DIDN'T EVEN SEE A DEER(4 DAYS)

[chris63]

Hey guys,We hunted in Aitkin co. for the last 4 days of zone 1 and didn't even see a deer.There was plenty of wolf tracks/sign all over. What are your thoughts,we have always got atleast 1 deer.Oh well 45 more days of bow season.........still fun trying.c63

[woodman]

Don't feel bad. My dad, neice, and myself didn't see a deer all season. We walked around the last weekend and found LOTS of wolf tracks.

My wife shot a spike on opener and then saw a doe and a fawn the second day and that is all that was spoted all season.

[chris63]

Thankx for the reply,I don't feel bad I just hope my 17year old nephew dosen't get discouraged because we need to get the young ones involved outside not on this computer,oh.........i guess i better go for a walk now.later.c63

[MNice]

Don't feel bad, I hunt area 157 on private land, in 2001 i bought a new gun and have yet to see a deer with it. Talk about a drought!! Still, I never had a bad time and we process and share all our deer, so I still get a taste!! Be patient and have fun!!

[catman71]

we had 10 guys up by Roseau for 8 days and hunted pretty hard. We ended up with 5 and we were not being choosy.

[SupaMan]

We had 3 guys and got 6 deer total. We also saw many more deer... You just gotta work hard and find a good location to set up your stand at...Trust me, it's all about location.

[UdeLakeTom]

We hunted private land in 157 and got 2 for 6 hunters and that took all 3 weekends, the 2nd deer coming at noon on Sunday....across the road in the Kimberly WMA..first weekend 3 hunters got 3 deer. Timing seems to be everything. I talked to a local in town when registering my deer, he had an extra permit and now was upgrading his to an all season,so he could at least try muzzleloading, and he had plenty of time to hunt. Also talked to a young lady that hunts by Fleming Lake..and driving by that area all year you see plenty of deer. She didn't have one yet as of 2nd weekend. Like one of the hunters said in the WMA, when near McGregor, you can't get picky, you see a deer and aren't "trophy" hunting, you have to shoot, because you might not see another one. One quote is, "I guess that is why they call it fishing, not catching", just substitute "hunting and not shooting".

[harvey lee]

Some areas may be down with there population but,one thing that is so important is location,location,location.This year I had spots that have been great for the past 10 years and for some reason they changed there routes on me.I tried hunting these same spots and it was bad.The other guys were seeing deer so I then started to hunt some different spots and thingas got better.Whether it be coyotes,wolves,different feeding areas or hunting pressure things do change and the deer routes change also.

I am not saying that you have not done your scouting and homework,but this year I got a little lazy and it showed in the number of deer I saw until I changed location.

[farmer boy]

Im not saying deer numbers may not be down in some areas but deer need at least two things food and water. The water has been a little spotty this year and I think that has affected location as well just my two cents

Farmer

[chris63]

Thank you for your reply,I really did do alot of scouting this year.I think with my new climber i will be able to relocate much easier.I still have a month or so to bow hunt.Hunting is fun no matter if we see deer or not.Those pesky reds keep my heart racing anyway........ c63

[chris63]

Hey!!!!!!!!!!!I went out this afternoon and what do ya know there is deer in them thar woods,I saw two doe's.No shot but it was nice anyway!I'll keep at it until the end of the year!c63

[Mark Christianson]

Lucky you..... Since Nov 4th, I have seen 3 deer. All 3 were a 1/4 mile away the same evening. Man, this is the toughest year I have ever had... Ever....

I have deer hunted more this year, than the previous 5 years combined. I decided this year I was gonna dedicate the season to the deer since numbers are so high. (or the reports say so)....

All I can say is I picked a horrible year to not duck hunt.

I know, I know... Before anyone blasts me, I know there are deer. I know. But the numbers of hours I have put in this year, especially since Nov 4th, I am really bummed with the results... Well, the lack of results that is.

I am extremely frustrated.

[jltimm]

That makes two of us biglakeba$$. I just can't get myself to go out anymore cause I can sit in a warm fishhouse and not see a deer and distract myself with fishing.

[lawdog]

I tell ya what, I'm starting to buy into this "low deer count" theory. I finally saw deer again yesterday, three does I bumped out of the grass as I walked in at 3. Then yet another sit without seeing a single deer, that makes 4 in a row combined in two of my best spots. I don't know what in the world is going on???? I saw deer the first slug weekend and really haven't seen diddly poo since????

[fisherking01]

Noteably the lowest number of deer since the 70's in the area that I hunt. On 160 acres of prime ag land and oak woods, cattail and grass, I watched 4 does this spring with two fawns each, except for one that had 1. This fall when bowhunting I saw the same does many times out, but never any fawns. One doe left the acreage on to the neighbors and was shot second weekend. She was dry. Of the does harvested in the area this year, there were noteably more dry does than in previous years. I don't argue that there are areas with lots of deer, but for the majority of the state the numbers don't seem to be there. We plant and maintain food plots on our properties and usually can expect 30 -60 deer to winter on one particular property, last year there were 13.

Fact is if your walking as much as I am, the numbers speak for themselves. With the snow last week, there were not even any tracks in many of the areas I traveled.

It's still great to be out there, Guess I better go for a walk. Good luck to any late season hunters, Brent

[sachem longrifle]

Near our house, we will see alot of deer. Then the local pack(wolf) sets up shop for awhile and the deer disappear. No tracks or sightings. When the wolves leave, then you see deer again. I don't even have to see them or hear them anymore to know they are in the area. When I quit seeing deer or sign, then i know the wolves are here. That would be tough if wolves go into an area during the gun season, but might be not so bad during the bow season.

