This has been a very difficult season for me and the boys. I have seen a total of 5 deer from the stand. I think I have have about 7-8 sits. Only 2 of those sits produced sightings. I can't put my finger on it. Im not talking about bucks I am talking just deer in general. My cameras show some here and there and out of 4 cameras only one is showing deer in daylight the others show night time activity but very little. I have them on scrapes, water, tracks, close to bedding etc, whatever it is I can't put my finger on it. I found a spot last saturday that had everything a deer could want, there were hundreds of tracks all fresh, and had fresh dropping and a lone red oak dropping. I have had 2 does show up on camera since saturday. I hunted that stand saturday and saw 0. I hope things get better this coming week. It's going to be hot this weekend, 85 deg then it will cool down so hopefully I can get a shot at least at a doe. Good luck to yall!
I have a couple of small private spots here in nc and the deer were there in numbers last year. This year they have mostly vanished. No clue what changed.
acorns not dropping is part of it on some of my land. can't see them going anywhere else as there are no acorns at all around on any properties for miles.
Sounds like they moved to the hottest food source whatever that might be. Time to sacrifice hunting time for boots on the ground. Gotta locate them. Cover as much ground as possible and glass a lot. They have to be somewhere
I walked 11.5 miles Friday and 10.5 miles Saturday. Found a lot of sign, tracks, rubs and scrapes. Not sure what they are eating because i hunt in pines and cutovers. that's really all that is around for miles. what few oaks we have didn't drop. What I have seen has come out of the swamps. It's very dry here
I've been having an average season so far. But i'm also doing things completely different and hunting new spots almost every sit. I'm seeing deer almost every sit with the exception of I think 3 sits ( I've hunted about a dozen afternoons and one morning so far). The morning hunt I had, I thought for sure was going to be a good one, coldest air of the year and I drew a big fat zero. We have a metric crap ton of acorns all over the mountains and the deer just flat don't have to move a great distance to eat their preferred food source so I think its been a little slow because of that. They're so bad, that I actually found 3 that fell in my pack while up in the tree the other day. lol.
where I hunt, there is a bumper crop of acorns, havnt seen this many in years, which is a good thing for all the critters going into winter ... deer dont have to go far for food, unless they want corn or beans .. bring on the front and the colder weather !!
I've hunted through every type of season. Only thing I know how to do to offset a slow season is to keep pounding and hunting hard. This season has been really rough buck wise. I haven't gotten onto a single mature buck during season.
I am struggling to kill a doe. I zig and should have zagged it seems. Probably overthinking every thing at this point.
Sometimes we push hard and make all the logical and well thought moves on deer, and still can't connect. Keep at it man...next week looks awesome in VA
I've been out several times and not seen much in those sits. The corn being out is my number one problem right now. I don't have many acorns to hunt so they have to be in there. Also this is the first year for a long time where I don't have a big one to chase on camera by now. Discouraging but that can all change next week.
Next week is November. Everything will change around here. Like you Tony until the corn comes down it can be pretty quiet in the shooter buck department. VS I’m confident things will change for you soon. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
2 days till vac. #1 ... I'd love to kill a 100+lb doe Sat. ... then concentrate on a decent Buck for the rest of the season ... going to 18-24 degrees over night Tues/Wed. highs of 41 Mon. on if this holds true to the forecasts ... I trust 'em more 2-3 days out .. with that waterfowl opener Sat. that changes where I'll go in the AM ... drats ..
I found just a very small amount. That is what I look for most. problem is, they won't stay still and eat long enough to poop. they are moving and eating on browse which is everywhere in these cutovers and pines
Those woods you hunt have to be a challenge. I know its easy for an illinois midwesterner like me to say “boots on the ground” lol but id probably be crying walking those hills you hunt
