What is "Seeing a lot of deer?"

[Gravey]

Not getting skunked is my goal. As long as I'm seeing something I can stay there but not seeing anything will have me thinking about the other things I could be doing. I'd say 8+ would be a lot.

 

[UCStandSitter]

The most I ever saw in one group was at Fall Creek Falls on the golf course the day before the draw hunt. Must have been 75 or more. (So I get as close to Golf Course as legally possible the next day and only saw 2. )

Locally, a lot of deer to me is 10-12 in a setting. Those days are getting fewer and fewer.

I haven't played down there in years but back in the late 90s it was to the point where you about couldn't get a round in. They hd taken over the course.

 

[UCStandSitter]

I bow hunt exclusively in tight hardwoods and ridges. Visibility is no more than 50yds in any direction. If I see more than one in a sit, I'd call that a lot.

 

[Robtattoo]

I may not know what 'a lot' is, but I'm reeeeeal familiar with 'absolutely nothing'

I've only managed to get out 11 times since muzz opened & I've seen a massive grand total of 3 deer this year. All on the same day from the same stand. And I missed 2 of those.

I'm getting pictures of bucks & does at all hours, 6 days out of 7. I assume that our days off just coincide.

I gotta switch shifts......

 

[Urban_Hunter]

Well… I started off hunting in the barrens and feel like after 25 years of hunting I have returned. I've had access to some very high density farms where a man could see 15-20 deer in a good sit. This year my personal land is a bust for no real good explanation and I've been stomping the WMA and I would be happy to see a button buck at this point

 

[hbg1]

We track how often hunters hunt as well as how much time hunters spend on stand and deer seen to calculate both the percent of hunts (a "hunt" being any time a hunter climbs into a stand) with deer/buck sightings, but also the average amount of time a hunter has to hunt to see a deer/buck (deer/buck sighting rate). I suspect what we see on our hunting property is pretty far below what most hunters would find acceptable, even though our deer density is not that low. We simply have very low-visibility habitat, which means most deer sightings are very close-range. Even in a moderate density herd, if deer have to be "bow-range" close to see them, you don't see them very often!

Over the last 20 years, hunter sighting stats:

Hunts with a deer sighting: 44%
Hunts with an antlered buck sighting (any age): 23%
Average treestand time between deer sightings: 2.6 hours
Average time between antlered buck sighting (any age): 9.2 hours
Average time between 2 1/2 year-old or older buck sighting: 23.8 hours
Average time between 3 1/2 year-old or older buck sighting: 83.3 hours

How many hunters would be happy with these sighting rates?

Not me, I'm spoiled

 

[hbg1]

In a 3 hour sit on a good cool morning it would not be unusual to see more than 20 deer with 5 or more of those being antlered. Like I said I'm spoiled.

 

[SJS]

Rageman's thread about having quality or quantity of deer got me to wondering, what is "a lot of deer" and what is "seeing a lot of deer?" Having a higher deer density doesn't always lead to seeing a lot of deer. Much can be dependent on visibility on a given property. But how often do you need to see deer while hunting to be happy with your hunting experience?

One of the things I like best hunting my place in Tennessee is not the number of deer I see, but has more to do with the buck to doe ratio. On our place in Houston Co. when we go out if I see 7 deer, 3 of them will most likely be bucks. Not always shootable bucks, but bucks nevertheless. It always keeps you on your toes knowing every other deer might be a buck.

 

[Ahuntin1]

It all depends on what terrain is being hunted. If I'm hunting big bottom land bean fields, 20-30 used to be common in Fayette county on a cold evening hunt. Open hardwoods in the morning would be 8-10. I learned that seeing the most deer was counterproductive. To kill big bucks, I learned to hunt where I didn't see a bunch of does or younger bucks.

