Talbot County

L'Dog

If find the answer please let us know. We saw very little but one member got a nice doe Sat. PM. AT 8:30 Sat nice Johnny said he had 8.

That is slow!!

ICS,

I appreciate that if it is not too much trouble. It is put together for the most part it is just a matter of setting it up. It would have taken hours if I had not put it together here. Whatever time is conveinient for you. If you were planning on staying in the woods all day just let me know ---it is really important to me for it not to be inconveinient.

Also---if you still have an opening I am ready to join your club when an opening arises. I would not be planning on hunting there this year if you do have an opening so maybe a discounted rate might be appropriate just for this year. If not I would like to be considered next effective opening ASAP to hold the spot. Let me know.

To many acorns on the ground!

Thanks for having the two Talbot Co. threads put together. I did not realize we had two going.

I am afraid that it is going to be hard to pattern deer this weekend with all of the available food on the ground. They just don't have to move much.

Earlier in the thread someone asked about the Talbot Co. rut. I believe Nov. 10 is the magic day, but have seen more bucks the two weeks before.

Talbot County Rut -- Between Nov. 7 and Nov. 17 typically on our place. A few years ago we saw it as late as Thanksgiving though.

Heel -- Should be there, as long as my side work doesn't kill me first. I'll be there. I usually hunt to between 10:30 and 11, so anytime after that is fine. We can talk about membership then. The president, my father-in-law, will be there and he would have to make the decision on fee for this year. I would guess it hard to discount this season as we ended up 2 short. But it's his call.

One other member killed a doe on Sunday morning, so we got 2 for the muzzleloader weekend and the season as of now. The weather is shaping up to be nice for opening weekend. Hope it gets them moving more.

That's ok Johnny. Maybe it would be better not to even mention it to him then. I would not want to get off on the wrong foot with anyone in the club---I thought it might be an idea since I plan on only hunting down the road for this year at least. I would like to do something though since I plan on stopping by and for all your offers to help me over the past year.

I will stop by around 11:30 or 12 assuming I am not dragging one out.

I've decided that this weekend I'm going to abandon my regular hunting spots and hunt them where they are and not where they usually are.

So I'll be sneaking and peaking in the thick stuff. - kinda crawling around on my belly like JFK

maybe hang a climber overlooking a bunch of briars and maybe some grapes.

Opening Weekend Reports???

Sounded like a war zone Sat. AM in Talbot. We killed 4 does and saw a lot of other deer, 3 spikes and a 6 were seen. Neighboring club killed and nice 8 that field dressed at 160#.

Slow Sunday AM and Sat. PM, it warmed up a lot.

Good luck guys.

Lost Gate Opener

One doe taken and one lost this weekend. A good many yearly bucks seen. Not as much shooting as I was expecting with the cool weather Saturday morning.

Opener

We saw lots of deer this weekend but nothing of any size. We had 5 people hunting and saw 23 deer total. That included Friday evening muzzleloader as well. Most of the deer were in the acorns and seen in the evenings. There was alot of shooting around our club. Several scrapes... Also got two nice 8-pointers on a trail cam.

Well, opening weekend of firearms has arrived. Our club had slight success over the weekend. One member hunted Friday morning and saw a small bobcat, and a small yearling in the afternoon. He also killed an amazing shrinking deer at 160 yards, which turned out to be a buttonhead that he shot for a mature doe. We all laughed hard at that one. Another member shot a 1 1/2 year old doe. A 4 point was seen, alot of squirrels and rabbits, and we welcomed a new member into our midst. A big welcome goes out to Hunting Tarheel as our 9th and newest member.

Well, now that all is said and done, I'm off to begin washing, packing, and loading for my trip to Illinois next week. Good luck to all while I am gone.

Well thanks ICS. I am actually excited about it. I was even thinking today of maybe trying to hunt there one afternoon this week. Got any suggestions on where I should try if i do. Good bunch of guys there and I am looking forward to making a good contribution for the future.

Bust a big one in Illinois.

Well, let me think.......... I would think up in the front where we went and looked at the ladder stand on the edge of the oaks and pines, with the foodplot would be good. If not that, the tripod where I killed my buck last year would be good. it's a matter of being in the right place at the right time in whatever stand you choose. I've got a few other ideas, but not sure how to describe how to get to them. They're not real visibile on the map. I would focus on a good food source though.

One other deer, a doe, was killed on our place this past weekend (sunday). In fact it was her first kill. She shot the deer right at daylight with her husband in the stand with her. He climbed down, took the deer to camp, did the necessary chores, all the while she kept hunting til nearly 12:30. Let me tell you, she's gonna get the big bucks if she keeps hunting like that.

We had a total of three Does killed.. Several small Bucks were seen but no shooters.. All I saw was a flock of turkeys Mon. morning. All in all it was a good opener for us..

