how often do you not see any deer at all?

[Horner]

I really like what BobW just wrote. I also totally agree with the top portion of his post.

[tmccall]

About every time I hunt...    

[ron w]

Most times I don't see anything. I have had years where I saw 1 deer for the season and other years where I saw 0 deer for the season. The season runs from Sept. 27---Dec. 10, thats bow,gun and late bow and blackpowder. Some years its better, but even 7-9 deer for the year is good. One of the reasons I'm leaving in the AM for a hunt in Ill.{Pike County}.If I even see some deer it will be a good hunt.

[Michael Arnette]

Look for acorns. Hunting away from acorns or other food sources can be a big mistake at this time of year. Everything revolves around food at this time of year. When I was just starting I went a whole year and saw nothing. Now I rarely get less than two seperate sightings. Part of the game is learning how it is played. Walk any fencelines, and if you aren't seeing any deer, move.

[Michael Arnette]

What is the habitat that you are hunting?

[GANGGREEN]

Something else to keep in mind is that the goal isn't always just seeing deer.  I have friends that tend to set up on farm fields and almost always end up seeing deer.  The problem is that ours is a close range sport and seeing them isn't enough.  These same friends typically only get a few shots at does or very small/young bucks.  I don't see deer as frequently as they do but I have a much higher percentage of getting a shot at the deer that I DO see and there's also a higher percentage of deer that end up being shooter bucks.  

Hunt the staging areas and/or the travel lanes between feeding and bedding areas to get a higher percentage of shots per deer seen.  

I have to admit that I've got a fair amount of respect for those of you that see few deer yet still hunt hard for the entire season.  In my area, the guys that hunt for days or weeks and only see a few deer are typically hunting the wrong areas but I recognize that we all have different situations and different deer densities.

This was a good question and a good discussion.

[ron w]

Most of my hunting is Big woods in the Adirondack Mountains,which is state land that has not been logged or managed for 100 years. It is a forever wild area. Its foot or horseback, no motorized vehicles. Even on state land in the southern zone of N.Y. the same rules apply most of the time. Acorns and beech nut are cyclic and other food sources are whatever is avaiable. Also theres just not alot of deer. In the north the state says .5 bucks per square mile-1.5 deer per square mile.

[blind one]

I have had many days where there are deer to be seen and many days when there isnt anything. Its still a good day hunting just to be out in the woods watching the squirrels running around, instead of bumper to bumper with cars...Roy

[Mr.Magoo]

I hunt public land that's strewn with oak trees.  I don't see deer many of times I hunt.  I also catch enough fleeting glimpses to know I miss seeing deer that come by too.

[Arwin]

I would say that I see deer about every 3rd-4th hunt if conditions are right. If I don't see them within 4 hunts, I move.
 Out on public land, seeing 5 deer for one sit is a really good day. Some private lands I have seen up to 15 deer at a time come through.

[joevan125]

I hardly go a day without seeing at least 1 or 2. Down here in the south we have a very high deer density.

[Three Arrows]

Most of my deer sightings around here are from 8:30 am to 2:00 pm.  I am seeing deer 2 out of 3 outings and never more than 5 total.  Too much pressure here.  I tend to go in deeper and through thicker stuff than others.  It keeps my desire to shoot a small buck or doe in check since it takes a while to get one out and home.

[RedShaft]

You Pa guys i feel your pains..... I can go 2 weeks or so and see no deer or only a couple.... i do hunt alot to, i hunt near everyday of the archery seasonand i hunt public land. I started hunting closer to thicker cover, some say get deep in the woods to but most places here you wlk a mile or so and you close to another area where someone could come in an only be a short walk for them but long for you, kinda laugh at myself when that happends. i say just dont be afraid to move around, hunt a area for 3 days, if i dont see any or new sign i move. alot of time in an entire season i mite get one chance thats it, wish was better around here but thats just way it is for us... belive me alot of time i wish i seen more deer, not just gettin a shot all time but just gettin a chance to see and observe deer... just dont happen alot for us. its either my area has just that few deer or im not very good at finding them. so i will end with this dont be afraid to move or try new areas, dont waste your time hunting non productive places, you'll end up finding a honey hole and wish you would have hunted there sooner!

