Another season

[jltimm]

After last season I thought that this season could only be better? I was wrong, not hardly any deer to be seen again around here. I've hunted this area for over 7 years now with the last 2-3 being poor. Maybe it's time for a new spot, but hunting at home is nice. I hunted in zone 1 area 157. how did everyone else fair this year?

[Surface Tension]

Being in an Intensive Harvest Area that is a little surprising. Cheer up, I've had seasons with few deer and that was with a lot of preseason scouting. It'll get better. I didn't get the buck I wanted but saw plenty of deer and in the end took a doe.

[Mark Christianson]

Hey, we are in an intensive harvest area too, and I have not even shot my rifle or muzzleloader for 3 years.....

This year I had a chance at one deer with rifle. A spike that I passed on. So I cant say I am seeing nothing, but geez.... My Dad saw one deer all weekend on opener. No possible shot even if he wanted.

Last year with muzzleloader my Dad and I hunted all 3 weekends and never saw a single deer while on stand. Zero.

Really sux if you ask me. And we are not just weekend warriors. We have food plots and continue to work on habitat improvements by removing invasive species such as buckthorn, box elder and prickly ash.

The one thing I can say, is all the hours we spend on the farm every summer is still very mind cleansing. I love it.

I really do love the time in the fields and in the woods. Now if a few deer would show up, it would top it off nicely.

[USPENAMC]

same here on the RUM SF and last year we didnt see anything all 3 weeks this year my father took a doe on opening morning at 9:30 seen nothing else will have to keep on bow hunting

[Surface Tension]

Having seen few deer in the past few years, whats your thought on the being able to take 5 deer in your area?

[Mark Christianson]

My opinion, it doesnt matter.

Nobody anywhere around us can fill the first tags for everyone in the party, much less start filling bonus tags.

[brassman]

I hunt an intensive harvest area and I have sat for 5 and a half days and saw 3 deer. Thats the way it goes sometimes. Have you seen a lot of deer out on the roads at night? The deer have to be there. It also depends if you hunt private land or not.

[Borch]

The deer really seemed to be bunched up where we hunted,(156). One person saw tons of deer while others, (Like myself) saw only a few. What were usually hot stand were cold and those that were usually ok were hot. Go figure!

[dakotakid31]

Did not get a deer for the first time in 7 years, heck i didnt even see a single one. last year same spot-seen 15 in just the first and last weekend of zone 1. i saty in my stand from well before light to sundown. oh well have to hope for better results next year. we had alot of realy "bad" hunters on the state land we hunt this year- noisy,late,inconsiterate,riding thier wheelers in the "no motorized vehich area" and at all hours of the day.

[Hines R]

I hunted 5 days in the farmland by the Red River in the Northwester part of the state. It's interesting that the first morning we will see probably around 8 deer apiece. My buddy passed 10 bucks opening morning. One of them was definitely a shooter but he's waiting for something to put on the wall.

As the season goes on are numbers drop significantly. Our season just changed 2 years ago to the longer zone 2 season. We thought it would be great in that we could stay in the stands hunt during the week and see more deer after the deer got over the shock of opening weekend. I usually now hunt rifle through Wednesday.

What we've found though is that the deer just hunker down and don't move much after the initial weekend. They stay in the area's they are in during the week. With no other hunters out knocking them around we probably see about 20% as many deer after opening weekend.

I'm starting to debate on hunting the opening weekend, and then going back for a couple of days of Muzzleloader. Logistically it's hard to go back for the Muzzleloader season because of a place to stay and all of that stuff.

Ryan

[eyecrosser2000]

First year since 1997 I didn't get a deer. First year since 1987 that my Dad or I didn't get a deer--that includes those tough seasons after the brutal winters in '96 & '97.

I know there were plenty of deer in the area--trail cameras showed multiple bucks and doe groups from mid-September right up through the opener. But, it is still deer hunting and definitely a right place/right time thing, especially in the woods we hunt. There are no specific feeding or bedding areas and little, if any, hunting pressure.

My season was marked by these outstanding moments: a quick look at the rump of a deer going into thick popples on opening day; a deer that walked 15 yards from my stand, right in my boot tracks (light dusting of snow) while I checked out another stand for about 45 minutes; a deer across the slashing in some thick buck brush that I just could not get to hold for a good shot at 175-200 yards--always had the deer in the scope, but not the vital area; and, finally, the coupe de grace--a nice buck that came through a nice shooting lane on the last day while I was unstrapping my portable ladder stand and my gun was on the ground.

Oh well, a hungry dog hunts harder--and, after this year, I'm starvin'

[MikeYager - Suzuki]

I personlly believe deer numbers are nothing compared to what they used to be and I dont like it. Allowing hunters to shoot multiple deer per season has ruined many areas in my opinion. I'd rather go back to doe permit lottery in many areas instead of the slaughter house rules currently in effect.

