Three of us just finished a week of deer hunting. Two of us hunt a small parcel of land having some minor plantings plus apples and grain/molasses mix for feeding. In previous years we have each had 15 to 20 daytime sightings. This year I saw one deer and my buddy sitting at another watch saw only three and these seemed to have been spooked by something as they went through on the fly.
This year our game cameras revealed lots of deer visiting nocturnally but very few during daylight hours. At night we have found a large black bear visiting the sites but he never shows up during the day.
My question - does anyone on the fire have experience with bears showing up and adversely impacting on the presence of deer?
A few weeks ago the game cameras also showed a sow with 3 cubs hitting the baits. She hasn't shown up in the last couple of weeks.
I am not an avid deer hunter so don't know whether our experience is typical or just an annual fluctuation and the bear(s) do not have any affect on the lack of deer present during the day.
Any thoughts or experiences will be appreciated.
Jim
