ok here is the question. does it bother you if you do NOT see deer? i'm talking 4-10 days at a rip. i can honestly say that it does NOT bother me what so ever when i do not see deer. do i want to see deer, OF COURSE but i simply lOVE to hunt and get back to the grass routes of being a hunter/gather. i hunt areas with low deer population but i LOVE where i hunt and would not change a thing.
let me follow this up by saying hunting means the world to me and being out there and part off it is precious. i LOVE venison and would LOVE to take a deer with trad bow, that would just be a bonus. hunting and the outdoors is the blood that runs through my veins!
it doesnt bother me as long as it is not because of people tresspassing
Ken,
It bothers me. I dont mind not seeing deer for a couple days but after 6 or 8 I start to feel like I am a bad hunter.
I think someone said, "there is a fine line between hunting and sitting there looking stupid".
If I just want peice of mind then it doesnt bother me as much, but then I pick the more scenic places to sit and not necessarily a good deer spot.
It bothers me only if it has been numerous times out & nothing which would make me think that I'm doing something wrong.
Charlie,
it is obvious from watching you and seeing how you scout/move through the woods that you are a VERY good hunter. you should never doubt yourself bro. the places you are hunting with me are HARD HUNTING for sure but i can't get enough of it and you KNOW how happy we are going to be when it all comes together!!!!! remember 2 years agi i SAW bucks walk underneath one of my treestands there.
Depends on which book I threw in my pack to read while I'm on the stand. While I expect to see deer each time I venture out it's not a measure of my satisfaction or happiness if I don't.
If it bothered me I wouldn't be hunting this way.
I know Ken, I just get discouraged. You see, I was certain this was my year. Now I'm not so sure. Dont get me wrong, I'm not guving up, I love to watch the sun rise and set form the woods as much as anyone.
Usually all I do when I get discouraged is hunt somewhere new. It does 2 things:
1. Lowers my expectations
2. gives a new setting and a change in pace.
Its only a matter of time. Good Luck in the mOrning and i am glad both you and yor mother are doing better.
I don't get discougaged by not seeing deer. What I do is if I hunt a stand 3 times and not see anything I move it to a more favorable area, like I'm gonna do with one of my stands tomorrow. I also try to figure out why I'm not seeing deer when year after year these are good areas. I do love the time spent hunting, but it is also my goal to spend some time shooting.
I love to hunt also but I love to see deer even more. Understand that I rarely take shots, only bucks 8pt or better and out to their ears here no does or buttons allowed. I do 98% of my hunting on my own farm. The populations is not such that I can shoot does(when you only have 4 resident does killing 1 is 25% of the population). Living in Indiana I am allowed one buck per year regardless of method used so I am real selective. I prefer to have tag soup over killing a small young buck.
It all depends on how many consecutive trips to the woods it has been without seeing deer. A trip without seeing any is to be expected, but if I go four or more trips in a row without seeing anything, I start getting grumpy.
Heck yeah it bothers me! It would mean I'm not hunting the right place, or hunting the right place, the wrong way.
Simple as that for me...It's all about effort to be in the right place at the right time.
Sometimes that means hunting your close-to-home spots differently, and sometimes that means more travel time to get to where you have a better chance of success.
With as little hunting time as I seem to get now...that would almost mean a whole season without seeing anything...unexceptable!
Yep, bothers me too. Yesterday was my 25th hunt of the season. I've seen deer, from my stand, on 19 of those hunts. I don't count deer I seen on the way in or out as "seen". The biggest streak of no deer seen was hunt 19-23.
When I run into such streaks I typically think I've been hunting the same stands too much.
Things are picking up a lot the past two days though. Three deer two hunts ago and two yesterday -- 3 were bucks but small.
Curt,
there ARE deer in the one area i'm talking about. Ron W saw 6 does in the field and i saw a lone doe in another spot. there is buck sign, not a lot but its there. they WILL mess up this time of year, i take it as a challange and opt not to move to greener pastures. it is obvious that you have a few WELL scouted areas and a GREAT deer populatin am i correct? i agree %100 you have to change things up i.e. move stands which i have done. in the past 3 years i have watched MANY deer in this area, this year just seems a little slow.
