aldo88

There are times where I feel like I just hate hunting. I know it is just the area I hunt in. There used to be an abundance of deer but now the are is heavily hunted and they have traveled over to the posted area where there is no pressure. Last night I sit in a different spot hoping to see some deer. The signs are there (scraps,tracks, rubs, etc) but I didnt see anything. I spent a total of 6 hours in the woods yesterday three in the morning and three before dark. I dont even scare out a deer when I walk out of the woods. At this point I would have been happy to do that. Get to the truck, take off my gear and head on down the road. About a 1/2 from where I hunt, I come around the turn in the road and my headlights scan across the field. There are 5 deer standing on the edge of the road. Now they are actually in bow range. Thats how close they were to the road. I pull up along side of the road. Roll down my window and yell at them, that they all suck. I continued to tell them that they suck for about a minute. None of them run, they just look at me. One just turns and walks away. I know what they were thinking too. They were thinking that there was nothing I could do to them. They were right. Deer are very intelligent animals. Maybe smarter than some of us. I have a great deal of respect for these animals. I have given thanks for every one that I have killed during my hunting years. But last night, they sucked!

huntingkidPA

hey man i know the feeling! when i go up north in PA in the mountains. its just soooo heavuly hunted i have to go like 5+ miles into the woods to see something, i hunt the whole day not seeing a thing, not even a squrrel. out of hunting there for 4 years, ive seen 2 bucks, a 4 and an 8. they are definitly in there there is so much place to hide the allegheny national forest is 600,000 sq miles!!!

c_str

Yep it can get very frustrating sometimes, especially in areas that go downhill, or even worse, when you lose areas to hunt in.

The rut has saved many frustrating years though. As long as you have scrapes and rubs, those are areas the bucks are going to patrol and walk by, at any time of the day looking for a hot doe! It's all about putting in the hours! Thank god for the rut baby!

JOE PA

It can be very frustrating when you see lots of sign and no deer. Hunted a place like that a few years back, and it was close to a propagation area. I think the deer made most of the sign at night. Last year I was seeing so few deer at one place (4 all season) when I had seen 4-5 buck in one day there only 2 years before. This year we are seeing more again. Lots of things can affect the area, like where certain crops are planted and when they are harvested, etc. or the acorn crop in the big woods. Hang in there, and spend your off season looking for better spots to hunt.