How was your season?

pcbuckhunter

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
I had a good season myself. Saw lots of bucks, mostly young bucks. I did manage to kill a fat 6 point and a fair 8 point with the smokepole. Thus making it 3 of the last 4 years with only doe tags in my pocket for gun season. I did also manage to double on does three times this season. I ended up with 8 deer in the freezer.

What say you about your season?

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wildcat3

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
Never pulled the trigger but did put my wife on an 8pt and another friend on a pretty nice 9pt. I saw a couple basket racks and a ton of does which I had another friend hunting with me who took out 4 of them for the food bank he is involved with. Even though I never shot it was probably one of the best seasons I've had in many years.
 

stormm4

Big Ole Nanny Doe
Two for meat, blessed to have spent sunrises with my family listening to the world wake up.
 

KTMan

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
Doe sightings and harvest where normal for the most part. Didn't kill as many as normal but by choice. Bucks different story. First time in many years I did not harvest at least one mature buck. Saw probably 50+ bucks and only two that I would consider shooters. Not a good shot offered on one and passed on the other on two different occasions (was hoping son or daughter would get). Still had a lot of fun and have two more days in Va to get that buck.
 

Papa_Smurf

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
Took 4 Bucks in rifle and (Eastern) and 1 Doe in Archery. Also missed a doe in archery because i drew back as she was walking towards me and held me 40 yard pin as she walked in to 20 yards. Shot right over her back and could have kicked myself when i realized what i did. Beginner mistake. The doe that i did take was a week after the missed doe, and was my first archery deer. Only other animal i have taken with a bow was a skunk i saw from the stand that was acting rabid.

Really good season overall, my best in 7 years of hunting.
 

Eric Revo

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
The season was ok, just ok. Didn't pull the trigger on a NC deer, by choice, and had pretty bad luck on some out of town hunts as well.
I just didn't "get into" this season as I have some in the past, not sure why but it seems to be becoming a more frequent thing. Since we don't eat but maybe a 1/2 deer a year at my house the absence of fresh venison isn't a major factor in determining a successful season.
The weather was pretty bad, the company was good, the mature deer sightings dreary and discouraging, the quality of hunting was dismal at best and the hours spent that I felt were enjoyable were pretty darn few in comparison to those that I had to just plain endure.
I don't know if it's an age thing, a deer quality thing, or just a situational thing that will pass....but it's my hope that there's a drastic change that comes down the pike or there will be a drastic change in the way I deer hunt in the near future. I deer hunt to enjoy deer hunting, and if that's not happening then I need to rethink my hunting strategy as a whole.
 

badlandbucks

Ten Pointer
it has been...interesting. I've killed 6 does, my wife has killed 2 does. I missed a big 10 pt Oct 29, and skipped an arrow off the back of an even bigger 8 pt on Nov 9th. It has been very frustrating, but I have seen more big deer this year than in the last 5 years combined. I still have until the 10th to get it done...still trying.
 

TravisLH

Old Mossy Horns
Struck out in both ML and archery season but did ok in Rifle by taking 3 bucks and 2 does. Wife struck out all season but youngest daughter managed to take a nice doe on the youth day


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Luv2Boutdoors!

Ten Pointer
Bad. Seen the least amount of deer movement in 18 years. SO many hunts with no sightings. No rutting activity. WAY to hot to bow hunt much. Got access blocked on game lands. So instead of walking 50-150 yards to my spot, its now 1.5 miles. My saving grace, moving my stand and bagging a doe 4 days later, then bagging a bobcat 6 days after that. Only reason it wasn't a terrible, worst season ever But still bad
 
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MJ74

Old Mossy Horns
Terrible year......killed 1 doe the 1st Saturday of rifle season and seen very little afterwards.
Not one picture of a buck I would shoot on my cameras and didnt see a buck with a forked rack all year or last year.
Its been a rough couple of years for me and the farm I hunt on, I'm not really sure whats going in down there.
 
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woodmoose

Administrator
Staff member
Contributor
started out great,,,,lots of fun hunts,,,,,then when to Shi'ite in early November and didn't get back to woods till mid December,,,,,,
 

aya28ga

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Had a better season than the previous two years; the deer herd here in Warren county is recovering from the EHD we had in 2013. I took two bucks and two does this season, so my freezer got filled. And I was especially lucky that the logging company decided to hold off on cutting the main piece of land I hunt until after the first of the year.......
 

GSOHunter

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
Best Season ever. Had deer in the 3 counties I hunt in. It went to crap from November on. Never saw any rutting activity. I'm glad I got out a bunch for Archery.
 
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oldest school

Old Mossy Horns
perfect for me. tagged out on bucks by election day so i was thru before the masses hit the woods.that is always my goal.

both were as good as i can hope to kill on purpose. (lightning may strike but these were as good as my woods ever produce)

and the highlight was the crossbow kill, tracking dog water recovery. absolute dismay to unbridled joy.
 

darenative

Twelve Pointer
We had a wildfire in the spring on the property I bowhunt. It burned up most of the bedding and displaced all of our mature bucks on that side of the property. I spent the better part of the season trying to nail down the new travel patterns and running cams. I had plenty of chances to shoot smaller bucks and does, and a few almost moments with mature bucks that would have been chip shots with a gun but the shots never materialized with a bow. This season was the first time in 30+ years that I didn't punch a tag. I don't regret not shooting my smaller bucks
 

smilliganqb

Eight Pointer
First season harvesting a deer this year, shot a spike and a doe. During bow season I took my first shot at a live animal with my bow, gut shot a doe that I was unable to recover (maybe she lived) but still looked at it in the positive aspect that I was able to stand-up, draw, and release without spooking the deer. Missed a nice 8 pt on a 250 yd shot with my .270, this was a disappointing moment for me because I knew I rushed my shot. With this being my 4th year since taking up deer hunting, I believe that this was the first year where I used some advice from this forum with some success. Thank you for those who post useful information on this forum, quite possibly could be the reason why I even had the opportunity to harvest the 2 deer I got