Being honest, it does bother me if I am spending time hunting and I`m not seeing deer. Only because there are so many other things that need doing. Hunting time means SOMETHING is not being/getting done.
I do not see deer with every outing, but I do not hunt when conditions are not going to be productive. A swirling/changing wind will find me doing something else. A steady, predictable wind will find me hunting.
i agree with mr curt. ive put alot into this season. ive made equip. changes to modern trad gear. im now using tree stands. ive learned to be more cautios about noise in setting up said stands. ive just to day have accepted the fact that i need to cover my ugly mug , due to skittish deer. ive had more shot ops in this season than ive had ever had in previous yrs. yes it bothers me not to see deer, im having a ball this season and i know i will kill at least one i hope. i think im doin something right , good luck to you ken i hope ya get one, ruddy
I'm in guru's corner on this one. :thumbsup:
Rusty
Absolutely bothers me, I can't lie. Love the woods and being there, but when hunting season comes, I'm there to hunt. Don't need to shoot one , but need to see them. My satisfaction comes from the sighting.
i voted yes, but only at alot of sittings in a row with no sightings, i feel i havent done my scouting properly , but of course there has to be deer there to see em.. i love hunting the mtns. in the northern part of our state but deer numbers are pretty low, so i find myself hunting where the numbers are higher
I sat in a tree all day yesterday and this morning for several hours with no deer seen. It bothered me alot since the rut is supposed to be on hear in Kansas. Do to worry though cause I will not give up.
Ditto, Recurvericky! I took 11 days off to huint the rut. To date, I have not seen a single deer.
I aspire to be like admountainken!
Yeah it bothers me - grass roots of being a hunter/gather is to "gather". If Food Lion wans't round the corner we woudl starve if not seeing game for 8/10 hunts. I sit many spurts such as this though and I keep comign back for more?? go figure? BUT --- I love to hunt to kill deer and eat deer.
I will say that I love to kill/eat deer that is WHY I go? Just getting in touch with nature I could do easier withoutu carrying all the gear!
J
Not everybody has the spots to hunt where there are large numbers of deer. When deer numbers were higher in the spots I hunt, I saw deer. Mismanagement of the deer herd by the state and mismanagement of the land they control has led to a much smaller number of deer. Because of this I now see 3-4 deer a year...total. This year has been a banner year ,I have seen 9 so far. As ken mentioned 6 were seen all at the same time. I have kept a log book of my hunting since 1998 and can see that as time has gone on I have spent more time and seen less deer. I will continue to hunt but now there seems to be other reasons that I go! I also have to say that I have been doing this a long,long time.....since 1968 or 69.
Bothers the snot out of me. It just wears me down. I'd likely give up if I didn't see deer at that long of a stretch.
I'm glad you can do it, just not me.
When I go hunting not seeing deer is the one thing that truly bothers me. Doesn't bother me not to get one, especially if I've hunted hard, but it does bother me not to see one.
Acorns are on the ground in TONS this year in West Virginia... Deer do not have to move very far to satisfy their needs. Therefore, deer movement is limited. I've seen fewer deer this year on our families farm but sign indicates all is well (The full moon has had the deer up all night feeding)! My decision as the predator? Locate the PRIME feeding trees and PRIME bedding areas. Hunt for the moment! As modern humans this goes against our instincts... Where would you want to be as a deer to limit your contact with "MAN" yet still fulfill your needs in the easiest way possible?
Here in western Ky, back in the late 60's it was not unusual to go 4 -10 times w/o seeing a deer. Some hunters were even excitied if they saw merely one deer the whole season. Todays populations are quite high and not seeing a deer after several hunts would quickly lead me to re-evaluate and change strategies.
to para- phrase JoseOrtetgaGasset- one does not hunt in order to kill but one must kill in order to have hunted.
Im out here in nazifornia and in some places they are not realy resident deer they just fly buy on migration. Sometimes they are there and most times they are not. I just like being out there. But getting one is great. Been a long time.
I love to be out whether I see deer or not. But it is seeing the deer that brings me back. Nothing is better than being in the deers comfort zone and they have no clue you are there - that is what I hunt for.
