awful deer season....so far

[bamaranger]

So,.... I've been up so many trees, I feel like a giant squirrel. Been hunting in the AM, go in to pull night shift. Repeat till I have to sleep in to be safe. On days off, hunt AM and PM. Notta.......nothing....zilch.

Hunt acorns, greenery, food plots....trails to cover, trails from cover, funnels....big zero. Old favorites, new trees...same same. Probably been up 30-35 trees, can't say for sure since I got so disgusted I quit keeping a log. Seen 6 deer. All season.

Christmas/New year ahead, and everybody and their brother will hit the woods over the holidays, spooking deer, killing some, and lowering my odds more.

Have never had such a slow start. Pretty much in a deep slump. The rut is ahead, and should provide some action, but gosh......why so hard?

Anybody else....bad year?

[Tom68]

Ranger, I'm in south alabama and so far have had better luck at seeing deer... Seen deer each time but just one decent buck that I couldn't get a good shot. Best luck I've had was does in green field, but at least it's something. Don't need the meat, so I'm holding out for a wall hanger.

[Brian Pfleuger]

Me too, Bro.

I saw one (maybe two, not sure) deer about 2 weeks into bow, around Oct 15. Never saw another deer until opening day of gun, which amounted to a 3 second glimpse at a buck. Then 2 weeks ago yesterday, when I saw one alone and then managed to kill a doe out of a group of 3. I usually at least SEE a couple dozen. 8 weeks of hunting and I saw deer 3 times.

It's a very rare year that I don't get at least one deer and 2+ is more typical, with my hunting group of 5 typically getting 8-10. This year we've shot 4, with 2 of them from 1 guy.

[globemaster3]

Hey, at least you're hunting! USAF got me good 2 years in a row! Best I can hope for is next season!

[viciouskitty]

Same goes for me this season bama. Down here in south Texas I've seen two small bucks and a bunch of does, nothing worth shooting for me yet. and I have been hunting more times this year than ever.

[Sure Shot Mc Gee]

Anybody else....bad year?

Not for the son and I. 2 for 2 in two days. Unlike last year. 1 for two in 12 days and the year before that was a near similar experience. If your not clever. There's a pretty good chance your going home skunked.

[big al hunter]

My seasons ended today. Over the course of 2 seasons I hunted 4 weekends. Saw exactly 1 deer, for about half a second as it jumped between 2 bushes. I hunt about an hour from home. One of the locals where I hunt told me that last summer a poacher was caught with 18 deer in his truck!!! He was snaring them. No telling how many he got before they caught him.:(

[Gunplummer]

It was a bad feed year in WV, but our crew (6 guys) got a 4pt, a spike and a doe. The feed simply was not back there this year. I hunted PA a couple days and same thing. I got a look at deer, but few and far between. Almost nowhere did I see where the deer were feeding on acorns. Looked like a few deer were hitting laurel and browse, while the majority headed for farms and housing developments for feed. That kind of stuff happens in bad feed producing years. Not much you can do about it if you hunt the bigger wooded areas.

[SteelChickenShooter]

My deer seasons have been poor before, but this year we have had more activity, more sightings, more chances, and I even got my first handgun buck. So in places where action is slow, I guess it must balance somehow giving others in different locations a good harvest.

[Keg]

Yall hang in there....I've hunted hard this season....I enjoyed spending time in the woods....

bamaranger..U say the rut has'nt started yet? Well things should pick up!

Brian..I always enjoy keeping up with your hunts....

Good luck yall!

[MTT TL]

I have seen more than I am allowed to shoot. I have let plenty of smaller ones go by and only taken a couple of largish bucks. After I shot them I only went out with the kids and didn't even take a gun for myself. We are doing just fine.

One of the bucks I shot had the ugliest rack I had ever seen. One side was missing completely. I think that was what was keeping him alive for so long. I thought he was a doe at first. Since I am meat hunter it really did not matter to me. The other one was nice. Lots of meat on both.

I have not hunted on public lands in many years. I understand the pickings are slim out there.

[LOLBELL]

Been a bad year in west central Alabama for me as well. Oldest son has one I have none. Getting plenty of pictures on game cams at night but so far have not seen one or got a picture during legal shooting hours. I think I will blame it on the legalization of corn. There are corn piles everywhere and the deer know where they are and have shifted feed times till after dark until just before sunrise. But, its about time for the rut to kick in so, we'll see how the rest of the season goes

[me26245]

During the firearms season here I have seen deer everyday.

During the regular season(10 days) my stepson and I took 4 one 8pt, one button buck and two does. The button buck and a doe were shot about 30 yards behind the house by my stepson one after the other in under 30 seconds. And I didn't hunt three of those days.

The least number I've seen in a day was two.

