Sunday the 19th deer ===

Count your blessings. I haven't seen a deer in 5C in the past month. They haven't bothered my garden all summer and they aren't eating my apples or chestnuts.

And how many would you find an acceptable number ?

I guess MM, if the one was a buck you saw in 20 hours of hunting, some would say it was "good hunting"...WF.[ not me]

huntable property for dr trout all others say out

ORIGINAL: deerfly

I don't keep a log so I can't give you an accurate number of the deer I see in 5 or 10 hours of hunting, but I do know that in 2008 I hunted 9 days during rifle and saw a total of 5 deer and most of them were fawns. Although I got a buck last year it was the only deer I saw the first day of rifle and I didn't have an opportunity to harvest an adult doe during the rest of the season. Over the past 3 or 4 years I'd say I was averaging 10 deer total during rifle season.

I really don't have a specific number of deer sightings that would be acceptable. All I want is a reasonable expectation of seeing a legal deer while on stand and that no longer exists in our area. During archery you can sit day after day on prime crossings and not see a deer and during the off season I check for tracks at those crossings and quite often there are only one or two sets of tracks in a week. When there is so little activity in the off season , you can be sure there will be even less during the hunting season. I am at a point where I hunt deer because it is what I have been doing for 54 years, not because I believe I have a reasonable chance of harvesting a deer. I probably would have quit by now if my wife ,sister and sister -in-law didn't hunt with me. Now I have my 13 yr. old niece in our group so I won't be carrying a weapon when I hunt with her or driving for the other members in our group.

That's pretty bad. I'd be relocating. I understand it's your property but I'd start questioning my time spent there.

I average one deer every four hours. It gets better as end of October nears. I'd like to get it to one every two hours. With the amount of acorns this year, the size of the area, and the lack of deer, not sure that's possible.

Looking back on last archery season I saw about 4 deer per sit on average. Of those deer, I think I saw 12 different bucks. I hunted a couple fridays and saturdays.

During rifle I hunted on the first day and the first friday. I saw roughly 50 deer and 8 bucks in that time span, one of which I ended up killing.

As I reported before.. I average a 4 hour hunt and see 1 deer per hour ...
which to me is pretty good... considering I am not "deep in the woods"..

ORIGINAL: Esox_Hunter

ORIGINAL: griffon

I saw 15 in 2 1/2 hours on Saturday...

Any of them take a dirt nap ?


I may get out on Saturday evening if it's not too warm.

 
Yeah, one of the bigger does did not make it out of the hole.  Hellraiser did it's job and she went about 30 yards.  I posted a pic in one of the below threads...

off your back pourch. that's nice

HUH ??????????????

The figures I quoted come from my journals since 2002. The first five of those years include my archery hunting and that was rarely done "here at home" so those averages are for hunting in this area of 2F.. not just my back yard..

I usually hunt a total of about 5 places during rifle season now ... and when I archery hunted I had about 6 other places... so the deer per hour comes from about 11 different places yearly.. and they changed from year to year too. since living here I'll bet I have hunted over 400 different spots at one time or another..

Heck I counted 34 deer coming from work last night and that drive took 11 minutes... and included private property (open) Clear Creek State Forest, SGL#54 and posted property.. half those were on grounds open for hunting..

the 5-8 I feed during the winter really does not come into play, as I mentioned the other day in a field 400 yards away there were 13 one night last week and "my 5-8" are not part of those...


This thread started with a photo of 11 in one field that is open with permisson ,except to the Amish....


sorry you choose to think because I feed 5-8 deer all winter that that is what I am basing my "Lots of deer around this area" on... it's not .... it's what I see and what I hear about the number of deer in this area..


BTW.. what's the difference in baiting a spot for cameras and then hunting that area... sounds the same as feeding deer in the winter and then hunting that area to me ?????

Not everyone would consider your method hunting

So if I plant my pasture in corn or make it a food plot then hunt here you do not consider that hunting ?????? interesting...

so feeding deer from Xmas until May Day then hunting in the general area (1/4 mile away)6 months later is not hunting ????? interesting...


or baiting deer for pictures and then hunting in that area where a nice buck was showing up is not hunting ???? interesting..

