Disappointing first season

[Cowboy_Dan]

This year I made my first try for a deer. I only made it out made it out two days, but there was nothing to be seen. I'm begining to wonder if the area was overhunted or if my technique was bad.

First day, Monday after opening weekend, my brother and I get to the woods at 6 am. As we are signing in at the ranger station, we notice that there were over 200 hunters on the sheet from the previous day. We go to an area that no one had indicated they were hunting (as per the sign-in sheet) and found a natural blind on a ridge. We waited a while and didn't see anything. After about an hour, we did some moving. About every quarter mile we would find a new natural blind and set up for about an hour, still nothing. I was using a call I had bought used at a local gun show occasionally. Nothing showed up and nothing made a noise in response. We headed home just before dark. Only heard a handful of shots while we were out.

I went out by myself the Wednesday of that week. That morning, as I was signing in, I met an old timer and asked if he had any advice for a first-timer (I know, I shoukd have asked here first), and he pointed me to an area near where we had hunted on Monday. Said he had seen a group of bucks in the velvet in that area weeks before (he is a local) so I headed out that way, even though it was fairly close to where I was on Monday. I took my climbing stand with me that day. That turned out to be a mistake. The area didn't have any trees (that I could find before sunup) which I could climb into with it. I attached the platform to the bottom of a spruce and used it as a chair for the morning. Nothing. I had lunch in my car to get out of the wind when it hit me that the deer may have the same idea. So that afternoon I hunted the woods south of where I had sat on my stand. I saw several people's (unoccupied) ladder stands. Every one I found, I would wait near it. Finally got to a swamp near sundown, almost got bogged down and had to give up for the day. Used my call just like the other day. This day the only shots I heard were in five shot groups, so they were probably coming from the range on the property.

So, what's the verdict, bad technique or were all the deer hiding from hunting pressure? I am considering giving it one more try in muzzleloader season, but I haven't made up my mind yet.

[Cornbread]

Man I have been hunting white tail for 28 years now and I get a lot of deer but even I have days like that.

Sometimes you go to your best areas and they just aren't there or it's too crunchy and they can hear you coming and no matter how long you sit and rattle or call or just sit they don't come back around. The best advice I can give you is something the old indian fella who taught me to make arrows once told me: "you can't kill a deer if you aren't in the woods".

That's the honest truth, I put in a ton of time scouting and I spend 25 - 30 days a year from sunup to sundown in the field, and that doesn't include scouting days earlier in the year. I save all my vacation for the year and take about 3/4 of it from the beginning to end of November. There are days in that stretch where I won't see a deer or elk all day long and other days I'll see over 100 in a day.

You have to get out there, be quiet, sit still for long periods of time(2-3 hours minimum) and spend time watching a good area and don't come out until after dark. I would say by all means do the muzzle loader hunt and get more time going after them.

[dragon813gt]

Monday after opening weekend means they weren't moving. Opening day is on a Monday here. They aren't back into somewhat normal patterns until Thursday. It's called hunting for a reason. I know it's disappointing but don't give up.

Since you're hunting public land it's going to be hard after opening day. Either get out opening day and let others push deer towards you. Or do a lot of scouting in advance. Find the densest nastiest place that they frequent. Most hunters won't go into these areas. That's where you want to be.

[C. Latch]

Throw away the deer call. Find some private land to hunt.

[ChristopherO]

Persistence pays off. You won't learn the habits of deer unless you spend time where they live. Put the call away for now. Keep sitting, listening and learning. Walk a little and look much. Appreciate the environment because that is the most important reason you are hunting. Rarely is hunting an instant gratification endeavor but at times it can become one of the highest forms of satisfaction you may ever experience. Anything worth pursuing takes more than two days to learn, or it isn't worth the effort.

[Boyscout]

One of your biggest mistakes was moving too much. If you were in a spot which funnels deer, you should have stuck it out unless the wind changed out of your favor. Still hunting can be effective but it is a skill set most of us are too impatient to learn.

I have had most of my success mid-morning to early afternoon when deer are pressured. I stay put and let other hunters push them to me during the gun season. Pre-season scouting can give you the confidence in your stand selection. Be aware, however, that things change quickly from early bow season to the opening of gun. Don't be afraid to sacrifice some hunting time to do some "power scouting." Study topo maps for saddles, benches and other deer funneling terrain. Then go check them out quickly. Deer will tolerate you crashing through and leaving more that your sneaking and peaking acting like a predator.

