Postal Customer
Ottumwa Publishing
641-208-5505
ottumwapost.com
•••••OCTOBER 23, 2024•••••
Deer Patterns I have read for years about the success of deer hunting is to figure out where the deer are going to be before they get there. This enables a person to be in the right place at the right time. It all sounds good in theory. During most of the year, deer move in predictable patterns from bedding areas to where they feed and back again. When the hunter knows where the feeding and bedding areas are, it is just a matter of being along the route when they are moving. As I rise early and have coffee on the porch, I can do a fair amount of pre-season scouting from the comfort of my chair. Most mornings, two does with three fawns move from the north calving pasture to the top of the dam and up the hill to the top gate, grazing at a leisurely pace as they go. From there, they turn left and head down the Morman trail. They browse around the area before bedding down for the day. Two other does with two fawns cross the driveway, eat around in the hay field and head into the paintball woods to bed down for the day. This group of deer pass close (Outdoors cont’d on pg 2)