Cold Snap

After a none-too-brief bout with uncharacteristically warm weather it appears that Oklahoma has found her stride. With a high of 45 degrees it appeared to be a wakeup for a lot of folks. How funny it is to see people running to and fro in athletic shorts when the air is barely above freezing. What really strikes me as funny is the cold weather resilience [or lack thereof] of Texans. At Oklahoma State University we are lucky to have a good number of our southern friends and find much in common. However, the Texan reputation for ruggedness and grit doesn't appear to apply to cold temperatures. I am certain the theatrics of these individuals when the temperature drops to the single digits will be even more entertaining.

More importantly, the cold spell is likely to foretell better hunting if it continues. The Indian Summer glow is nice before the first hard bite of winter, but it doesn't exactly equate to fair hunting. In particular, the rut cycle of whitetail deer is of critical importance. Despite the vast research into the antics of the whitetail the subtleties of what determines the ignition of the rut is still up for debate. The most likely factor is the photo-period, or amount of time in daylight for a particular area. Temperature, although perhaps not directly linked to the onset of the rut can have a dramatic influence on levels of deer activity. Such was the case two weeks ago when I had a brief chance to hunt on a Sunday. Typically, I refrain from greeting the dawn in my hunting escapades and prefer to instead begin around 9 a.m. and stalk and still-hunt up until the early afternoon. This provides me with the opportunity to not only see a good range of habitat, but also keeps my legs from falling asleep (I don't know if a tree falling down in the woods makes a sound, but I do know that I certainly do). Unfortunately, my most recent adventure was star-crossed by the weather and after six miles of hiking up hill and dale with a muzzleloader and all the accouterments I had seen zero deer. I did manage to bust two coveys of bobwhites, a mallard, a squirrel, and an alligator snapping turtle. That, my friends, is fate. If I would have had a shotgun and it had been quail season I would have seen every deer in Creek County. I did however, see a good amount of sign. I saw heavy deer traffic next to a small meandering creek bed throughout the property. This creek was bordered by interspersed by persimmon thickets and made its way past several small ponds. The lesson here is that unseasonably warm weather equates to deer activity near water sources with food supplements nearby.

I've got my fingers crossed for more cool weather next weekend but it isn't looking good. The current forecasts have the temperatures hovering in the 60's---I guess I am going to have to bribe (or threaten) the meteorologist if I am going to get a deer!