Originally Posted by
kenified06
There was no acorns, very few apples, very little everything in the woods here in Virginia this year.... Deer aren't hanging around in the woods much... All the deer around here are in most everyones yards and fields.. With that said last year a lot of my deer disappeared from one of my spots and I later realized a coyote was chasing them out of that area!
I seriously doubt one coyote was chasing all the deer out of an area. I grew up in areas with lots of coyotes and lots of deer. They coyotes will take a deer down but there is no way they chase all of them off. Predators don't do that. It would take several packs, not a single animal weighing less than 40 lbs to seriously impact an entire area.
Deer require 3 things. Food, water and cover. Take away any one of the 3 and the deer will depart the area. Find the area with all 3 either in the same general area or close to each other and you will find deer. The don't just disappear or completely leave.
If it was me, I'd look for the thickest and nastiest cover I can find if the deer aren't where they normally are. Usually that will provide food and cover. Water may or may not be near by. If the deer are pressured or under any sort of stress, they will go into the thick stuff. Most hunters are too lazy to go into it after them, which is exactly why they go there in the first place.
Deer eat a lot more than acorns and apples. Scientists have found over 300 wild plants they will eat. If the acorns and apples aren't handy, the deer will feed on other things. You may need to think outside the normal food items, but if you have woods, you have at least some type of deer food. Nature is pretty good at that type of thing.