How was your deer season

jug

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
I didn't see anyone post this so I figured I would get the ball rolling.....
I hunted the least this season than I ever have . Only set in the stand 7 times at the Rock . Didn't even fill up my DEER survey card from the NCWRC . I was able to tag out on 2 nice bucks here in Harnett but,,,,The highlight of my season was being able to hunt the last week right here in Harnett and see deer every day. That is something that I have never been able to do since I moved here in 1993.
So it was all good😉
 

MJ74

Old Mossy Horns
As bad as any Ive ever had.....has gotten continually worse ever year since 2015.
I think I went 11 total times maybe 12 and seen about that many deer. Seen 1 small 8ptr and the rest looked to be yearlings.
 
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Deerhuntr

Ten Pointer
I had a pretty good deer season killed two decent 8 pointers and two does. Didn’t really hunt much after Nov 1st due to being tagged out on bucks.
 
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warhorse

Eight Pointer
Season was mostly a bust for me. My 8 year harvested 3 so the freezer is full anyways. Hard for me to get motivated to hunt NC other than taking my boy.
 
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BamBam

Eight Pointer
Got a big ole doe in late October. I was seeing a few every trip. Picked up a new farm to hunt in November. Rut didn’t work out like I wanted,, but there’s good promise for next year!! I’m satisfied with my season.
 
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UncleFester

Old Mossy Horns
Wasn't really excited about hunting until after I went to Kentucky. I passed on several here at my place before the KY trip. Wound up taking 5. 3 bucks, button head and a doe. Shot till the freezers were full then full stop for me. Good season.
 
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jboi72

Eight Pointer
Killed a couple, season wasn't great this year that's for sure but that's my own fault. Two misses one with bow one with muzzleloader, a failure to fire on a monster 8, and 2 lost does one dropped on the spot and got up and left without a trace. Still enjoy the fire out of it though.
 
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Lowg08

Ten Pointer
This is kinda backwards. This has been my best season ever. I did not kill anything but time. I did make allot of friends, (@appmtnhntr, @haywoodhunter, @timekiller13 and @valetroutfisherman) -already knew @ncstatehunter, I saw lots of deer ( I think 36 not bad for only mountain public land) learned allot about hunting mature mountain bucks. Learned to spot and stalk and slip hunt. Camped more to hunt. Learned allot from others and got to go to the woods more than I have in several years. Got a good start on a big buck for next year and allot more confidence than I started with this year. I did miss a doe and a 5 point with my bow. Also learned I love to hunt from a saddle and figured out my clothes pretty much and never got cold not even my feet. So I call it a successful year. Spent allot of time teaching my boy what to look for and just enjoying camping hunting with him. We got to camp my dad, my son and me for muzzleloader and met up with @appmtnhntr and @haywoodhunter. Then a rifle day with @appmtnhntr So well yea a great year
 
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Bean

Eight Pointer
Was a great year for me killed my largest deer to date with my bow no less and then killed a nice 10pt right before Thanksgiving. I never got him posted up on here because unfortunately I lost my Father on Thanksgiving and with everything going on with that my tag out buck got pushed to the back burner. I made it to the stand one time in December and shot a big doe to grind for andouille sausage and brats. I can’t complain at all but I’d gladly trade both of those bucks and then some for a few more days with my daddy.
 

np307

Ten Pointer
Deer season was definitely a quality over quantity one for me. Between a baby and the elk trip to WY there wasn't much time for deer hunting. But the times I did get out were good. In bow season I found some really good spots and saw the most deer on game lands I've ever seen. Later during rifle I killed my biggest buck yet. One sad note to this year was that my muzzleloader didn't get fired. First time since I bought it that has happened.
 

stiab

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
I had what I consider a good year, hunted enough to fill up every line on the NCWRC survey card. IIRC that was 41 hours and 59 deer sightings. Saw 4 bucks, but nothing I wanted to shoot. Did take a doe for the neighbors who need some protein assistance, but did not shoot a deer for myself.
 

