I live in Barbour Co. and done pretty good. I killed a 8pt. with a 14" inside spread with my bow. It was the week before rifle season anda small buck was spooked by some of our cows coming thru the woods. I wasgrunting and bleatingso it would stop but it didn't. A minute later the 8pt was coming my way. First buck I have evercome in to a call.First year with bow for my wife, she got a deer the first evening out of a blind. I killed a 4pt with my rifle. No nice bucks were killed in my area that I know of.

I think the peak rut hit perfect with gun season this year. The bucks we saw on Tues were chasing does. The last couple years we had been seeing fewer bucks and took an equal amount of does and spikes. So I think that taking fewer bucks over the last couple years helped us to see some racks. Also, by removing does it helped make room for the bucks to stay. I've done a lot of reading about QDM and most people agree that you want your buck to doe ratio to be 1:1. I don't think we've reached that ratio yet, but its getting better. We used to see about 10 does to every 1 buck.

Personally, I don't think the rut corresponded with the first few days of rifle in my area as far as CHASING. A few weeks before the season, we saw bucks seeking. During the two days of rifle we hunted, not one of us saw or heard a single chase. The 9 pointer was apparently stopping byto check a few scrapes that my buddy didn't even know were there until he walked up on it after he killed it. Having said that, I did see the button buck mount a doe, so I don't know what the deal was!

has anyone heardthe final tally? how off was the harvest from prev. years?

I agree, I think there are less does this year to an extent. I'm curious to see the total harvest for this year as compared to previous years as well.

Our 3 hunters and ihunted on along Little Cap. river near slanesville(Hampshire County)and all very healthy deer no signal CWD. i ve seen 12 bucks and 100 doe for 3 days.4 different Hunt Clubs says seen more bucks than ever seen and let go by and await little bigger buck Harvest 8 bucks and 5 doe all together hunt club all above 6 pts - 8 pts. Work Great let them go grow Up for next year. One thing conrcen i noticed more more roadhunter back n forth on rural road than year before. Await i will return the place for Muzzleloader Season and long drive from Northeast Pa.

I used to hunt on several hunt clubs in Slanesville, Owl Hollow Rd, and Sziartos Tree farm towards Ice mt.......deer population in that area is decreasing as well. Check out Eddies Markets for the # they chk as compared to yrs past. lower. Better bucks, but less of 'em....which is good!! human population explosion up there, too, with all the developements going in.... land is @ a premium price. hampshire has always had tons of does, and still do, but overall, they're in decline too. My step-son lives in Capon bridge....owns 20 Ac... and he don't see 100 doe.......in a month.

I agree to some extent but when I spend 18 days in my tree stand during bow season and only see deer on 5 of those days I beleive that they are letting the numbers get to low. The very same places produceds sightings on every hunt just a few short years ago. JMHO

I feel for Ya .. but deer patterns change over the yrs as well. I've sat days in my Hardy Co stand before w/o seeing as much as a doe. it bites, I know....
I gotta look up Elkview in my WVa atlas.....

Hah hah, it's a decent little place, eh Gutshot?