how often do you not see any deer at all?

[Romans3]

I'm a new deer hunter. I've found a couple spots with decent deer sign and have been out a few times this year so far. I haven't seen a deer yet. It seems that most threads I read, guys are talking about "I saw 12 deer but I'm gonna wait for a bigger buck..." "I saw 9 and shot the last doe that walked by..." "i saw 3" "I saw 16"...

Does anyone else think, "man I haven't seen one!"?

[ThePushArchery]

To give you an idea of this issue take in the following.

We have been hunting 300 acres here in PA. (Me, and my two buddies... All traditional) We all have been hunting from the ground. We all have been out approximately the same amount of hours.

I have been within bow range of 8 deer/ (7 doe ; 1 buck) One of my buddies has seen one deer ; the other none.

The funny thing is, is that we don't have our individual areas we hunt. We bounce around all over the property. I feel there is a little bit of "luck" but a whole lot of planning. I check the weather / wind every time before heading a field. I cross-reference to my aerial maps. And try to think like a deer, and put myself in the best spot possible.

[Stinger]

Happens to most of us at one time or another.  You say that you are new to deer hunting - is there any chance that you can find someone down there to show you the ropes?  Seeing deer sign is one thing, but finding them is another.  "Sign" only means they were there at one time.  Try to find what they are eating and where they are bedding and set up in between those two spots in a funnel area with the wind blowing away from where you expect them to come from and you will start seeing them.

[stickbow2442]

I think it has a lot to do with your area, to how many deer you see.
The area I hunt I see from 7 deer to 0, each time I hunt. And sometime I will go 3 or 4 times out hunting and not see anything.

[Tater John]

Oh yea, every year just like you said. But every year is different too. Annual weather patterns and seasonal variations throughout the year change up animal habits alot. I just stay the course and eventually I get on them. One year to the next is never the same and I don't want it to be predictable anyway

Rusty

[Davo]

If I am hunting public land I see deer 30% of the time if I am hunting private land 50-75% of the time. I read a lot of those threads to I think a lot are BS.  I have seen 12 or more on stand but averages are much lower at least here in southern WI. It takes awhile to get a feel for the area and the deer.

[Red Beastmaster]

The apparent goal here in PA is to eliminate the deer herd with excessive doe tags. They have been very successful in my area and have really cut the numbers down. It sucks.

It is easy to go two weeks without seeing a deer. It is not unheard of to go a whole season and not see a legal buck (3pts on a side).

I used to see 3-4 dozen deer over the six week season. Now it is usually less than 2doz. I average one deer in range per year and then it doesn't always turn into a shot opportunity.

I hope you guys who have lots of deer know how fortunate you are.

[Brian Krebs]

If your hunting in the morning- be there way before light; if your hunting in the evening get there early and stay until dark; even if you are not going to shoot after a set time.
 That way you have the best chance of seeing deer; which can tell you when and where they are moving
 If you find a deer trail; you can tie a piece of sewing thread across it at knee level- tie it on one end only; and you can tell direction of travel.
 If your hunting next to a dirt road; drive down the edge of the road; to the side as much as possible; and off the usual tire tracks.
 Do this just BEFORE you hunt; and then after your done hunting; check the area you ran over for tracks. Any tracks you find will tell you  where the deer moved ( and in what direction) when you were hunting.
 Then look for the trails they used.

Keep in mind a major problem with sitting near a trail and having the wind perfect. Most deer will not move in a straight line - they wander back and forth in a wide path to check the scent in front of them. So- the wind might be perfect where your sitting; and yet be blowing right into their noses a hundred yards away.

 Start hunting only bucks scoring over 180. If you set that in your head; the does will walk by fearlessly. Always seems to me when I am looking for bucks- I see does; and if I am listening to my stomach- and ready to shoot a doe.. I see nothing.

 Look at the weeds around your stand. The direction they are falling over is the primary wind direction for that spot. If there is a wind from a different direction; when it lets up; the primary wind direction will take over- keep that in mind.

 When stalking look all around you; and take a step at a time; stop; look around and then move forward a step. Each step brings you into a whole new world; and you might only see a bit of a deer; like an ear; or the line of its back when its feeding.

 Bucks will use a trail downwind of the does very often; and if you are sitting on the buck trail; you might be alerting the does; and they are in turn alerting the bucks- or vise/versa.

 It can be easy; but most often I work hard even for a doe.

 Its not like the snuff films on the hunting shows !

[straitera]

Public land for the first time last year. Hunted 35 days w/few sightings and 2 shots all season. Slow but sure beats hunting with the remote..

[GANGGREEN]

I live in a portion of Pennsylvania where many of the locals and the camp owners believe that there are very few deer.  Many are even making proclamations about giving up their licenses because of it.  Whatever.  

I see deer about 50-60% of the time but it depends from year to year and from day to day (weather, food availability, moon phase, pressure, wind, etc.).  Typically if I see deer from my treestand (I usually sit for 1-3 hours at a time), it will be anywhere from 1 deer to 3 or 4.  There was a time when it wasn't unusual for me to see 10, 12 or 15 deer in a stand but, in fairness, PA did have too many deer then.  