It does bother me when I don't see deer. I don't have to make a kill or even have a shot but it makes a difference when I see something. I guess it's just knowing that they're there and I'm in the right spot. Or at least a spot where I have a chance.
Pisses me clean off. I hunted 42 days last year & saw deer on day 1. That was it. 41 consecutive sits with nothing bigger than a squirrel seen.
I tried moving stands, different times of the day, all day sits, hell, I was even tempted to try a cornpile!
It does get very, very frustrating after a few sets & seeing nothing at all. I start to second guess myself, convince myself I'm doing everything wrong etc... I ended up feeling very discouraged.
This year's looking a little better, but I'm still 'flying blind' so to speak. I have very few folks nearby to call on for help & advice. Advice I've been given so far ranges from 'look for a white oak tree' to 'you're in the wrong place' Fat lot of help that is to someone who's never hunted whitetail before. I'm having to teach myself everything, from scratch. It's humbling to have to learn things at 36, that most 10 year old around here know instinctively!
Frankly: yes. I love to see deer. If I have not seen a deer in three days I figure I have picked a dead zone.
There have been years when after weeks the only deer I saw was the one I killed (though that kind of ends the hunting so that's not a good statistic). But it is a dismal year when that occurs on the last or next to the last day of the season. Still . . . happy to have the deer and it's all part of "paying your dues" and getting the time in trying.
For whatever reason - after 30 years of hunting and 37 whitetail harvested the first I see in range still gives me the shakes. I love it.
Wasn't it Myles Kellar (is that right?) who said he didn't see many deer. Maybe not ANY deer for several days. He would like to, because he enjoys seeing lots of deer just like anyone else.
But when he did see a deer, it was the biggest one. The big ones didn't hang in the places the other deer did because it was dangerous. Thats where all the hunters where...
Joshua
Yes, it bothers me BAD when I don't see deer. I'm not bothered if I come home empty handed. I've kinda growed outa that over the years. And I do really enjoy just being out in the woods with my bow. BUt I'm pretty satisfied to just see deer anymore, and pretty disappointed when I don't!
The older I get the worse it bothers me.Hunting is great when their are animals to shoot at.I have went weeks without seeing ANYTHING to shoot at.Its hard to get kids and new hunters into hunting when their aren't enough animals to see or get a shot at at least every other time you go.Most get bored and lose interest and I get bored too.Back when I was a kid their were at least plenty of rabbits and now your lucky to get your limit with a gun.We need to up the animal populations,kill out alot of predator animals.The more game animals we have the better.Back in lewis and clark days their were so many elk,buffalo,deer you name it that some were semi tame.I won't be happy untill I'm seeing deer in my front yard.
Well I might not see a deer I want to shoot or in a place where I can get a shot, but if I don't see any at all after a few days I have to wonder if I'm in the right place so yes it bothers me that way. I don't mind going out to hunt and not getting a deer. I just love to be out there. but I do mind if I'm just in a place where there aren't any since I don't have a chance at all
sam
bothers me.that's why i drive 1.5 hours to hunt a better area.
Yup, I can sit in the yard and see lots of trees. Deer and elk are why I hunt, if I don't see them, I might as well play golf....ugh.
No it doesn't bother me if I go 4-10 days without seeing deer, heck that's northern new york deer hunting! But It does bother me after 35 days of hunting,that I havent seen a deer and can't even cut sign, No tracks, no poop, no rubs,no beds, no scrapes! Even the white oaks that were at mast this year,with acons all over the ground untouched, No sign there also( i,m keeping an eye on these just in case) Not even a turkey around to watch! No squirells! It's become rather errie out there! And to top it off my southern zone swamp honey hole where I got a deer out of last year is void of deer and sign!! But I'm enjoying the woods and solitude and getting in real good shape now hiking around wearing out boot leather looking for sign and new areas to hunt! Like you and most others here hunting is my life blood also!! I say all this as i sit here sipping my coffie and getting ready to head back out to the errie woods to continue my search for where the deer gone!
