longislandhunter

Well guys I was so excited for the start of the season.I spent every day watching and studyingshows and videos about hunting. I read tons ofbooks and magazines. I bought all my equipment, did some scouting, hung my stand and then nothing. I went the first8 trips out and did not see a thing. I saw one doe last night.I am starting to get so frustrated.I wake up at 4 a.m. every morning and I rush all day to finish my work to get out for the evening hunt. I am comoed up and scent free. I am quite getting to my stand and leaving. I am being so diligent and i just can't seem to see any deer. I saw tons of deer in this spot last year and a lot of good deer when scouting just before the season opened. Then season opens and nothing at all. It is like the dead woods out there. Even if I could see a few deer or a small buck to keep me motivated. Just frustrated and wanted to see what you guys do to get through these slumps.

To top it off I am leaving from my morning hunt when i see a dead doe on the road and then about 100 yards away i see two big legs sticking out of the brush on the side of the road so I pull over. The deer is on its back so i can see it was a buck and his body was huge. Well there he lies headless. He had an arrow hole in him so somebody just shot him and cut the head ofthen left him on the side of the road for all the antihunters and moms with childrento see. Idiot!!!!

People like that are killing big deer and then theres me hunting hard, doing the right things and nothing. I have never killed a buck and i am starting to think I may never. Thanks for letting me vent and whine a little. [&o]

So again I ask how do you guys pump yourselves up at times like this?

Steve863

Well, I got to tell you one thing. Watching the videos was surely a waste of time, because they don't teach you a thing about hunting. Even the magazines are nothing more than advertisements for guns, equipment and outfitters for the most part. It takes time to become a hunter. Just because you can shoot a bow or gun well does NOT make one a good hunter either. It helps for sure to be able to put the animal down when you see it, but shooting and hunting are two very different things. This scent free stuff is all nonesense also. Just great money making gimmicks. A good hunter will kill MORE deer dressed in a suit and tie with black loafers on than a poor hunter with the most expensive hunting garments. Most people hunt with their eyes, but don't use their ears nearly enough in my opinion. I always laugh at the people who cover their ears with ear muffs and hoods. These days some even listen to music on i-pods while hunting which is ridiculous. I have heard more deer coming in before I ever saw them. If you listen close enough you will get the knack for knowing what is a deer or some other critter. To kill a buck or any deer takes concentration where you tune out everything else that might be on your mind and just absorb yourself with the surroundings at the moment. If you are doing it right it won't be anything like the hunting you see on the videos!!

longislandhunter

Yeah i know. As for the videos they are more motivational then anything except know looking back i think they are detrimental because they make it look so easy.

It is funny you mention hearing. I have my stand set up about 75 yards off of a main highway so the traffic noise poses a big problem for me. i set up there because i know that deer have been there in the past.

I do not know what defines a good hunter. I hunt long and hard and follow the rules.I just can't seem to be in the right place at the right time. Either that orI am doing something very wrong.

Mission

When huntin gets tough and deer sightings are getting bad, just think that everyday you dON't see one is a DAY CLOSER TO A KILL. I get really frustrated also when i cant see the buck I have spent so much time paterning.But for me , the less i see of him the harder i hunt......


Hope it helps
Mission

geterdun3

i guess location comes into play also. i mean, im sort of in same situation. i see deer tracks, sign and all, i have had a experienced hunter tell me that where im sitting, he has seen a ton of deer in the past - which was very kind of him. i get up early, drive the 1/2 hour, haul up a climber, and sit still. and i havent really seen any deer either. im blaiming it on the heat now lol, but when its colder, i dont know what to do if i dont see deer. i could see if I, or you, was in a spot that had no sign and you hadnt seen deer in there before, but i see trails and all and a person who has killed many deer on this public land has told me basically exactly where he saw them (b.c now he has private land). i duhno bud but i do feel you. and right now i just want a few does for the freezer, but cant seem to get that either. good luck to you and i hope it starts to turn around for ou as well as me.

livbucks

I'd say it is too early to go drawing conclusions. Most yearsI don't even start hunting until the third week of bow season. Deer are still in summer patterns and mostly nocturnal in nature. When the pre-rut starts kicking in, you will see more daylight deer movement. At this time of year, you may want to limit your hunting to early morning and late evening hunts only, if you tend to get discouraged at the lack of sightings. This Saturday will be my first hunt of the year. Unless we have colder than normal weather, it is pretty much my normal routine. Right now you want to be on a heavy travel route to food sources and only hunt them early morning and late evening. When it is hot out, do you like to move around during the heat of the day for no reason? Neither do the deer. Save the "gung ho" attitude for later in the season, when it will more likely pay off. You don't want to burn yourself out before the good hunting begins. Hang in there and good luck.

grady seasons

It`s only the ninth day of the season,we have had unseasonably warm,record breaking temps-no need to worry just yet about a lack of deer sightings-83 long days to goYou have plenty oftime left.Are you hunting the same stand every day?

geterdun3

great info. it makes me feel a little more confident hearing those comments. thanks guys, even tho it not even my thread lol it still helped me

StillHunter90

Frustration is a hunters worst nightmare. Dont ever doubt yourself. Find other stand locations ortry other types of hunting tecniques likestill hunting. You will learn a lot whiledoing it. In hot weather the deer are probably bedded so sneak along the edges of their bedding areas. Sneak around their drinking areas. Dont move too fast and be looking for a flicker of an ear or tail or a patch of white, an antler beam etc.If its real hot check shady areas where its cooler. If you havent done much still hunting you will probably jump some deer,and will probably get thechance to take one on the run if your comfortable doing so. Dont get frusrated just change it up a bit. Now is a good time to learn new things. It wont hurt and like everyones saying you have plenty of time.

Steve F.in MD

PERSERVERANCE and PATIENCE are the hunter, and the musky fisherman's, best friends.