YanceyGreenhorn

Still Not a Moderator
This is kinda backwards. This has been my best season ever. I did not kill anything but time. I did make allot of friends, (@appmtnhntr, @haywoodhunter, @timekiller13 and @valetroutfisherman) -already knew @ncstatehunter, I saw lots of deer ( I think 36 not bad for only mountain public land) learned allot about hunting mature mountain bucks. Learned to spot and stalk and slip hunt. Camped more to hunt. Learned allot from others and got to go to the woods more than I have in several years. Got a good start on a big buck and allot more confidence than I started with this year. I did miss a doe and a 5 point with my bow. Also learned I love to hunt from a saddle and figured out my clothes pretty much and never got cold not even my feet. So I call it a successful year. Spent allot of time teaching my bow what to look for and just enjoying camping hunting with him. We got to camp my dad, my son and me for muzzleloader and met up with @appmtnhntr and @haywoodhunter. Then a rifle day with @appmtnhntr So well yea a great year
Mine was similar even tho the cast of characters was somewhat different besides AMH. Def a learning season for me. Way more experiences this year with actually learning about deer, scouting, wind, scrapes, etc. I tangled with a 10 pt the last day of rifle that I was able to hunt. Initially was bummed I couldn’t get it killed. But had to realize that a year ago I wouldn’t have known enough)or gave enough effort) to even figure out where a deer like that was on public. Ironically the most uneventful non productive sits I had were on private I had permission on with no one else hunting lol. It’s all good tho.
 

Rescue44

Old Mossy Horns
Was a great year for me killed my largest deer to date with my bow no less and then killed a nice 10pt right before Thanksgiving. I never got him posted up on here because unfortunately I lost my Father on Thanksgiving and with everything going on with that my tag out buck got pushed to the back burner. I made it to the stand one time in December and shot a big doe to grind for andouille sausage and brats. I can’t complain at all but I’d gladly trade both of those bucks and then some for a few more days with my daddy.

Sorry for the loss of your dad Bean!!!
 

slugoo

Eight Pointer
My season started out in archery, never had a chance at anything.

Opening day of muzzleloader I go out with my friend's dad(I'll just call him mentor from now on). As we are slowly walking to the knob of a finger ridge, we hear deer walking down the ridge towards us (We came from the top of the ridge, they somehow didn't spook as we walked through the brushy pipeline into the hardwoods). It was 7:14, just barely shooting light. We both had shots, but it was simply too dark in the thick hardwoods we were in. My excitement and inner half-redneck was telling me to shoot, but I knew I needed to follow what the more experienced hunter beside me did. We then split up and the rest of the morning was uneventful. This all happened on a Saturday.

Fast forward to the following Monday morning. My mentor had let me borrow a muzzleloader so I could continue hunting when he had work during the week. I got out on time, but in the pre-dawn darkness, I got confused and walked out on the wrong ridge. Luckily, I found sign on the ridge I ended up on and set up. After having does blow at me from downwind(I didn't expect them to be bedded where they were and also somehow didn't spook them while walking in), I decided to start heading back, as I was improperly dressed for the temps and was not having a good time with my numb hands. As I was walking in the clearcut that the access path peters out into I saw something (I don't remember what) that caught my eye and had me walk right over the skyline of a ridge and interrupt a small buck chasing a doe. As soon as I was skylined he saw me, but for whatever reason, he just stayed focused on feeding beside the doe who had not seen me. I immediately aimed, but could not for the life of me calm down. I was literally shaking in my boots. I knew I needed to be more stable, so I dropped into a prone position and started to crawl towards a a position where I had a shot. I got to that position, aimed, pulled back the hammer, waited for him to stop, and squeezed the trigger. Boom. As my ears are ringing, I jumped up and run out of the smoke cloud. The buck was still standing there. Completely unfazed. I get back down into the tall grasses and reload the muzzleloader, hoping that the buck decides to stay put. I crawl back into position. The buck has moved slightly, but I still have a shot. I do the whole process, boom. I walk out of the smoke to see two white butts prancing off. At this point I was feeling a combination of frustration, hopefulness, excitement, and overwhelming confusion. This did not go as planned. I had so many questions. Why was that deer so darn stupid? Did I hit him? Did I miss? I decided to sneak out of the area and just take a seat and wait. I knew that if I went in there and checked for blood I might bump him, and I did not want my first deer to be lost because of my stupidity. After a good hour, I headed exactly to where he was standing when I shot at him a second time. I searched for 30 minutes, and did not see a drop of blood, hair, or anything. I felt relieved and angry. I headed home, mentally wore out. My friends dad later took out the muzzleloader and shot it, trying to figure out what in the world was wrong. It was shooting something like 2 feet low.

