I'm sure we will get pictures from him late this summer of a couple giants and probably should have just went. I was kind of relieved since I have 4 out of state/country hunts planned and some really good bucks around home that made it through last season.
Audubon, Guthrie, and Adair counties all had pretty massive EHD losses in '23. We've had decent moisture so far in '24, and with timely rains this summer hopefully we won't see another drought to exacerbate already decimated herds.
The land my dad has hunted since the 80s is in Union and Ringgold. Place in Ringgold the deer on camera form the last 5 years before to last fall dropped easily in half if not more. Really consistent many of the same bucks year after year in in2018,29,20,21 and 22. Then last fall nothing even close to shooters and hardly any repeat customers. Just "no" deer in hunting terms on those pieces.
Roger that and same story up here... LOOOOOTS of big dead heads found the last few years. From the highway bridge north of Coon Rapids to the Conservancy bridge roughly 5 miles south of town, there were 147 dead deer found in the Middle Raccoon River last fall. My wife and I walk the nature trail that runs along the river and it smelled like absolute death from August through December.
