What if anything is wrong in Heard County?

• Nov 14, 2004

• #1

Jim Thompson

Live From The Tree

Seems deer sightings (and shots heard) have been down all over the county. Although our property is covered up in rubs and scrapes now, the buck sightings along with does is down.

How have your sightings and kills been?

Jim

 

• Nov 14, 2004

• #2

Buford_Dawg

Senior Member

Can't speak for Heard

But I believe this is a common trait that many of us are seeing. I've seen it for about 5 years now and have brought it up some on this forum. The deer population is not what it was in the 80's and early 90's. I will say we have seen a few more deer on our lease this year, but it is due to fact we totally quit shooting does 3 years ago and it appears a few more are around, but still the numbers are way down. Sightings are minimal. The large club around us has a mandated 1 doe limit this year due to the issue on their side of the road. I have only heard 2 or 3 shots all year over there and in years past, it sounded like a war every weekend. This is in Elbert and Oglethorpe counties.

 

• Nov 14, 2004

• #3

P

Peanut

Senior Member

Jim - We hunt in Troup County and didn't see much this weekend either. We had 2 - 36 rolls of film and one 24 roll on our trail cameras (it had taken about 2 weeks to take them up) developed over the weekend. The biggest buck that we had was a 3-pt. I think we had at least 10 different bucks in the pictures and they were all either 1 points, one-horned two points, regular spikes or 3 points. Go figure! I saw one small eight or 9 point yesterday morning, but the operative word was small.

I don't know if the rut is over or we don't have any deer to participate in a rut. It's really strange.

I can't hunt next weekend, so unless I can get away one day through the week, that's about it until Thanksgiving.

 

• Nov 14, 2004

• #4

quality hunter

Senior Member

Too many doe days maybe

I may be wrong but I think the big increase in doe days may have put a hurting on the county. On your brown it down it clubs that are shooting everything that walks there has to be an impact on the heard. For the past two years doe days run season long plus we dont have a december break anymore like we use too.

 

• Nov 14, 2004

• #5

Buzz

Senior Member

Probably depends on where you are sitting for the day

I have seen 14 deer (5 bucks and 9 doe) in the last 2 sittings at our Heard County lease and I am just across the street (literally) from Jim.

 

• Nov 14, 2004

• #6

Jim Thompson

Live From The Tree

Buzz, was that you that yesterday (Sat) eve? Someone shot on your lease. Man we have had an awful time with it this year. I saw 7 deer one morn in a cut and pasture (mixed) and that has by far been the best morning yet.

Jim

 

• Nov 14, 2004

• #7

Buzz

Senior Member

I killed 2 Saturday morning and a Coyote was killed Saturday evening. That was it. I went home and I don't think anybody saw a thing this morning.

It has been hit or miss that is for sure. Seems like we've had to deal with a lot more windy days this year.

 

• Nov 14, 2004

• #8

Ehampt

Senior Member

Buzz and Jim, Sounds like y'all have been there quite a bit, so , what is your expert opinion on stage of rut in HEard? I am coming down this weekend, and will be huntiing in Texas, which is near Franklin. I was down last weekend, and even though I saw a whopper, (no shot), in the thick stuff, there was very little sign or activity. I am hoping we are still a week or so out from peak. Ehampt

 

• Nov 14, 2004

• #9

Jim Thompson

Live From The Tree

Ehampt...pending what side of Heard you hunt on. When I was in Centralhatchee it was almost predictable that by Nov 14 or so we were in full swing. Now we are off Fronlona by Alabama and it normally does not get good and hot until after Thanksgiving.

Jim

 

• Nov 14, 2004

• #10

P

Perry Hayes

Senior Member

M&M has been slow as well.Opening week end was good but has been slow since.I really don't know whats going on.Last year deer were everywhere but not this year so far.I think we have taken 3 bucks and 9 doe so far.There are probably more than one reason for it,time will tell.

 

• Nov 14, 2004

• #11

Meriwether Mike

Senior Member

Hey Jim,

The deer are just waiting on my arrival to get moving around. I have been over in Hancock County for the last two weekends, but will be headed down to Heard County on Wednesday morning. Seriously though I believe the does are feeling the pressure that we use to place on our bucks so they have adjusted their movement patterns. We are seeing more young bucks because we let them walk and they are not pressured. The does are still there they just got smarter.