The next Saturday my friend's dad shot a 4 point and I got to gut, help drag, help skin, and prepare a deer for cooking for the first time. Great learning experience.

Fast forward again to opening day of gun season. November 13th. We (mentor and I) head out in the morning. I am borrowing a Remington Model 783 in .243 using corelokts. We split up at the access path and I go to the ridge I was trying to go to on that Monday mentioned previously. I found a spot, sat down behind a fallen tree, and waited. After literally 15 minutes, I hear a deer come trotting down the side of the ridge below me, not 40 yards. I stand up, take aim, and fire. I don't wait for it to stop, I don't do the "mehhh" thing to make it stop, I just shoot. It was a total miss, I shot behind it. Stupid mistake in the heat of the moment that I won't make again. Luckily, all the commotion above the deer from me fumbling around to rack another round in the chamber with a gun I'm unfamiliar with makes it stop. It stayed long enough to give me another chance and I aim, squeeze the 30 pound trigger, and fire. From the way the deer acts I just know that it's hit good. I hear it crash in the drainage below me. I walk over to where I hit it, "blood trail" it, and walk up to it. I check that its dead, pull it out of the ditch, and start walking back to where I was set up. As I'm walking back up the ridge, I hear another deer! It walks not 30 yards from me, sees me, but by then it's too late. I see antlers. I want my first buck and there's a great opportunity right in front of me. I shoot, it runs off into some nasty thick stuff, I hear a massive crash, and I realize I'm out of bullets. I call my friends dad and ask him if he can walk over here so I have some sort of gun when I walk up on this thing. He gladly walks over and we find him. A nice 4 pointer. I discover that the massive crash I heard was him tripping and ramming head first into a fallen tree, knocking one off his antlers off of its pedicle. We gut and drag both of these deer out, get home and skin them, and let them sit over night. It was perfect weather for this and I had some school work to do that Saturday. I supplemented the freezer, and learned a ton.
About the performance of the bullets, both passed through both lungs and out the other side, one hit a shoulder and still passed through. Just thought this might be helpful to someone.

Now for the rest of the season. I saw some does, but it wasn't in season anymore on the gameland, only bucks. Found a ton of sign and good spots for the rut for next season. I discovered that there were bears on the tract of caswell gamelands that I was hunting a lot. Had my first frustrations with dog hunters, but only for selfish reasons. I still think it's really cool and would totally run dogs if I had the time and determination to take care of all those hounds and had buddies to hunt with. I also saw a guinea fowl just minding its own business a good mile and a half from the nearest house. I experienced a mid deer season prescribed burn, that was interesting. Made squirrel hunting pretty easy.

All in all, for my first season of hunting with more than just a crossbow, I would say this one has been very educational, memorable, and I might go as far as saying that its life changing. Now I can't even imagine myself not hunting. It just like... what I do now. When I see a calendar, I see different hunting seasons. When I look at a college, I catch me asking myself, "Yeah sure its a great school, but is there public ground nearby?" It's an addiction with no bad side effects, except maybe a hurting wallet. This was a long read if you got this far, and it's probably not typed too well, but I think it is beneficial for me to organize these things anyway.

TLDR(Too long didn't read): I got a buck and a doe and learned some things. Pretty cool.
 

timekiller13

Old Mossy Horns
Least amount of time I’ve spent in the woods in years. But, overall a good season. The high country archery hunt was a blast and got to meet some new people.

Put 2 deer on the ground one doe and one buck. Also, shot my first mule deer in Colorado. Overall a very good season. Only wish I could have hunted more.
 
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UncleFester

Old Mossy Horns
My season started out in archery, never had a chance at anything.

Opening day of muzzleloader I go out with my friend's dad(I'll just call him mentor from now on). As we are slowly walking to the knob of a finger ridge, we hear deer walking down the ridge towards us (We came from the top of the ridge, they somehow didn't spook as we walked through the brushy pipeline into the hardwoods). It was 7:14, just barely shooting light. We both had shots, but it was simply too dark in the thick hardwoods we were in. My excitement and inner half-redneck was telling me to shoot, but I knew I needed to follow what the more experienced hunter beside me did. We then split up and the rest of the morning was uneventful. This all happened on a Saturday.