I wonder what the guys who are posting trail cameras pictures think of that statement ????

I will not believe for 1 minute many of them will not be hunting the area a nice buck showed up on camera at ... I have even heard some say they "targeted" a particular buck that showed up... but you say that is not hunting ??? interesting ...

just what do you call hunting... ???

going to an area that has no food to attract deer... deer have not been fed or baited --
you have no prior knowledge on if there are deer there or not .. if that's hunting -- no wonder so many are complaining about no deer...........

Not everyone would consider your method hunting or representive of actual averages under normal hunting conditions.

I think the words "somewhat jealous" comes into play more that what I am doing is not hunting... I am sure some wished they were as blessed as I have been in being able to live , hunt, and fish in an area like where I live....

I'm guessing at the 400... OF COURSE.. but I bet I'm not off by many either way..

for example in 2003 (just a random selected year) I hunted 12 different locations...
and only 2 of those were places I hunted last year and naturally in the hemlocks was one of them...


so that's about 10 different places a year and I started hunting here in 1960 .... last years I used only 5 places... but that was due to weather more than anything esle.. I was having a hard time draging myself out in the cold after filling 2 tags..

so I feel safe in saying 400.... heck when my friend came from Harrisburg I showed him about 20 places to hunt at clear creek (DMAP 313) in just three hours and that was only about 30% the places I have hunted there over the years and he selected 4 or five to scout the next day and saw deer at them....

but if you want to count SGL#54 as one.. no matter where I go there, and clear creek is just one... and SGL#44 is just one and the ANF is just one... and behind my house is just one then maybe it is not 400.... but if I hunt here today and move a half mile away tommorrow I call that two different places...

I forgot to say most are only a couple hundred yards from the road... thus not the best buck spots...

I'm hoping this will be the year... if not a crossbow for sure for next year !!!!

You said you have hunted over 400 places since moving there but you have also posted the following that suggests either you are mis-remembering or are one hell of an outlaw.

BUT fact is ...

I moved here in 1987 and I have harvested a total of 28 deer here in Polk or Spring Creek Townships..
18 of my them in "the hemlock grove" a couple hundred yards behind the house and BEEN HOME by noon...
thus the 11:00 o"clock stuff...

I have harvested 5 does on the first day in the hemlocks out of the past 7 years (02-09) I was able to hunt there .. and last year I promised to passed on does the first day while in there... could have but passed or it would be 6 out of 7 years...

I've harvested in either Polk or spring creek townships for 21 years since moving here...

here's the break down ====

SEASON - RIFLE - ARCHERY
1987 - DOE - N/A
1988 - 5 PT - N/A
1989 - DOE - N/A
1990 - DOE - N/A
1991 - DOE - N/A
1992 - DOE - N/A
1993 - SPIKE - N/A
1994 -DOE - N/A
1995* - DOE - -- first year archery hutning
1996 - DOE - ---
1997 - 7 PT - DOE
1998 - 6 PT - DOE
1999 - DOE - DOE
2000 - 7 PT - ---
2001 - DOE - SPIKE -
2002 - DOE - ---
2003 - DOE - ---
2004 - DOE - ---
2005 - 2 DOE - ---
2006 - 2 DOE N/A last year archery hutning
2007 Heart Surgery No Deer Hunting
2008 - 2 DOE - N/A
2009 - 2 DOE N/A


so actually you are right I mis-remembered... counting last year I have harvested 30 deer in 22 years of hunting since moving here... and 18 of them have been behind the house...

I have have no doubt I will harvest two this season... one of which will be in the hemlocks...


OKAY.. I have hunted a TON of places around here.. that's better

As I have said so many times lately.. I see it every time I stop to get a picture...

years ago I could get the video camera and film them for 5 minutes or more.. now it's all I can do to get a picture before they take off ... others have mentioned noticing the exact same thing around here. Appear to be less tolerate of autos and people as a whole...a.k.a. SMARTER ...