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I have been around hunting for more years than I care to admit to. I have seen changes that most of today's hunters have never seen. Yes the deer do tend to run bigger and for those with the right kinds of hunting opportunities can have some pretty good consistent success. New high-tech clothing can allow hunters to flop down and basically camp out in stands all day with the deer bedded up a few hundred yards away. We even have little portable huts to keep the snow or rain and wind off of us so there is no reason to get up and walk like we used to do after the first couple of hours would drive us from our stands. That is what used to get the deer moving. It used to be that hunting land was just about everywhere. And the perceived deer numbers were high enough to keep everyone coming out year after year. Today there is hunting land shrinkage. Posted signs everywhere. Good hunting areas being shut off. It is not a situation that would fill new young hunters with a whole lot of confidence. Too many days sitting in frigid stands without seeing any deer all day long. It is not the kind of experience that makes a lot of new hunters eager to suffer through without even a flicker of a tail. And then we have the constant staged TV shows that have made all hunters feel entitled to a big buck. Yeah, bucks-by-the-numbers have set expectations a lot higher than reality. Hunters don't want to hear about doe harvests. They aren't even satisfied with a buck if the numbers don't match up with the TV programs. That is whacking hell out of our numbers also. Now the idea that you have to be perched up in a treestand has taken hold with everyone convinced that there is no other way. That has also encouraged the few people that are left to stay put. They are stationery, and the hunters are stationary. And that's the way the day goes. Not really all that exciting. The last thing that I have seen is what I call the "half-day" hunters. Opening day they come out and somewhere around noon they bail out of the woods never to return for the rest of the season. Yeah, they keep the license sales looking decent, but the actual participation ......not so much. Yeah, hunting is not what it used to be. I suspect it never will be and I guess there are some that are just as happy that it is not. It has become something that I can't even recognize anymore. But it is becoming a very silent woods and getting more and more boring every year. Maybe the woods will get quiet enough so that gun hunting will have all the benefits of bowhunting without the deer being sent into their nocturnal movements in a survival mode with that opening day burst of gunfire.....Ha-ha-ha-ha. Then we won't need any numbers of hunters to get the deer back up and diurnal again.

When I was young the woods were full of hunters and the deer were small. I used to long to find woods to hunt that weren't filled with every neon orange wearing nimrod on God's green earth. And they wore that full body orange suit to avoid getting shot by one of those other orange clad guys who was as dangerous as a lit stick of dynamite. To see a good-sized buck while hunting was as rare as seeing an alien space craft landing. Every spike buck in the woods was killed by the end of opening day. Big bucks only survived on land that was not open to hunting and they fled to that land the minute the first shot was fired, only to stay there for the rest of the open season. The old days weren't as good as most guys seem to think they were in my opinion. Today there are far fewer hunters and I also notice far fewer shots, but I also believe the shots fired now are coming from hunters actually shooting at a deer and only taking one shot most of the time. Maybe the price of ammo has something to do with that. Today I can find lots of land to hunt, and lots of 6 and 8 point bucks to hunt for. Less pressure from hunters means more opportunity to really hunt the way I want to hunt, utilizing hunting skills that won't get ruined by some guy in the woods wandering into the area without a clue, smoking a cigar, suffering from a hangover and smelling like his car's air freshener. Fewer hunters in the woods is also the main reason we hear of fewer hunting accidents every year. There are many drawbacks to fewer hunters in the woods, but there are also many positives for the guy who is a real hunter, one of the 1% who really takes the sport seriously and goes about it professionally. There are advantages and disadvantages to everything, but I prefer to look at the advantages and make them work for me. I for one, am having more success each year, and bagging bigger bucks now than ever in my life, and I'm doing it with real hunting skills, not so much with dumb luck like it used to be when that's all you could hope for. Sure I worry about the sport dying, but it won't die for me and if others choose not to do it anymore, that will be just one more poor choice younger generations make. I'm just glad hunting was something I could do my entire life because it has truly enhanced the quality of my life all along.

Jet sled is the way to go. I'm a few years older than you and use one. You can drag them over any terrain and they even float if you have to go across water. When my son and I shot black bears in Maine a few years back, the outfitter used a jet sled to drag the bears out of the dense Maine woods. In addition you can use one for hauling gear into the woods. Also they are not that expensive and last a lifetime.

