biscuit eater

I read in a deer hunting magezine awhile back. That it takes a average of 22 days hunting for each deer harvested. At first I thought that was a long time. But after thinking awhile I can see how those numbers could run true. Especially for people hunting high pressure areas like me.

Stephen Grace

That's a hard thing to calculate. Like you say pressure ; weather ; all kinds of things. Takes you longer too if your new to the area. Some years I've hunted gun and bow and came up empty after 3 months of on off hunting.I saw deer but nothing went right. This year I shot 4 in a 30 day period. 1 -bow 2-handgun-1shotgun. Next year might struggle to shoot one again. I guess if it was guaranteed it would be called gathering instead of hunting.

woody7

I have hunted 11 days and spend about 6-8 hours per day on a stand and have not killed a deer yet. On the other hand, I see on average about 20 deer each time I sit in my stand. I don't know how being picky figures into the average. The weekend after Christmas my daughter and I will probably harvest 4-5 deer in a 3 day period. The state of Texas was trying to figure days per deer harvested and I have to figure that any survey taken on private land must be flawed. On the other hand hunters on public land would be a good indicator of hours per deer because most deer that are seen on public land are quickly put into ice chest.

Two Beards

I think 22 days is probably pretty accurate for taking
a mature whitetail - I'm at 27 days this year and heading
back out tomorrow. I guess I would bring up the question
"what makes up a day hunting?". Is it 'daylight to dark'?
Is it just a morning hunt? ...or a evening hunt? I think
a better indicator would be actual hours of "tree time"
or hours spent on stand - something I've always kept
a journal of. Right now I'm at 122 hours for the year,
which if past years mean anything......a shot should
be presenting itself soon.

I've only hunted whitetails in a couple of states, but
22 days to kill a deer seems a bit extreme. I
have trouble believing the average hunter spends
that many days in the field before they harvest a deer.

TB

Two Beards

I'm also assuming this article was referring to bowhunting
and not firearm season. I'm no expert, but I know,
at least around here, it does not take 22 days to take a
deer with a firearm.

mauser06

not to brag here but if your like me and not picky its not real hard to take a deer a day....i mean im lucky i have a good spot dad helped me find and the deer density is GREAT...its an old growing up clearcut..now a maturing forest but still young...as long as the weather isnt horrible and noone messes us up we see alot of deer a day....2 years in a row we seen atleast 20 deer there by 10am....this year guys messed up the spot and sat in a bad place(public land cant do anything but hope the deer still come or move) and the weather was pretty rough..we only seen 7...except for this year weve never hunted that spot and didnt have a drag out......the weather and lack of hunters hurt us this year....we still took 2 does from there on the opener...but im lucky to have a good spot like that...me and dad definently dont spend 22 days hunting to bag our deer.....but it took me 4 years to bag a buck....i WAS a big time meat hunter...if it was a deer i was taking the shot if i had one..so i scared the bucks away and things like that...now im letting dad do the meat hunting...ill hunt my horns...but like this year...hunting was tough so i filled the freezer first....i hunted 9 days and bagged 2 deer this year....last year i hunted 3 hours..bagged a buck and doe....that spot was great....now to many guys caught on and followed the shooting and drag marks and found it...back to the drawing board....but i know kids that hunted a few years and have yet to see a deer while hunting.....so i guess thats how that average is so high......

Bloodnativ

These are the numbers for the area that I hunt as compiled by the state of Texas for the 2002-2003 hunting season. These number are for public land. "The results were estimated by 5,774 survey responses and 41,666 Annual Public Hunting Permits sold."

Unit 905
Acres=162,984 (second largest in the state)
"Hunter" (whatever that means)=3,745
Hunter Trips=28,837
Hunter Days=35,478
Deer
Hunter=3,204
Harvested=714

Now I'm not a mathmetician and I don't really know what all those numbers mean but I becomes clear how much the odds are against you at this particular WMA. Only about 20-25% connected last year. They aren't much better at most of the other areas. In 2 years of hunting there I have seen 1 deer and I had no chance of shooting it. I have seen them while driving in or out and have heard them in the dark while walking to or from my stands but have only seen one during legal hours and season. I do see sign, mostly tracks, so I know they are there. Sooner or later my number will come up and I will connect but I don't hold my breath for it to be anytime soon.

NY Bowhunter

I don't see how in the world you can even come up with a number like that. complete dart throwing guess work in my mind.

Runningun

Opening day of rifle season 2hrs One 8pt for me!
1 uncle + 1 cousin + 6 days= Nothing for them [:@]
Go figure