[jltimm]

Yeah, I wish we could do something different as I don't see it getting any better and only worse? Maybe 2-3 deer a person? Move the rifle season to the third or fourth weekend of Nov.? Earn a buck program? Something has got to change.

[Mark Christianson]

How did the plots grow jltimm?

If they grew some, do they show signs of animals having ate in them, or eating it now??

Do you have any trail cameras?

I know for a fact we have deer. Plots are eaten, trail cams show deer present. Impossible to say beyond a shadow of a doubt, if there are more or less deer than years ago, or if the last few years lack of luck is more related to nocturnal only movements.

I dunno. I am cornfused and frustrated to a degree too man.

[jltimm]

The plots grew fairly well for the DRY summer and spring we had. The clover did good in lowspots (where it actually got water). I had anywhere from 1-6 deer at a time in the plot up until 1 month into bow season, then it was sporatic deer sightings. I did manage to shoot the only adult doe I saw all season the 1st Mon. of rifle opener. Now my wife says it is her plot, and I'm not allowed to hunt it? I just got a trail camera this year, and it has been alot of fun using it. My neighbor (who's land joins mine) didn't get a deer this year, and it's been a loooong time since that has happened to him. It just gets frustrating as a guy puts alot of time and effort into hunting and has not much to show for it.

[slick814]

Could it be the area that you're hunting is full of hunters?

Private land or not, if you have limited space and too many guys in the woods, just the shooting on openeing weekend will drive the deer to deep hiding and a more nocturnal lifestyle. SOunds like you're doing a good job with managing the herd as much as you can. Maybe it was just a couple of off years. Things'll get better.

And now if I may rant about an earlier post in this thread...

To be honest, I have a hard time with statements like

Quote:

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First year since 1997 I didn't get a deer

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and

Quote:

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Oh well, a hungry dog hunts harder--and, after this year, I'm starvin'

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Dude, welcome to the world I live in...

I've had many years where I didn't even see a deer, much less have a shot. I got my first one in 10 yearsthis season... and that's not an exaggeration, believe me, I wish it were. It's been a lean decade for me. I

t isn't always about getting one. That's nice, but believe me, sometimes the fates just ain't on your side.

Things happen.

You get busted by one when you adjust a little to get a better shot.

Your left foot stepped in something on the way out to your stand and smells funny.

For whatever reason things didn't work out. You go back the next season and work that much harder. You move your food plot to an area that works better for your property. You move your stand.

You do whatever it takes... and things work out.

But PLEASE don't complain about not getting one for the first time in years... or how tough it is not to get one. How frustrating, whatever.

It's supposed to be a challenge, to be difficult. If it was supposed to be easy, everyone would do it.

[eyecrosser2000]

Wasn't complaining, Slick--just adding my two cents to the thread which seemed to have a theme of sharing some of the misses instead of the gots. By the way--I don't hunt food plots, so I can't move 'em.

[slick814]

I don't hunt food plots either..I hunt thick brush, swamps, ridges between swamps, wherever we're finding the deer. Mostly on the ground, very little stand time.

That part of the post was meant more for jltimm... he mentioned food plots on his land.

Sorry if you took offense, though.. I was only trying to say that not getting a deer for the first time in such a long time isn't all that bad. If it was, I would've given up a while ago.

There's a million reasons that the deer don't come around, and it's never a guaranteed thing. We just need to learn to enjoy the hunt, the chase, the actual being in the woods. Harvesting a deer is the reward, not the reason to go, in my opinion.

I feel that after such a long drought, I've become a better hunter, and less of a shooter, to use a statement I've heard before, and now read that Bud Grant said something along those lines. I see more in the woods than I did before, and I feel more comfortable there than I once did because of it. I only hope that we are passing those kinds of things on to our kids, not the mentality that a season is a failure if we don't harvest something.

[UdeLakeTom]

I had an article earlier about this being a frustrating year. All the signs were there, the stands are in the right spots..etc. The only buck I saw was sent my way by the aid of 2 dogs running loose. I missed him and then vacated the area figuring with all the ruckus, nothing would be coming thru. My nephew left his stand about an acre away heading back to camp at dusk. He came close to the area I missed the buck at and saw 2 white flags waving at him out of gun shot range. I out thought the deer. Maybe that is why it is called hunting.

[Hammer Handle]

In our area, there is many more hunters than in the past. Also, many of the hunters have their "towers" in the middle of fields. Also, our land is strange as some is in a rifle zone...and some is in a shotgun only zone.

The deer appear to be in the woods and only running at night once season opens. They don't go out to the towers. I think they learn to avoid these. The shotgun only area is getting more and more deer.

The neighbors will call us and ask "Making any drives?" They want us to scare the deer out of the woods. But, we are already filled or close to it.

Our habitat in the woods is great for wildlife and is getting better every year. That means, more deer in the woods. That can also mean, less deer for some of the people around us...I am not sure.