[jsweka]

I have a lot of no-deer days on state game lands in central PA.  Funny thing last year was that a college kid and I were hunting the same general area on a state game land.  We parked in the same parking area and always seemed to arrive and leave about the same time so we always talked about what we did/didn't see.  In the early part of the season he was seeing a lot of deer and I was getting skunked.  In the latter part of the season, the roles reversed and I was seeing deer every day. Still didn't get a shot but at least I was seeing deer. No explanation for it, just the way it was.

You can do a lot to improve your luck, but a lot of it still boils down to being in the right place at the right time.

[wollelybugger]

I try to keep moving and never hunt the same place two days in a row. The problem is other hunters pound a area until the deer leave or go nocturnal for the rest of the season. I have gone seasons and never got a shot at a legal deer. I am glad to get one shot a year.

[frankwright]

I probably see a deer one out of three days if I am lucky.
I have gone a whole season and never had a shot at a deer, either didn't see any or the shot was just not there.
I always enjoy my time in the woods, if it was only about killing deer I would have quit a long time ago, but I would love to see deer every day even if I didn't get a shot.

[Tioga]

I hunt 95 percent state forest lands and state gamelands in Tioga County, along with hunting private lands about 5 percent of the time. 5 days a week and I don't do Saturdays. It's all bigwoods hunting. No ag at all. From the start, I know the odds are stacked against me, because typically these lands have very low deer densities for a variety of reasons which include overkill, some bad habitat, and high predator populations like bears, bobcats and coyotes. Like I said, the odds are stacked against me, and I like it that way. That's why I hunt with a stickbow.

  For many years, on any given day, I could count on seeing at least one and as many as three deer per outing 75% of the time. The last five years, I generally see 2-4 deer per week at best. That includes snorts, breaking brush, and tails waving goodbye. My trailcam pretty much gives me the same results. I've found the need to relieve the boredom of setting in the stand for hours on end counting falling white oak acorns hitting the ground by leaving the stand at home and still hunting most of the time. This year, my 12 year old grandson will be tagging along, so that'll put the boredom on the back burner for me.    

  It is what it is. I dig hunting deer, have lots of time to do it, live in the middle of what should be good deer country, and don't like to travel ungodly distances to hunt anymore thanks to the gas prices. So here I is.      

[nonamesleft47]

On my farm that is heavily wooded it's pretty unusual, you could see 10 deer in a morning hunt of course it is in a high deer population area with several doe bedding areas packed in a few hundred acres.  I've been hunting a 80 acre orchard that most people would think was a deer haven, wrong.  There are a ton of deer on the farm, the problem is almost all of the deer bed on other properties and move onto the orchard to feed at night.  Unless you are on the trail they are traveling right at dark you are out of luck.  I use trail cameras to try to time their movement.  If you are having trouble finding them you might look into getting a few, although they aren't traditional, it will help.

[Sam McMichael]

Sometimes, things are just slow.  I have been out 5 times since the season opened and so far have not seen a deer. I know they are there, because I've seen them constantly all summer long.  The clover is up, and the deer have really been hitting it hard, judging from the tracks. But so far they have not been up and about in the same areas that I have been in. I am pretty sure that some of the surrounding properties have corn feeders out, which may be a factor.

[xtrema312]

I really feel for you hunters that go most of a season and don't see a deer.  I just am not that patient.  I guess I need to be more appreciative of the hunting opportunities I have.  It is not that hard to shoot a deer in my state.  However, I do see at least one guy a years on some gun season buck pole show that has gotten his first buck after about 20-30 years of hunting with a gun    :confused:   so I guess even we have a few hard to hunt spots.       :D