kyle_hoyt

hey guys i live in north central MN and was riding around on my snowmobile the other day and found a lot of deer sign. the mississippi runs through this chunk of land and deer sign is all over. i just have a couple of questions for you. Will these deer still be in the same place in september for bow season? theres a hay field within a half mile along with some thick woods. my second question is, there are a ton of tracks crossing the river (its only about 20 yards wide here) and i was wondering if they will cross it as much in the fall when the water is open? thanks for any ideas you have for me.
-kyle

Two Beards

Deer tend to herd up in the winter and head for the
timber, especially with snow on the ground. I' ve
noticed, at least here in central Iowa, that during
warmer winters that have little or no snow deer
are in smaller groups and can be found more
often in open areas away from large blocks of
timber.

With the amount of deer sign you are finding
there must be a good food source close by,
it could be the alfalfa field you mentioned. Are
there any grain fields(corn/beans) near by?
With the large snowstorm we got here last
weekend, the deer are hitting the cornfields
hard, being it is a high energy food.

I' d highly recommend walking the property
by foot. Find where the bedding areas are and
then follow the trails to the food sources
being used. Look for rubs in the area, particularly
those inside cover and away from field edges,
this will give you some info on deer activity
in the fall. After your snow melts, go out
again and look for additional sign such as,
heavy deer runs being used and scrapes
in the area from the fall. As to how often the
river crossing you mentioned is being used in
the fall, I think it would depend on how deep
the water is- the more shallow it is, the more
deer using it during warmer weather.

In the area I bowhunt here, the deer never get
too far from the grain fields...no matter what
time of the year it is. Also deer love alfalfa,
especially before it frosts in the fall while the
plants are still tender. I would think a trail
leading to the alfalfa field you mentioned
would be a possible stand location.

It takes some time to learn the deer movements
and patterns on property you hunt, but between
now and ' green up' is a great time to find out
what was happening last fall. Hope this helps
a little.

Good Luck
Two Beards