 

[catman529]

It's entirely relative. I see a lot of deer throughout the season compared to those hunting the mountains of east TN. Like a whole lot more. But to me, seeing a lot of deer in one sit is 6 or more. I've heard of people seeing 30+ deer in a sit. I've seen over a dozen in a sit plenty of times, but if I see half a dozen, that's a good day. Of course it depends on where and when you sit. That is true across the board.

 

[Harold Money jr]

Been thinking about this a lot. I don't usually hunt a stand unless things are as near right as I can get it, so, during the prime rut time that usually means seeing around 5-6 from daylight till about 1:00. Early season is on a dominate dropping oak tree it can be none or as many as 8 At my farm around the first week in December you will either see none or 10+ does if you see a single deer it's a buck, the does and fawns bunch up bad. My son and I saw 2, 3 year old bucks and 5, 2 year old bucks and 10, 1 year olds this year in about 10 sits. If we kept hunting our sightings would be MUCH lower.

 

[recurve60#]

We track how often hunters hunt as well as how much time hunters spend on stand and deer seen to calculate both the percent of hunts (a "hunt" being any time a hunter climbs into a stand) with deer/buck sightings, but also the average amount of time a hunter has to hunt to see a deer/buck (deer/buck sighting rate). I suspect what we see on our hunting property is pretty far below what most hunters would find acceptable, even though our deer density is not that low. We simply have very low-visibility habitat, which means most deer sightings are very close-range. Even in a moderate density herd, if deer have to be "bow-range" close to see them, you don't see them very often!

Over the last 20 years, hunter sighting stats:

Hunts with a deer sighting: 44%
Hunts with an antlered buck sighting (any age): 23%
Average treestand time between deer sightings: 2.6 hours
Average time between antlered buck sighting (any age): 9.2 hours
Average time between 2 1/2 year-old or older buck sighting: 23.8 hours
Average time between 3 1/2 year-old or older buck sighting: 83.3 hours

How many hunters would be happy with these sighting rates?

Im happy with seeing you said hunts with deer sightings instead of sits. Im satisfied.

 

[Hillbilly Hunter]

We track how often hunters hunt as well as how much time hunters spend on stand and deer seen to calculate both the percent of hunts (a "hunt" being any time a hunter climbs into a stand) with deer/buck sightings, but also the average amount of time a hunter has to hunt to see a deer/buck (deer/buck sighting rate). I suspect what we see on our hunting property is pretty far below what most hunters would find acceptable, even though our deer density is not that low. We simply have very low-visibility habitat, which means most deer sightings are very close-range. Even in a moderate density herd, if deer have to be "bow-range" close to see them, you don't see them very often!

Over the last 20 years, hunter sighting stats:

Hunts with a deer sighting: 44%
Hunts with an antlered buck sighting (any age): 23%
Average treestand time between deer sightings: 2.6 hours
Average time between antlered buck sighting (any age): 9.2 hours
Average time between 2 1/2 year-old or older buck sighting: 23.8 hours
Average time between 3 1/2 year-old or older buck sighting: 83.3 hours

How many hunters would be happy with these sighting rates?

I would absolutely hate those rates. It is crazy how different our sight ratings are.

 

[Hillbilly Hunter]

In the 35 years we've owned and hunted our property, I think a hunter has seen 8-10 deer in a single hunt maybe twice. We NEVER see that kind of deer activity.

Which is why I have to laugh when other hunters talk about how "good" hunters with their own land have it. I bet 90% of hunters would not find hunting my place enjoyable.

It is not uncommon to see that many BUCKS on a single hunt. 3-5 is very common and what I would consider normal.

 

[Hillbilly Hunter]

This was our best year ever for 3 1/2+ year-old buck sightings. Average time between 3 1/2+ year-old buck sightings was 23.8 hours.