[Friends call me Pac]

Nothing like time in the woods to learn how to hunt. I have no idea how many deer I have killed over the last 40 years. Has to be somewhere between 50-100 easy. Even after hunting successfully for years I once went 36 days straight without seeing a deer. Sometimes it's like that. If you can find a mentor that will really help.

I hunt public land too. Best advice for that is look for the places nobody wants to go to. Might be because of thickets, water or long travel. hunting public land is tough but doable. I killed these deer on public land last year.

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[monge]

No two years are the same some years they drop easy others take more work. Some are dry of venison! Time in the woods are watching your game are great teachers deep breathes help with deer fever!. We're clean clothes dress warm and stay put. The deer will come and you will drop one just don't give up we all have low hunting days.

[Jeff Michel]

A patient hunter is a successful hunter. If you can focus on enjoying the experience of the hunt, try to learn what deer do for a living. Where they like to hide, eat, what they do to avoid contact with other things that wish them harm (that would be you) and stick with it, if it was like hunting cows, deer would of been extinct a long time ago. They are smart and even the best hunter comes up empty handed. The neighbor boy has been hunting deer for the last five years, might of seen two the whole time. That boy had earned the right to be discouraged, never did stop trying and this year it paid off. His Dad took him on a youth hunt a week ago and he bagged a doe the size of a mule. He instantly forgot all those times he didn't even see anything. Don't let it get you down, just think how pleased you'll be when you do get one, there's nothing like it.

[Thumbcocker]

"I hunt public land too. Best advice for that is look for the places nobody wants to go to. Might be because of thickets, water or long travel. hunting public land is tough but doable. I killed these deer on public land last year."
[/QUOTE]

Very solid advice. No deer were ever killed in the truck or the coffee shop. My rule on calls is don't use them unless you see the deer to gage his reaction. Use the hunting pressure to your advantage. Get comfortable in the woods. Get the mindset that I am having a good day in the woods and if I get a deer it will be a bonus. Don't move around a lot. Scout your ground and pick your spot and stay put. The further away from the road the less pressure there will be.


Also find a place where you can watch deer. Get used to seeing them and how they act at different times of the year. Get used to seeing pieces of deer and not the whole critter. You will eventually get a sense of when an area feels "deery" trust your gut on that. The hunting shows have the luxury of editing out the hours of nothing moving or having a squirrel try to stare you down. I am totally self taught and never deer hunted until I was 25. Keep at it and don't give up. Find some folks who know hunting and listen to them. A good hunting story has a lot of valuable information in it and don't be afraid to ask questions. You can do this.

[Mica_Hiebert]

If i only spent 2 days in the woods I would expect to have very little success you get out of hunting only what you are willing to put in... I have prety decent success hunting deer on private land doing day hunts usually 4 or 5 times a year but i did not have that kind of success with elk i got tired of getting skunked so i started dedicating a week a year to elk hunt living in a wall tent smack in the midle of where i will hunt them and i am out hunting any time there is legal shooting hours and it made me allot more succesfull hunting elk.

[leeggen]

the hunt is not always about getting a deer. Enjoy the woods, the birds, the dang noisie squirels, and the fresh air. As you learn to enjoy nature the deer just seem to come by. Most people I know that begin hunting takes about 2 to3 years to get their first deer. You have to learn what to look for, deer in the woods don't seem to look like the one standing along the road. They blend in very well and are color cordnated as to grassland, tree thickets and so on. Give yourself time to learn what deer already know, how to be quiet!.
Good luck next time and don't give up.
CD

[s mac]

All good advice here, remember it's called deer hunting, not deer killing.

[OnHoPr]

First of all, you got out there. This isn't a video game. Second, if it is your first time or even your first year you have many things to learn and SENSE grasshopper. A lot of these guys that are consistently shooting deer on public land have 20 years on the books with close to a 100 hours in field per year doing so just for rifle season.

Third, (if hunting on moderately pressured public land) you will have to disregard most of what you read in deer hunting magazines about deer sign like scrapes and rubs, etc Most of that literature is from private land or BIG public land where you can get away from the many. It may be more wise to scout the deer hunters themselves more than the deer.

