Openeing morning a heard ALOT but i think most of them were from the jack a$$es that go up and shoot like mad men to scare the deer off......

LOL, 11....

It's so funny....we were talking about "stopping deer" (BigJ's thread), the last couple of days....and I stated I'd only had a couple deer in my short hunting life run by. I had one run by, right underneath me, in the dark, this morning.

Only other sighting was a spike buck that hung around for about 10-15 minutes. That was worth the price of admission, though.

I usually county opening morning, but lose count about 1 hour into it. Then I just find myself making sure my head is behind the tree I'm sitting in [:-]. The first week is pretty brutal around here. After that it calms down A LOT, but the damage is already done. The colder and nastier the weather get, the less and less the hunters hit the woods and the deer are just starting to creep out during daylight hours again.

Curious to know what the difference in your area is between what you heard today as compared to your opening day of gun.

I usually hear 10-15 every time out , starting October 1.[:@]

The poaching is ridiculous around here.

Probably not that much. I counted 21 shots the ML opener. I don't recall counting for the rifle opener. I think Brknarrow(Frank) was here that day....and I don't recall it being anything our of the ordinary.

I have counted in the past while rifle hunting the first morning, but the past couple seasons I havn't been out so I couldn't say. I know that 3 years ago or so, it wasn't uncommon to hear around 100 shots an hour. Alot of this was comming from the SGL's near my property and were usually groups of 4 to 5 shots taken rapidly by a hunter at a running deer. The funny part was listening to when the first shots rang out, I have sat there in near total darkness waiting for the sun to come up and have heard the shots ring out. The only way that I could see this possible is from guys pulling up to their parking spots and keeping the lights on in their trucks, hoping out and shooting deer that were literally in their headlights.

One shot = dead deer.. Two shot= maybe but when I hear five shotgun blasts in 30 seconds I know the guy is shooting at tails and missing. Thats when you end up with three leggedor gut shot deerrunning around. Very sad!!

Maybe they're all coming from Gods Great Acre.

The difference here is it is an all out shooting spree with mass numbers of hunters in the woods the first week (first 2 days especially). After that first week it is pretty quiet except for the spattering of diehards on weekends. Speaking of which..... clothes are dry, kids are at b-ball practice and I'm off to the woods [8D].

I'm right behind you. I'll be in a tree by 2:30.

Good luck. Doe hunting, here.

Thanks, I will be sure to. He shot a yearling doe back there on Wednesday as well, she was on the small size, dressed out at 80 pounds. That yearling buck he shottoday I would put at 120 pounds dressed.

My brother is sitting back there now...

Everyone hunts behind the house but me.... I have yet to hunt my own land [8D]