Signs of game activity

[Jogeephus]

Just wondering what some of you look at in natural signs to determine if game will be moving?

For fish, if "winds from the east, fish bite the least; from the west, fish bite the best".

 

[Calman]

I do know my exp. has been when real windy hardly any deer moves.
Always figured since they survive by sight, smell and hearing, this was the reason. Made sense to me anyhow.

Cal

 

[sidney411]

I mainly hunt south of the house so I look for a slight northbound breeze and a new moon.

 

[SkinMan]

Usually if a cold front is coming in, I try to be on my deerstand. That will get the animals in a feeding frenzy. Not just the deer, either.

 

[backhoeboogie]

Moon straight up or straight down. See 50 or so on the flood plain at 9:30 this a.m. you can predict them to be out about 9:55 tomorrow.

Cold with no wind. Cold with rain.

Turn on the irrigation system in the summer and watch all the fawns play in the sprinklers while the does come out of cover stomping their feet with the danger jesture. They take the fawns back to the brush, you drive to the other side of the pasture and the fawns come right back out again.

Just when you get everything perfect, (timing, weather etc)walk to the backside, you hear a gun shot. Mom and sis are sitting at the table drinking coffee in the warmth of the house, see a nice buck out the window, sis opens the window and mom gets the gun out. Dead deer. You are supposed to be the great white hunter. You tell mom she can't use your tag on that buck and she needs to go to town and get her own. (this is a true story about 30 years back)

 

[mnmtranching]

Up in this country, the deer like things quiet. I guess that is because noises interfere with there senses. Like strong wind.And human sounds, like doors slamming, voices, vehicle sounds etc.
Never seen the effect of moon or wind direction. I think smell is their best sense, if they smell anything human like, they leave the area for the deepest thickest swamp.

Up here our 9 day season hits the rut perfectly, and deer are moving naturally. Otherwise the bucks [2 yr old or more] are completely nocturnal.
Hunting the rut Is good in the way that the bucks are visible, but bad in the way to many young bucks are killied. Few live grow their 2nd set of antlers. In this area 90% of the buck harvest is yearlings.

 

[backhoeboogie]

Up in this country, the deer like things quiet. I guess that is because noises interfere with there senses. Like strong wind.And human sounds, like doors slamming, voices, vehicle sounds etc.
Never seen the effect of moon or wind direction. I think smell is their best sense, if they smell anything human like, they leave the area for the deepest thickest swamp.

They behave that way on my place in East Texas. Not around here tho. Too many deer and way too many people.

 

[MikeC]

When the cows are laying down, so are the deer.

 

[STARSIX]

 

[Cow_Town]

Few live grow their 2nd set of antlers. In this area 90% of the buck harvest is yearlings.

Much like the two in your other thread.

 

[Brute 23]

Before a storm and shortly after....

 

[rattler]

joe if the wind is comeing from the south i don't like to hunt usually just a wast of time if a cold frount is comeing in or if it's snowing i'll be in the wood's love to hunt in the snow.

rattler

 

[Jogeephus]

Backhoe, I'm a firm believer in the moon. Have heard the same thing and have hunted by this as well as some other things. Where or how do you time this? Never have understood the moon's movement very well. Is there a place where you can find when the moonrise and moon set is? I'd like to understand this so I can figure when its directly above or below me.

I had a moon dial once and it was good. Went one day during rut when the moon was directly overhead at 11:00 a.m. I saw seventeen in three hours with 5 of them being wall hangers.

 

[Calman]

I do know if ther's afull moon of a night and no clouds ya might as well not try to hunt the next day.
But on the other hand afull lit moonlight night makes for some good hog hunting. Here in my part of texas anyhow.

Cal