Am I having fun yet?
 

Hey gang - I am new to deer hunting, and, never content to do things the easy way, am bowhunting on public land. Color me crazy.

Anyway, I have been out 10 or so times since season started (09/16) - and have not seen a single deer. I got huffed at yesterday and heard a deer peel off into the woods this a.m.- both while approaching stand sites - but no visuals. I have been nuts with the human scent control, I put out wicks w/ Trail's End 307, use a couple Renzo decoys when in open areas. Have not hunted the same stand twice. I target sites that are > 1/2 mile from nearest entry, funnels where the woods neck down, or pinch points between obstructions like pond and rivers.Spent hours pouring over Google Earth, usually find trails where I'd expect, and hunt over them, in favorable wind; BUT: No deer! [:@]

I appreciate the being-out-in-nature thing - but want to kill deer, too. Seeing them first almost seems like a natural precursor to that.

So - the question - is this normal? I sure hope not, but if so, you guys watch Ebay close, I have some nice stuff that goes out the doorcome 01/01/07! Any advice/encouragement/admonishments welcome.

RE: Am I having fun yet?
 

You sound like me. It's the exception when I see one in the woods (Early season anyway). I just came back from a 2 day hunt...nothing. Don't give up. You gotta pay your dues. Sooner or later it will happen. So many times I say I can't take it anymore, then when a deer comes by and the heart starts pounding...It's all worth it!

RE: Am I having fun yet?
 

It takes time. When I first strated hunting, I didn't get one until the last week of November. Thegun season starts here in October.

RE: Am I having fun yet?
 

Are the areas big/open enough you could just spend a couple days 'watching'? I know alot places this just isn't possible, but my area is alot of open fields and pastures so its not to hard to pick a vantage point and make a date with the binoculars. See where they come out at and where they go in, where they feed...and where they bed when they bed in the open. The first year I bowhunted (deer hunted at all actually) I saw 1 doe with 2 fawns and one big ole brown cow that about gave me a heart attack:D (Do you have any clue how BBBIIIIGGGG a cow sounds crashing through the woods!!! haha!) Anyways, I found out that the particular deer in my area didn't follow all the textbook rules...but once I got an idea of where they were and when, I started to piece it together and it makes sense now. I do not envy you guys that have to hunt in dense public land.

RE: Am I having fun yet?
 

Oh, and good luck. Doefever has it right...its all worth it, even when its just a doe that strolls by.