Hunting, like you in northern New England, I've gotten used to scarcity of deer. Took me 10 years to finally kill my first whitetail with my longbow hunting 9/15 - 12/15 each year. In the earlier years, archery success rate ran about 6% for all archery and today only runs 14%. Big woods, little agriculture, and tough winters all contibute but I still love being out there. Hang in there with persistance and something MAY give an opportunity. Best of luck, Todd
Been on stand three days since the season opened. Have not seen a deer yet. Has been unseasonably warm with little deer movement. The temperature is starting to drop now. I am hoping to get out on Saturday. Problem for me is I am booked with work. I am seeing deer but it is when I am driving to work.
Not seeing game every time out is part of the deal. Comes with the territory.
However, having said that, of course it bothers me. Would it bother you if you went out to get gas and you couldn't find a gas station. I don't care how pretty the scenery is, or how nice the sunsets are, at the end of the day, you went out to get gas.
Yeah, I agree with alot of others on here. It would definately bother me. :readit:
I much as I love being in the woods and hunting, I have limited time. I am there to kill meat! HECK YEAH, it bothers me.
If I'm not seeing deer, I have work to do to find them....
If I'm scuba diving it doesn't bother me...but if my goal is to hunt deer and I haven't seen a deer in 10 days! ...hell yes that would bother me! That's the whole point in carrying a bow to the woods to hunt deer.
Simply no it does not bother me, as that is what hunting is all about. If one happens to come through and with in range, I have been blessed with a gift.
It was never a waisted time for me on the days, I didn't see deer as I saw so much more in the woods as well.
I'm not hunting because I absolutely have to have the meat, but getting one this year with my recurve was a very nice bonus.
It has never bothered me. Heck I have went a few season and not be able to get in the woods at all. AT least two in the last 3 years. I hunted and got a button buck last season. But I had just returned from Iraqi at the end of 08 season, and now I am here again. I was able to help my 16yr son hang a couple of stands, and consider that a treat. When I do get in the woods, and they come alive there is no place I would rather be deer or no deer.
With our deer population and how nocturnal they are year round, I would have given up long ago. It is hard reading about folk going out and seeing multiple deer every time out. But unless I want ot move and live somewhere else I have to deal with low densities and nocturnal deer.
What a lucky bunch of guys to have so many days off from work to hunt and not see deer. :p That's why they call it hunting! If you are not happy just being there... Then What?
Then again... It would kinda wear me out also to go for such a long time without action. Just have to keep at it. Get in the thick stuff and weed 'em out! Sometimes it's us doing something wrong. Other days, events not in our control are the issue.
*Interesting Topic *
... mike ...
Doesn't bother me at all....when I'm elk hunting! But if deer is the flavor of the day...Heck yea I wanna see deer! Getting a shot is not as imprortant...at least I know I'm not just wasting time if I at least see them. Having to work for a living......time is in short supply...gotta make the most of it!
I'm with Curt on this one! Makes me plumb mad to know that I failed in my objective. I don't like to fail and I do all I can to prepare for success. I go hunting to kill something. If I just wanted to commune with nature, I'd pick up a camera or something.
I like to see deer. That's what I'm there for. That being said, if I don't see any (like this morning), I still enjoy being out there. So yeah I like to see deer, but no I don't get terribly upset about it if I don't. I'm a firm believer in the old saying "Even a bad day hunting is better than a good day at work."
IndianaBowman, You can hunt where you see deer every time out that don't mean your going to get a shot or that you can't miss. When the deer density is such that you can go as much as you can and still not see anything, it gets old fast. I love the woods and spending time there but there comes a time when things come to a head and something has to change......You are lucky to have a good spot to hunt, come 60 miles northwest and its a whole different world than Columbia County.
I didn't see any deer this morning after seeing deer from the stand the last two hunts. It was a great morning, a rare one with no wind. I was pretty fired up hoping to finally see during daylight one of the bruisers in the area. I sort of figure these deerless days like a sales supervisor told me back in the early 80's when I sold stuff part-time for a couple of years, "Every 'no' you hear from a customer puts you that much closer to a 'yes'. Since I'm averaging a deerless hunt 1 out of 3, I should have company the next two times out!
