It’s mid-October and still a week or so before the whitetail pre rut in most areas. Often, this portion of the season is referred to as the October Lull. I’ve certainly experienced some hunts during this time of year when it seemed there were no deer in the area. I’ve also experienced some great hunts during mid October! It seems many folks talk about the October Lull, but…CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL BLOG AT WINCHESTER.COM
