This has been a frustrating week. The area I'm hunting is usually very active this time of the month,withbucks chasing does, making scrapes etc.
Walkingthe property, I found afew small scrapes last week, and none have been touched, and no new ones. Rus are scarce this year, and worse yet, activity in general is about non-existent. I sat from noon till dark the last 2 days, to the point my butt is killing me.
Saw a couple small does aout 80 yds off last night, nothing today. All in all, the week has been dead, with 3 days in a row of seeing nothing. That never happens here. Or at least it never used to.
One more day to hunt then I gotta go home for a week. I'll be back for a few days the 2nd week of Nov. up until gun season starts. I really would like to put one on the ground before that.
Guess I gotta suck it up and keep on it.
I'm running into the same thing here. It will pick up. I hope
We are just a little early give it a week and the woods should come to life.We have just been seeing small bucks and a few does lately.Its the calm before the storm.Leatherneck and myself are going to move some stands tomorrow and put in some cams to see whats going on next saturday we will begin hunting non stop until Thanksgiving.
Guys, I too have experienced very slow frustrating hunting. But do not despair..the good time is coming! Last year by this time, I had passed up 8 different bucks, not counting the ones I saw but were not in range. This year, I have only seen 3 bucks! These things happen. It will get better. Sometimes, I find it refreshing to take a break when the hunting is slow. This way I do not loose confidence before the rut heats up. Good luck out there!
Your not alone.......According to my Journal I have 41 hours in so far and have yet to see a deer. Hard to keep at it! Walked over a mile and a half on fresh snow on Friday and cut one old track. Discouraging to say the least......
Same here. been at it for three weeks. Not a single deer. hope it picks up soon. :pray:
Slow here in NE Okla too,but did see a small buck chasing while I was going home from town this morning,probably a week or 2 away.
Same thing here in South Georgia for the past week. Next week will be better after the moon cycles on out.
Your not alone. It has been unbelievably slow where I hunt. I just don't get it. The weather has been pretty decent. I have seen fewer deer this bow season than I have the 20 years I have been bow hunting. I really hope it picks up soon cuz they are really gonna shut down in a few weeks when the firearm season opens.
Very slow for me also. I think I have had 10 days hunting a good amount of the day morning to noon and evenings from about 4 to dark and have only seen deer three times as of today. Today I sat through the rain and sleet in the AM. Finally saw a good buck at about 10:30, but out of range and just looked to be sliding into some cover to bed. Tonight I saw a couple does in a field and had one pin me in my stand after shooting light. I finally had to spook it off to get out. This was my best day so for seeing at least a deer both morning and evening. It is the lowest bow season I can recall. I did manage to get one last week and one a couple weeks ago, but those were the only deer I have seen up to today.
I going north Wed. after work till sun hope
things pick up. I saw 7 opening weekend then nothing
the next two weekends. :pray:
I saw some big fresh scrapes but that is all I have seen to indicate the upcoming events.
The bucks I have seen other than one little guy with a group of does tells me they are still more interested in something to eat.
Similar story here on the west side of the state. There's not a lack of sign, as that has been picking up, but I just think there's alot of nocturnal movement recently. I'm going out for the next couple of days and hope to see a big hairy improvement.
Keep huntin, Its right around the corner. At least that's what I keep telling myself. Its been slow in Pa also.
Yup, it sure happens. I know you dont want to move around in your area much during the season but it might be worthwhile to go scouting others areas for a bit. Seeing the same empty spots every day can be disheartening. You cannot hunt Sundays here so I take time on that day to scout other areas if I can. Sometimes you just have to be mobile and adapt no matter how hard it is to leave your sweet spot for awhile.
Same with me in my part of michigan. But I did see a small buck chasing a doe this morning. Normally the 1 1/2 old bucks are active at this time of the month.
Painfully sloooow here too. You're not alone. Sun up to sun down today, 25 degrees this morning, snow on the ground, didn't see one deer.
Things seem to be heating up, here in WV. Got a buck growling & chasing a doe in my video, from yesterday.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOdpi1_9zLk
Food source = Does Does= Bucks. Young Bucks are chasing here now in Jersey. Big Boys will follow.
