This was my first year hunting. I have been lurking and asking questions here since about August and have gleaned a ton of knowledge from the august group here. But, it did not pay off for me this year. 1 pristine, unused tag card to go into the scrapbook this year!

I had to hunt public land all but 2 days. I never saw a legal deer, so it was not an issue of not being close enough, missing or being picky. Maybe they busted me before I saw them (possible with the unpredictable wind and hilly terrain). I heard plenty of them before first light or after dark on my way out.

I can't say it was a total waste, I spent 10 beautiful days afield, saw a ton of wildlife, had a hawk perch on a branch above my shoulder (3' away), saw a great horned owl and had a chickadee pick fur from my glove while siting on the rib of my shotgun. So, I DID get close to wildlife, just nothing with antlers and white tails.

Resolved: Next year I will learn to shoot black powder so I can get out earlier, and I will spend more full days in the woods. I will learn to be stealthier and read the sign better. I will get some better clothes so I can keep concentrating on the task at hand. I will spend more time scouting before the season so I know where they are and where they aren't. This year I spent all of my time in one part of the gamelands, preferring to know all about a particular piece of land (about 50 acres) than try to scout all 5000 acres.

Well, better luck and more skill next year!

Even if you didn't get a deer you probably enjoyed being in nature a lot more than being at work.

Hope you have better luck next year!
Thats why its called hunting and not shooting. <img src=icon_smile_cool.gif border=0 align=middle> <img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle>

As long as you enjoy the experience it isn't a waste of time .I don't have to kill something to enjoy hunting .Lots of luck next year .

Everyone starts from the ground floor and works their way up the ladder.At least you are honest and willing to learn which in the long run will produce nothing but success for you.Good Luck.

I got skunked too with my bow, not rifle, i just wish i had someone to bowhunt with who had somewhat of an idea what they were doing. I am going by trial and error and they deer are getting the best of me everytime so far.


Check out my drawings and big bucks page on my website. Sign the guestbook too.

www.geocities.com/mvp_bballer/

JC

Thats why its called hunting!!! Don't feel bad Chubber. I had an uncle who hunted 40 years before he got his first deer. I persosnally hunted several years before getting one, course there were not near as many deer 45 years ago, as we now have here in PA.

I hunted VA several years in the early 90's, and only got one small doe, and a bob cat. Now the bobcat is a trophy, and much harder to come by (if hunting for them), than a deer, and I love & appreciate that cat, but it still was not what I was looking for.

If you stick with it, it will fall into place when you least expect it to. The early muzzleloader season is a great time to be out. The deer still are so spooked up, as later when more people go afield, and you can hunt them on a bit &quot;more even ground&quot;.

If you can afford it, by all means get into the black powder thing. Its a ball! I love it, and especially down there where you can use the precussion, or even inlines. Here in PA we MUST use flintlock's. You pull the trigger, count to five, for it to fire, and hope it goes off.......................

Only an armed nation (state) is a free state! <img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle> The people of a disarmed nation (state) are SUBJECTS, NOT FREE CITIZANS!![<img src=icon_smile_sad.gif border=0 align=middle>

I got skunked to but i still got a couple more weekends to go i probably wont get out again though. But, a bad day hunting is better than a good day working.

LIFE IS SHORT, HUNT HARD

Sounds like you enjoyed yourself this year which I think is the whole point of hunting.

Sounds like you have got some pretty good ideas about how to improve your odds of harvesting a deer next year.

Robin.

I know the feeling. I finally got my first deer this year after 2 yrs of trying. Keep after it and good things will happen. Hunting is more than the kill.

Dan Blair