Here's the latest from the guys over at NorthCountry Whitetails:

As the season begins to wind down we find ourselves focusing more on the management side of our program, trying to figure out how to harvest does and still keep the opportunity for that special buck alive. Sound familiar? This week we shifted back to plot hunting as the doe groups had reformed and we were hoping the bucks would follow them to the plots. We upped our doe take but still need to take a few more.

This week we observed 97 deer in 17 hrs. of hunting. This averaged 6.9 deer observed per hr. This is once again up significantly from prior weeks. This is a pretty big number which was driven by our return to hunting plots and the deer returning to the plots as well (duh). We did hunt the woods a morning or two looking to pop a doe or solitary buck away from the core plots but those sits yielded only 1 or 2 deer per hr. We also began to see some buck age this week with 33% of the bucks sighted being 2.5 or better. Do the math and you will see they are back on the food plots. We did not check our camera cards again this week so as to keep the pressure to a minimum. Neil says he will check them out this week.



The highpoint of the week can be tied to last week’s deer report. Last week Neil had me add a paragraph on “the return of the rut” after he saw that I had not mentioned it. “Better remind them that next week will be 28 days after we first saw breeding behavior” he admonished. “All those does couldn’t have gotten bred first time around no matter what the state says.”

As if Neil planned it that way, Craig found himself in the middle of a breeding party exactly 28 days after catching a party during bow season (it pays to keep notes). The 3 acre field had deer everywhere including 8 bucks and one very stressed doe ( a dozen or so does and fawns watched indifferently) who was being pursued by a 3 or 4 year old buck (with one antler grossly deformed). A nice deer but still a pass. Three 8pt. 2.5’s were destined to being spectators as every time one of them got close to the action the older and bigger buck rushed them and forced a retreat. A couple of 1.5 year olds ran a side show sparring at the far end of the field. Quite a sit with 28 deer tallied in all. Quite a contrast to last weeks sits and proof positive of the “28 days later theory”.

Our strategy for the rest of the season will be to get the doe harvest done while trying to get a look at one of our shooters (we had 3 shooters a month ago, but haven’t see them yet). We will concentrate on the food plots in the evening as they seem to be attracting crowds again. We still see plenty of acorns in the woods but the brassicas is holding up and drawing nicely. Maybe they are looking for a change of diet.

Neil is seeing a lot of action on the remote camera sites as the deer are returning to the food plots. All good stuff and all there for you to check out. We will leave the cameras running until the season has closed for a few weeks. Check them out at www.wonation.org. One of the cameras is trained on a plot that features an electric exclusion fence. Many of you have asked about it. Neil’s blog at www.wonation.org discusses this in great detail. If you are interested in excluding wildlife from food plots (for certain time periods), Neil discusses this strategy in great detail in his blog. The blog should be posted early this week.

Traditionally these last weeks of our season have been our best for the bigger bucks. But, generally, by this time we are pretty much socked in by weather and there is pretty good snow covering on the ground. Temps are low and we have some of the only food in town. Neighborhood road traffic has ground to a halt and most of the neighbors have hung it up. Things are pretty much back to normal as the season draws to a close. As of yesterday the woods are wide open, the temps are still kinda mild and there are still pickups full of hunters running the roads. Plus those ^&**$$#^^ acorns are still everywhere. We may need a little luck to get it done this year.

If you are hunting this week and you have good food plots, that is probably your best bet. But, keep the pressure to a minimum. Watch for some isolated rut activity and remember the dominant bucks are still out looking for does to breed and the 28 days later theory will be operating.

One more thing. We are aware that many of you who get this report are passing it along to friends. This is terrific and what we hope for. We really appreciate it and we appreciate hearing from you (our primary mailing list) and all the new folks out there. If any of you are not on our direct mailing list email Sharon at Sharon@NorthCountryWhitetails.com or sscholl@rochester.rr.com and ask her to put you on the direct list. Also, many have asked for more info on NorthCountry Whitetails. You can find out more about us and our various programs and land offerings at www.northcountrywhitetails.com. Some of you have asked about our book which was out of print through most of the summer while we were deciding whether to reprint or not. Well, we have reprinted Grow “Em Right and it is available now for 19.95 plus s&h. Call Sharon at 315 331 6959 for a copy or you may order it on line. Most of you “old NCW hands” already have your copy but many of the newer members of the group don’t and, there is always Christmas (great gift idea).

Thanks to you all for reporting back to us to us and your continued support. It really helps put things together for us. Some of you will be seeing your observations in our next book (of course we will ask permission first). We enjoy doing the report as much as you seem to enjoy receiving it.

Best regards,
NorthCountry Whitetails