What a year

[dtwnn]

By far my worst year of hunting. Due to work, wasn't able to go as much as I wanted but when I was able to go (maybe 2 full weeks), there wasn't a racked deer in sight. Most horns I saw was a spike and only kill was a little doe! Let em grow I guess

 

[tndeerman]

and the BIG vigina buck will be bigger next year

 

[BSK]

Although some hunters are reporting a great or at least good rut, the last time I've heard this many hunters reporting a terrible rut was when we had a wide-spread heat wave during the normal rut period.

 

[easy45]

I didn't see hardly any rutting, I saw chasing 3 times and never a buck over 2.5, actually never saw a buck over 2.5 period

 

[dtwnn]

At least you saw horns. To beat it all, I might have saw 3 bushes that were horned. No scrapes at all

 

[Vermin93]

I saw one mature buck all season (out of bow range) and lots of yearlings and 2 1/2's. I didn't shoot any of them, so I'm hoping it will pay off next season.

 

[ROUGH COUNTRY HUNTER]

awful season here too

 

[Mike Belt]

It was a terrible year here for seeing any rutting action. I've thought about it and the only thing I see different from years past was that we had perfect cold weather prior to the "timing" of the rut and the rut itself. All the years before we had a cold snap that kick started the action. It seems like that "snap" kicks everything from no action into high gear and makes rutting visible versus steady cold weather sort of trickling the rut in where you don't really see a pick up in action???????

 

[Winchester]

Agreed terrible rut!! I don't however think the weather is to blame? We didn't even have any real buck sign made prior to the rut like normal years regardless of the weather. Bucks simply never really seemed to get aggressive enough to make sign or actually chase does during daylight? I think there are some other odd environmental factors involved on top of the COMPLETE acorn failure we had here? I think this is one for the books and hope we don't see a repeat any time soon!!!

 

[hitek7]

It is weird how things are different in different areas. We actually had our best season we can remember. My dad, brother, daughter, and myself all killed the biggest buck of out life this past season. Let the most bucks walk I guess we ever have also. I hope this season can repeat itself again in the future.

 

[parkerxbowhunter]

Deer sightings were definitely down for me .I usually kill a decent buck and 2 or 3 does a season but only a 3yr old one sided fork horn and 1 doe this season we will miss the extra meat but it is what it is. That being said I will never consider a deer season that im able to hunt a bad or horrible season being out there for me is more important than any of the kills. Time to get the boat ready for crappie season and make up for the lack of deer meat.

 

[102]

I hunt hard from late September through mid January. I hunt from Hamilton COunty, Tennessee through Grundy, Franklin, Coffee, And as far North as the Paducah area of Illinois along the Ohio River.
As far as I can tell, the mast crop was very low. Not a complete failure, but very scattered, and very low.

I just get home from Southern Illinois where deer have largely obliterated anything green.

If you could find Honey Locust pods, you were in the money.

Deer were readily eating honeysuckle vines and bark off trees.


Our rut, in every State and or County I hunted, was very difficult to distinguish. Chasing did occur in mid-November but it was slight and not wide spread.

I regularly communicate with hunters in Lincoln County, Rutherford, Montgomery, and many others as well as the golden triangle of Pike, Adams, and Brown in Illinois.

THE RUT WAS WAY OFF for all hunters (aka-stump sitters) with whom I spoke.

Out deer kill totals were off as well.

It was a tough year.

 

[DaveB]

Mast on my lease was poor. It is nearly all timbered, little understory at all, and every buck disappeared off cam for months. Scrapes were few and far between leading up to rut but picked up everywhere in very late December. I also saw does with twin fawns still together which was very weird for this place. I think the deer were on the corporate ground that surrounds me and at night hitting the bean fields. There was minimal activity in the AM until one day when I saw one chasing buck & doe and the one big doe I killed on the way in at legal light. But my TR was licked to nothing months ahead of previous years.

I think the rut took place in mid-October (I was at work) and 2nd rut in November, and final in December. Truly believe we will see most fawns dropped very early.

For me, a bad year.

 

[muddyboots]

1 st two weeks of november were best i ever seen here. I couldnt go in the woods those two weeks without seeing deer and mutliple bucks every sit.

 

[muddyboots]

Now that i think about the hunting was very good from open of bow season til week of thanksgiving and then bucks got with does and it got tough. We did have a second wave about mid december but i didnt hunt it much because of holiday obligations. My other lease in southern part of county(I dont deer hunt there much) saw lots of young bucks chasing from december on which is normal time for them. They didnt see many mature bucks but they shoot most every racked buck they see so there is not alot of mature bucks there. Also neither of my leases shoot does exceot with a bow or the last week of the year. Personally i think that makes a tremendous difference.

 

[Inkstainz]

You'll have years like that. I had a 2.5 year old 8 pt and I passed him but looking back I should of fired. Especially knowing I didn't kill a thing.

 

[timberjack86]

awful season here too

yep

 

[TN RDG RNR]

Didn't kill anything. Missed what would have been my biggest gross scoring buck. Passed on several I probably shouldn't have.

I did see a lot of rut movement but it was in a 3 day window in mid November.

 

[7mm08]

and the BIG vigina buck will be bigger next year

Maybe he was concentrating on the wrong end And let the big racked ones walk. It happens. It's hunting. BTW you did finish in the top 3 of posts for the year IMO with your rare sighting! Ha!

 

[Food Plot 101]

Had somewhat of a disappointing year in terms of harvest, not counting the 4 bucks I missed with a mzl(long story), lol. While I did kill 1 mature buck that was chasing 2 does, I didn't see near the number of mature bucks I usually do, both in TN and IL. I did actually see more chasing this year, but it was being done mostly by 1.5-2.5 yo bucks. I saw a total of 5 or 6 chases in TN this year, all but 1 in our mzl. season. I usually see at least one chase in our rifle season. Overall, I give this season a B.