CamoCop

i hope i'm not coming across as too insensative BUT here in florida it's not uncommon to sit in a stand for weeks and not see anything. when your sitting in a stand enjoying a beautiful sunset on a cool day think of me, slapping skeeters, sweating my @ss off and not seeing anything for weeks at a time, this is normal....lol. we hunt because we love the outdoors, when i am sitting in my stand not seeing anything, i look at my surroundings and think "this is still better than being at work or listening to a nagging wife". be patient, your time will pay off, it wouldn't be fun if you got one everytime you sat in a stand, just ask doctor death, he's misrible j/k...lmao

VAhuntr

I understand what you are saying but you have tounderstand when you seedeer practically every hunt, you begin to expect it. I start bowhunting in September and do not have any trouble seeing deer up until December. It seems to happen every year just like clock work so I should be used to it by now.

CamoCop

could be because the deer have possibly pin pointed you? they could be using another trail out of your view because they sense something is wrong?

VAhuntr

It's not just me, it's not just the people I hunt with, it seems to be area wide. The checking stations report fewer kills, the deer processors are nowhere near as busy and when you are out hunting you hear very few shots. Now I know that some of this is just due to the simple fact there are not as manyhunters butdeer sightings anddeer killsdrop dramatically in December.

MassBowhunter

I haven't had time to look it up but I heard of a research study done in Iowa (I think) that tracked whitetails throughout the gun hunting season to see how far they moved. The conclusion was that the deer didn't move far at all they justdug themselves deeperinto swamps, thickets, etc. to avoid the extra human contact.

They seem to vanish around here from the start of shotgun season till the end of black powder season too so I know what you're going through.

Rocketman8487

I too live in Nokesville and hunt a 400 acre farm. I hunt daily and have not seen the first deer in almost 3 weeks. The farm is planted with corn in the front field and soy bean in the back. The corn and soy bean are rotated in each field each year and is never grown twice in the same field. I have seen so many buck tracks and have seen so many doe tracks its almost rediculous how many tracks and beat down paths are present and active, but no deer are seen. Many areas with many stands and im really the only person besides another man that hunts it. What is going on in VA this year? I killed 22 last year, have only killed 4 including a 8 point thats all? Can someone help me out with advice????

Brent B

I havent seen a deer in the stand since gun week in Ohio. There is so much hunting pressure during gun season it drives the deer nocturnal I believe. Almost all gun hunters here do drives and it has a big effect on the deer. Not to mention the rut has tapered off now so bucks are back to their normal patterns. Also the EHD disease put a hurtin on the deer this year. I didn't see nearly as many does even early in the year.

WestVirginiaBrent

Umm, you killed 22 last year. So let's say each doe had at least one fawn last year, that's 44 deer you aren't seeing this year.

chazspot

You are not alone, believe me. The deer here in Central MD have all but disappeared except for areas where they are not hunted at all. Just yesterday and this morning I have noticed some day time movement.

Hopefully, things start to turn around. I've got at least three more deer I need to bag.

Austinhuntman

I think our muzzleloader season was the best this year bow season Wasn't any good and rifle season is ok not great though. Your right this year hasn't been very good at all I'm from tennessee