Have went hunting every evening since opening day. Seeing a doe or two each afternoon. Not witnessing a whole lot of movement. Also, seeing very few deer beside the roads leaving Talbot each morning at 5:30.

Deer Population is Down In Talbot

As I have said before, the deer density is way down in a lot of Talbot county. Too many does are being killed!

LIke you said SGSJR, I do not see near as many deer on the roads as I used to. I bet the density is half of what it was 10 years ago.

Optimum Deer Density

I agree and respectfully disagree.

Agree
Our deer density is down. Ten years ago I would see an average of twenty deer at night on Highway 36 between Woodland and Waverly Hall. Now I will see only a couple. In addition a State Biologist also confirmed our population is down, but still probably around 40 deer per square mile.

Disagree
Our population should still be lowered in places and the doe harvest maintained in the other areas. Our club harvests does five to one over mature bucks with an average of one slip up per year (based on a three year average). I do not think we have over harvested does and we are seeing a more balanced sex ratio. For example there were around a dozen yearling bucks seen opening weekend. Ten years ago that would have been two dozen does and most of the yearling bucks harvested. Fewer does are being seen because, yes there are fewer of them which is good, but they are now hunted hard and a mature doe with twin fawns can be a challege to see and harvest.

When the doe population is lowered they become more productive which counter acts a heavy harvest. For example on our farm in Woodland where the does are hunted hard all of my 3.5 year old does have twin fawns and I harvested a 1.5 year doe this season that had a fawn of her own. That means she bred as a fawn herself which is an indicator of excellant herd health. In addition her body weight was 7 to 10 ponds higher that what we see on our lease and Big Lazer WMA which is only ten miles away.

You always have the ability to reduce your doe harvest when and if you reach the optimum level. I personally feel that it is very difficult to over harvest does using legal means and if you do, the deer will quickly repopulate with reduced pressure.

It is hard to reduce pressure on the leased land adjacent to yours.

WhiteOak is centered around the waterplant lake south of 116 - we've got about 3000 acres.

We've definitely thinned out our does over the last few years. Our average doe harvested is much older now with many being 3.5 yrs old. We don't see the does we used to, but on average we do see many more bucks as they have to go cruising to find hot does.

Our average buck harvested last year was about 3.5 yrs old and we took about 12 of them.

Our club is much smaller now than it used to be, down from around 37+ to 25-28 now. Our harvests are down too, since there are fewer of us, and we don't move the deer around as much since there are fewer of us in the woods.

A person I know like to drive the roads in Talbot after dark and look for deer - the last I heard he still sees plenty of deer esp around Hwy 36 and around Talbot. I haven't spoken to him about it this year though.

I have to agree somewhat that the deer density is down. We've had our lease since the '92 season and we used to see many more at a time. However, the place was fresh cut and you could see. Now we have pines that are thick and cut down our visibility considerably. However, though the density seems lower, we are seeing a much more balanced herd. We typically kill 3 - 4 does per buck each season. We onnly have 442 acres, but the most we've ever killed in a season was 19 deer, of which 4 were bucks.

I think one thing that could affect the reduced road sightings is the popularity of foodplots over the past number of years. I know nowadays, it's not uncommon to trailers full of tractors, 4 wheelers, and planting equipment almost any weekend in the county. I know we have them spread all over our place. I can't help but think that by increasing food sources away from roads, draws deer inward. Iknow not every club has plots, but more and more are starting.

Well guys, hold down the fort while I'm gone. I'm leaving for Illinois Saturday morning and will be gone for a week. Good luck to all.

Bucks

Ever Sence We Have Been Shooting 10 To 15 Does Off The Place In Talbot We Have Been Seeing A Hole Lot More Buck Sign,we Are Still Seeing Does About Every Time We Go Out,just Not Seeing The 3.5 Yr Does Any More Witch Is Good,they Will Run Off The Younger Does.
As Danny Stated:we Shoot To Does Witch Where 1.5 Yrs Old With Fawns,know When Was The Last Time We Saw That.
Other Thing That Has Made It Harder To See Deer This Last Couple Of Yrs The Acorn Have Not Been Right, Deer Have Been Having To Move To Find Food And When They Find It They Stay Until It Is Gone.
I Think Hunters Are Finding Out That Food Plots Do Make A Change.

How Much Buck Sign Have Ya'll Been Seeing?
We Have Found Alot Of Horn Trees The Last Couple Of Weeks,and A Hole Lot Of Scrapes, Maybe The Time Is Coming Soon,it Would Be Nice If Ti Would Get Cold.

Heading Down Know To Get In The Stand For The Afternoon Hunt,good Luck To Every One Run Some Toward Hwy 36 & Big Lazer Creek.