Funny you posted this Ken. I recently started hunting state land of the Appalachian mountains in western Maryland. I live in the DC/Baltimore corridor and the difference is night and day. The area around my home is loaded with deer (see deer just about every outing, very liberal bag limits- 2 bucks and unlimited does with the bow, ect...) but when you get out to 3000ft, it is slim pickings. I think a lot of it is that area draws hunters from other states (WV, PA mainly as both borders are only a couple miles away) where they have stricter bag limits and it puts a lot more pressure on the herd. I have hunted quite a few days and spotted zero deer on state land. That part of the state is buck only also. Does it bother me? Not really, just need to roll up the sleeves and step up to the added challenge. I love it out there regardless. I see it for what it is.
I can see how someone that goes from a area that has a thriving deer herd to a area that has few deer can be disheartened. I went up to Lake Placid one year and chatted with a fella about hunting up that way. He said in 12 years of hunting, he has only seen a handful of deer and had only one shot opportunity in that time. Just how it is up there. It's all in what your used to seeing in the field.
JL
i voted yes it bothers me, but only when I hear our DNR preaching that hunters need to shoot more and more deer to meet the quota for the number of animals the land can hold. When i sit for two and three days at a time and dont see hide nor hair of a deer on a great habitat farm, I get a little pissy.
I'd have to say yes, it bothers me. If I've scouted a location and see deer signs, I expect to see deer. If I don't, I'm doing something wrong. 2 or 3 days doesn't bother me. 8-10 days would have me questioning my abilities as a hunter. But as others have mentioned. If your hunting an area that is slim on game. That would become the norm and I would adjust.
QuoteOriginally posted by adkmountainken:
let me follow this up by saying hunting means the world to me and being out there and part off it is precious. i LOVE venison and would LOVE to take a deer with trad bow, that would just be a bonus. hunting and the outdoors is the blood that runs through my veins!
adkmountainken, I feel exactly the same way but for probably different reasons. I have had health problems that made me think I would have to give up hunting. I had so much pain in my legs I knew I would never be able to drag a deer out of the woods and just walking any distance was a chore. Also have tendinitis in both elbows so can't carry to much weight around for a long time anymore.
I grew up running a trap line before I was big enough to push a lawn mower and have always loved being out in nature. I love it all, just to see everything God created blows my mind, each and every time I go out. Don't matter if I see a deer or not, I love to see the squirrels and birds, all of it. It was braking my heart to think I would not be able to spend time in the woods any more.
Well the doctors ended up putting stints in both of my legs cause the arteries were pretty blocked and the pain is so much better I don't have to take pain medicine for it any more. Also found out the middle aorta to my heart is 100% blocked but the other two by-passed on their own so I did not have a heart attack. The bottom line is I have to take a bunch of medicine to keep everything working but I can still hunt. Just can't go in as far as I might like to cause I can't drag a deer hundreds of yards anymore and I hunt from the ground but I can't tell you how happy it makes me just to be able to go into the woods, hunting or just taking pictures with my camera. Can't imagine or want a life without it. Guess I won't have to much time left if I can't stop smoking but I will treasure every minute of it spent in the woods and thank all of you for letting me be a small part of your group.
Gave all my guns to my kids cause it was just to painful for me to carry them for hours and I was ready for more of a challenge these days. It is all about getting out there and hunting now, doesn't not matter if I shoot anything anymore, just want to still be a able to go into the woods and hunt.
I will use my long bow, it is light as a feather, just love it. Just started learning to use it but who knows maybe some day I will get something with it.
I have had a good life. Served the country 20 years and have a great wife, kids and grandkids. Had the chance to hunt all over the country from being in the service. Took a couple of years to learn how to hunt each new location but always had a great time. Have not taken as much game as some from all of the moves I had to make but got to see all of the country. Just don't know which part to call home anymore. LOL
Sorry for rambling on so much.
Best of luck to you all.
QuoteOriginally posted by Guru:
Heck yeah it bothers me! It would mean I'm not hunting the right place, or hunting the right place, the wrong way.
Simple as that for me...It's all about effort to be in the right place at the right time.
