Buck Magnet

I have been wondering about this for awhile now. Last night was our coldest night this year. Here in Indiana County, we got down to -3 degrees actual temperature. I think this was a good year to knock the herd down in size. This weather has to be hard on the deer. There isn't as much food this year as the past several years, and with the snow and cold, the deer have really gotta search. Our acorn crop was terrible this year. Alot of the oaks around here didn't have any acorns drop at all. The deer have been hitting peoples yards hard and corn fields that were overlooked earlier in the season. For the people that didn't support knocking the doe herd down in size, just think about it. This winter has been HARSH. If we still had all the does around, deer would be starving to death. Hopefully archers took out enough deer early on to let enough food for the other deer. They really had to pack on lots of extra fat to last this winter.

What do you guys think about this weathers effects on deer? Also, have any of you guys seen any winter kills? I havn't here, never had, the deer around here normally have more than enough food all winter.

Good Luck This Season: Buck Magnet

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Edited by - Buck Magnet on 01/18/2003 10:49:11

mhogan

Even my harshest "save the deer" friend is worried about the deer in Potter. There was little mast this year and a deep, crusted snow has been on the ground for a long time already this year.

SnoBall57

This is probably the hardest winter winter the deer in My area have seen in 5 years. We've had 11 days in a row below freezing on the mountain, and the weather service is calling for another 7. I saw quite a few late born fawns this past rifle season, and those young'uns are really going to take it tough, with the lack of mast crop We had this fall. And the snow We got before the deep freeze set in melted down to a 3 or 4 inch layer of rock hard ice. I'm expecting to find some winter kill this spring! It's been a while since I've found any. Doesn't look like We're going to get a January thaw quick enough this year.

BuckAlley

Deer are made to survive harsh winters. They carry heavy coats for warmth, and know how to find browse to feed. Here in Ny I currently have over 3ft of snow. Temp's below 0 for a wk now including a very low 20 below zero Friday night. I've seen deer traveling behind my house, and crossing the local roads. They have trails made for easy movement. They are survivors. What many people don't realize is that the whitetails roughest time of the winter is March. When temps began to rise, using more energy with their still heavy thick coats, and browse is all but gone from eating it all winter. This is when most deer don't make it from the winter months.
We too had a low mast crop in the woods, but fortunately one of my biggested hunting areas was logged very heavy this past spring, and again early fall. That alone hopefully will give them plenty of browse to get through.