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

[jimmerc]

No it doesn't bother me if I go 4-10 days without seeing deer, heck that's northern new york deer hunting! But It does bother me after 35 days of hunting,that I havent seen a deer and can't even cut sign, No tracks, no poop, no rubs,no beds, no scrapes! Even the white oaks that were at mast this year,with acons all over the ground untouched, No sign there also( i,m keeping an eye on these just in case) Not even a turkey around to watch! No squirells! It's become rather errie out there! And to top it off my southern zone swamp honey hole where I got a deer out of last year is void of deer and sign!! But I'm enjoying the woods and solitude and getting in real good shape now hiking around wearing out boot leather looking for sign and new areas to hunt! Like you and most others here hunting is my life blood also!! I say all this as i sit here sipping my coffie and getting ready to head back out to the errie woods to continue my search for where the deer gone!

[Birdbow]

Hunting, like you in northern New England, I've gotten used to scarcity of deer. Took me 10 years to finally kill my first whitetail with my longbow hunting 9/15 - 12/15 each year. In the earlier years, archery success rate ran about 6% for all archery and today only runs 14%. Big woods, little agriculture, and tough winters all contibute but I still love being out there. Hang in there with persistance and something MAY give an opportunity. Best of luck, Todd

[warbird]

Been on stand three days since the season opened. Have not seen a deer yet. Has been unseasonably warm with little deer movement. The temperature is starting to drop now. I am hoping to get out on Saturday. Problem for me is I am booked with work. I am seeing deer but it is when I am driving to work.

[Turkeys Fear Me]

Not seeing game every time out is part of the deal.  Comes with the territory.  

However, having said that, of course it bothers me.  Would it bother you if you went out to get gas and you couldn't find a gas station.  I don't care how pretty the scenery is, or how nice the sunsets are, at the end of the day, you went out to get gas.

[stick_string]

Yeah, I agree with alot of others on here.  It would definately bother me.    

[Dave Thaxton]

I much as I love being in the woods and hunting, I have limited time. I am there to kill meat! HECK YEAH, it bothers me.

[fatman]

If I'm not seeing deer, I have work to do to find them....

[Gatekeeper]

If I’m scuba diving it doesn’t bother me…but if my goal is to hunt deer and I haven’t seen a deer in 10 days! …hell yes that would bother me! That’s the whole point in carrying a bow to the woods to hunt deer.

[Cottonwood]

Simply no it does not bother me, as that is what hunting is all about.  If one happens to come through and with in range, I have been blessed with a gift.

It was never a waisted time for me on the days, I didn't see deer as I saw so much more in the woods as well.

I'm not hunting because I absolutely have to have the meat, but getting one this year with my recurve was a very nice bonus.

[KellyG]

It has never bothered me. Heck I have went a few season and not be able to get in the woods at all. AT least two in the last 3 years. I hunted and got a button buck last season. But I had just returned from Iraqi at the end of 08 season, and now I am here again. I was able to help my 16yr son hang a couple of stands, and consider that a treat. When I do get in the woods, and they come alive there is no place I would rather be deer or no deer.

[maineac]

With our deer population and how nocturnal they are year round, I would have given up long ago.  It is hard reading about folk going out and seeing multiple deer every time out.  But unless I want ot move and live somewhere else I have to deal with low densities and nocturnal deer.

[mcgroundstalker]

What a lucky bunch of guys to have so many days off from work to hunt and not see deer.   :p   That's why they call it hunting! If you are not happy just being there... Then What?

Then again... It would kinda wear me out also to go for such a long time without action. Just have to keep at it. Get in the thick stuff and weed 'em out! Sometimes it's us doing something wrong. Other days, events not in our control are the issue.

*Interesting Topic *

... mike ...

[rkmnt2]

Doesn't bother me at all....when I'm elk hunting! But if deer is the flavor of the day...Heck yea I wanna see deer! Getting a shot is not as imprortant...at least I know I'm not just wasting time if I at least see them. Having to work for a living......time is in short supply...gotta make the most of it!

[IndianaBowman]

I'm with Curt on this one!  Makes me plumb mad to know that I failed in my objective. I don't like to fail and I do all I can to prepare for success. I go hunting to kill something. If I just wanted to commune with nature, I'd pick up a camera or something.

[Breakfast Boy]

I like to see deer.  That's what I'm there for.  That being said, if I don't see any (like this morning), I still enjoy being out there.  So yeah I like to see deer, but no I don't get terribly upset about it if I don't.  I'm a firm believer in the old saying "Even a bad day hunting is better than a good day at work."

[ron w]

IndianaBowman, You can hunt where you see deer every time out that don't mean your going to get a shot or that you can't miss. When the deer density is such that you can go as much as you can and still not see anything, it gets old fast. I love the woods and spending time there but there comes a time when things come to a head and something has to change......You are lucky to have a good spot to hunt, come 60 miles northwest and its a whole different world than Columbia County.

[Bowwild]

I didn't see any deer this morning after seeing deer from the stand the last two hunts.  It was a great morning, a rare one with no wind. I was pretty fired up hoping to finally see during daylight one of the bruisers in the area.  I sort of figure these deerless days like a sales supervisor told me back in the early 80's when I sold stuff part-time for a couple of years, "Every 'no' you hear from a customer puts you that much closer to a 'yes'.  Since I'm averaging a deerless hunt 1 out of 3, I should have company the next two times out!

[JL]

Funny you posted this Ken. I recently started hunting state land of the Appalachian mountains in western Maryland. I live in the DC/Baltimore corridor and the difference is night and day. The area around my home is loaded with deer (see deer just about every outing, very liberal bag limits- 2 bucks and unlimited does with the bow, ect...) but when you get out to 3000ft, it is slim pickings. I think a lot of it is that area draws hunters from other states (WV, PA mainly as both borders are only a couple miles away) where they have stricter bag limits and it puts a lot more pressure on the herd. I have hunted quite a few days and spotted zero deer on state land. That part of the state is buck only also. Does it bother me? Not really, just need to roll up the sleeves and step up to the added challenge. I love it out there regardless. I see it for what it is.

I can see how someone that goes from a area that has a thriving deer herd to a area that has few deer can be disheartened. I went up to Lake Placid one year and chatted with a fella about hunting up that way. He said in 12 years of hunting, he has only seen a handful of deer and had only one shot opportunity in that time. Just how it is up there. It's all in what your used to seeing in the field.

JL

[Dustin Waters]

i voted yes it bothers me, but only when I hear our DNR preaching that hunters need to shoot more and more deer to meet the quota for the number of animals the land can hold.  When i sit for two and three days at a time and dont see hide nor hair of a deer on a great habitat farm, I get a little pissy.

[Encino Man]

I'd have to say yes, it bothers me. If I've scouted a location and see deer signs, I expect to see deer. If I don't, I'm doing something wrong. 2 or 3 days doesn't bother me. 8-10 days would have me questioning my abilities as a hunter. But as others have mentioned. If your hunting an area that is slim on game. That would become the norm and I would adjust.