Fourth, if it is pressured public land where it seems where you were hunting the first two days hunker down and stay allllllll day. Later in the week you may find a deer getting a little more leisure, but you still have to put your hours in regardless even on the not so great days. If your in IN and the public land is somewhat smaller like 10,000 acres, for example, check what the farmers are growing around the area even for two miles outside the area. Farmers rotate their crops from year to year, so this may have a bearing on what might be happening inside the PL. Find where deer are moving and find a funnel zone and stay put. Calling once in a while sometimes can effective in the later season on those types of lands. But, when you have 200 hunters out there the first few days of season sounding like a grunting chorus the deer will learn reeeeeallll quick. Nastier days may be more productive on those types of PLs. Maybe try to stay on the outside edges of the PL land or find the bigger thick stuff. Deer may be pushed into the thick stuff with pressure, but will get up to stretch their bones so to speak, but they won't mosey far and will stay in the thick stuff unless pushed until dark.

There is all kinds of public land, National Forest, State Forest, BLMs, Timber Lands, State Leases, State Game or Wildlife management units, etc. etc. They range from 40 acres to 1,000,000 acres, so that there are many different tactics for each. You have many hours yet grasshopper, but then there is the greenhorn that borrowed a shotgun and never even shot it really that goes out and sits in a lounge chair with a fanny pack full of Twinkies and while taking a piss after drinking a 64 oz bottle of Mountain Dew a four point comes walking through the woods about 30 yards and he blast it and doesn't even know how to field dress it on the first day.

For me the first five years of hunting heavily hunted public land 0 deer and two misses, herky jerky fast. The last five years of hunting heavily hunted public land 13-15 (somewhere in that area, when you get to my age memory might be a problem. lol) deer with one missed good racked buck running through brush at 100 yds by about an inch (one portion of reason was slow moving low BC bullet in 9 mph winds) while calling and rattling on PL the 2nd week. Doe came slowly running behind me and I turned and yelled at her to get her to stop so I could kill her and seen the other deer that was behind her that veered off and I picked a slot in the brush about 3' wide and took a shot. Getting old, back 20 years ago I might of killed both of them, slow is smooth smooth is fast. Now I'm getting to walker speed.

[Djones]

Indiana's opening day was on a Saturday for firearms season. Thursday and Friday were two of the windiest days of the year. The deer didn't move at all Thursday or Friday. Saturday comes along and it is a nice calm day. Deer were moving every where looking for hot does and for some food. After getting shot at all day Saturday I noticed much lower numbers on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Like was previously mentioned the amount of pressure the deer see during opening day definitely messes with their schedule.

Hit it hard again this weekend during the muzzleloader season and again during late antlerless. Leave your calls at home get in the stand about an hour before shooting time. Stay in your stand longer than your neighbors and you will see some deer. Oh and enjoy the peace and quite!

Good luck

David

[nannyhammer]

This year I’ve been running a spreadsheet to track hours I’ve spent in the woods and deer that were seen on each trip. So far I’m averaging one deer for approximately each six hours spent in the woods. Doesn’t sound bad unless you look at the big picture…..to date I’ve seen deer on only eight of the 35 trips I’ve taken to the woods which means 27 dry runs. Out of the 21 deer seen, nine were seen on the same day. So needless to say you have a lot of dry runs and near misses for every deer you see or get a shot at. Public land is tough but can be done.

[Wolfer]

I've been deer hunting for very near 50 years. It's still not unusual for me to hunt several days without seeing a deer. It's also not extremely unusual to see multiple deer on a given day.

When I'm in a dry spell I always know that if I keep going I will connect sooner or later.

All of the above advice is good.
I hunt public land 90% of the time. Mostly in a grown up river bottom that is so thick 30 yds is a pretty long shot. It will also be a shot at part of a deer as you won't be able to see the whole deer at once most of the time.
Most of the local boys won't hunt this bottom because it's so brushy. It is where the deer go when the pressure is on though.

When you first start hunting you want to shoot a deer. As you get more experience you start to realize it's all about the hunt, getting a shot is just a bonus.

I can assure you that if you stay with it success will come eventually.

[theleo]

As far as tactics go, I can't offer you any advice. I'm a western guy that chases mule dear when I can, but mostly elk, and have never even killed a white tail. What I will say is that there is a learning curve to hunting and you need to give yourself some time to learn it. Two days in the field isn't very long at all. If I had two days hunting for a season, I would not consider it a failure by not seeing any animals. I'd consider a success because I wasn't at home or work. A two day slump is common enough that I wouldn't let it phase me.

Get out there and figure you're learning deer hunting with a chance of getting some meat, rather than thinking anybody body can go out there and get one. Consistent success takes years, give yourself a break and don't judge your season on only two days of hunting.

