Acorn Crop, Drought Provide Mixed Blessings for Deer Hunters

By DAVID RAINER

The severity of the spring and early summer drought could well determine the success rate of Alabama hunters as opening day of gun deer season approaches.

Those areas with the greatest drought impact will likely experience a mixed blessing from the lack of rainfall on browse the whitetails utilize heavily during the hot summer months and early fall, according to wildlife biologist Chris Cook of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries (WFF) Division.

“I think the drought is going to be good for deer hunters,” said Cook, who co-authored Biology and Management of White-tailed Deer in Alabama with fellow biologist Bill Gray - visit www.outdooralabama.com/hunting/game/deer/deerbook.pdf to download the book. “That will be a change from what we’ve experienced the last few years. Wet summers meant abundant food in the woods. The deer didn’t have to travel far to find food. I expect them to be moving a lot more.”

There is a downside, however, when the state’s estimated deer population of between 1.5 and 2 million animals doesn’t have the nutrition for maximum development. “The deer condition may be a little off because of the drought,” Cook said. “In each age class the antlers may be off a little bit. The food just wasn’t adequate in May, June or July when they are putting on a lot of antler growth. It’s not going to be something where you say, ‘Man, those deer antlers are poorly developed.’ Once people start collecting data, they’re probably going to see a little reduction. Body weights may also be slightly lower, especially in areas that had poor acorn production.”

Cook realizes an overview of conditions may not apply to every area of the state because of the diverse habitat and impact of the drought. “The mast crop is probably average statewide,” Cook said. “Some people I’ve talked to have a lot of water oak and willow oak acorns. Others report modest crops from swamp chestnut oaks.  Some are experiencing a heavy crop of white oak acorns. It’s just hit or miss, but it’s at least average, and it may be a little better than that.”

Meanwhile, Gray, District VI Supervisor, urges hunters to concentrate on doe harvest after the first week or so of the gun season, which begins on Nov. 18. “Go ahead and take them,” Gray said of the does. “Try to complete your doe harvest by the first of January. Then let everything settle down and enjoy pursuing that buck you’re after. The intent is to remove extra mouths from the food chain as early as possible. You don’t want to invest any more habitat in the animal than you have to. Plus, there’s more disparity in size between the does and the buck fawns early in the year than it is later in the year. That will help hunters avoid making the mistake of taking the so-called ‘button’ bucks.”

Gray also urged Alabama’s deer hunters to use the Internet at www.outdooralabama.com/hunting/deerdata.cfm to register their deer harvests to improve the data collection used for deer management decisions.

Reports from the six WFF districts show somewhat of a difference between the areas south of Birmingham and those to the north.

DISTRICT I

The district in northwest Alabama was affected less by the drought than the rest of the state, according to District Supervisor Ron Eakes. “On a piece of property, if there’s a good mast production, deer aren’t going to move a lot,” Eakes said. “They’re probably going to hold to cover pretty badly. Hunters are going to have to work for what they get.”

DISTRICT II

In northeast Alabama, the deer population continues to expand, increasing opportunities for that area’s hunters, according to District Supervisor Keith McCutcheon.

“The Hunter’s Choice days have been expanded to 51 days in all counties,” McCutcheon said. “Actually, we’ve shown improvement on Choccolocco for the last 10 years because of the management. The deer have improved in size and we had the third largest harvest on a Wildlife Management Area (WMA) in the state. Skyline and Little River WMAs continues to improve. That’s where you’re going to find your bigger deer.”

DISTRICT III

West central Alabama may have suffered the most from the drought conditions, which prompted Cook’s rosy outlook for hunters.

“It should be quite a bit better than the last two or three years,” Cook said. “There’s just not the abundance of browse left in the woods because of the drought. They’re dipping into their reserves earlier than normal. The little bit of time bow season has been in, people are seeing more deer than they have in the last couple of years.”

DISTRICT IV

In the east central section of the state, District Supervisor Rick Claybrook said the area’s mast production is above average, which could make it harder for hunters to pinpoint food sources.

“With acorns abundant, the deer will be scattered out,” Claybrook said. “The fat derived from acorn mast is very important to them before spring green-up. It’s not just important to deer but all kinds of wildlife. The persimmons and crabapples are poorer because of the dry weather. If you do find those crops, it does equate to better hunting. And deer are moving a good bit because of the cooler weather.”

DISTRICT V

District Supervisor Chuck Sharp said southwest Alabama hunters will likely see a change in deer activity in the middle of the season because of food availability.

“With the abundance of acorns, there won’t be a shortage of food in the early part of the season, but it will affect them on into the winter,” Sharp said. “Even though there are a lot of acorns, a heavy population of wild hogs will wipe them out quickly.”

DISTRICT VI

Gray said the weather will likely determine the hunting success in southeast Alabama.

“It’s going to go one of two ways,” Gray predicted. “If we have a dry winter, whether it’s cold or warm, the green fields will be effective. But if we get rain and a little warm weather, that’s going to make it tough. I’d rather have the best mast crop in the world compared to a fresh browse crop in the middle of the winter. If the browse doesn’t get rejuvenated and we get some cold periods, we could have a pretty good season.”

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