Attracting Deer During the Lull
Filed under: Ask Grant, Hunting Tactics
During December I don’t have many deer sightings on my 1,500 acre property. The rut starts after January 1st and just after Christmas we start seeing and harvesting some small bucks. Where have the deer gone and why? My property has pine plantations with cutover and some hardwoods. I have stands in all locations. What do you advise? We take a good many bucks from after Christmas until January 15th but until that time we don’t see any bucks. I harvest 140 to 160 class bucks on this property during the 1st week of January on a regular basis. What can be done to see deer during the lull? Buddy (Alabama)
Buddy,
It sounds as if you have been very successful. It may be good to consider that whitetails need food, cover, and water on a daily basis. If they don’t associate certain areas with fear, they will use the best source of food, cover, and water in their range. Is better forage available on the neighboring properties? Is there less hunting pressure on the neighboring properties? I often use maps to compare my property with surrounding properties to determine where the best resources (food, cover, and water) are available within the likely range of the deer using my property.
Another good tool that might help you determine the cause for the lack of deer observations during the pre-rut is trail cameras! I often use Reconyx trail cameras to determine the number of deer using a property at different times of the year.
Growing Deer together,
Grant