 

• Nov 14, 2004

• #12

Dustin Pate

Administrator

Staff member

Yall don't know a good recipe for tree do you? I finally saw some deer this morning and choked! I didn't expect to see anything with the wind howling this morning. Hadn't even seen a deer since opening day in Heard. At 7:45 a.m. two does come up and I pick an opening, shoot, get down and what do I find? Bark, Bark, and Hair. I pulled two inches to the right and grazed a sappling. Dejected I get back up and at 9:30 I had another doe come through too fast to get a shot. No buck was following her.

My dad got down this morning and was walking down a road that cuts through our land. He stopped to watch, he looked one way and when he turned back all he saw was horns coming up the hill on the side of the road. The deer saw him at the same time and ran. My dad has shot some big deer and he said this was one of the largest he has ever saw. He said it was a very heavy and tall 8 or 10. Would have been a wallhanger for sure.

Maybe things are finally starting to get going, because so far it has been slow without a doubt!

 

• Nov 14, 2004

• #13

Jeff Phillips

Senior Member

A couple more years of blasting the does and almost all clubs will return to the "sacred doe" mentality. I have been saying for the last several years we have shot too many does! We are driving the does nocturnal with the heavy early season pressure

I don't know about ya'll, but I would rather see deer on most hunts than shoot does for the freezer :

 

• Nov 14, 2004

• #14

H

HT2

Guest

Jeff.....

Really?????

Are the does that scares down in Taliferro County???

We are just the opposite....

We definitely do need to shoot more......We shoot our fair share, but I still think our Buck to Doe ratio is to high.......

 

• Nov 14, 2004

• #15

Buzz

Senior Member

Jim - I also meant to tell you that I have been seeing some very fat doe on our property. This fat nanny is a good example of some of the doe we've been seeing and killing.

 

• Nov 14, 2004

• #16

Jeff Phillips

Senior Member

HT2 said:

Really?????

Are the does that scares down in Taliferro County???

We are just the opposite....

We definitely do need to shoot more......We shoot our fair share, but I still think our Buck to Doe ratio is to high.......

Click to expand...

Tim - We had a couple of guys shooting 3 at a time early in the season. The deer are still there, they just ain't coming out in the open while there is enough light to shoot I don't understand taking does early in the season :

 

• Nov 14, 2004

• #17

Timberman

Senior Member

My guess is there are too many metro Atlantans hunting down there. Just kidding.

I've a friend who lives on land that joins plant Wansley. They don't hardly do anything til Thanksgiving, FWIW.

 

• Nov 15, 2004

• #18

Minner

Senior Member

The bucks are after the does on our club in Heard. I saw a tall spike bothering the heck out of a doe Friday afternoon. Dad had a nice "shooter" buck chase a doe by him in some thick stuff Saturday but they were both moving way too fast to get a shot. One member killed a nice 10 pt. w/ about a 16" inside spread that came out into a food plot checking out does. On Friday this same member passed on a club-legal eight pt. waiting on a bigger buck I hunted a food plot this afternoon that's seen very little hunting pressure and something sure had the does spoked. I heard several deer snorting throughout the afternoon (wind was in my favor so it wasn't me they were snorting at) and several times heard deer running through the thick stuff surronding the plot. Also, scrapes are starting to go cold and lot's of big running tracks all over the roads.

I'm with Tim, I wish we could take a few more does off our club. Our property is basically one big thicket, so it holds a bunch of deer. Our buck-doe ratio is out of whack, but I think it's getting a little better than it has been (lots of does killed and many small bucks let walk).

 

• Nov 15, 2004

• #19

Jim Thompson

Live From The Tree

Buzz, nice doe. About the size of the one I took during bow season. That is the good thing, all our deer are healthy. 300 acres of pasture infested clover will do that

Dustin and Minner that is good news. Man I need some right now.

We usually do not start on our side of Heard for another 6 days or so and get heavy at Thanksgiving, but man we normally see more deer too.

BTW, we have not come close to over killing or hunting this property.

Jim

 

• Nov 15, 2004

• #20

H

HT2

Guest

Buzz.....

Nice doe brother!!!!!!!!!

She should "cube" up nicely......

Jeff....

Yeah, we need to kill our fair share too.........We've talk about really tryin' to take some after Thanksgiving......We've got some really "sharp" and "mature" does that we're hopin' to see so we can drop the hammer......Man, them girls are sharp!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And, BIG!!!!!!!!!!!

We're not in bad shape, but the ratio could be better........