Originally Posted by
rh160kid
Same here in southeastern NY. Ufortuneately heavy doesnt always mean its good to hunt. A few years ago we had a heavy mast crop and it was one of the toughest years i ever had-i had to move alot. I finally found one oak grove the deer were hammering. They would be there when i arrived at dark and then come right back and never leave. They would bed right there. Everyone complained that year they saw no deer. after watching those deer day after day never move from that group of oaks i quickly saw why people said that. So many acorns there was no need to go anywhere!
Great point. A heavy mast can make for tough hunting. Not always but it seems in past years when we had little acorns/beechnuts falling deer sighting were almost always higher. This also applies to our bear season as well. More bear are shot when feed is scarce and they have to continouosly be on the move.