Although we actually had a decent year in 2007 (so little food was available deer were really having to move to find it), that event was definitely the end of our high deer densities. Deer densities plummeted and didn't bounce back for about 5 years.
Man, you're right on the money. In 2012, everything exploded, and that year, I finally got the monkey off my back. That deer, the way I killed him, made me realize how my strategies up to that point had caused me to fail at many prior hunts. That deer taught me a lot and have had a lot of success since then.
Agreed. From what I'm hearing from clients in Hickman County, the bounce back in population this year is pretty significant.
I really feel a month long archery hunt in the bear reserves would be very successful.
About the same with the white oaks I found any acorns on today. Suspect the June and July drought here likely played a part.
I have a huge white oak in my backyard and typically this time of the year that's what they look like and even this year is the same. They don't grow big in the first place so I suspect it is about normal. I'll take a picture of it when I get home this evening and see. I've got hickory trees loaded up in the yard which I'm dreading for sure. We have had a good amount of rain in Hamilton county and up on the mountain the trees seem to be on par for usually acorn production
Pretty well established fact that, in a hardwood environment, deer sightings and harvests decline in a bumper acorn year and peak in a poor acorn year. When acorns are plentiful, deer have to move shorter distances to find food, and less often (acorns digest slower than browse/ag crop plants). In a poor acorn year, deer may have to travel greater distances to feed as well as feed more often, exposing themselves to hunters more frequently.
