Need Help...Very Discouraged...

[rswright11]

This is my first post buy I thought someone on here may can help. I am very frustrated in my results hunting. I spend so much time and money each year in deer hunting and I hardly ever see anything. I put up cameras and stands before the season starts. I get pictures of deer on the camera, but I hardly ever see any when I go hunting. I've got 3 hang on stands in place. Two are on food plot fields and one id in between soybeans and a pond surrounded by oaks dropping acorns. I sat there today and I saw NOTHING. I take scent free showers, wear scent-lok clothes with rubber boots, hardly move while I'm on the stand. I have no idea what I'm doing wrong but it is very discouraging when I hear people harvesting deer who put in NO time or effort and I spend lots of time and effort and have nothing to show for it. Any input would be GREATLY appreciated.

Thanks....

[layin on the smackdown]

First of all, welcome to the forums...

Don't be so hard on yourself. I know for a fact there have been a lot of people this year who are going through the same thing you are, especially in IL. Now i don't know where you are located, but some things to take into consideration...

1.) how pressured is the area you are hunting?

2.) how long are you sitting on stand for?

3.) what times are you sitting on stand?

4.) Are the crops out by you?

5.) whats the weather been like by you?

6.) What times are you getting pictures on you cameras?

7.) do you have the ability to be mobile (climbers etc.)?

8.) are your stands in effective places?

9.) how long have you been hunting this area (is it a new spot)?

Alot of people around IL and other midwestern states are experiencing a slow start due to a few things...mainly weather related. Normally most crops are out by now, by me, very few at all at the moment. Secondly, we experienced the wettest october to date this year...which is why the crops are still in.

Hang in there, the rut is almost here, and the deer will be moving alot more as the bucks start cruising and chasing.

good luck.

dan

[Ethan Givan]

First of all welcome to the forums! I really dont know what to tell you...there could be alot of things that could make a difference. Maybe try moving back deeper into the woods into thicker cover? Or maybe try hunting different times of the day like during mid day for example. Maybe you need to get into your stand earlier? Just try hunting different areas, and hunt the wind. Im no expert. Maybe some of these other guys who are much more experienced will be able to help you out.

[GWSmith]

I am very frustrated in my results hunting. I spend so much time and money each year in deer hunting and I hardly ever see anything...

I know the key for me was to find where the deer were during the day first before I invested so much time on a stand or setting up an area.

My problem this year is just as frustrating though as what your going through.

I've had that perfect area for years and you could set your watch by the deer movement every afternoon.

It's almost like theres been an alien abduction of all the deer. In the same amount of time I've spent on stand this year compared to previous times I should have seen 50+ deer.

The only thing I can think of is that something has changed the deers natural transition into the area during this time of year...possibly some land clearing of a travel corridor they always use, construction, a change or increase in hunting pressure in other areas surrounding the land.

Whatever it is the deer movement in my area has changed during the daytime...so I have to change where I hunt them.

It's just that simple...I have to hunt where they are during the daytime.

[jm23494]

First of all welcome aboard. As for not seeing deer it is a fact of hunting from time to time. There are so many outside factors that play into deer movement that we can only try to alter a few of them. As some have asked what kind of pressure are the deer seeing near your stands? What type of terrain are you hunting? Is there a natural area that the deer funnel through to travel between bedding and food sources? Don't get discouraged, every hunter goes through a down time every once in a while. If someone tells you that they never have they are lying to you. Best of luck.

[rswright11]

Here are my answers:

First of all, welcome to the forums...

Don't be so hard on yourself. I know for a fact there have been a lot of people this year who are going through the same thing you are, especially in IL. Now i don't know where you are located, but some things to take into consideration...

1.) how pressured is the area you are hunting?

Not many still hunters live are there. I hunt family land in Brunswick County VA. They mostly hunt with dogs.

2.) how long are you sitting on stand for?

Usually from 5:30 until 11:00 and then from 2:00 until dark.

3.) what times are you sitting on stand?

See #2.

4.) Are the crops out by you?

There are a lot of soybean field that my cousin farms I hunt. Plus one of my stands is in the middle of a bunch of white oaks dropping acorns.

5.) whats the weather been like by you?

Normal with the occasional warm day.

6.) What times are you getting pictures on you cameras?

Most are in the evenings and after dark.

7.) do you have the ability to be mobile (climbers etc.)?

Yes.

8.) are your stands in effective places?

I thought so.

9.) how long have you been hunting this area (is it a new spot)?

I just got back into hunting about 4 years ago. I hunted growing up but I had to teach myself everything because I liked to still hunt but my stepdad only ran dogs. I hunt the same land but I hardly ever have luck seeing deer. Sometimes I wonder if it is just the area I hunt because I went to Ohio last year and bow hunted a family's farm and the lowest number I saw in one sitting was 10. I am lucky if I see 10 all year in Brunswick. I wish I could get a professional to come to see if it is just a bad place to hunt, or if I'm doing something wrong.

