Ever think I've had luck on your side? Well, I think I have the worst luck there is. Anytime I go into the woods I never see anything, I spray down with scent killer and be as quiet as possible. But, my dad goes up in work clothes in a noisy vehicle and always gets to see deer. On the other hand it took me 2 years to get a deer and it was in a field behind my house. I really think I either terrible at hunting, or just unlucky as can be. Why me?
Maybe you're just hunting in the wrong spots? Do you put much effort into scouting. You can't just walk into the woods to see deer...you gotta ask yourself what a deer needs/wants and go find it (food sources, water, cover, etc)
I doubt your are unlucky almost every time you go out? Sounds like you need to try something different.
I scout at food sources in the evenings when they feed. And they deer are not consistent in using trails.
Well, I routinely walk through the woods and I cannot see well beaten paths. Sure I see trails they've taken, but they're not beaten paths. I see a hoof print or to, but not consistently. If I could get a real pro in my neck of the woods maybe I would have more success but my 54 year old life long hunter of a dad said they don't really use trails. And I believe they don't, then again my WMU has a low deer density.
Low deer density may be a big part of your problem, but like others said.... get on the food/cover/water sources they are using and you will be on deer. Deer movement often changes with the availability of food and water during different times of the year. Summer feeding patterns will most likely will change drastically come fall and winter, so pay attention to that. Good luck and don't get discouraged. With effort, you will get on them.
In high pressure areas deer seldomly just stroll through the open woods, even does.... Seek out the thickest, nastiest stuff you can find and try hunting it a few times.
You are a little north of Carlisle right. How bad is the deer population out there? I never heard much complaining from out that way. When you see deer in the fields is it every night? How many? How big are the woods they come out of? Sometimes you can't expect to find "dirtbike" trails even if there are a lot of deer. Find where they bed, find where they eat. And spend as much time as you can in between using a good wind.
To make you feel better, when I started gun hunting it took me 7 years to get my first deer! That was with a gun! You are not the only one that struggled at first.
In my area sometimes the first 50 or so yds inside the woods line are scattered with faint trails BUT if you go a little deeper(100+ yds) sometimes those faint trails will merge into fewer but more traveled trails. Also keep in mind that "usually" those "beat to death" trails are from does. Sometimes during the rut, a buck may not even get all the way out into the field but will skirt it just inside the woods line(maybe first 50 yds or so) so he can scent check the does while staying in cover. If you are seeing multiple faint trails, try to find intersections or a main trail where they begin branching out to those more faint trails. It's all a learning event and it takes some time to learn how "your" deer are moving. Don't forget about WIND direction!! Showering and spraying down absolutely helps in my opinion BUT it is NOT a cure all.
seems the times i dont see anything (close) it makes me wanna hunt harder! stay longer, just makes me more dedicated. hang in there... the woods will reward you!
I hunt a couple spots very close to Shermansdale. There are deer around and they definitly use trails, just like every other deer. The more time you spend in the woods scouting and hunting, the better you'll get at patterning them. Do you hunt other areas or just stay on the same tract of land that you posted maps of before?
if you put your time in the woods you will start finding deer. like many of these guys have said you need to find their food and water sources. all animals need water. have you tried putting out any food source to bring the deer in...
Well, there is two soybean fields behind my house. Along one of the fields is the woods I hunt in. I'm not sure how big the whole woodlot is but we own 50 acres. Theres is two streams (one on our property) that run through the tract of land. I typically see one doe occasionally by that i mean maybe every couple of weeks or even a month or two. There is higher elevation spot on our property that leads to cliffs, that then leads to several logging roads to that leads to a barren hill called "the pipeline". There is no real heavy cover on our property its mainly just a 50 acres woodlot with lodging roads and a rye/clover field in the center of it. The times I go up there, its not windy. And yes, the deer density is not very high. But like any other gun season there is extremely high pressure on these deer. Typically the pressure comes from fields beyond a creek. But then again thats gun season, there is no where near the number of bow hunters as there is gun hunters. Hope I answered all of your questions.. Thanks, this really helps
It does not matter what your camouflage or scent control is like if you are in the wrong place in the woods. Deer are like any other animal they move in 20% of the woods 80% of the time. I think a lot of hunters have forgotten about woodsmanship. The old time hunters know what every tree, bush, grass, and berry was in their woods. We all know about what deer eat from manmade food sources. Do we know what the else the deer eat when they are in the woods? This is just one part of woodsmanship.
well said rut junkie,, also look at the terrain, deer will travel the path of least resistance, so if you have cliffs, look to see where they travel around the cliffs,to and from the bean fields,I would also glass the fields at dusk/night,and note where on average the deer ar entering the fields and start looking there, and dont get discouraged, thats why its called hunting not killing!
He does have experience, but I know more as far as biology goes cause I read about it constantly. And there is no way these deer are going up these cliffs, they're basically at a 90 degree angle.
exactly, they are walking around them, for sure if its 90 degrees. I would look along the bottom of those to start form and to the feeding areas,, why dont you put out a salt block or mineral site? at least you would have them coming to it, and get an idea of what is in there.
I am currently putting out corn, minerals and salt blocks do not work. The deer have let them go to waste. I know what is only my property, between 2-4 bucks and around 3 does and 1 fawn.