I could see that your data could be skewed due to the fact that with several people hunting, not everyone can be hunting the best spots, so you have some less productive stands getting hunted that likely would not get hunted if less people were hunting. My parcel is much smaller, but it is just me and my son hunting, so we dont have to waste time in spots we know are less likely to produce than others. We let the wind dictate which options we have and chose the best spots from those stands. Our average time between 3.5 year old bucks is slightly less than 6 hours, but there is only two of us and we are hunting the best spots we have. Last year our 3 1/2 yr old sightings per hour was much better than this year. It was too hood actually because i tagged out too quickly! A 4.5 yr old and a 6.5+ in two consecutive trips.

 

[Hillbilly Hunter]

Been thinking about this a lot. I don't usually hunt a stand unless things are as near right as I can get it, so, during the prime rut time that usually means seeing around 5-6 from daylight till about 1:00. Early season is on a dominate dropping oak tree it can be none or as many as 8 At my farm around the first week in December you will either see none or 10+ does if you see a single deer it's a buck, the does and fawns bunch up bad. My son and I saw 2, 3 year old bucks and 5, 2 year old bucks and 10, 1 year olds this year in about 10 sits. If we kept hunting our sightings would be MUCH lower.

Absolutely, the later in the year it gets the less bucks use my property. Actually, i don't have many bucks until the fall shift either.

 

[Swampster]

I totally get what you haven said about seeing deer versus the deer being there. My favorite box stand overlooks open field, large stands of oak with little undergrowth, semi-open swampy areas with small bunched up cover, and thick, nasty tangled areas, depending on which way you are facing. I usually focus on the direction(s) opposite of the wind, but for sure cannot cover 360 degrees. Sometimes deer come crashing and splashing through like a bulldozer, while at others they slip though so quietly it is as if they are walking on the air. Many times one will just "appear" in my sight making me wonder how I did not see it coming. I have seen a young buck bedded down only thirty or forty yards from my stand over an hour after daylight, with no idea of how he got there or how long he has been there.

My point is that no matter how many deer I see, I know that there are a lot more around me that I don't see. Sometimes it is as if I can actually feel them but never get a glimpse.

 

[DoubleRidge]

I could see that your data could be skewed due to the fact that with several people hunting, not everyone can be hunting the best spots, so you have some less productive stands getting hunted that likely would not get hunted if less people were hunting. My parcel is much smaller, but it is just me and my son hunting, so we dont have to waste time in spots we know are less likely to produce than others. We let the wind dictate which options we have and chose the best spots from those stands. Our average time between 3.5 year old bucks is slightly less than 6 hours, but there is only two of us and we are hunting the best spots we have. Last year our 3 1/2 yr old sightings per hour was much better than this year. It was too hood actually because i tagged out too quickly! A 4.5 yr old and a 6.5+ in two consecutive trips.

Wow! Those sighting rates on 3½ year olds at under every 6 hours is just amazing!!....what is the visibility like at your stand sights? I believe our sighting rates are higher than BSKs ....but several of our stands have tremendous visibility where BSKs, if I remember correctly, have visibility of 25 to 35 yards....just curious what your area is like, terrain features? Ag? Etc? Thanks.

 

[fairchaser]

I often have hunts with zero sightings (50%+). This is on purpose. Allow me to explain. The goal is not to see numerous deer. The goal is to see one deer. These two goals are exclusive to one another most often. Occasionally, (during certain parts of the rut) they coincide.

After experiencing multiple hunts with no sightings, my sanity starts to diminish and I venture back to areas where I'm likely to see multiple deer. I rationalize that I might get lucky, but secretly know I won't. Nevertheless, I do it for sanity's sake.

We play a lot of mind games as deer hunters!

 

[DeerCamp]

1-2 deer every other day of hunting is a lot to me. I usually see 40-50 a season, with about 20 percent of those bucks. Only saw 12 this year, with 2 of those bucks.

From 2010-2015 I had 3 properties to hunt - 2 in Madison County and 1 in Benton County.

For some reason I stopped, but one season (2012) I kept a hunting journal of every single sighting and harvest.

I hunted 27 times, had 227 sightings, 37 Unique bucks, and I killed 11 deer.

In hindsight, what a year!