Alot of people around IL and other midwestern states are experiencing a slow start due to a few things...mainly weather related. Normally most crops are out by now, by me, very few at all at the moment. Secondly, we experienced the wettest october to date this year...which is why the crops are still in.

Hang in there, the rut is almost here, and the deer will be moving alot more as the bucks start cruising and chasing.

good luck.

dan

[ToddCountyKiller]

I see that you mentioned that your deer activity on your trail cam was evening/after dark. That may be the reason. Try moving your trail cam back into the woods on a bedding area or trail. See if the pics show the deer movement into the day rather than at night.

[GWSmith]

I see that you mentioned that your deer activity on your trail cam was evening/after dark. That may be the reason. Try moving your trail cam back into the woods on a bedding area or trail. See if the pics show the deer movement into the day rather than at night.

I agree...I have to update my previous post here because of tonights action.

I got trapped in the stand after dark with 5 deer in the cut cornfield.

I could see their outlines clearly as they walked and fed acrossed the field until the wind changed direction then they all left in one direction together. I figured I'd stay as long as I could tonight just to see if they were getting there after shooting light...they are. I was unloaded already just sitting there waiting for them to show up.

All that means is that I have to move stands deeper, along the travel corridor they use to get to the field, into the woods.

[rswright11]

I see that you mentioned that your deer activity on your trail cam was evening/after dark. That may be the reason. Try moving your trail cam back into the woods on a bedding area or trail. See if the pics show the deer movement into the day rather than at night.

I guess I'll have to start earlier next year in scouting. Regular season is getting ready to start and once the dogs hit the woods, my season is pretty much over. In fact, I've seen a couple dogs on my trail cameras already. That really burns me up but that's another issue all together... I do bass fishing tournaments so it's hard for me to do a lot of pre season scouting because of that. Another problem is that most of the area that I hunt is small/thick pines. I'm just tired of never seeing anything where I go.

Thanks for all the input!!!

[brad dryden]

Man ive been their I have hunted in spots for 2 weeks straight and not see a thing. How many acres are you hunting and is their any bedding areas for them?

[rswright11]

It's about 750 acres total. If someone tells me how to post a picture, I'll post a map of where I hunt and where I have stands.

[ToddCountyKiller]

Man don't get discouraged!!! Hey I fish bass tournaments EVERY saturday between the first weekend of April till the middle of November. I tell you it's tough! Its hard to try to go at fishing 100% then hunt 100% too. You just gotta be patient. As for the dogs, it could be a good thing! They are like the Mennonites that hunt the feild next to me. They have the possibility of running deer right to you. I have had this happened to me MANY times. Just be patient man. It may not happen this year or even the next. But sooner or later you will have the chance to harvest a buck. Its not about harvesting bucks. Its about being out there enjoying the atmosphere. You look at ANY magazine featuring big bucks. Other than the pros who hunt everywhere, How many hunters have you seen in a magazine with big bucks more than once???

[Missilelock]

I have found that in season scouting is a highest priority!!. Deer movements change, especially with feed sources changing. My first move would be to take some time off hunting & burn some bootleather. Right now there should be an abundance of scrapes & rubs in a good deer area. Where I am at, the deer are almost vacating some of my favorite woods to move to oak flats & ridges where mast is heavy. really, you are better off hunting a good stand 1 day & scouting for 2 if thats what it takes.

[layin on the smackdown]

I'll tell ya one thing for sure...If other hunters are running dogs out there all the time, thats your biggest issue. Dogs and deer do not get along, especially deer that have been shot at over dogs...I am suprised you even have a deer left on your farm. That is about as much pressure as you could put on a herd which is most likely why your trail cam pics are after dark, and why you are not seeing deer when you go...they have gone nocternal. If i were you, i would see if you could only limit the dog hunting stuff to a particular area of the farm, that way the whole farm isn't getting burned out, which in turn, will allow you to hunt areas that are not pressured.

good luck.

dan

[rswright11]

Todd: It is tough trying to be 100% in fishing then 100% in hunting. Plus try and make family time. I am going to take my 4 year old with me though just to sit in a blind.

Missilelock: I would love to take some time off to do some leg work but we are expecting our second child in a month so I had I save my time up for that. That's why I'm trying to hunt as hard as I can on my days off until the baby comes.

Smackdown: If I could keep the dogs away from an area I would. There is a good side and bad side to where I hunt. I can go anywhere to hunt because no one in the family except one cousin has ever been in a treestand. All they do is dog hunt. At one time my stepdad had over 20 black and tans. I never enjoyed riding around in trucks to jump out and shoot at a deer jumping across the road. Just imagine the stabs I've gotten over the years for my love of bowhunting.....