I sat in a stand yesterday at mid day from like 9:30-1:30....right after a hard morning rain.... Zero sightings.

I sat in a tree this AM from 6:30--11:00....Zero Sightings

I sat in a tree this afternoon from 3:00-6:45..... Zero Sightings

I think I got to cute about it all. I've been trying so hard to avoid where others are hunting that I've taken myself off the deer's daily routes. I put myself in a lot of deep and dark hidden away escape spots and no one is sending any deer my way. Back to the drawing board.

do you have significant pressure on your place at all during the year?

Come back to the Md and the zoo

LOL!!

Good luck David, I'm sure you'll get em figured out

david, i did the same last year. bowhunted the DEEP woods. over a mile from the parking lot every time...hunting away from hunters. hunting reliable rifle spots that are awesome bottle necks and such...

after a couple fruitless hunts i realized i have yet to see another hunter in the woods. realized that the majority of the oaks were 200yds from the parking spot. made walking in easy...but i hunted the areas bad and didnt do much leg work other than finding the oak ridge. got winded a couple times. who would thought they were come BETWEEN me and the parking lot? i could SEE my truck! lol.

you got lotsssss more expirience than i do....youll find the deer im sure.

im still kinda clueless when it comes to hunting the BIG woods. the state game lands i hunt here at school is over 10k acres...bordered by a large timber company that is huntable...the rest is ALL woods as well...huge tract(for its location atleast) hard to pin them down when they can eat anywhere...oaks everywhere..thickets everywhere else the bed and browse in...i will figure this big woods stuff out one day....rifle season used to be easy hunting...sit in a funnel and shoot the ones you wanted..couldnt even blink alot of times!

I have only seen one buck so far. I have not seen any does. My stand is right by a worn out path that has fresh tracks daily, etc. I am also positioned perfectly for wind direction. I think it just has been really slow.

A suggestion is to call the check in station and see how many deer have been arrowed. It may be slow in your particular area. I called a couple of days ago and the check in station has only had two does check in.

I hunt Friday evening, Sat morn and evening and Sunday morn. Saw three does. No bucks. Very hot. Sweat my butt off. Had rag to wipe brow then stuff in leaf suit. Nothing worked. Story that is too funny though. Sitting in ground blind and see movement to my left. See a 40# yearling walking toward the feeder about eight feet to my left. Think alright maybe mamma doe is right on this yearlings heals. Get set and out walks a 15# spotted fawn. My yearling WAS mamma doe. Started laughing in stand. I think that buck last season was a ped. She was tiny.

I have seen deer every day this week. Every one of them is still alive. A doe even stuck her head into my setup to check me out. Just because you don't see them doesn't mean they aren't out there, and just because you see them doesn't mean you get a shot. All you need is one to give you a decent shot and you can put Bambi down.

Oh yes, the place has some pressure. There's a group up the road that don't seem to worry about what season it is. If they see a deer and have a gun.... well gun season is open. I had a tree picked out a few hundred yards from the house. The other night I figured the deer were down in the fields. So in a light drizzle I set off at 9 PM to put my climber on the tree in the dark so I could hunt it in the Am. I got about 200yards from the spot(not carrying a light or anything) and I see this little red light coming towards me. I kept heading at it. When I got within 25 yards or so he got startled by my white shorts(it was hot) and turned the light white. This guy lives about 30 miles from here. He had parked up the road from my house about 1/4 mile at the house of one of the "GANG". He just wandered into the woods(he doesn't know exactly where he had been and not exactly sure how to get back where he started". Yup there's pressure. The night before I was at my friend Donnies. A rapping came at the door after a big downpour. There stands 2 bowhunters trying to find their way back to their car. A friend had told them where to park. They lived 45 miles from here. They had parked at a parking area on a major road in the area and crossed it to hunt as advised by a friend. They crossed at least4 pieces of private property to get to where they came out. There was some state land but they crossed 3 private farms and lands before they would get to it. They can't be much of bowhunters though. They had no stands and were 4 miles as the crow flies from their car. We gave them a ride back. Pressure???? A ton. If it isn't posted in NY you can hunt it.

Northcountry! -

I've got quite a few freinds in Camden - its a different world - northern & southern Teir - I'm sure you know.

Good luck to you this year Davidmil

FH