rmjones, I think your problem is a simple one, with a simple solution. Just my opinion based on my experiences, but the biggest reson I see for guys having a lack of success where there's a lot of deer before the season, is overscouting. If you saw 10 bucks on the farm on Sunday, you probably spooked 10 bucks. Deer know you are a predator, and if all of the sudden they start seeing lots of people on the farm where they saw few all year, they're going nocturnal, or they're moving to another farm. I'd leave the acorns, scent dripper, portable blinds, ect at home. Do your scouting AFTER the season, over the winter. When I hunt a good spot, it's the first time I'vee been in there all year. If you have a farm capable of holding 10 bucks, you can safely assume there's going to be plenty of deer there every year. Why go in and spook the heck out of them just to get a look? Get a look opening morning after you shoot one. If someone goes in and walks around scouting one of my spots before I hunt there, I forget about it, and hunt somewhere else. No need at all to go into the woods all fall until the hunt, especially if you know the farm well, and nothing drastic, like timbering, changes anything. You're just shooting yourself in the foot. If it's your farm, I assume you know where the funnels are, where the fields are, where the bedding areas are, hang your stands over the summer, then stay out until opening morning. Go in with the wind in your face, to your stand, and you'll catch them off guard. Guys who aren't seeing deer in good areas are usually spooking them before they have a chance to hunt, IMO. Some guys who complain about seeing no deer are just hutning a bad spot, but that certainly doesn't seem to be the case with your farm. The more times someone walks into the woods, the less deer you'll see, that's a fact.


"In heaven, even the fish have antlers"