I think it has been slow around me, so has the check station, but I have been seeing a few.
I have seen VERY few rubs and no scrapes at all till I went skwerl hunting with my boy yesterday. He found a heck of a scrape line in place on the top side of a ridge I often hunt. I guess he is claiming dibbs on sitting there at the end of the week.
ChuckC
Same thing here I feel your pain. I havent seen a deer since the 16th. Im quite depressed to say the least.
It has been slow where I am hunting in Ontario also. I was off last week and hunting most mornings and evenings I averaged about one deer a day and I have yet to see a big buck. A couple of buddies arrowed small bucks last week but my area is tough going. Persistance is what will put the vension in the freezer!! : :dunno:
i have been in a rut the last 5 years lol. very slow around here all the time. seen only 5 deer total all season so far and very little sign. do what i do... Keep The Faith!!
Wow today was nuts had a 160 class buck all night around me came real close to wacking him a couple times tonight.Had bucks fighting and chasing all night around me.Looks like i'm not going to work tomorrow.Leatherneck had bucks all over him tonight also. :bigsmyl:
Ben, just so you wouldn't have to miss a days work, I would offer to guard your stand from that buck, in case he has bad intentions. :bigsmyl:
Leatherneck and myself had bucks chasing does all night .I had bucks fighting for more than 1 hour around me.Autumnarcher im trying to break in the new bow,Thanks for the offer :nono:
Very slow here all week!!!
Six goose eges since last Sun. and generaly I might have two all season.
Its encourageing to me that it seems to be everyone is going through the samething except for isolated spots of hope :pray:
If you are not seeing deer where you normally see deer something's changed. When this happened a few years ago on my place I took my horse out on some trail rides and found out what was going on.
The next farm over changed hands and the guy who bought it is big into deer hunting/management. He did a couple of things that really pulled the deer off my place. One--he planted food plots. About 20 acres of food plots!!! Turnips and radishes an stuff like Biologic. He also put up three corn feeders. Once the deer figured out where the getting was good they got up and went!
Dang...guess I'm gonna have to re-plant my alfalfa field that wore itself out a few years ago and get back into making square bales. When my alfalfa field was thick you could set your clock by what time the deer would show up in the AM and PM...
Food availability will play havoc with deer patterns. Many places had crummy mast crops this year so the deer changed their normal movement patterns and have been hitting the corn and beans in my area hard.
This has been the worst year for seeing deer in many years. 2 early hunting seasons with guns, goose and duck hunters shooting their weapons in the morning has had an effect on our hunting, INMO. The deer are there I just think they went nocturnal. Will have to wait for the rut.
..yes ...dead here too the last few days. Glad I got my buck two weeks ago. Not good for my Buddie up from Tenn. this week.
QuoteOriginally posted by Jon Stewart:
This has been the worst year for seeing deer in many years. 2 early hunting seasons with guns, goose and duck hunters shooting their weapons in the morning has had an effect on our hunting, INMO. The deer are there I just think they went nocturnal. Will have to wait for the rut.
I think you got it. I don't agree with the early doe season and early youth hunt, but that is just my opinion. I would be curious to see how many other states you can hunt whitetail from September through January. I realize there are still alot of crops, mainly corn, in the fields hiding many deer. But for the most part its that way every year around me during the bow season. The number of deer I am seeing this year is way down.
I spent 6 hours in a ladder stand yesterday. Did not see much until about 17:00. Then, I had about 6 deer moving through the brush about 60 yards away. They were trotting around in the brush for awhile before they moved into the field. I don't normally see that. If they bust me, they are usually gone, snorting etc. Wind was good from my location.
I've seen six deer. Two adult does, two either way (roundhead antlerless) and two spikes. No sign of fresh rubs or scrapes. ALL have been within 15 minutes before "official" sunset on various days. All have been alone except the first day when I took the larger of the two does; but I suspect ma wasn't far from the little roundheads but was sticking to cover.
This past snow and cold spell ought to bring the rut on. At least I'm hoping. I'm betting Veteran's Day will be a good day to be out.