By Othmar Vohringer
Question: "Is it true that deer do not like to be around cattle?"
My Answer: Yes and no. I've hunted in areas where the deer didn't mind sharing the land with cattle. In fact I hunted on a property where the deer mingled with cattle and we always had to make sure that no cow was in the line of sight when we shot a deer.
When I moved to British Columbia I found a place that had a large deer population. Every time i scouted the area I saw lots of deer. Then when bowhunting season opened I didn't see a single deer. On the way out of the area I saw a herd of free ranging cattle but it didn't dawn at me that these cattle had anything to do with the vanishing deer until the day when the rancher herded the cows to a different place. Within two days of the cattle gone the deer came back.
I never have found an answer why in some areas deer and cattle seem to get along and in other areas deer move away when cattle are present. The only reasonable conclusion I can come up with is that perhaps in some areas food is plentiful available for both, while in others cattle may be in competition with the deer.
The only thing I can say for sure is that you need to observe deer and how they behave around cattle. Do they stay in the area or move off? And then adjust your tactics according to your observations.
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Othmar Vohringer Outdoors
Deer Hunting Tips, Ask Othmar, Deer and Cattle
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Sunday, October 04, 2009
Do we get an early rut this year?
© By Othmar Vohringer
In the third week of September I observed something very strange that I have never seen before. While scouting a new area I discovered fresh and re-freshened scrapes. Usually scraping activity does not start around here until the first to second week of October. Did the deer know something I didn’t?
When on October first the weather changed drastically overnight from a mild Indian summer to subzero temperatures and the first snowfall occurred I thought that this early cold snap might have something to do with the early scraping activity and may have triggered a false rut.
But then reports came in from as far south as Tennessee and Florida where hunters too observed scraping activity. I even got some reports from hunters that have seen bucks chasing does in the first week of October. Now I could understand that the cold front we had up here in the southern interior of British Columbia may have deer fooled into early rutting activity, but in the south of America where the temperatures are still in the mid and upper 50’s?
I am still puzzled about this early rutting activity and asked some deer biologists if they had any idea what could have happened but thy are not sure either.
If that keeps up I may have to hunt the rut in mid October. Wouldn’t that be crazy? For me the bigger question is. If the deer are indeed beginning to breed that early they also will give early birth when weather conditions are not favorable to raise offspring. Indeed there might be still snow on the ground in many areas of North America. This in turn could lead to heavy fawn mortality. Whatever it is I sure don’t like it.
I would like to know what you guys observed in your hunting area and what your opinion is on this very unusual phenomenon.
Othmar Vohringer Outdoors
Founding Member of Outdoor Bloggers Summit
Tags: Deer Rut, Early Rut, Unusual Deer Behavior
In the third week of September I observed something very strange that I have never seen before. While scouting a new area I discovered fresh and re-freshened scrapes. Usually scraping activity does not start around here until the first to second week of October. Did the deer know something I didn’t?
When on October first the weather changed drastically overnight from a mild Indian summer to subzero temperatures and the first snowfall occurred I thought that this early cold snap might have something to do with the early scraping activity and may have triggered a false rut.
But then reports came in from as far south as Tennessee and Florida where hunters too observed scraping activity. I even got some reports from hunters that have seen bucks chasing does in the first week of October. Now I could understand that the cold front we had up here in the southern interior of British Columbia may have deer fooled into early rutting activity, but in the south of America where the temperatures are still in the mid and upper 50’s?
I am still puzzled about this early rutting activity and asked some deer biologists if they had any idea what could have happened but thy are not sure either.
If that keeps up I may have to hunt the rut in mid October. Wouldn’t that be crazy? For me the bigger question is. If the deer are indeed beginning to breed that early they also will give early birth when weather conditions are not favorable to raise offspring. Indeed there might be still snow on the ground in many areas of North America. This in turn could lead to heavy fawn mortality. Whatever it is I sure don’t like it.
I would like to know what you guys observed in your hunting area and what your opinion is on this very unusual phenomenon.
Othmar Vohringer Outdoors
Founding Member of Outdoor Bloggers Summit
Tags: Deer Rut, Early Rut, Unusual Deer Behavior
Ask Othmar : Hunting Cornfields
© By Othmar Vohringer
Hi Othmar. A few friends and I have permission to hunt a farm. It’s the perfect piece of whitetail deer habitat with a small river bottom, hardwood ridges, pastures and several corn and bean fields. The farmer gave us permission to set up anywhere on his property except near the livestock and equipment barns and his house of course. In addition we only have permission to bowhunt, no firearms, not even slug guns or muzzleloader.
