could be something as simple as the deer moving....when the cutting operations left thickets before, they may matured some and dont hold deer or as many deer...ive found that on my SGLs i hunt...besides the herd being reduced, the thickets matured over the years and hold less deer than they once did...

and your right...often times to see deer, it takes hunters in the woods to get them moving. one guy told us we couldnt drive his property anymore. no big deal...we got lots of places to push. but, he didnt see a deer ALL season. and last year he didnt either. in the back of his head he HAS to know that he only killed deer because we got them moving. he killed a biggun off one of our drives...due to ME...i set the shooters up wrong and one of the shooters sent the buck right to him instead of right to the shooters lol....he still told us no more hunting after that....whatever...his loss. we still kill deer...we make them move. cant sit around and wait in PA rifle season unless you got a large chunk of unpressured land...ive found it VERY tough to hunt when you got a little bit of pressure...i dont like seeing orange all over the place...but i know it will keep the deer on their feet...


neighboring properties could put a damper on the herd over the years youve been gone as well...but id bet theres still deer there....go in and walk around sometime when theres snow...