My guess would be that you are lacking a good quality food source on your property and/or a good bedding area.

This time of year deer are slaves to their stomachs more than any other time of the year. They will travel long distances to seek out the best food available and once they find it they will stay very close to it.

Think of a beautiful bean field in the summer. The field will fill up night after night with deer. Just because the deer are there then doesn't mean they will stay after the beans are harvested or after they dry out. Those large groups of deer will not be seen in that field at other times of the year. They will disperse and seek new food once the beans are no longer the best food source. The same is true, and even more pronounced, in the winter.


Also a lot of the cover that was available in the summer and fall has now succumb to winter and been knocked down. That means that areas that use to provide good cover may no longer be preferred bedding area's.

If you are lacking good food and good cover than you can expect the deer to leave. The good news is that they will be back again next year because you obviously provided them with a good home range this year if they were that heavily located on your ground.


Don't forget also that the number of deer alive right now is the lowest it will be all year. A good portion of the population was just wiped out by hunting season.



EDIT: I just realized that you are down in SC so the effect that winter has on the deer is probably alot less than it is for us up here in Michigan.