davidmil

I've been 4 times for a few hours. Twice I saw nothing. Once I saw 4 does and fawns. The other time I saw a doe and an 8 pointer. He died.

MO_Bowhnter

Dave I look forward to see your police outline of the 8 pt. It's funny every deer you shoot has an uncanny resembalence to the one you killed before it.

heeze gutshot shortee

several from a spotting scope

Ray Hunter 42

Normally i will see 4 to 5 bucks a year. SOmetimes a few more.

But this year i have seen a good bit already. Well actually i have only seen bucks one night, but that one night i have seen 5 bucks and shot one. So so far im doin great

John Deer

Over the past few seasons, I would say that I average approx. 20 different bucks per season. Maybe even a few more than that. Now when it comes to mature bucks, I'm lucky to see 3 or 4 per season.

kenman

I've seen almost 40 deer this season (some of them have been same deer, different nights), and only 2 bucks. Neither one of them was a brute, I introduced one of them to my Muzzys.

njbuck22

Very interesting topic, one i have been thinking about alot this year. This summer while scouting, my buddy and i saw a number of very nice bucks, shooters to us, about 5-7 per night. Where they are now is anyones guess. We have talked for hours about it and still dont know for sure. We have seen bucks, my buddy took a decent 8 point and seen some other small ones. I passed on a decent 8 point, saw a couple of small 6's, but its been slow as of now. I have been seeing alot of does every time out though, which imo is a good thing. Sooner or later those does will bring a buck in with them.

I would have to believe that you are doing things right if you are seeing does consistantly. Bucks are a different breed but they arent impossible to find.One major problem can be your buck to doe ration, with the ratio way out of wack, bucks simply dont have to move at all and can have a VERY small home core area. If they dont move, you dont see them. Shoot ALOT of does, you can always find someone to take the meat.

I would also highly recommend putting your trail camera out ASAP. I hunt primarily 2 properties. Last year the one was loaded with deer and the other wasnt. Needless to say, i hunted the better property more often and took my best buck off of it. Due to that i started hunting that property more often this year, but after putting my camera out, and comparing that to what i have been seeing with my own eyes, the other property is better at this point in the season. Use it to maximize your time spent in the woods.

Another thing to think about which not alot of people touched on was why those deer felt safe in that one area and not in other areas that seem similiar. Honestly i have no idea why they would feel safer in that one area without looking at it, and even then i wouldnt know the answer probably, but the fact of the matter is that they do. One method that is effective is using a observation stand. Go out and hunt in a spot you think will be good, take notes on what you see and make moves based on it. Dont be afraid to move and get your stand where it needs to be.

Last thing that i found that helps is i keep a journal of every hunt i hunt. I keep locations, stands hunted, barometer, weather conditions, wind, time of year, deer seen and anything else that may be a factor. It might not mean much at that time, but i have found that when you go back and look at the journal as the season progresses, patterns evolve and it can possibly put you on a buck in the future.

Good luck with those bucks and dont forget, what seperates a greats from the average joes in anything in life is the attention to detail. Give it time and it will happen.

manuman

Very true observations.The only thing I would add is the amount of hunting pressure on your property and the surrounding ones wil also affect their presence, and their day or night movement--even during the rut.

GMMAT

I started keeping a journal, this year (actually....more of a spreadsheet). So far I've seen:

*86 total deer in 13 sittings
*79 have been does or fawns
* 7 have been Bucks

For MY record purposes......button heads and does are one and the same (non-discernable). I have seen 1 mature buck and 6 smaller bucks (including the one I harvested). Also....if I see "deer" moving and don't see visible antlers....."I" consider them does for MY records.

My situation is not unlike many. I have 2 small 24 acre tracts that I have access to by my home. I am surrouded on one side by a homeowner that does not allow hunting. They have horses........they feed the deer/turkeys......and the deer use this area as a sanctuary. I shot my '06 buck the first day I went into this area (but on land I DID have permission to hunt). I saw 30 deer, that day. This land backs up to 174 acres of parks land that is owned by the city/county.....and where hunting is not allowed. I now know where their bedding area is......and it's in the parks land. they travel across the horse pasture to feed on acorns in "my" woods. I saw 10 there, Saturday......and 2 little bucks were in that group.

If I were a mature buck.....I'd NEVER leave the parks land. BUT......I'd be skinny. there are no crops grown within the parks land......and the farm I'm TRYING to gain access to is on the other side of the parks land. Right now......the deer have no real reason to come around my stands.....or wherever I might set up in a climber. if they do.....it'll be because the feel comfortable there.......or because they're after acorns (which I'm NOT making light of being a VERY legitimate food source).

I've got ONE more chance at a mature buck, this season. I'm going to set up over the acorns.......very near to where the does are feeding in the evenings.......and wait it out during the rut. It's all I know to do. I'v shot one buck from this area......but I don't want to risk shooting does in there.....and have to track one back into the bedding area. After the rut.....I'll bust any doe that presents me a shot.....until I'm tagged out. They need thinning, here.

Jeff

mobow

This was my general impression as well, but it just seemed odd that I hardly ever see one.....I know they are elusive creatures...but good grief.....I should at least see one, shouldn't I??

I was talking w/ my dad about this earlier. He lives on the ground I hunt and he can only remember even seeing 4 bucks in the last 2 years. Now that makes no sense. It's predominantly agricultural so you would think he would see them in the fields at night or run across the road....something....

It's hard for me to accept, but ya'll just might be right....perhaps they really AREN'T there.....

Everyone talks about details. I'm not sure as to the specific details ya'll mention...I think I do, but perhaps not. Maybe I hit the bigger, more obvious details and one or two small ones are burning me. I shower and spray myself, as well as every layer of clothing, with scent elimination. I don't hunt a stand if the wind is wrong, but I must admit I sometimes fall victim to "the easy way in." But even at that, I should see one once in awhile, right? So what details might I be overlooking?

Man, I just read this post and it sounds like I'm having a pity party....[8D] Hope ya'll don't read it that way.