Anyone hunting in SE Kansas?
12-09-2010, 05:25 PM
#1
Spike
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 7
Anyone hunting in SE Kansas?
This has been a tough and very weird year. I just wanted to see what others thought and if they had the same experience.
Here is what is happening.
I am hunting in land that is about 60% woods, and the rest pasture. Out of 10 guys hunting in a 2 mile radius,
after 8 days we only have 4 deer between us. Normally, we would have had about 10. Without trying to brag, normally I would have had 2 by now.
Here is what I observed.
I had a camera on a trail head near a food plot. Between 11-14 and 11-27, I grabbed nearly 300 pics from my camera. Most had deer, and most were at night. I did catch a lot of groups between 4 and 10 with bucks and does mixed. I did get many pics during the day, including a few bucks.
About 11-28, the weekend after Thanksgiving, the activity really started slowing down. From that Sunday to the next Thursday, I was only getting 4 to 10 pics per day. Season opened on that Wednesday. I shot a doe on Friday that was in a group of 5 - no bucks in the group.
In one other spot on my land, on the first day of season, the Wed after Thanksgiving, I spotted a pretty large herd of about 17 mixed does and bucks. I had to leave early that day, so spotted these guys about 4:30 coming out of a creek bed moving into the pasture. Since then, I haven't seen them again, and have been tracking and haven't seen any tracks.
This year has been unseasonably warm. The first 3 days of the season - I think it was in the 60s each day. Even today, 8 days after open, the temp was in the high 50s.
Since last Sunday through today, I haven't seen a thing. I have talked with a few other guys in the area, and they haven't seen anything either. I haven't heard any shots. The local bus driver hasn't seen anything either.
So, I am stuck. I don't know if anyone else is hunting in SE Kansas and has had better or same luck.
My theory is that they went into rut too late. Instead of peaking around 11-10, I am thinking the rut didn't peak until more like 11-28. So, when opening day came, instead of starting back with second rut, they were resting up from the first rut. The extra warmness is keeping them in the post rut pattern. The lack of cold isn't triggering the does to return to estrus, and it is also not triggering them to start trying to put on winter weight.
We are supposed to get some cold weather starting Saturday. Highs over the weekend are low 40s. I don't remember the last rain we had, but its been a few weeks. We are supposed to get some rain or snow over the weekend.
So, I am also trying to figure out what my strategies should be over the weekend. My logic tells me that if it gets cold, they might return to historical patterns, in which case my proven setup should work. The other part of me says I can't take the chance and I need to get deep in the woods and figure out where they are.
What does everyone else think?
Here is what is happening.
I am hunting in land that is about 60% woods, and the rest pasture. Out of 10 guys hunting in a 2 mile radius,
after 8 days we only have 4 deer between us. Normally, we would have had about 10. Without trying to brag, normally I would have had 2 by now.
Here is what I observed.
I had a camera on a trail head near a food plot. Between 11-14 and 11-27, I grabbed nearly 300 pics from my camera. Most had deer, and most were at night. I did catch a lot of groups between 4 and 10 with bucks and does mixed. I did get many pics during the day, including a few bucks.
About 11-28, the weekend after Thanksgiving, the activity really started slowing down. From that Sunday to the next Thursday, I was only getting 4 to 10 pics per day. Season opened on that Wednesday. I shot a doe on Friday that was in a group of 5 - no bucks in the group.
In one other spot on my land, on the first day of season, the Wed after Thanksgiving, I spotted a pretty large herd of about 17 mixed does and bucks. I had to leave early that day, so spotted these guys about 4:30 coming out of a creek bed moving into the pasture. Since then, I haven't seen them again, and have been tracking and haven't seen any tracks.
This year has been unseasonably warm. The first 3 days of the season - I think it was in the 60s each day. Even today, 8 days after open, the temp was in the high 50s.
Since last Sunday through today, I haven't seen a thing. I have talked with a few other guys in the area, and they haven't seen anything either. I haven't heard any shots. The local bus driver hasn't seen anything either.
So, I am stuck. I don't know if anyone else is hunting in SE Kansas and has had better or same luck.
My theory is that they went into rut too late. Instead of peaking around 11-10, I am thinking the rut didn't peak until more like 11-28. So, when opening day came, instead of starting back with second rut, they were resting up from the first rut. The extra warmness is keeping them in the post rut pattern. The lack of cold isn't triggering the does to return to estrus, and it is also not triggering them to start trying to put on winter weight.
We are supposed to get some cold weather starting Saturday. Highs over the weekend are low 40s. I don't remember the last rain we had, but its been a few weeks. We are supposed to get some rain or snow over the weekend.
So, I am also trying to figure out what my strategies should be over the weekend. My logic tells me that if it gets cold, they might return to historical patterns, in which case my proven setup should work. The other part of me says I can't take the chance and I need to get deep in the woods and figure out where they are.
What does everyone else think?
12-09-2010, 06:44 PM
#3
Spike
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 7
Not that I can tell. I don't see anything different over the past two weeks, which is why I am probably focused on the weather.
Activity has really dropped off all over. For example, this land is about 240 acres. Where I hunt, and where I had my camera is one one edge of the property, and the house is on the other edge. Where I dropped the doe, I probably dropped her too close to the trail head and left some blood, so maybe I could see why that dropped off. But, by the house, we would normally have 10 or 12 come through a woody path behind the house, graze in a little meadow and move. My grandfather who lives there will go out and periodically check, and he has not seen any move through in over a week.
I am now hunting another pasture at the confluence of 3 trails. This has historically been my 'go to' spot and is about 100 yards from where I shot the doe, and seperated by thick woods. There is no sign of activity there on my camera, but I do admit that the camera might be a little too far back to catch activity.
I should also have mentioned - when I talk woods, I am talking heavy oak trees and cedars. So, its pretty thick in spots and we had major acorn production last year. The acorn productioin is always good, even in a typical year, so even that is not that much different and doesn't explain the drop off.
And again, this seems to be the whole region. I know guys a little over 2 miles from where I hunt that are experiencing the same thing.
Activity has really dropped off all over. For example, this land is about 240 acres. Where I hunt, and where I had my camera is one one edge of the property, and the house is on the other edge. Where I dropped the doe, I probably dropped her too close to the trail head and left some blood, so maybe I could see why that dropped off. But, by the house, we would normally have 10 or 12 come through a woody path behind the house, graze in a little meadow and move. My grandfather who lives there will go out and periodically check, and he has not seen any move through in over a week.
I am now hunting another pasture at the confluence of 3 trails. This has historically been my 'go to' spot and is about 100 yards from where I shot the doe, and seperated by thick woods. There is no sign of activity there on my camera, but I do admit that the camera might be a little too far back to catch activity.
I should also have mentioned - when I talk woods, I am talking heavy oak trees and cedars. So, its pretty thick in spots and we had major acorn production last year. The acorn productioin is always good, even in a typical year, so even that is not that much different and doesn't explain the drop off.
And again, this seems to be the whole region. I know guys a little over 2 miles from where I hunt that are experiencing the same thing.
12-09-2010, 06:59 PM
#4
Typical Buck
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Kansas
Posts: 616
Yea I hunt SE Kansas. I have noticed the same thing here. I have only seen 4 does this week. I did bust 1 buck out of some real thick brush about a week ago. I saw him for about 2 seconds before he disappeared into 7 foot tall grass and was gone. Some hunters came in from out of state and managed to take 3 nice bucks which they brought to my shop to be caped out for mounting. Other than that it has been pretty much deerless around these parts. Here are the 3 they got!
Live it up! Doug
Live it up! Doug