The weather here has been bad for hunting as the wind has been so high you have to kick the deer up from the brush and then you have a split second to get a shot.

I was lucky enough to jump up the 8pt along a fence row and he took off across the field, his last mistake. I put a round through his neck and blew off the right antler. It will give me a good set to rattle with, something I've never really tried.

Keep after it and just enjoy the time outdoors. I got the meat I was after and a bonus set of antlers.

[bamaranger]

Well, at least I'm not alone.

Globemaster, my Dad did a hitch in the airforce, armorer on F-86's, the Sabre Jet/Mig killer, thanks for your service.

In an attempt to to something different, I slept in today, hit the woods about 10:00 AM and hunted thru the middle of the day, against the full moon.

Nothing......I may take up golf.

[Brotherbadger]

While my season was a success, I heard most processors were down significantly from last year. Many processors I talked to were down more than 300 deer from last year. So it's not just you, it seems like everybody is seeing fewer deer.

[globemaster3]

No worries, at least you are out there! What I'd give to be on a stand seeing nothing instead of being in this classroom for the next 4 months! Wanna trade?;).

F-86.... Nice! I've been around a few, seen 1 fly, and knew a few saber drivers. It was a real game changer in Korea. Early versions mounted 6-.50 cal M-2s in the nose. Later models changed to 4-20mms. The D model also introduced a rocket pod under the center fuselage. By all accounts, a great weapon platform!

[jmr40]

Family obligations have meant almost no quality time in the woods for me this year. Probably just as well because I'm hear no one else is doing any good either. Technically we have until Jan.1, but my deer season is over.

[Saltydog235]

I've taken 2 8's and a doe. First 8 was a dink and cost me on the club, I could have sworn he was bigger or maybe the doe was just that small. He didn't give me a lot of time to evaluate.

Saw a hammer over a clear cut but it was the first time I had hunted it since it was logged, by the time he got in range he was in the dark. Hunted him the next night and had him dead to rights but waited because his path was going to bring him broadside at 100yds. He hung up behind a bruch pile when a lady and her son came out of stand 600yds away, talking loud, slamming truck doors, cranking the truck and turning on the lights on high beam. Instead of two steps forward he went two leaps sideway and disappeared into a ditch. Haven't seen him since.

Two weeks later I shot the second 8 one morning on the same stand. We have a 16" minimum and he wasn't 15.9 or 16.1, 16 on the dot.

Shot the doe on opening day of legal does just to draw blood on the new rifle. Head shot at 120.

Earlier in the season I was seeing deer on every sit. The past month, one sighting and I'm sure it was another big buck that has been seen but I was facing the opposite direction watching a dink buck and only saw him from the shoulder back.

Can't complain about the first half of the season, probably saw 100-120 deer in that time. Nothing lately though, scratching my itchy finger right now.

Keep at it, luck is bound to turn if you are out there enough.

[8MM Mauser]

I'm not near as serious a hunter as many here; I only hunt AM and usually only in weekends due to my work schedule. This year I saw 1 doe all season. 1 doe at a distance I didn't feel comfortable shooting.

One doe all season has left a bitter taste in my mouth. Next year however, I will be taking the first week of firearm season off and hunting my uncles land up north. I have been told I am pretty much guaranteed a doe and a small buck is a fair possibility. He's letting me use a blind free of charge in any case to hunt land he has food plots in. Beats the crummy state land I've been at!

[Scout]

Same here...I've switched to squirrels for the rest of the season. At least I'll put some meat on the table that way.

[buck460XVR]

At this stage in my life, anytime I make it out hunting and back, it's a success. Coming home empty handed means nuttin', if it means I get to spend time with my boys doin' something we love. If the boys aren't along, if it's deer instead of small game or Turkey, I give most a pass.

[Brian Pfleuger]

Brian..I always enjoy keeping up with your hunts....

Then you've been mighty bored this year!:D

We completely gave up on ML season. Didn't even bother to go once. :(

We still have a glimmer of hope, though. This is the second year of "Deer Management Focus Areas", which includes a second season in the second half of January wherein each hunter can shoot 2 antlerless deer a day, every day, in those limited zones.

We have a spot that we only go to for the DMFA. Last year we got 4 deer in 2 trips, total of probably 5 hours of hunting and I missed two and wounded one. (Don't ask.:o) We should have had 7 deer for 2 guys in 5 hours.

[2damnold4this]

This year has been a lot better than last year (http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=500910) for me. I killed a doe and nice tall nine pointer with two small kickers and I've seen many more deer than normal.

[bamaranger]

Deer processing shop in a neighboring county usually has handled about 300 some odd deer by this point in the year. The count this year is just over 100.

Gun hunt on the local WMA Fri-Sat, and I will hunt a bit, but bad weather predicted.

