MC Bowhunter

I was just thinking the other day that when I started hunting deer 30 years ago if we saw a couple deer a year that was a good season. And if you got a shot you really did something!Now days it's not uncommon for us to go out and see 100 deer a day in some areas we hunt. Just wondering for some of you other guys that have been hunting a long time what changes you have seen over the years?

Darrall

StrutNtom

A deer is an amazing creature.

I've seen almost the entire state of South Carolina be devestated by the timber industry. Raped of all of it's natural forests only to be replanted in nothing, but pines. Its a wonder we have a single deer left in the state.

GMMAT

I grew up on a tobacco and cattle farm in rural NC. I was never a deer hunter growing up.....but I can honestly tell you that from the time I was bron until the time I went to college.....I could count the number of deer I EVER saw on one hand.

Now.....I see them, daily....and averaged seeing 7, from stand, each sit, last year.

The whitetail deer population in NC has grown 450% since 1977.

MC Bowhunter

Well Jeff 1977 was about the first year I went out hunting. The number of the deer you see is a great example of the explosion of the deer herd since that time.

Darrall

cptleo1

There are definitely way more deer now than there were in the early 60's.

One of the farms I hunt on in Ohio the farmer is a Grey beard and he told me in the 60's if they saw a deer track they would call the family members and they would get on the deer often with dogs and stay with it till they got it , often for several days.

He also says they should have done it with coyoteswhich have spread as fast as the deer have.

In Fl we had some sort of biting fly that would get on new born fawns and kill em within a day.

The Alabama Black belt had some big ones back in the day, but not that many deer in total.

Now they have tons of deer- but, the big ones are a little harder to find.

Talondale

Same with turkey. I didn't see my first wild turkey until maybe around '86. Now I'll see 20-25 together on that same farm. Hunted that same farm for years without killing a deer and rarely seeing any (mostly because I was a terrible hunter). Now I see many deer and have killed some nice ones. I've hunted areas that I have seen literally 100 deer on one day (some were obviously repeat sightings but couldn't be certain). Much more common.

sloth

Deer do very well in pine forests. Here in Northwest Nebraska we have a pretty large pine forest and a pretty large deer population....we also have very wide open prairie as well.

Javabird17

My other half wants to chime in.. compared to ? 20 yrs ? ago.. tons LESS.... You used to see 50 - 60 deer in a pinch..Now you're lucky to see 5- 6

Rob/PA Bowyer

PA old time thinkers are whining just the opposite. In some areas that may be true, others no no no. PA's estimation is still in upwards of over a million animals, it's never been that way in the "olden" days.

Huntermann

They did a study once. I forget who exactly it was. They took 5 deer and in 5 years there were over 300 deer that resulted of that 5 deer.

They are prolific no doubt. I remember seeing my first white tail. A dead doe that had been hit by a car I was about 12 (mid 70's). Once after that a couple of years later I saw 4 together (doe and fawns). They indeed have been steadily increasing in numbers ever since. And since I just hit a doe with my Durango about 3 weeks ago at 11:00 mid day, I cannot hardly stop in time to dodge all the deer I have been seeing. This year it seems I am a magnet for them, at least for my vehicles. Hopefully this magnetism will continue through out hunting season...