RE: What % of the time...
 

Sounds like a location issue to me. Last year I hunted a friends land for free and I only saw 3 deer. This year I joined a lease and I lost count of all the deer I saw durning black powder season alone. I could never understand how people passed up a deer for "something better" when I was lucky to even see one. Now I get it.

In addition I did a lot more pre-season scouting which improved my choice of blind locations.

RE: What % of the time...
 

Very rarely skunked. BUT I hunt some very good property and we scout it a ton of the off season. By no means do I mean that I get shooting opourtunities each time out. Some times it's just a deer or two way off.

I guess it also matters where you are hunting. If you see nothing and your land has deer from evidence of sign, trailsand pictures thenyou might be doing something wrong. How about looking at the wind? getting some game cams out on your trails? put out some minerals or corn (if legal)

RE: What % of the time...
 

I saw 2 does this year in 15 trips out. Im a freshman in college so it is hard to find time to get out and hunt.

RE: What % of the time...
 

Only two shooters in 120 deer? Obviously, we have different criteria, unless you have meatless deer in the south!

RE: What % of the time...
 

Thanks for the input, guys and girls.

Pierce, I do have a few cameras out, but most (75%) of the pictures are atnight. Except thepictures of turkey!It's so thickwhere we hunt an 80 yard shot is a long shot so you NEVER see oneway off. I hunt mainly out of tree climbers so I can get high enough with the use of cover scent that I rarely get winded by one.

RE: What % of the time...
 

I hunt mostly public land in WI, and I see deer on less than 50% of my hunts. There's plenty of deer there, but the cover is heavy, and the hunting pressure is intense. They hide. That's why I've started still-hunting more in the last few years. Standing sucks. If I'm going to get skunked, I'm going to have a more relaxed and comfortable time doing it. With still hunting, if you encroach onhiding deer, and if you're skilled and lucky enough, they will move and you will see them. Usually the deer win the game, but occasionally they make a mistake. Luck is a big factor too, deer can come in on you from any direction at any time. I firmly believe that if most hunters put as much time and energy into still hunting as they do with standing, their success rate would hold or improve.

RE: What % of the time...
 

I was out 7 times this past week.

pm - yearling basket 8pt buck
pm - 2 does and 2 fawns with them, 2.5 yr old 9pt buck; 1 boar hog
am - doe and fawn;1 boar hog
pm - 2.5 yr old 9pt buck
am - doe and fawn, yearling basket 8pt buck, 2.5 yr old 9pt buck
pm - 14 turkey, doe and fawn, 2.5 8pt buck (that I shot)
am - nothing

So85% of the time I saw deer, and the average number I saw was 2.67.

RE: What % of the time...
 

Agreed. I usually see deer just about every time I go out, but I usually don't shoot 99% of the time.

RE: What % of the time...
 

Gundeck, I kill does for meat and then I hunt horns. My 2 sons (6 and 4 years of age) and me have killed 6 does and 3 bucks---so the deer meat is no problem.

RE: What % of the time...
 

Hmmmmm, sounds like youmay be huntingdifficult land.Ifit'spublic land you should be looking for better funnels and reasons for the deer to move past aspot on their way to food and cover. If youhave some control over the land, maybe try to knock down some areas that make it very likable bedding areas.Plan themso you could sneak in there easyto get close. Also try tomake somesemi-natural funnels byaranging some knock down brushtoforcethem oneway or another.we have one field where we puta ton of blow downs along the field, it left fewer spots for them to come out and made for better trails to and from the field.

GoodLuck!!