Deer Hunter’s Almanac – September

September

The Big news this month is the velvet is coming off and the bucks are showing “hard horns”, and shortening days, has hunters thinking “deer season”.   Shortened days (photoperiodism) starts the testosterone flowing which gradually increases until whitetail bucks fulfill their mission to reproduce the species. The stage is set for the biggest show of the whitetail year. Antlers shred bark, branches get licked and the ground is pawed, and the best show on earth is just ahead. Don’t be fooled by the occasional rub or scrape, they are nothing more than stage props, the rut curtain has not yet risen, food is what the big boys are all about in September. The buck (and does) you want is still busy packing on the pounds getting ready for the upcoming rut and winter which follows.

 Deer In September

• Velvet peels and antlers shine, sometimes overnight, sometimes the transformation happens over days.
• Bachelor buck groups turn into solo actors sometimes the occasional pair of travelers.
• Rubs and scrapes start to show, old scrapes opened and new trees rubbed or vise versa, you never know with testosterone driven deer.
• Deer are driven by the need to feed, the need to breed will come later.
• Bucks will be packing on the pounds until the need to breed takes over, does and fawns will be eating machines as they start getting ready for winter.
• Deer foods abound as summer ends and fall fires up, hard and soft mast are there for the taking.
• Mineral site activity will significantly slow as deer are in search of higher energy and protein sources for diets.  This leads to heavier deer flow into food plots and crop fields.  To keep camera sights active the need for attractant power (BB², The Cube, Deadly Dust, Enhanced, and To Die For) is as important as ever as natural energy sources (soft/hard mast) are plentiful.  Protein in natural feedstuffs is limiting given that most native grazing has gone or is going dormant and most mast is only 8 to 10% crude protein.  (Products to use for protein supplementation are BB², The Cube, and Enhanced)
• Deer feed every four hours or so and will consume 6-8 pounds of food per day or one ton per year.
• Their preferred foods vary with conditions and availability.
• Sings of the upcoming rut are beginning to show deer activity peaks (chasing and seeking) just before the deer actually breed.
• Fawns are 70% the size of their mothers, spots are rapidly fading and disappear  as winter coats appear.

Woods Work

• Game cameras should be in place and shoot/don’t shoot lists started, now’s the time to start taking your whitetail inventory.
• Stand work should be done (months ago) but……………If you have put it off, do it now, not later.
• Fawns are merging into the adult herd, fawn recruitment rates should be tallied and harvest guidelines set.
• Stay out of the woods, but when you do visit the woods, “tread gently” and let the woods (and deer) return to normal between visits.
• If you must scout your deer woods “speed scout” and check which foods will be available next month.
• If you want deer in October and November, rest them in September, no boots on the ground, chainsaws, or major disturbances.
• Food plot planting time has gone buy in the most climes, hunters hunting in areas that stay warm can still do some late food plot work.
• Cold tolerant grasses and grains can still be planted, late season applications of fertilizer will stimulate late season growth on most plots.
• Trails and paths to stands should be mowed and even raked to ensure silent access stand locations.

Hunting-365

• September is the time to get your gear ready to go. Don’t wait till the night before the season.
• Get out your Cabela’s or Bass Pro catalog and order now, or, you can visit your local sporting goods store.
• Bowhunters need to spend some time getting the kinks out and “sharpening up” their shooting (and their broadheads) for the upcoming season.

  

• Gun hunters need to put a few through ole’ faithful to make sure she is still……….. well, “faithful”.
• Game cameras reveal more than who wins the beauty contest, game cameras reveal all kinds of important information, studying cameras now will pay dividends later.
• Early season hunting is food driven, “speed scout” food sources but be flexible, yesterday’s apple fall is next week’s rotten apples.
• The acorns and apples are falling now, keep your woods eyes peeled for changing food sources, be flexible, don’t lock in one a single food source and over hunt it.
• Don’t over hunt your deer areas, too much pressure will alter deer behavior patterns.
• Deer are patternable, watch the sign, watch the cameras, and watch the weather, they all matter.

Missing the rut is like missing the Super Bowl or your wedding day, the rut makes good hunters of us all, The Hunting Page will be monitoring the rut as it develops, be sure to stay tuned.