deer hunting forecast virginia
deer hunting forecast virginia
Much has been written about deer movement in hunting magazines and I was intrigued by differences in deer activity over the years myself. We've all been in the woods or maybe just while driving or at work and noticed large differences in activity deer. You have some days when you see many deer from your tree stand and other days when this same booth at the same time the day you see a single deer wonÂ't. It is also more evident when you drive to work the same hours each day and see the changes important deer activity. After thinking about these changes in deer activity, reading several articles and my observations of hunting over the years, I found several situations that effect deer movement.
The rut
Some would say the rut causes the disappearance of mature males more than any other factor. There is no doubt that deer are very active during the rut. It is an exciting time to work in the woods. The woods can explode around you at any time during the rut and just about any time of day. All deer hunters have stories of seeing Bucks vagrancy. One year a male Spike let me take three shots at him. The doe that Buck was following ran right by me. When the ball ran through I was stopped and he looked at me. After my first shot missed he moved a few feet and let me from missing a shot. When the doe saw that I had missed, she ran through me. I think she was trying to help me get rid of him. Fortunately IÂ've learned a thing or shooting on a bow since this episode almost twenty years ago.
Weather
I noticed that the conditions weather and storms to come have an effect on deer activity. Warmer than average temperatures during hunting season to reduce definitely deer activity. I also found that wind makes deer very capricious. It seems that wind messes up all of their senses. Wind because everything in the timber to move to the confusion, and two masking and making noise. I also believe that their great sense of smell is also confused as well. I spent several days hunting on windy days when I could not hear anything or say what was or was not moving it is not surprising that the deer was low on those days. Deer do not seem to mind a light rain, but when the rain falls heavier than I have rarely seen a large number of activities.
Changes in the weather definitely cause the deer to move. However, it is likely the change in barometric pressure that triggers the deer before large storms arrive. On several occasions I noticed nutrition deer in strange times of the day in the hours before a storm.
The Moon
There have been articles written about the effects moon phases and moon position on deer activity. I have not thought it out yet but I think there must be something. I've seen increased deer activity on days when I can not use the rut or weather to explain it. Research has been conducted in order to determine the effects of the phases of the moon relative to the start of the rut. What I have read this information seems promising to predict the onset of the rut and the intensity of the rut. Some years ago there was some research on the effects of positioning moon, or in other words when the moon is high in the sky, on deer activity. I have not seen any further discussions on this theory in the last two years. I do believe that if the oceans tides can be predicted with the moon that we could also expect animals must be done as well.
Most of us have only a limited number of days that we can hunt each year and best of what we can do is take full advantage of this time. If you can plan your hunting time in advance and you want the activity deer expensive you should plan your hunt during the rut or pre-rut when the prediction gurus say activity moon to be the heaviest and pray for the weather right. Ultimately, the best way to handle changes in deer activity is to be in the woods whenever possible.
About The Author
I have been deer hunting in West Virginia for close to 30 years. Now I am teaching my children to hunt and enjoy it more each year.
Please visit my web site at www.whitetaildeer-management-and-hunting.com
