Deer Season is Open All Year
If you are like most deer hunters you thing of deer hunting as a two
season affair, hunting and preparing
to hunt. For many people the hunting
season only lasts a couple of months.
The rest of the year is spent
remembering seasons past,
dreaming and planning what you are
going to do when season opens
again. You also spend your time
reading articles and watching videos
on deer hunting as well as talking to
other deer hunters who share your
passion as a deer hunter.
As a wildlife biologist I spend a good
deal of time in the bush assessing
habitat during the off season.
It is also during this time that I find next years stand sites and photo stations.
Occasionally I will come upon a deer hunter in the woods in June, July and August.
The heat, deer flies and mosquito’s are bad but here they are with an aerial photo or
topo map in hand more than a mile from the nearest road. At first they are
disappointed in seeing what they immediately perceive as the competition in “their
woods”.
When they find out you’re a biologist they spread their map on the ground and begin
interrogating you for every bit of information you have on the local habitat.
Frequently they know as much or more about the local habitat then you do. They
already know the bucks they see in summer months may be in a different piece of
habitat come fall. If you ask them what they are looking for they give you a long list
including old deer trails, doe concentrations, last years rubs, etc, etc. They also
spend a lot of time looking at the ground. They also frequently are carrying trail
cameras and some kind of attractant like C'mere Deer or dry molasses. When you
ask them how successful they were in past years you never get a direct answer.
These people are serious deer hunters. Frequently they will ask for your card and
you can expect a call at least once a year. I frequently learn much of what is
happening on a piece of habitat and I trust their observations. Frequently they
contact me at our Bruce Point Outdoors site to ask questions. I enjoy my contact
with these deer hunters because they know the relationships between wildlife and
their habitats and they have a genuine love of the outdoors. Deer season never ends
for these devout hunters. It just goes from scouting to harvesting. Several of these
woodsmen tell me the like the scouting season as much or more than the harvest
season as they have the bush all to themselves. Get out and enjoy the deer season
year around.
Deer Season is Open All Year