does it bother you to NOT see deer?????

[recurvericky]

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.

[longbow fanatic 1]

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!

[J-dog]

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

[ron w]

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.

[PowDuck]

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.

[Rooselk]

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.

[Cookus]

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?

[Friend]

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.

[Adirondack Bowman]

to para- phrase JoseOrtetgaGasset-  one does not hunt in order to kill but one must kill in order to have hunted.

[Thumper Dunker]

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.

[mwosborn]

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.

[jcp161]

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.

[robtattoo]

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!

[Stumpkiller]

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.

[jhg]

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

[highnoonhunter]

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!

[-Achilles-]

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.

[Ssamac]

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

[jesse cales]

bothers me.that's why i drive 1.5 hours to hunt a better area.

[elknutz]

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.