[toallmy]

One if my best days out I sat in my stand and watched a cuppel fox pups play like pups in the grass .sorry I cant tell you more about your style of hunting ' am hunting eastern VA. small fields ' but all above post are on the monney. Put the time in and enjoy the time. It could be worse you could have got one then you feld dress it drag it out skin it let it breath out then process it . Your a luckey man got to spend some time in the woods. All the days hunting are good days. Keep at it.

[atr]

Opening day was quiet for me also. Not a deer to be seen. I usually see many hanging but not this year. 1 week prior to opening day I spotted white tail and mule deer does, 1 nice 2 pt mule deer and one very nice 4 pt. mule deer. Come opening day a week later....zip...
atr

[OnHoPr]

Then there is another scenario. For example, a county that I lived in and been hunting a bit since '72 I have only killed one buck and a few does in that county in over 40 years. With all the poaching from the locals and it happens to be one of the most heavily used cottage counties in MI since it is the closest National Forest to Detroit and Flint who's people threw fire bombs in the factories to get jobs in back in the '20s and '30s, and they have many questionable tactics. Then you got the republicans in this state that want to kill off all the deer because their Insurance PAC buddies don't want to pay for car/deer accidents. But, they will still promote pictorially and on the stump of their good management right along with the Prius dems. This state has lost 50% of their hunting licence revenues in the past 20 years with a lot of factories closing and springing up bed pan services. They have increased the number of types of seasons though and this year increased license fees over double to support the bureaucracy and to keep funds moving around the state for tourism because of so much National and State Forest, so state economics comes into play which promotes this type of tourism, but is backdoor diminishing the overall hunting experience at least for deer. Then there is the US government that is chopping down all the forest for revenue along with some deeper plans. There are many venues in a wide spectrum for skullduggery. So, there are some places just not worth hunting for deer or other critters and you should look for a different area or take up another sport or activity. But, those types of activities might take a few years to grasp.

[Cowboy_Dan]

Thanks for the advice and reassurance. I guess I should have explained that the disappointment was with myself, and not with the hunt or time in the woods. I felt as though I did something wrong. But I find that other than being too impatient (in more ways than one) and spending too many hours at work (as a closing supervisor no less) to scout much ahead of time. What I need to do is to ingratiate myself to some local farmer closer than the public land which I can scout. That would probably be the most beneficial to me.

[leeggen]

I am now blessed with a great area to hunt on our own land, 150 acreas. On any day you can walk the drive and trail and see 5 to 20 deer feeding. I used to hunt public lands and my freind and I noticed that as tyhe huntes were leaving the woods we would see several deer moving then when the hunters started back into the woods for evening hunts we would see deer moving. Our best time to hunt was from 10:00 to about 3:00. Before and after that time we set on the tailgate and relaxed with our deer. What we did was to use the hunters already in the woods as drivers to push deer to us. It worked pretty good in the 6 years we hunted there we capped 10 deer, the first year was a bust. Sometimes you have to get inovative. We packed a lunch and set in the stands while the others were moving into or out of the woods. Hang in there it takes time to learn tyhe ways of the deer. One public area we huntedas soon as the hunters started driving their vehicles in the deer went and layed down and didn't move till after the weekend was over then they would get up and plunder all day. Yip they know when season opens by the amount of traffic in and out.
CD

[richhodg66]

I hunt exclusively on public land and kill at least one every year. Just got my second of the season this morning. My advice is get some scouting done, make an ambush plan (tree stand or ground blind) and then stick to it, don't move after an hour or two. I always try to get in a tree, but ground blinds are good too.

[Brotherbadger]

Being skunked sucks, but it happens to all of us. I went three seasons before I shot my first deer. You will learn a lot from your mistakes. I think the advice given here is very good. Find places that others will not go. Sometimes that's far away, sometimes it isn't.

A random tip, bring waders or knee high rubber boots. Most hunters won't cross water if they don't have to. The deer(older ones anyways) have figured this out as well. I promise you will see more movement if you cross the water, than if you don't.

[waksupi]

I think the biggest problem for most whitetail hunters, is they do not go slow enough. It is impossible to go too slow. Take one or two steps, and then study everything around you with binoculars. Start right when you leave your vehicle. It takes me well over a half hour to go 100 yards. Don't forget to look behind you. Every step you takes opens up something new to your view.
I've tried to teach people how to do it, had them follow me, and then put them in front to lead after awhile. It usually takes less than five minutes before they are so far ahead of me I have to throw a rock or stick at them to get there attention, and put them behind me again. If you are moving slow enough, it doesn't matter how dry and crunchy it is. If you aren't spotting bedded deer, you are going too fast.