What are deer eating and where are they sleeping...

[PaulFWI]

...during gun deer season in SW Wisconsin (hill country by the Kickapoo River)?

That's the question on my mind after an unsuccessful hunt.

Morning after a fresh snowfall, 15 degrees, zero sign on very nice south-facing ridges, medium thick, oak, places you'd think bucks especially would like.

I am thinking they are in the cattails and swamps along the river - even when it's this cold?

The problem is that hunting that terrain is very, very tough unless you're setup to do drives (we weren't). You just can't still-hunt it. You'll see a flag if you're lucky but likely not much else.

I'm wondering where they're feeding also. We definitely see them in ag fields at night shining. I know red oak acorns are still good this time of year. And red oaks are everywhere around here. Yet you don't see deer in the oaks in the last hour of daylight.

I know big bucks end up being almost totally nocturnal but that's clearly not true of most of them.

I guess I am kind of answering my own questions but would like to hear the wisdom of others. I just got into this sport after 25 years off.

I miss the days of my family owning 100 acres, climbing into the stand on opening morning and having a 99% chance of getting a shot.

 

[E.Shell]

...during gun deer season in SW Wisconsin (hill country by the Kickapoo River)?

I hunt low mountains in the western MD Alleghenys, typically 1,500' to 3,000' ASL. I also hunt the relatively flat, swampy ground of Maryland's eastern shore. Mostly hardwoods in both places.

That's the question on my mind after an unsuccessful hunt.

Sometimes best to just walk around and find them vs just wondering. Probably blow them out and not benefit much this year, but you will know where to look next year.

To be effective, especially this time of year, you almost have to know where they are bedding and get between that and their activity areas. Either catch them on the way home or on their way out to feed. I usually avoid setting up in bedding areas, but in tough conditions like that, you can often ease in *early* and set up and have any deer you might have bumped drift back in later.

Morning after a fresh snowfall, 15 degrees, zero sign on very nice south-facing ridges, medium thick, oak, places you'd think bucks especially would like.

In my experience, they will be very nervous on a fresh snow, knowing they are visible and vulnerable. More open areas will be avoided during the day and they tend to lay up in very thick cover, or at least thick at ground level. You may not see much sign of movement the first day or two after new snow.

In the mountains, I often find them in greenbriers and/or honeysuckle up against blowdowns in the snow. They're fairly well hidden when bedded and will eat the new growth without having to move much. Hemlock thickets offer dry ground, cover and shelter. 3 to 6 year old clear-cuts are also deer magnets in bad weather, offering browse and cover.

Not unusual here to have the deer lay tight for the first day or two after new snow, especially if the ground was bare before. Going from low brush and everything around them brown to suddenly having everything matted down with snow and bright white is a shock to their system.

Usually cold air collects in the bottoms and deer like to be warm, but when it snows, cover becomes more critical than temperature.

I am thinking they are in the cattails and swamps along the river - even when it's this cold?

On our eastern shore, deer often hole up in cattails and phragmites near low areas. Not so much that they like it low, but because that's where the cover is after the frost knocks down the annual growth.

The problem is that hunting that terrain is very, very tough unless you're setup to do drives (we weren't). You just can't still-hunt it. You'll see a flag if you're lucky but likely not much else.

Same with our eastern shore; so flat and thick, it's almost impossible to walk up on deer and most hunting is from elevated stands and late-season drives.

I'm wondering where they're feeding also. We definitely see them in ag fields at night shining. I know red oak acorns are still good this time of year. And red oaks are everywhere around here. Yet you don't see deer in the oaks in the last hour of daylight.

While deer eat acorns of all species, White Oak is the big attraction here. Large, sweet acorns that are high in nutrition. I'll find minimal deer activity around red/black oaks, but the ground under the white oaks will be dug up. When the white oak acorns are gone, they turn to the others. Colder weather, I see them eating higher nutrition stuff, like corn, beans and acorns. Warm weather I see them eating grass (highway shoulders and power line right of ways) and browsing on brush (eating shoots & buds).

After the first day or two, you should have some tracks that will help locate your deer. Try to intercept them before they have to leave cover to feed. If you're using to hunting field edges, move back into the woods a hundred or two yards. I get a lot of deer moving up-slope in the evening that hold up and stage a little below the crest of the hill, waiting for it to get dark enough to get up on the oak ridges and eat acorns safely.

I know big bucks end up being almost totally nocturnal but that's clearly not true of most of them.

With snow on the ground, almost all of them are going to lean toward moving after dark. I have had good results taking a stand near thick 'escape cover' and having deer move in to me after being bumped by someone else moving around. I am a big believer in being on stand at lunchtime and see a lot of deer moved between 10am and 2pm. If you are on or close to public land, you might try to set yourself up to take advantage of impatient hunters moving around and moving deer.

Good luck!