Frustrated and Need things to change!

[TN Whitetail Freak]

This time last year I had 6 does and a Buck down....the freezer was full and all was well......this year Ive shot 1 fawn and havent seen a deer in 11 sits....nothing has changed as far as my prep before each hunt and all my spots get hunted once a week....all are public so there is a possibility its getting hunted more but i doubt it....the thing that has changed is Ive hunted exclusively woods/swamp bottoms....hunt #37 is tomorrow morning...i know I have to stay at it its in my nature but I am beginning to get down, thinking I should pack it up and just squirrel hunt i dont know

 

[Terence]

Dont give up when you least expect it them deer will show up

 

[timberjack86]

My freezer is almost full but I cant seem to lay eyes on a deer now.

 

[travle]

Whitetail Freak I am from Obion County, and I hunt private land that is up against public land. I hunt the private land and public. I know the public land isn't over hunted because every time i go the area i am in only has a hand full of vehicles and most are on the opposite side of the road hunting. I have yet to see a single deer, but i know they are there based on signs. I have walked almost a half a mile into the public land and still nothing. I dunno what's going on, but being the first year to hunt this area and looking at past harvest records for this public land it looked very promising to have deer flowing everywhere.

 

[TN Whitetail Freak]

Well ill be back at Beech Ridge WMA towards that Obion way thinking about just still hunting being it's supposed to be rainy&windy definitely gonna be a hunt/scout session

 

[Bobs8pt]

sounds like you shot them all last year.... J/k..... Hunting is a funny sport. sometimes it is not bad to have a slow year, Just that many more two yr old deer next year.

 

[TN Whitetail Freak]

sounds like you shot them all last year.... J/k..... Hunting is a funny sport. sometimes it is not bad to have a slow year, Just that many more two yr old deer next year.

Good point I passed up a 110" Eight point the first week of November ....that has been the only buck seen....it will be 3 year old next year

 

[Encore]

I am in the same boat. Passed on a few my first few hunts and now I am seeing nothing. I got mouths to feed! Hopefully things will pick up.

 

[BlackBelt]

The deer are in the woods. If you arent seeing them its because you are not sitting where they are. They have patterned you or other hunters in the area and moved.
If it was me I would spend today hunting somewhere else than where you normally do. Just think about it for a minute. I'll bet theres a place you havent thought about hunting in several years. If no one else is hunting there thats where you need to be.
Im on a lease that added a lot of new members this past year. Early fall they all came in and put up stands in the best spot on the lease. There are at least 15 stands in that area, and none of the stands are more than 70 feet apart. Well guess what? They havent killed but one small fawn between all of them. Their actions moved the deer to a remote area on the lease that is difficult to get too. However, i'm having a great year because i figured that the deer would move in response to the added human presence and they did.

 

[lpo1981]

Glad I'm not the only one not seeing deer. Granted I killed a good 3.5y/o 8pt opening weekend of gun season but as far as seeing deer this year it's way down. I haven't hunted for 2weeks but prior to that I hadn't seen a deer since opening weekend when I killed the 8... But I will add I have been running multiple trail cameras all season on 2 separate prices of property I hunt and I'm getting way more nighttime photos than I have in years past...

 

[HerdThinner 2012]

I have found that if I do the things in stand that I shouldn't,, that's when the deer seem to appear. Like when you are trying to shed a layer or try to get a drink from the backpack. Not always.. I know this is no help and doesn't do anything for the frustration.

I agree with the thought of going somewhere else. Leave your spot alone for a week or two. No doubt if I had been shot at every time I stuck my head up for the last month and a half, I would know the spots where hunters ain't. That is if I were still walking. Have you considered just changing it up and maybe sitting a powerline for a day or two?

 

[ROUGH COUNTRY HUNTER]

the hunting is definitely tough right now

 

[BSK]

Deer respond to hunting pressure. The later into gun season, the more nocturnal they become, especially if the area is post-rut.

 

[hunt_4646]

I will go to the gun show in Murfreesboro and not the woods today. Have not seen a deer for 2 weeks now. The hunting pressure was heavy the first week on the farm I hunt. Since then I am the only one on the property. The surrounding farms do not permit hunting. I have room in the freezer for 1 more deer but it now looks like that won't happen. The deer are not moving during the daylight. Nice to get into the woods early before light, but it has been really cold before dawn.

 

[feathersandfur2214]

I feel your pain ! I saw 12 deer, 4 of them bucks, opening day of rifle season. I also saw 8 or 9 in ML . Since opening day of rifle I have oinly saw one deer. Very frustrated. I am going to change it up a bit in the morning. I won't give up till last light on the last day ! I need 2 deer fo rthe freezer. Hopefully since doe days are in I can get a couple slick heads.

 

[Redfred16]

Haven't seen a deer from the stand since Thanksgiving weekend. I'll keep going out there so I can recharge and get away.

 

[Crosshairy]

I'm not trying to toot my own horn, just offering insight...

I've hunted some public land 4 times in the past 2 weeks, and seen deer every time. My tactic as the rut winds down in pressured areas is always to hunt in/around thickets.

Heck, I do that all the time! Since I've made that shift over the past 5 years or so, my deer sightings have gone up a lot. Pre and post-rut, I go to thickets with food sources and 30 yard shooting lanes. During the rut, I focus on intersecting trails. It works!

 

[shagy99]

tnwtlfrk-I feel your pain. Its my first season ever hunting, i ve gone out alot, gone out 3 times with others helping me...have not seen one deer hunting in the woods. Seen about 10 dead on the side of the road!

 

[Mike Belt]

Are you saying you're making your 37th hunt and haven't seen deer in 11 of those hunts? If so could you not have taken a deer on any of the previous hunts? In any case there are off years and sometimes they're really OFF years. Maybe you're just having one.

 

[WestTn Huntin man]

Not sure if this will help ?? Honeysuckle patches seem to be the honey holes for me this time of year. A hungery deer doesn't have a lot on the menu right now.

 

[in the dog house]

^^^^ what he says..... that and saw briars