Sometimes that means hunting your close-to-home spots differently, and sometimes that means more travel time to get to where you have a better chance of success.
With as little hunting time as I seem to get now...that would almost mean a whole season without seeing anything...unexceptable!
I feel the same way. If I ain't seeing deer, it is because I have not done my homework or I am not putting fourth the effort to scout the area as needed.
If I did not see deer for 2 days, you could bet I would not be there to make a third.
Hunt hard and hunt right or stay at home.
God Bless,
Nathan
It bothers me a bunch. I hunt mostly all public land and I hunt very aggressive. I`m not a guy that hangs a couple stands pre season and hunts them all year. I walk MILES looking for the best spot and will not climb a tree unless I expect to see a deer.I understand some folks are limited on location and acres but if your hunting the same stand a lot and not seeing anything its time to be different. I hunt food and funnels and the best hunt is a feed tree in a funnel.I bet on any given piece of property a fella can find such with worn shoe leather.Just my opinion so don`t beat me up.I grew up in a place with 7 deer per square mile and have never been skunked with a stickbow.Now I hunt an area with 20 psm and feel like I`m in heaven. RC
I've had 'yotes move into one of my prime areas a few years ago and the herd has taken a big hit. Now lucky to see a few deer a year and good scrape and rub lines that were used every year have little or no activity.
The area Ken hunts the most has .5 bucks per square mile...yes that's 1/2 a buck per square mile and only 3 total deer per square mile. That's right for the State of New York.......
I mean from the State of New York...I can't type or spell.....lol
QuoteOriginally posted by ron w:
The area Ken hunts the most has .5 bucks per square mile...yes that's 1/2 a buck per square mile and only 3 total deer per square mile. That's right for the State of New York.......
Well...I that case I would expect to see at least an 1/8 of a deer. :laughing:
4 days where i hunt would bother me.
i just seen this post. and Yes it does! im in the woods for one main reason... and thats to put animals on the ground! to take game with my bow and my woodsmanship!
yes it does bother me, but I can see Ken's point also, I've been hunting the northern zone opener for a couple years now, and big woods hunting is totally different than farm land hunting...just because the deer were there yesterday, doesn't mean they will be there tommorrow or even in a weeks time..
Ron W., you are absolutely correct about big woods deer hunting being a tough proposition. I don't know how you guys do it. I love eating venison too much to only get one every year or so. You let me know when you want to drive down my friend and I'll put you in a stand where I'd be surprised if you didn't see a deer.
if I'm not killin', that's OK. If I'm not seeing them? That's another proposition altogether.
If I don't see any deer- I'm doing something wrong...even if its low density situation like some of the urban properties I hunt in metro Atlanta-
It doesn't bother me too much until the 4th or 5th day and then it starts to get a little old.
I enjoy hunting animals....and I do expect to see them when I hunt them.
I enjoy *being* with my wife also.....like hunting, if she doesn't show, it bothers me....and its certainly not as fun. :campfire:
When everything is said and done, I guess I feel about like Terry just said. It does bother me to not see any to some extent - BUT I refuse to dwell on it tooooo much until they ring the last bell and I realize the game is all over - then I reckon I'll "fall all apart" :D
:notworthy:
Your outdoors. What does it matter if you don't see a deer. :dunno:
I like to see deer when I'm hunting them, even if they aren't ones I care to shoot. Ten days of elk hunting without seeing one elk this year got pretty frustrating. I'm lucky in that there are lots of deer where I live, so seeing some every outing is usually a given. This morning, I was sitting on a ground blind and saw nothing, which is really unusual. Until I stood up and started back to the truck, when I saw the biggest buck I have seen all year. Now, knowing he is in the area, I will start making some definite ambush plans to see if I can get a shot at him.
Yes, it bothers me, but of course hunting in VT I'm very used to it. This year during our 3 week October season, I saw 1 deer from my stands (I don't count the deer I see while not in my stands). I've learned to be very patient, because you never know what them whitetails are going to do next!