The problem I'am having is how to hunt cornfields. I've never hunted cornfields before. I could hunt the hardwood ridges but from what I observed it seems that most deer stay in the cornfields so I would like to give it a try. How do you go about hunting cornfields?
Ken from Illinois
Hunting cornfields can be a very productive way to kill a big buck. There are several options to hunt a cornfield and they all depend on the condition of the fields. What I mean by that, it depends if the corn is still standing or has been cut.
A standing cornfield is food and shelter to deer and thus they spend a lot of time in there, but not all of their time. If deer spend most of their time in the standing cornfield it can be though to hunt. The easiest way is to figure out where the deer move in and out of the field. Try to observe deer movement from a distance with a pair of good binoculars. Also check the hardwood ridge tops for available mast crop such as oaks. If there are oaks dropping then I am convinced the deer will travel from the field to the ridge top to feed on the oaks. Your job will be to figure out at what time the deer head to the oaks.
If the deer feed on the oaks during legal shooting light set up somewhere along the route the deer take from the field to the ridge top. Where that somewhere is will be revealed through scouting. It should be a narrow spot where several trails merge and funnel deer through a narrow gap past your stand.
Should your scouting reveal that the deer spend all the time, during legal shooting light, in the standing cornfield then you have no other option but to go after them. In my article Cirnfield Bucks I describe how to hunt bucks inside a cornfield.
If the cornfield is cut the game plan changes because the cover is gone. However, a cut cornfield is a deer magnet. Deer love a cut corn or bean field because they do not have to work the corn or bean out of the husk. The food is readily “pre-processed” available to them. Think of easy food intake without having to work for it. If the field has just been cut you will find that deer are difficult to pattern for a day or two. Don’t worry about it. It all will go back to normal again as soon as the deer figured out a new bedding to feeding travel pattern after their familiar pattern has suddenly been disturbed. Deer are masters at adapting to new situations.
Again, scout from a distance where and at what time the deer travel to and from the cut field. When the new travel pattern emerges find the travel routes the deer take from their bedding areas to the field and hang stands accordingly. My preference is to hang stands always a bit back in the woods where several trails merge into one, as opposed to directly at the food source. It's hard, if not downright impossible, to kill a deer with a bow directly at the food source. I recommend, as always, to hang several stands to accommodate different wind directions and entry/exit routes for you.
If anybody would like to add anything to this tip feel free and do so in the comment sections. The season has just started and if you get one with the bow let me know. Good luck and have a great time out there.
Othmar Vohringer Outdoors
Founding Member of Outdoor Bloggers Summit
To see more Questions & Answers read “Ask Othmar”
Tags: Bowhunting, Cornfields, Early Bowhunting Season
Hi Othmar. A few friends and I have permission to hunt a farm. It’s the perfect piece of whitetail deer habitat with a small river bottom, hardwood ridges, pastures and several corn and bean fields. The farmer gave us permission to set up anywhere on his property except near the livestock and equipment barns and his house of course. In addition we only have permission to bowhunt, no firearms, not even slug guns or muzzleloader.
The problem I'am having is how to hunt cornfields. I've never hunted cornfields before. I could hunt the hardwood ridges but from what I observed it seems that most deer stay in the cornfields so I would like to give it a try. How do you go about hunting cornfields?
Ken from Illinois
Hunting cornfields can be a very productive way to kill a big buck. There are several options to hunt a cornfield and they all depend on the condition of the fields. What I mean by that, it depends if the corn is still standing or has been cut.
A standing cornfield is food and shelter to deer and thus they spend a lot of time in there, but not all of their time. If deer spend most of their time in the standing cornfield it can be though to hunt. The easiest way is to figure out where the deer move in and out of the field. Try to observe deer movement from a distance with a pair of good binoculars. Also check the hardwood ridge tops for available mast crop such as oaks. If there are oaks dropping then I am convinced the deer will travel from the field to the ridge top to feed on the oaks. Your job will be to figure out at what time the deer head to the oaks.
If the deer feed on the oaks during legal shooting light set up somewhere along the route the deer take from the field to the ridge top. Where that somewhere is will be revealed through scouting. It should be a narrow spot where several trails merge and funnel deer through a narrow gap past your stand.
Should your scouting reveal that the deer spend all the time, during legal shooting light, in the standing cornfield then you have no other option but to go after them. In my article Cirnfield Bucks I describe how to hunt bucks inside a cornfield.
If the cornfield is cut the game plan changes because the cover is gone. However, a cut cornfield is a deer magnet. Deer love a cut corn or bean field because they do not have to work the corn or bean out of the husk. The food is readily “pre-processed” available to them. Think of easy food intake without having to work for it. If the field has just been cut you will find that deer are difficult to pattern for a day or two. Don’t worry about it. It all will go back to normal again as soon as the deer figured out a new bedding to feeding travel pattern after their familiar pattern has suddenly been disturbed. Deer are masters at adapting to new situations.
