More/Bigger Deer/Bucks

[sep0667]

I have a prediction for this fall's hunting seasons. Let's see if you agree or disagree or have anything to add.

It's my prediction that this year there will be a lot more deer harvested than last year. I also believe that there will be more big bucks harvested this fall as well.

I think this will happen because of last years conditions during the hunting seasons, primarily archery and late muzzleloader/archery, and even a little bit of the shotgun seasons.
As we all know, last fall was very very wet with a lot of rain. I think that this may have kept a lot of the archery hunters at home, and it also meant that a lot of the fields were not harvested until later on in the fall. Plenty of areas still had fields in during the rut. This gave the deer a lot more cover, especially in the corn. Which meant that not as many deer were killed.
During late muzzleloader/archery it was brutally cold out. I believe most days did not even break 10 degrees. I know that definitaly kept a lot of hunters at home.
Because of these reasons I think a lot more deer made it through last fall than what would have under ideal conditions. That also means a lot of 2.5 and 3.5 year old bucks then are now 3.5 and 4.5.
All of that combined with the great weather we are having now, although its a bit warm for bowhunting, means that the farmers are really getting a lot of harvesting forcing the deer to move to CRP and timber, therefore giving hunters a better chance at making a kill.
This is just my .02 cents, any believers or nay sayers?

 

[wtj43089]

I have thought the same.

 

[DannyBoy]

I think that last years brutal cold and deep, deep snow late in the season probably killed as many deer as hunters would have, be it does, bucks or yearlings. But, I think the combo of all of last year and 08's tough gun seasons should make for a banner year. Let's hope so, anyways!

 

[letemmature]

agreed. There was too much corn left in, gun season 2 we did not see any big bucks. so this year i m thinking with the way the harvest is going, the deer are nt going to have any place to hide!

 

[loneranger]

Depends on the area. In mine,,of SE IA. corn got out pretty much as usual. There was little snow cover, unlike up North. I think my area will be pretty much the same.

 

[Shredder]

I doubt it will change much...maybe statewide as a whole but in my area, it seemed hunting as usual.

 

[IowaDave]

I agree, for all all the reasons sep mentioned, plus after the cool, wet October we had, it got unseasonably warm in November and I read a lot of people weren't seeing the daytime rut activity they normally did due to the warm temps.
I was lucky enough to be tagged out by then, but I read that from different people.

 

[Team Haastyle]

I think where we hunt in S.W. Iowa this will definitely be the case. During the archery season it was extremely wet. As for the shotgun/muzzleloader seasons, the normal fields that we would sit over were still standing with corn. There was approximately 600-1000 acres of corn standing around the acreage we hunt which made it hard to hunt the food sources. Cant wait for this year with my Late Muzzleloader tag to sit on the harvested fields!!!

 

[Highmark]

Should be better in my area. Talking with local tax's there were not as many mature bucks taken around here as usual.

 

[scottonbuck]

I personally love having standing corn in the area I am going to hunt. Lots of food come late muzzy and lots of cover for those sneaky bucks to look for does during the rut, just need to hunt the funnels around the corn, hunting as usual in my neck of the woods.

 

[pmparks]

But the heat this year is playing a huge role in the numbers last year was one of the best for the ground i hunt shotgun season killed a number of 160 deer and over 30 does, so it depends on where your at i guess