On the 900 acres I hunt we normally have pictures of 4-6 mature bucks every year, and a 20-30 immature bucks. Would normally average seeing 8-10 deer a day when you hunted. Very rarely maybe 2-3 times a year would you hunt and see nothing. This year only had pictures of 1-2 mature bucks and maybe 8-10 immature bucks and sightings went to seeing on average 2-3 a day and probably 25% of the time seeing nothing. Green fields normally 1/2” tall by now are 6”-8” tall and have corn piled up under feeders which has never happened. Not sure if they moved to Florida, aliens got them, or Covid killed them. Very odd year and disheartening.

Been a strange year thus far all up and down 29 🤷🏼‍♂️

Y’all get hit with EHD late summer you reckon?

I hunted the last 5 years right next to you. Got out this year do to having a baby. I saw this trend happening on 3500 acres, with very few deer being killed off of it. Really, the last 3 years it hit a downward spiral.

On our place, I attributed it to two things.

1. Weyerhaeuser raped all of their land in the area. They made up about 75% of our lease and almost all of it was clear cut in the last 3 years. It also looked like most of their lands in a several mile radius, got cut all at once while they had loggers in the area. Clear cuts are great for holding deer once they thicken up, but with wind rowing and helicopter spraying, they are a desert for 4-5 years. That really depleted the holding capacity in the area, plus allowed hunters to stake them out with rifles.

2. Corn being legalized. We had several small landowners joining us, that really started piling up the deer. When every joe blow with 5-50 acres is killing a handful of deer per year, it doesn’t take long for the population to nosedive.

what I was thinking...

It hasn't gotten cold enough to kill off the stuff they are eating in the woods until this week. I think that's a big part of it

Haven’t seen any signs of deer that have recovered from it, but I haven’t seen any up close and personal either.

Mike, I believe my dad's place is close to yours. Usually 2-3 mature bucks on his place and loaded with does. This year it seems he has been seeing the same spike and doe.....a lot. He has one 3.5 yr old on camera , but not often.

Been a little different around here too. Just gotta roll with it, i guess.

No doubt.

On the positive side we have the best lookin food plots you ever seen.

I have seen habitat destruction around the area I have hunted affect my area. Removal of fencerows and cutovers will change deer movement maybe away from your place. All the yahoos shooting small bucks and does over corn piles doesn't help either.

Ehd or neighbors or combination of both. What part of the state?

I have some food plots that are being mowed. What was really strange is the lack of deer hitting feeders. Still seeing lots of tracks and sign. And I have seen a lot of deer this year.

Same with us. We had one good week of bucks hitting the cameras and now it’s hit or miss. A bunch of our land got ravaged clear cut and another 400 or so acres got thinned like a quail plantation. Not much cover and what’s left is thick thick thick.

I’m talking to a lot of people that don’t have deer like they did last year and assumed it was the acorn crop making them move less, but I’m wondering if we had some die off over the summer around Alabama.

Strange that we had 5 bucks that would be 5 or 6 this year and only 1 has been on camera the whole season. I know the others didn’t get killed but they either died or left the entirety of the property. Had pictures of them for 3 years.

Covid = more hunters the past 2 yrs = fewer mature deer