I almost always get opportunities to shoot does and at least a smallish buck or two that meets the state minimum.  If I have the time, say 8 or 10 days to hunt, I'll typically get at least one opportunity at a large buck per season.  What I find really odd is that it's not at all uncommon for me to see 20-25 deer per day during the state's late flintlock season on some of the same areas where I struggle to see them early in the year.

Good luck to you.

[robtattoo]

The thing to remember is, nobody posts about it if they haven't seen anything!  

"Went out for 6 hours on stand today. It rained for a while & I got cold, then the sun came out & I warmed up. Didn't see a thing."

Not the most thrilling thing to read, even if it is honest. For every person that posts about seeing 5,10 or 20 deer, thare's probaly 40 or 50 that haven't seen a dadgum thing.

[David Lewis]

I'm one of the lucky ones. I live in an area that has a lot of deer and my house is about 150 yards away from a state park that is not open to hunting. It's a rare day that I don't see deer but I have been skunked a time or two.

[xtrema312]

Well here in southern Michigan we have them coming out our ears don’t you know.  At least everywhere but where I hunt in three different counties.  I see fewer deer now than most years in the 30 years of bow hunting.  Some of that is due to land changes, hunting pressure, and a lack of deer from what I can tell.  Gone are the days of seeing 4-5 buck in a group early in the year or groups of 8-12 does/fawn in a group or feeding in the same area.  Now it is maybe two buck or 2 does with fawn in the groups I see.  

I work real hard at deer hunting and have been at this a long time so I do get on them regular.  I used to see an average of about 6 deer a day.  I would say on average now I see 1-2 deer every time out if I hunt a mix of cover.  Some of the more open areas and edges allow me to see more ground therefore more deer.  If I only hunted prime times and prime spots I would see deer about every time, but I have to hunt when I can where I can.  

I average one good shot opportunity for every 5 days hunting.  If I have a doe tag any decent doe in the first 4-weeks of the season goes down. I can’t always shoot due to what I have for tags when the doe tags are gone;  I have a hard time using a buck tag on a doe, and I have a hard time shooting does when the pre-rut and rut are in full swing.  In the end I see enough deer to keep me more than interested, and I get enough shot opportunities to get the meat I need for the year, although I always would like to shoot just one more every year.
  :D

[kbetts]

I spend way more time in the woods than anyone in my family.  I've been checking cameras since July.  My favorite home farm has yielded two quality buck sightings in five hunts and they were well out of range.  My brother has been twice to the same farm, no scouting, no prep, and has seen two monsters under 30 yards but still out of his comfort range.  One was "the biggest" he's ever seen.  He's not been back since, but I have and no dice.  Go figure.

[KentuckyTJ]

Very rare around here not to see at least one. Find the food source and you will find the deer this time of year.

[Eric Krewson]

I have hunted land where I saw deer almost every time out. Lost the leases on those places.

The land I hunt now I may see deer once every 10 trips.

[BobW]

they either lie, hunt at a deer farm, or never talk about the other times.

Some are bestowed with good fortune, some are darn serious enough about it to do better, and some have access to better lands.  None of those are me, but any time out can be feast or famine.  

New to the land or new to the sport is another whole challenge.  Give yourself time to learn the things to increase your odds.  Learn more of the habits of your game sought.

The thing to remember is the sport is called  hunting (Webster defines hunting as "the pursuit of game"), not killing, which is a possible ends to the means.  Sometimes you might not.....

I just spent two days on a brand new piece of property.  Saw absolutely nothing.  Yet it was enjoyable and beneficial.  It was my first time in "big woods".  Learned a whole lot.  Was actually able to identify areas that had more potential than others, and was "rewarded" with finding sign.  I take that as a success because next time, I now have some understanding of what the animals desire for habitat.  Its a process.  There really isn't a "Cliff Notes" to it unless you want to pay a guide, or have a good mentor.

It will happen if you (1) want it to, and (2) learn why what you tried didn't work.

Enjoy all of it.

BobW

[J-dog]

Where I am at in NC I can hunt a week straight and not see a thing! it is just the Croatan - I set a camera out on HOT sign heavy trails with fresh tracks - I wil get a pic of a deer then four five days later a pic of another.

Most fo the land I hunt is pure woods, no nearby fields or clearings at all. The deer are hard to pattern. Plus it is thicker woods than what you would find in Cambodia, 80% of it you could nto dream of walking through. You would have better chance to walk on top of it.
You wont kill em at the house though so I keep pounding away ath them. Lie has been said - watch the wind and pay attention. 90% time see nothing but for that chance it is worth it!

[Apex Predator]

Our season has been open for 17 days, and I have only been three times.  I have seen deer on only one of those trips.  I made good and killed a small 8pt.  I rattled him in.  I'm going in the morning.  We will see if my percentage is 20% or 50% after the morning hunt.

I have hunted 8-10 times straight without a sighting though.  The time in the woods is great, even without the deer sightings.  Always something cool to watch!

[J-dog]

Up around Roxboro I hunted a bit and would see deer quite a bit of the time.