RE: 2.5yrs.....and a confession
I agree with what rybo said. Keep hunting but rotate your hunting areas. If you have a spot like the one you mentioned then slip in and kill a doe and hunt other areas for a week or so and then slip in and kill another one. that way you still get to hunt the spot and kill some does without over hunting and educating them and or letting them pattern you. Save your "honey holes" until the time gets right and then start spending your time there.