Mass.hunter

I have been hunting this fairly small suburban pocket for a few years now and have pretty much had it to myself. Well, word got out...and now there are three regulars hunting the same area pretty hard. Not to mention the other two or three who show up now and then.

I have pretty consistantly taken deer here in the past and have almost always seen deer when I hunted it. The problem is, I can' t seem to locate the does this season. All of the sign I am seeing is pre-rut buck sign? I usually see does, or at least jump them on the way in or out. Not now?

What do you think? It seems fairly obvious to me. We must have pushed them too hard too fast. I saw one buck opening day and missed him.[&:]

The area is surrounded by pretty thick swamp where they have always bedded in the past. Should I venture into their bedroom to try to get a better look, or just wait ' um out? We should see early rut in a couple of weeks.
I guess I' m just getting a little frustrated. Not having my private " honey-hole" anymore and not even seeing deer.

Thanks, and good luck to all.

Rut' s around the corner
Jack

PAhunterJEN

It' s interesting that you say this. I have also noticed that there are no does. Actually, I have seen perhaps three mature does since the first two days. There are several buttonbucks and one half-grown doe. I have seen numerous bucks. But then I remember last year: the does grouped into herds. If you didn' t see the herd then you didn' t see any does. Also, I have heard that there is a poacher in the area so it makes me wonder.....

davidmil

Well, if you aren' t seeing anything I' d say it' s time for a change of plans. Might as well explore a little and see where they went. One thing though, there have been so many leaves come down lately that trails are hard to find. You almost have to decide where the trails would be or should be and then find them under foot when you strike hard ground. That' s the way I found the trail I shot the doe off in NY.

tabby

I would say if you don' t know where there at, go looking for them, but softly. You don' t want to spook them too bad if they are already spooky.

Mass.hunter

Thanks for the advice. Good point about the downed leaves. I thought that as I scoped out the area last time out. The deer weren' t moving, so I skirted the swamp to look for sign. The trails are definately there, it' s just that the leaves are covering up any fresh droppings. That is how I find the doe groups. Many of the does this time of year have fawns and that shows in what they leave behind. Lots of " junior mints" with piles of " raisinettes" usually means a doe group. Find the does and we' re in buisness!

I think I' m gonna take my climber to another spot. A lot more woods, but not as much pressure.

Good luck to all.
Jack

wilk

Ill tell you where i hunt, there arent the does that there were......
dont get me wrong there are doe, but not near as many as last year and next year it will be worse yet,,,, hey you cant keep having regular doe tags, bonus doe tags. etc and then have doe season the whole 2 weeks of bucks season and not expect to see a big drop.....
There is definately a big drop in doe' s where i hunt.. This isnt the case for all areas im sure, but where i hunt it definately is....