Skunked in Indiana this year.
 

I've been hunting deer since I was in about 5 grade (mid 1980's). I killed my first deer several years later and really can't remember the last time I went a season without killing a deer. I mainly meat hunt so I would let bucks pass unless they were big enough to mount. After I killed enough doe's I was done. This year my son hunted with me for the first time with his own gun. We saw one doe opening morning and really didn't see much after that. I have talked to a lot of people who didn't see any deer this year. Curious what you guys in the Indiana Ohio area saw this season. Numbers about the same, up, or down?
To top that off the farm I have hunted for the last 20 years got sold so this was my last year to hunt it, looking for a new place next year.

I took a small racked big bodied buck in my 5 day hunt I did at my buddies place just outside of Indianapolis. Seen plenty of bucks but all small and only a couple doe.

I saw plenty of doe
no shooter bucks. And I hunted quite A bit between ohio and PA.

-Jake

No disrespect intended but you cant kill the cows year after year and expect to have a herd

I retired a couple of years ago and went deer hunting for the first time just inside of Brown County this season. Saw two does wandering by and heard a buck come running off to my left. 3 hours out and I had my first buck, As stated I don't know much about this stuff yet but my son, who has been an avid hunter for years said it was about 175 lbs. It felt like a ton by the time we drug it out of the woods. I have always hiked, fished a lot and camped, just never much of a hunter. Went a couple times as a kid. I am going to love hunting.

Congrats on the first deer. I hunted a new property this year but it adjoins the property I have hunted for over 20 years. Saw a lot of bucks this year but none were shooters. Ended up taking a nice doe and as the season has wound down I didn't get anything else. At least we have some good eats in the future.

How is the new property? Comparable to the farm you lost?

-Jake

Just from this year, I like it a little better. Like I said before this property adjoins the property I hunted for the past 20 plus years. I am just on the other side of the river. Neither place is ideal but I have killed a lot of deer in this area and it is the best place I have access to.

Indiana opened the flood gate on tags. Hunting IN was a much better experience before DNR started handing out tags like candy.

Yeah, they have backed in down the last couple years. Hopefully they will get things in check. Several years ago they allowed a quota of additional doe tags for each county depending on deer heard size. The county I hunt you could take 4 doe in a year and any county with a quota of 4 or higher you could hunt in a bonus doe season between Christmas and New Years. This past year most counties had the quota below 4 so the extra season was not available.