Going to give urban archery a shot since I have a place I can hunt in city limits, maybe ill be able to produce some more meat for the freezer.
 

hunthard2

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
Bad. But, thats par for the course. Bucks are few and far between for me but thats nothing new- though this year I did have 2 that I would have loved to put down. I had an acceptable amount of does at all 3 of my spots (on camera) but I never saw them and I cant figure out why other than my entry being bad. Plus I got a new job that loves to work me 7 days a week so I hunted the least this year than I have since I started 12 yrs ago.

I still cant wait until next year, though, I love the misery lol
 
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appmtnhntr

Twelve Pointer
Here's my season by the numbers based on my hunting log.

111 daylight hours in the woods. (Note that these do not include the walk in or out. Only daylight hours of actual hunting)
o 20 total “hunts”
o Including 7 all day sits daylight to dark
o 7 counties

Deer:
o 14 bucks seen
o 49 does seen
o 6 fawns / button bucks verified
o 14 unidentified deer


• 0.75 total deer seen / hour of daylight hunting
o .13 bucks seen / hour
o .45 does seen / hour

Killed two bucks. A 4-year old big 6, and a decent 8pt on gamelands
And 3 does. Two were gamelands, and one was on private on the last day of season.

I have high hopes for next year, since two of the other bucks I saw will be whoppers next season. One was already a whopper but a foggy wet morning allowed him to slip in behind be and wind me...

Oh, the ones that get away... He was BIG
 

oldest school

Old Mossy Horns
Here's my season by the numbers based on my hunting log.

111 daylight hours in the woods. (Note that these do not include the walk in or out. Only daylight hours of actual hunting)
o 20 total “hunts”
o Including 7 all day sits daylight to dark
o 7 counties

Deer:
o 14 bucks seen
o 49 does seen
o 6 fawns / button bucks verified
o 14 unidentified deer


• 0.75 total deer seen / hour of daylight hunting
o .13 bucks seen / hour
o .45 does seen / hour

Killed two bucks. A 4-year old big 6, and a decent 8pt on gamelands
And 3 does. Two were gamelands, and one was on private on the last day of season.

I have high hopes for next year, since two of the other bucks I saw will be whoppers next season. One was already a whopper but a foggy wet morning allowed him to slip in behind be and wind me...

Oh, the ones that get away... He was BIG

i love that detail

two tears ago NCWRC sent out a survey requesting that level of detail, i had fun with that and think it will become standard for me.

our memory on deer activity can get selective. :)
 

perfectroadglide

Ten Pointer
I had a great season. I watched several small bucks walk right past during archery season. Never reached for my bow, hoping in a couple of years they'll really be impressive. Freezer was low so when rifle season came in I managed to get three does. It was primarily a dry season for me. Not much rain at all. I spent more time in the woods this fall with six weeks off. I only missed a couple of days without being in a stand. It was a great year!
 

Ridgeline66

Ten Pointer
Contributor
No big one but shot two one crossbow, one rifle both clean kills two in freezer saw a good many deer this year let them walk, my neighbor shoots them cause he likes to "pull the trigger" good or bad so I try to let some walk. Wife don't like deer meat so no use in wasting them.
 

darkthirty

Old Mossy Horns
4 in TN, 2 in NC.
All does but one, a cowhorn on a "brown it's down" hunt in west TN.

All ground and resting comfortably in 1lb bags in the freezer.
 

DFisher

Eight Pointer
For number of sightings, worst year ever. I am fortunate to have killed a young buck and a doe, so I am very grateful considering how few I saw.
 

wcjones

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
Fewest hunts I've ever been on. I shoot the first two legal deer I see every year for the freezer. The first (a doe) I shot 5 mins after legal shooting time the first hunt I went on. (Woulda shot her sooner but it was to dark to see). The second deer (six pointer) I took on my second hunt right at the end of legal shooting time.

I went 4-5 times after that but I was out of town for a few weeks plus I wanted to give my dad the opportunity to hunt any stand he wanted to since it is his land I hunt on I think I'm gonna be doing some squirrel hunting cause I don't feel like I got enough time in the woods this year
 

btsharky

Twelve Pointer
I kept a record of my still hunting trips. I saw a total of 294 deer with 32 being bucks with visible horns. I hunt a few different farms with various stands and I realize I saw some deer more than once but I wrote down what I saw for each trip. I also saw some bucks that I never saw again during the rest of the season. Got a nice 9 and a nice 8 out of the deal. Saw a lot of deer in front of dogs too but did not keep up with them.
 

Aaron H

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
About 60 short afternoon local hunts, after 45 days I got the mature buck that I was hunting w/my rifle. Saw about 15 other individual deer the whole season including just 2 fawns and 4 bucks besides the one that I killed. Population way down. Some found dead w/hemoragic disease and coyotes continue to impact the fawns. Next year will be poor too I'm betting. I made a trip to western kentucky but the weather was very warm and deer were few. Did not shoot anything.
 
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Lilmangt

Guest
1 big doewith the bow,
8 and 9 point bucks with smokepole,
1 big doe with the 7mmremmag
And 1 with a Dakota

Not too bad

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