awful deer season....so far

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bamaranger

New member
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?
 
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Tom68

New member
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.
 
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Brian Pfleuger

Moderator Emeritus
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.
 
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viciouskitty

New member
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.
 
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Sure Shot Mc Gee

New member
Anybody else....bad year?
Click to expand...

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.
 
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big al hunter

New member
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.:(
 
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Gunplummer

New member
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.
 
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SteelChickenShooter

New member
Good Deer Season So far

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.
 
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Keg

New member
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!
 
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MTT TL

New member
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.
 
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LOLBELL

New member
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
 
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me26245

New member
Deer

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.
 
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bamaranger

New member
still trying

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.
 
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Brotherbadger

New member
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.
 
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globemaster3

New member
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!
 
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jmr40

New member
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.
 
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Saltydog235

New member
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.
 
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8MM Mauser

New member
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!
 
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Scout

New member
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.
 
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