We’ve got a pretty good recipe for above average game movement the next few days. A few weeks ago we were in the 80s and this snap of chilly weather will have our heaters crankin' and the deer on the hoof during the daylight. Add to that, the harvest continues. With over 50% of the corn out, and over 90% of the beans gone -each day uncovers more deer habitat. It pushes deer around and tends to confine them into the timber. Finally, just one month from now will be the start of peak breeding, the greatest contest a buck might play in his whole life, and they are practicing for it now. Most professional hunters and deer biologists agree this is determined by the moon. The moon is in its last quarter phase, growing dimmer with each passing day. Moonrise will be after midnight for the rest of the week, and many of us will notice this crescent settling in the western sky mid-afternoon. So it looks like another pretty good combination to hunt the end of the week. Below normal temperatures, an arctic high pressure and the proximity to rut signaled by the moon should all combine to have the deer transitioning between an active feeding pattern and a pre-rut pattern.
Expect to see sporadic sparring matches, scrapes and rubs in the woods this week. So stay mobile. If you encounter a good scrape line with several in a row – hunt it! The deer have a plethora of food options from the falling acorns to the newly cut corn fields, so it’s important to isolate which areas they prefer this week, because it will be constantly changing. I call it interactive scouting (a crossover between truly still-hunting and scouting and it really pays off. Good Luck!
No comments:
Post a Comment