Deer numbers way down in this area of Kentucky. So yes it does bother me....Phil
on an individual hunt, not a chance, but after seeing deer on nearly every single days hunt for the past 18 or so years, and now not seeing a single deer for 13 hunts (last fall) or seeing a buck on your very first hunt (CWD area means doe first) and then nothing for the next four, yep, it gets discouraging. I have moved to another area of the state, out of the CWD zone. But. . that was my favorite place to be in the fall and now, judging by the lack of cars and other hunters, well, it just plain sucks.
Thank you Wisconsin DNR for the priviledge and joy.
ChuckC
If it did, I would have quit a long time ago.
This year was a bit discouraging. The sign was there, the pics were on the camera, but nada when I was in place. OK, so maybe I was to blame, but the setups were pretty good this season (wind, my approach, etc.)So, tough to take from an expectation standpoint. What I do HATE is when I'm poking along and then the flag and snorts happen. So close and yet so far. So then - I don't like to see deer!
Only when I'm deer hunting. Can take not getting a shot, as long as I am seeing deer on a fairly regular basis, but get a lip pooch when I don't see one every now and then.
yes, now when the snow covers the ground, and it seems every squares foot of it has a fresh deer track on it, and you sit for 4 days and not see a deer, yea, it gets a bit discouraging.
But at least I know they are there. Dancing around all night when I'm sleeping.
there are ALOT of whitetail around here, and I very thankful for that. But this time of year is tough.
It doesn't bother me too much, but it does tend to sap the energy out of me. Getting out of bed in the cold to go sit in the cold, with no confidence of seeing anything. But, I'd rather do that than stay in bed dreaming of it. If I see something else like turkeys, canines, bobcat, fisher, owls, etc, that makes it all worth the effort.
I was seeing a lot of deer early in October. Then once late Oct. came around the hunters came out also. I quit seeing deer until mid November when the rut hit. But then, most movement was late and nothing in range.
I devoted this year to entirely my trad bow, so I figured it would happen, but I definitely need to venture out and find some new land. Maybe late season will be different.
After things settle down here from the gun seasons, i'll get back out after it. I actually didn't see a deer tonight either.
Absolutely. I love being outdoors too. I spend way more time out looking for sheds and scouting than I do hunting, and I hunt a lot. What gets me is a mis-managed deer herd and too damn many coyotes. 1.5 deer per square mile. On the plus side every once in a while you see a Booner! 3 this year. One too close!!!!!
The answer is....
It depends.
When I was just starting out as a hunter if you saw one deer all season you had a great year. Since 1985 the deer numbers in Ontario have increasingly went up till about 2006 then they sort of leveled off, and now on the way down in many areas including mine. I just got use to seeing deer almost evertime I went out. This year has been the slowest for deer sighting for me since 1996. I actually packed all my gear up this past weekend. Snow all over for last week and half and not a single track to be found. I think I crossed over that line from hunting to just sitting and looking stupid. Next year will be my first year with Trad only equipment so I am looking forward to that!
Fortunately, I am hunting a place where it is RARE if I don't see deer. It used to bother me when I would go out 4 or 5 times and not see a deer. SO, yes and no. BILL
As long as I'm seeing tracks, rubs, scrapes, etc, so I know the deer are here it dosen't bother me. But if I hunt an area 3-4 days and see very little sign that deer are in the area, I move on. There are many reasons not to see the deer, weather, hunting pressure, food supply, etc.
I don't need to kill deer to have a great bowhunt. Getting close and seeing the deer is enough. It is rare that I don't see deer and not seeing one for a week hasn't happened here since the early 90s.
Not anymore! Season officially closes 30 minutes after sunset!
Or 30 minutes sooner than that. ;-)
"Big game hunting hours are sunrise to sunset."
http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/8305.html
Thanks Stump..... it's amazing how many folks don't understand that in our state.
Your right Charlie, I was just typing without thinking, dont mind me.
I was watching the season close from work anyway :readit:
It does not bother me to not see deer. Don't get me wrong, I would love to see deer every trip out but that does not always happen. The reason that I am out in the woods to get the chance to harvest a deer but that is not the only reason. I love being out in the woods and watching all the critters and being able spend time in nature with my 17 year old son (knowing that may not last forever). So I guess I am with the both "yes and no group".