Fast forward to the following Monday morning. My mentor had let me borrow a muzzleloader so I could continue hunting when he had work during the week. I got out on time, but in the pre-dawn darkness, I got confused and walked out on the wrong ridge. Luckily, I found sign on the ridge I ended up on and set up. After having does blow at me from downwind(I didn't expect them to be bedded where they were and also somehow didn't spook them while walking in), I decided to start heading back, as I was improperly dressed for the temps and was not having a good time with my numb hands. As I was walking in the clearcut that the access path peters out into I saw something (I don't remember what) that caught my eye and had me walk right over the skyline of a ridge and interrupt a small buck chasing a doe. As soon as I was skylined he saw me, but for whatever reason, he just stayed focused on feeding beside the doe who had not seen me. I immediately aimed, but could not for the life of me calm down. I was literally shaking in my boots. I knew I needed to be more stable, so I dropped into a prone position and started to crawl towards a a position where I had a shot. I got to that position, aimed, pulled back the hammer, waited for him to stop, and squeezed the trigger. Boom. As my ears are ringing, I jumped up and run out of the smoke cloud. The buck was still standing there. Completely unfazed. I get back down into the tall grasses and reload the muzzleloader, hoping that the buck decides to stay put. I crawl back into position. The buck has moved slightly, but I still have a shot. I do the whole process, boom. I walk out of the smoke to see two white butts prancing off. At this point I was feeling a combination of frustration, hopefulness, excitement, and overwhelming confusion. This did not go as planned. I had so many questions. Why was that deer so darn stupid? Did I hit him? Did I miss? I decided to sneak out of the area and just take a seat and wait. I knew that if I went in there and checked for blood I might bump him, and I did not want my first deer to be lost because of my stupidity. After a good hour, I headed exactly to where he was standing when I shot at him a second time. I searched for 30 minutes, and did not see a drop of blood, hair, or anything. I felt relieved and angry. I headed home, mentally wore out. My friends dad later took out the muzzleloader and shot it, trying to figure out what in the world was wrong. It was shooting something like 2 feet low.

The next Saturday my friend's dad shot a 4 point and I got to gut, help drag, help skin, and prepare a deer for cooking for the first time. Great learning experience.

Fast forward again to opening day of gun season. November 13th. We (mentor and I) head out in the morning. I am borrowing a Remington Model 783 in .243 using corelokts. We split up at the access path and I go to the ridge I was trying to go to on that Monday mentioned previously. I found a spot, sat down behind a fallen tree, and waited. After literally 15 minutes, I hear a deer come trotting down the side of the ridge below me, not 40 yards. I stand up, take aim, and fire. I don't wait for it to stop, I don't do the "mehhh" thing to make it stop, I just shoot. It was a total miss, I shot behind it. Stupid mistake in the heat of the moment that I won't make again. Luckily, all the commotion above the deer from me fumbling around to rack another round in the chamber with a gun I'm unfamiliar with makes it stop. It stayed long enough to give me another chance and I aim, squeeze the 30 pound trigger, and fire. From the way the deer acts I just know that it's hit good. I hear it crash in the drainage below me. I walk over to where I hit it, "blood trail" it, and walk up to it. I check that its dead, pull it out of the ditch, and start walking back to where I was set up. As I'm walking back up the ridge, I hear another deer! It walks not 30 yards from me, sees me, but by then it's too late. I see antlers. I want my first buck and there's a great opportunity right in front of me. I shoot, it runs off into some nasty thick stuff, I hear a massive crash, and I realize I'm out of bullets. I call my friends dad and ask him if he can walk over here so I have some sort of gun when I walk up on this thing. He gladly walks over and we find him. A nice 4 pointer. I discover that the massive crash I heard was him tripping and ramming head first into a fallen tree, knocking one off his antlers off of its pedicle. We gut and drag both of these deer out, get home and skin them, and let them sit over night. It was perfect weather for this and I had some school work to do that Saturday. I supplemented the freezer, and learned a ton.
About the performance of the bullets, both passed through both lungs and out the other side, one hit a shoulder and still passed through. Just thought this might be helpful to someone.

