The ground hog should be coming out today at the preserve! The sun is shining brightly and but for the fact that we were in the single digits this morning you might have thought spring had found us already. The bucks and does have all settled into their winter routines and the secondary rut has been finished for a couple of weeks. I have seen several groups of bucks that are back together and while they all seem quite at ease with each other again they still were all sporting their antlers. They should start to drop the antlers anytime now and it can continue into March. Last year I found the last set the second week of March and the trail cameras indicated that they had all shed by the end of March. I think that both the deer and I are looking forward to some warmer temps and greener settings. We have had snow in the preserve since back around the new year and the arrival of a spring thaw will greatly reduce the efforts required.
We had a great show in Dalton, Ohio and met several people interested in hunting with us this fall. Our next show is coming up in Springfield, MA February 18-21. If you are looking to battle your cabin fever and you are in the Springfield area please stop by the Big E and say hello.
February 1, 2010
Ground Hog Day
September 1, 2009
Hard Antlers
Fall is now here and the hunting seasons have started. We had low forties this morning and the early goose and squirrel seasons opened and with a beautiful sunny morning it just felt and sounded great. We have also seen another fall indicator with the arrival of hard antlers here at Oak Ridge. I had trail camera photos this week of three bucks that had lost their velvet and at least two others that are headed that way. The new food plot is greening up and with the new growth the deer are hitting it hard. I have several photos that will be posted shortly.
The lodge has reached the final phase of completion and we will also have the photos posted in the next week or two.
August 25, 2009
Hunting Season Coming
The evenings in Ohio are starting to feel like hunting season. We have had lows at night in the fifties and no humidity. The big bucks are enjoying the drop in temps and have been moving more every evening. I had some success one of my trail cameras this week after I had repositioned it to a new angle. Several bucks were using the food plot at the Shadow Hunter stand but I was only getting distant pictures before the move. I even stotted one younger buck this week that has start to lose his velvet. He didn’t stick around long enough to see how much he has rubbed off already but he was rubbing a sapling when first saw him.
The fall food plots have all been planted and fertilized now and only need some rain to get started. We added a new plot this year in a dense cover area and I am hopeful that it will be a big producer this fall.