Ya can't kill one in your living room.....I'll keep climbing trees.

Re: F86's, the ones my dad worked on were armed w/ 6-.50's, I've got one of his duffle bags somewhere with his name and the unit data on it. He got posted to Iceland....that was it for travel and dad. Was a homebody after that.

[SPEMack618]

At least you've gotten to go, Ranger.

Between work and Drill, all I've managed to do is angrily yell at some geese that landed in the pond at work.

I can't decided who looked more sad between my dog and little sister last Friday when I had to bail on a schedule duck hunt due to a work emergency.

Growing up it was an article of faith in my house that the National League played the best ball, that Leslie Coffelt was the finest revovler shooter since Mr. Ed, and that the F-86 Saber was the best of all the early fighter jets.

[Geezerbiker]

Deer hunting in Western Oregon has gotten so bad that I've pretty much given up on it. I may go next year since my grandsons are getting jazzed up about it but the only place I see deer any more is in my yard when they're eating my garden.

Tony

[Bowhunter57]

It's going to be a fact that we're going to have to hunt coyotes in the winter/spring months, if we want to hunt deer in the fall. :)

I've seen, heard and killed more coyotes than deer, in my area. Deer predation is at an all time high. I have no doubt that in 6 to 8 years, the deer population will become nearly non-existent.

Read these research facts: http://gameandgarden.com/sustainability/land/do-coyotes-affect-deer-populations/

Bowhunter57

[Gunplummer]

Get used to it. The predators are taking over. I was hunting a mountain this year and cut bobcat tracks. First I saw in about 40 years of hunting on that mountain. Big enough to snag a fawn, I would think. Supposedly bear are getting to be hell on fawns too. We got plenty of them. (I am in PA.) Don't even start on coyotes. Some State Reps want to pass a bounty bill on them right now.

[bcarver]

I hunted a total of 58 minutes and killed one deer. This included travel time from the camp to my stand and back. I may have been in the stand 10 minutes. Going back next week to see if my luck holds up.

[hooligan1]

Bamaranger I fell ya buddy, the north Missouri section was low on deer population. I shot one opener morn, the only saw two more that day with no shot at either.
My son got one medium sized doe during antlerless season.. I usually put two or three in freezer for my family, didn't happen this year. maybe next year.:rolleyes:

[bamaranger]

Still at it, but pushing hard to stay sharp. Slept in today, and bamaboy and I scouted a bit and ran pre Christmas errands. One set of really promising scrapes I'd been on, belonging to a absolutely dandy buck I'd seen in Sept, have gone very cold and I fear the worst. We did pick 4 new trees, including 2 that pertain to this monster, and so I have some motivation to hunt a bit more.

RE the recent WMA hunt. I was in place in good time, and at about 0800 a pair of deer blew by about 75 yds out, apparently being run by something. I never could ID them, but suspect a doe and yearling due to size. Then it rained.

Next I get to hunt will be 26 Dec AM.

[Hawg]

Its rained so much here I haven't been able to go. I had to sell my Jeep and 4 wheeler. I sure do miss them now.

[bamaranger]

Finally. Cold for here, so I slept in and hunted mid morning. Often see deer feed late in cold (for us) weather.

Good plan.

No kill, but I saw more deer in about an hour and a half (had to go to work) as I've seen all season, including a 3-pt that I would have shot, had it not been 400 yds and back and forth across a property line. Saw 6 for sure, maybe 8-10, including the 3-pt and a dorky little spike.

The 3-pt was worrying a doe, and she was largely ignoring him. I will slide down the ROW next chance, and be closer to the draw and fencerow they seem to be favoring as they move to a food plot on adjacent property.

Hmm! That's a topic for another post.

[bamaranger]

The worst season ever experienced a greatly appreciated up beat on Tues. when a 3-1/2 year old 8-point made the mistake of wandering within 55-60 yds of my .308 while I was in a favorite "rut" stand on public land, and I dropped him.

Finally.

It does not look like I will take a deer with a bow this season, first time in 25 years, but at least I have not been skunked.

The rut came on strong, and had more deer sightings in 2-3 weeks than I'd had in 2-3 months prior.

Ya can't kill one at the house.

[603Country]

This was an Ok season for me. Being retired and living on the land that I hunt let's me hunt whenever I want. It's great and I know how lucky I am. I put pig and venison in the freezer this year. I didn't get the big buck, but he showed up at cameras during the day. He's still out there. I've been blasting coyotes and pigs regularly, but I'll never get them all.

Hunting never changes, in that you have some good years and some bad years, but any year that I get to hunt is a good one.

Got a coyote in the front pasture this morning. Wife was screaming that a coyote was after our big housecat. I dropped the yote. Weighed 27 pounds. Cat weighs 20. Not sure the coyote would have won that one.