Now for the rest of the season. I saw some does, but it wasn't in season anymore on the gameland, only bucks. Found a ton of sign and good spots for the rut for next season. I discovered that there were bears on the tract of caswell gamelands that I was hunting a lot. Had my first frustrations with dog hunters, but only for selfish reasons. I still think it's really cool and would totally run dogs if I had the time and determination to take care of all those hounds and had buddies to hunt with. I also saw a guinea fowl just minding its own business a good mile and a half from the nearest house. I experienced a mid deer season prescribed burn, that was interesting. Made squirrel hunting pretty easy.

All in all, for my first season of hunting with more than just a crossbow, I would say this one has been very educational, memorable, and I might go as far as saying that its life changing. Now I can't even imagine myself not hunting. It just like... what I do now. When I see a calendar, I see different hunting seasons. When I look at a college, I catch me asking myself, "Yeah sure its a great school, but is there public ground nearby?" It's an addiction with no bad side effects, except maybe a hurting wallet. This was a long read if you got this far, and it's probably not typed too well, but I think it is beneficial for me to organize these things anyway.

TLDR(Too long didn't read): I got a buck and a doe and learned some things. Pretty cool.
Really enjoyed reading this. Congrats on a new passion and first hunting season success.
 

302cj

Old Mossy Horns
Mine was good. Only took one small 7 point but got to watch the herd on several occasions. It’s been said several times but sitting there watching them is almost as good as taking one.
 

nc35hunter

Four Pointer
It was a good season. I got back into archery, which I really enjoy, but it was a frustrating learning curve. I made a bad shot on a buck but luckily just barely nicked him, he survived and I saw him on my last hunt of the season following a doe.

I killed 2 does in about 10 minutes with the bow one morning, which made the season for me.

also had a fun hunt with my family on our new place in Wilkes Co, killed a doe and a 4 pt, which were the first deer off this property. Also saw a piebald on this property which was a first for me.

did not have any encounters with big bucks this year, but that’s ok. I hunted slightly less than normal - just counted it up and only sat 8 times. Mostly due to the freezer being full before Thanksgiving, so I’ll take it.
 
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Ol Copper

Twelve Pointer
Had a great season !!
Met a bunch of people and made new friends during the public land hunt in October.
Joined a new club in SC that was as promised, killed a nice buck and a few does down there.
My daughter killed her first deer, it wound up being the biggest doe Ive ever seen in NC, and I got one 3 minutes later. Made for an awesome day with a double kill.

I wouldn't trade this season for anything else on this earth...
 

Loganwayne

Ten Pointer
This year was full of ups and downs. I learned alot this year, hunted more public and more times than before. saw more bucks and had a few good chances. Shot a good buck would have been my biggest to date but it was a bad shot and couldn't recover it.
Already looking forward to next year and putting what ive learned this year towards next.
 
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Rexm0311

Spike
Year started out good, took a doe in the first week of bow season, then all downhill from there. Basically just a combination of bad luck, equipment issues, and misses/unforced errors on my part. So overall one of my worst years. Still better than being at work
 
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shotgunner

Ten Pointer
Best year since moving to the Sandhills. Me and mom managed to fill the freezer. Saw more deer, especially bucks, than I have seen in many a year. Got my wife a rifle and now she is back into hunting. Hopefully a few of those young bucks we saw will make it through the offseason and make for a good next year. Need to do some stand adjusting but feel pretty good going into next year.
 
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quackNcluck

Six Pointer
Sat 6 times total. Took a doe early October with the bow and an 8 pt with the Muzzleloader. Between 2 kids and my business time is limited. Having Covid for 2 weeks during Thanksgiving didn't help either lol. Oh well glad for what I have and any chance I get to enjoy the outdoors is a plus in my book
 
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QBD2

Old Mossy Horns
Average. Killed 7, no monstahs but filled the freezer and then some. Did add a new deer state, GA so there’s that. VA sucked balls this year.

2 with bow, could’ve been a pile more than that. 3 with ML, 2 with rifle.
 
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Winnie 70

Ten Pointer
Had its ups and down. Got an old 8pt and grandson got an 8 also. Needed some colder weather real bad down here. Very dry....saw deer using pond for water quite often.
 
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