[Nova]

Spent the last weekend of muzzy hunting hard. Had 2" of fresh snow on friday and saw lots of tracks on saturday morning on the way to the stand. 2 small fawns were all we saw all weekend. A mid day scout on saturday revealed some very well used trails, but nothing moving during the day. The full moon has to be keeping them up all night feeding, but the pressure in our 200 acres is very minimal. We should be seeing some during the day. Other than the 2 mature does I got with the bow before gun season I haven't even had a good chance at another deer. A couple more weekends with the bow, but I am getting very discouraged. I to have spend more time in the stand than ever before and with worse results. I am going to keep at it though.

[Shoot2Kill]

Quote:

---

That makes two of us biglakeba$$. I just can't get myself to go out anymore cause I can sit in a warm fishhouse and not see a deer and distract myself with fishing.

---

I'm glad I'm not the only one that feels like this. Get this...instead of spending another completely unventful day in the stand after 9 recent sits since slug season and only 1 deer spotted I actually chose to go shopping with the wife yesterday than go to my treestand....she asked me if I felt okay.

I've had enough nature viewing for the fall...either I find a significant group of deer using a field for late season or I'm done with the bow. God this season has been depressing as all he##!

[Mark Christianson]

To be honest, I had the same mindset yesterday shoot2kill....

I slept in, worked on getting ice fishing stuff out and ready, and cleaned the muzzleloader. Packed it away until next year.

As far as bowhunting, its gonna be a miracle if I get the gumption to go out with that again this year. Major bummer of a year. My nature viewing capacity is maxed out too. Enough of watching the oak leaves rustling in the trees.

[chucker34]

I would have to agree. It's a good time to call it quits when you get to that point. I have too. I've had a lot of fun this year. No deer but a missed shot and lots of encounters that would have been closed deals during gun season if I wouldn't have been using my bow. But that is why I'm getting a ML for next gun and ML seasons!

Anyway, back on point, there are those that would say shame on you, get back out and put your time in. That's how you get a deer. To them, I say "up yours!" When it's not fun anymore, quit doing it. Shake it off, there will be next year. This is why I love my trail cams. If I'm not seeing a lot of activity - or basically none at all - during daylight hours right now, why spend a saturday in stand while I could be with my family or fishing or both in many cases.

[doser]

Well I finally connected last night with the muzzy loader at about 4PM. Nice fat doe came trotting in 25 yards. Saw many deer last night. I don't know what was going on , but they were moving in my area. First deer I've seen during the muzzleloader season after going out every weekend and few times during the week after work. Finally paid off. I too was getting frustrated especially without the snow to hunt in this yr.,but I thought it was way too nice to not sit on stand last night not having to worry about freezing my tail off or even wear gloves. It was Dec. 10 and I was sweating my tail off pulling my deer out of the woods. How often does that happen this time of yr ?

[Jeremy Donabauer]

I'm glad others feel the same as me. Maybe the bonus tags are finally doing their job as the DNR wants...eradicate the whitetail.

The greatest time in history to hunt deer was in the 90's when there was a strong poulation. The record books speak loudly. Back then it was you had to apply for a doe permit. I hope someday MN will again be what it should be...atop the record books...but we have fallen off the map and I don't see any hope thanks to the DNR.

Get rid of party hunting.

And move gun the season out of the rut.

[bigbucks]

I believe there are areas where the deer are thinned down & quite likely a little too much in some of them, but the state population is not hurting overall. (My folks hit one with their van last night, at least the fourth one within about a ten mile area in the last 9-10 days.) I had a very frustrating bow season too, but not because I didn't see deer, just not the ones I wanted to shoot, or not close enough, or whatever. I had a fantastic gun season as far as seeing deer & getting a few.

My ML season was very acceptable, saw 6 deer while hunting, shot one, all in one day, hunted parts of five days total. Saw double digit deer while driving the roads either after dark or when not able to hunt. ML season's a different bird, the deer are much more concentrated & if there's no pretty obvious food source, you'll be pretty lucky to see a deer. I'm also convinced in ML season, if you're not seeing deer put some miles on your feet, they aren't likely to move much, but that also means you may get close. Probably at least half the ML deer that I've heard about being killed around here were because people were out moving around. Most of the ones you bump you won't get a decent shot at, but once in a while, if you bump enough of them, you will. I found 9 fresh beds in my woods this weekend. I haven't seen squat for deer around my place all year, but obviously they're there at least some of the time... I saw two fawns last Wednesday night, the only live deer I've actually seen since probably August on my property, but there were still tracks & sign showing up periodically.

[Shoot2Kill]

Quote:

---

And move gun the season out of the rut.

---

Exactly.

I'm glad some of you are seeing some deer....I'm truly frustrated this year in a sport/hobby that engulfs my life about 364 days a year. I just don't get it. What gets me is that some people I talk to say that me seeing 20 deer in an entire bow season is doing good! What the heck! Originally from Iowa - it was nothing in the area I hunted during college to see 20 deer every night and 3 or 4 of them would be bucks. This is just very hard to get used to up here. Good luck to those who are still going....if we ever get some snow I'll probably head back out.

[Jeremy Donabauer]

Shoot2kill-

It also frustrates me as I have seen what a managed deer herd can be. I have a lease in Buffalo Co. WI and that is what a deer herd should be like. If you drive around in the eve there in July you will see a bunch of deer and you will see mature bucks well before dark. As compared to where I live in MN drive around in July and you might see 5 deer. There is no secret it just comes down to management. I wish I didn't have to have a lease there but I like hunting big bucks and actually having a chance.