A question on late season strategy....
Here's the situation.We hunt some (kinda) big woods (2 miles X 3 miles). No fields, no farmland etc and early in the season we were seeing deer. Mostly does but still a few bucks. Of the 4 of us in our camp, 3 have tagged (all bucks, during M/L and rifle season) and they were the only bucks we saw. Hunter #4 is still trying to fill his rifle tag.
It seem like not much has changed in these woods. The old srapes have not been touched and no new rubs either. The food source (acorns) seem to be mostly everywhere in the woods, the sign of a good mast crop.
Sooo, we now have 3 bow hunters and 1 rifle hunter still hunting these woods. The deer population is about 10-12 deer per square miles and the hunting pressure is very light. To us, typical NH hunting.
Based on previous years, we know the deer shouldstill be in that same piece of woods but seeing them is now the concern. We have abandoned our favorite spots somewhat, hoping to find the deer innew areas within these woods. All to no avail. It seems the deer are no where to be found...The weather has been unseasonably warm and windy but now looks like colder weather is here. Even when the weather was warm/wet and windy, we still tagged 3 deer.
One last thing...we have been hunting this piece of woods for years and we know these woods like the back of our hands. Deer sign is the same as usual (light) and we usually shoot deer where there is little sign. Knowing where they like to travel has been our "trump card".
What are we doing wrong? Is weather the big factor? Should we go back to basics? Have you had similar eperiences? Any suggestions?