Although I had a record opening day in buck activity, my total sightings for the entire year were less than 15 total deer. I only hunted my property this season tho, no public or quota hunts.

Wow,how many times did you go,I saw that many,probably more opening weekend.

That is East Tennessee for you. And the farther east you go, the tougher it gets.

That is East Tennessee for you. And the farther east you go, the tougher it gets.

agreed. i saw six total this year and one of those was the 8pt i killed.

How many times did you go ?

I had 76 different sits that morning and evenings counted separate had a 6 all day sits. I had 243 deer sightings. early season was outstanding for us. rut was just decent late season ok. I had more skunks ever then before had 4 of those. tough season for us toughest that we have had for a good while. but good season

Wow Deerhunter10, you hunt a lot!

I climbed into a treestand 36 times this year and saw 38 deer, 12 of them being bucks.

im in college, so I work all summer and save up enough to make it through deer season then start working again after it.

I had somewhere around 25 sets this year, most sets at least 6 hours, several all day sets. I saw a total of 5 deer...

I still say if you can come to the mountains of East Tennessee and kill mature deer, year after year, you can kill a mature deer anywhere in Tennessee and probably the United States.

Now that's a man who knows what's important in life! Keep it up and don't ever let a woman change your ways!

haha gotta find a women that loves it like I do!

Humphrey Co. - 157 deer sighted in the month of November. Hunted
2 1/2 days in Oct. - 1 deer sighted. Hunted 3 1/2 days in Dec. - 3 deer sighted. Total - 161.

^^^^^^ absolutely man less expensive to!

every weekend from mz on. killed the 8 pt. the day after thanksgiving. was having plenty of pics on my cameras of bucks and does before season.

BSK, I hunted 24 days, a.m. & p.m. I had to work 11/19 - 11/21.
It is hardwoods in an agricultural area that has a few clear-cuts that border the hardwoods. My hunting partner hunted 17 days and saw 121 deer. I am sure we saw some or most of the same deer over and over.

bsk that's awesome information! how do you keep it on the computer or hand written?

wow I thought I was doing good with my information, I just started it in depth this year. but all of thst blows mine away big time lol. but that's awesome way to learn about your farm and deer herd!

Wanna share those 4 examples BSK?

Overlooked and out of mind, equals a great place most every time!!! This holds true a scary amount of toime when dealing with public land

Thankfully, I don't hunt public land. But I bet finding de facto sanctuaries in high-pressure public land is absolutely key to killing older bucks.

For the benefit of those that do hunt public land Winchester (and 102, as I know you hunt a lot of public land as well), would you mind listing some of the things you look for in finding these de facto sanctuaries on heavily hunted public land?

I cant speak for bsk...but i am glad i don't hunt it either. You don't got to worry about people getting in your spot or walking on you when your hunting. And you can manage the herd a lot easier. But i have a lot of respect for those that do tough hunting!

I don't count any more. It would be too depressing!

Wow,how many times did you go,I saw that many,probably more opening weekend.

Thankfully, I don't hunt public land. But I bet finding de facto sanctuaries in high-pressure public land is absolutely key to killing older bucks.

For the benefit of those that do hunt public land Winchester (and 102, as I know you hunt a lot of public land as well), would you mind listing some of the things you look for in finding these de facto sanctuaries on heavily hunted public land?

you can't manage the herd and people can walk in on you, but I enjoy hunting public land and it's rewarding killing a pressured deer. This upcoming season my goal is a 3.5 year or older deer on public land, if I put in my scouting and hunting work and have a good dose of luck it might be possible.

just curious BSK, why are you glad you don't hunt public land?

Because of the control we have over our family owned and hunted land.

We control who is hunting and where they are hunting. We hunt cooperatively, in that we discuss before every hunt where everyone is going to be hunting, so we don't negatively affect each other. In addition, because we keep such detailed records, before someone choosing a spot to hunt, a hunter will know how many times it has been hunted previously and what has been seen from that area.

And most importantly, every hunter is basically on the same page management-wise. We all know the goals of our management, know the rules, and know the status of the management effort, working cooperatively to advance that management effort.

makes sense from a management perspective.

Have you hunted much public land in the past, and if so, did you like that type of hunting where management isn't much of a factor and its more about killing a wary, high pressure deer among other hunters?