Again, scout from a distance where and at what time the deer travel to and from the cut field. When the new travel pattern emerges find the travel routes the deer take from their bedding areas to the field and hang stands accordingly. My preference is to hang stands always a bit back in the woods where several trails merge into one, as opposed to directly at the food source. It's hard, if not downright impossible, to kill a deer with a bow directly at the food source. I recommend, as always, to hang several stands to accommodate different wind directions and entry/exit routes for you.
If anybody would like to add anything to this tip feel free and do so in the comment sections. The season has just started and if you get one with the bow let me know. Good luck and have a great time out there.
Othmar Vohringer Outdoors
Founding Member of Outdoor Bloggers Summit
To see more Questions & Answers read “Ask Othmar”
Tags: Bowhunting, Cornfields, Early Bowhunting Season
Thursday, October 01, 2009
Early Season Antler Rattling
© By Othmar Vohringer
Yesterday I received an email from a hunter in Illinois. He had been wondering if rattling in the early season would work. Here is his question and my answer.
Q. I am wondering if antler rattling does work in the early season. When I asked hunters around here they each seem to have a different opinion. Some say it doesn't work, others say it works and still others say it scares deer that early in the season. What is your opinion based on experience?
A. It would take up several book pages to explain your question in detail. Rattling does not work. Tine tickling on the other hand does work quite well.
During the early part of the season female deer are not in heat and bucks do not engage in full blown out breeding rights and territorial fights. However, in the early season bucks do engage in sparring to test each others strength. In the early season I mimic sparring using a rattler bag. By gently clicking and grinding I have attracted consistently early season bucks.
But there is a whole lot more to it then just sit down and click antlers together in hopes of attracting a buck. Location is very important and so is the antler clicking sequence. Be on the wrong place or to aggressive and click for to long and you're liable to scare more deer off then you will see.
The important thing to remember is not to think of it as fighting but rather a friendly sparring competition among bucks and then match that with your rattling antlers or rattling bag. My average sparring imitations last up to 20 minutes but not continuously.
Like I said antler rattling and clicking is a very complex issue that would fill up many pages. Antler clicking is the least understood in terms of why it attracts deer of both sexes and all ages to the hunter. I have been studying this subject for many years and still have more questions than answers. Save to say that antler clicking is so effective that it is my number one early season deer attractant tool. In the early season I leave all the deer calls at home but I will not leave home on a hunt without my rattling bag.
On my website I have a new section called “Ask Othmar” where I post questions from hunters and my answers to it.
Othmar Vohringer Outdoors
Founding Member of Outdoor Bloggers Summit
Antler Rattling, Early Hunting Season, Deer HuntingTEXT
Yesterday I received an email from a hunter in Illinois. He had been wondering if rattling in the early season would work. Here is his question and my answer.Q. I am wondering if antler rattling does work in the early season. When I asked hunters around here they each seem to have a different opinion. Some say it doesn't work, others say it works and still others say it scares deer that early in the season. What is your opinion based on experience?
A. It would take up several book pages to explain your question in detail. Rattling does not work. Tine tickling on the other hand does work quite well.
During the early part of the season female deer are not in heat and bucks do not engage in full blown out breeding rights and territorial fights. However, in the early season bucks do engage in sparring to test each others strength. In the early season I mimic sparring using a rattler bag. By gently clicking and grinding I have attracted consistently early season bucks.
But there is a whole lot more to it then just sit down and click antlers together in hopes of attracting a buck. Location is very important and so is the antler clicking sequence. Be on the wrong place or to aggressive and click for to long and you're liable to scare more deer off then you will see.
The important thing to remember is not to think of it as fighting but rather a friendly sparring competition among bucks and then match that with your rattling antlers or rattling bag. My average sparring imitations last up to 20 minutes but not continuously.
Like I said antler rattling and clicking is a very complex issue that would fill up many pages. Antler clicking is the least understood in terms of why it attracts deer of both sexes and all ages to the hunter. I have been studying this subject for many years and still have more questions than answers. Save to say that antler clicking is so effective that it is my number one early season deer attractant tool. In the early season I leave all the deer calls at home but I will not leave home on a hunt without my rattling bag.
On my website I have a new section called “Ask Othmar” where I post questions from hunters and my answers to it.
Othmar Vohringer Outdoors
Founding Member of Outdoor Bloggers Summit
Antler Rattling, Early Hunting Season, Deer HuntingTEXT
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