I think the hunters who aren't willing to adapt to changes are the ones struggling. The stump you sat on for 20 years straight and saw a deer opening day may be a thing of the past. Adapt, move, hunt new land, hunt new ways. I'm not sure why people think there has to be a bunch of hunters in the woods kicking deer all over the place in order to see one? Deer are still out there being deer, they will move more with less pressure therefore negating the fact there needs to be a pile of people walking around. I prefer quieter woods personally. It may sound selfish or blatant but I don't care if the guys that hunt one weekend a year stop hunting or not. They aren't true hunters anyways. The issue I see negatively impacting the sport is land access. There are a fair amount of state lands available but not really for the amount of guys that utilize them. The issue to me is the big money land leasing that is everywhere. It seems impossible to get permission most places that used to be easy to hunt on. You have 30 trucks hunting a piece of state land with 15 deer on it, while the big money lease next door with 3 guys on it has 40 deer eating in a field opening night. I know some of this is coming off as just complaining. I think the honest truth is the hunting shows have ruined hunting in more ways than one. But.... I'll adapt and continue to kill deer wherever I have to, I'm a good hunter, put me near deer and I'll figure out how to kill one. Sent from my motorola edge (2022) using Tapatalk

It is, but sitting on stand won't work when there is little hunting pressure. Now you have to go after the deer. You have to scout their locations and habits and be able to track, stalk and shoot them on the ground. Few hunters hunt on the ground anymore.

This is a 7 pointer I took on 11/21 , I also shot an 8 with the crossbow and my 15 yr. old son shot an 11 pointer this past weekend on 11/25 but having trouble loading a pic of his buck, I'll keep trying.

It took a while, but I finally put my tag on a buck this year. My buddy bagged a nice 5 point on the opener, but I saw nothing but a squirrel. I did spend a few hours in the morning on the opener helping him with his deer, when I should've been in my stand, but I don't know if I missed anything when I wasn't there. Anyway, the day after Thanksgiving I went to my friend's nearby property to hunt. He was out of town for Thanksgiving and asked if I would hunt his 100 acres and make sure no one else was hunting there. I had exclusive hunting privileges Weds through Friday. I drove my truck into a back field and parked to wait for the sun to rise. I took a seat at one end of the field where I could see the whole field, as well as the wood line around it. Soon after legal shooting time, I saw a doe at the far end of the field just inside the brush of the woods bordering the field. It was 200 yards away. Scanning the woods behind her, I spotted this nice 8-point buck. The brush was obscuring his body, and I could only see his head and neck. The doe spotted me and blew a warning. She did it again a few seconds later. When she ran into the woods the buck was still there looking at her. I knew he was going to run, so I set my crosshairs on his neck and steadied my aim. The Kimber 84M in 7mm08 roared and the buck staggered, as he tried to run away. I lost sight of him after that. I drove the truck over to where he stood and found him not far from where he was when I shot. I was a 200 yard off hand neck shot, and the longest shot I've taken on a buck in the Catskills. I had to call my friend Chuck to help me lift it onto the tailgate of my pickup, as it was too heavy for me to do it alone. The buck weighed 140 lbs field dressed and has a nice symmetrical 8-point rack. It also has two little bumps where it was growing 2 more points that would have made it a 10-pointer, but they're too small to count. I took some time to fill my tag, but it was worth the wait.

Just heard this buck was taken down the road from me. What a stud!

Means more venison in our freezer. It sure taste good this year with the price of meat going through the roof.

This is a good time to get out into the woods and still hunt. Beside being a great method of hunting to try or reconnect with again, it's exercise and a great way to do recon. Those deer are somewhere. Pack lite, bring a snack and a drink. SJC

Perfect BPS had the 54” for 59.99 but they matched Runnings 39.99 sale price and gave me 20.00 more off for signing up for a CC I’ll never use So I got it for 20.00 and change

I used a sled cause I hunt with my suv often, slides right in with no mess.

Unfortunately, I think that the population of "Suburban Deer" (i.e., those leaving within village/city limits) may be increasing , in contrast to the rural population. Tons of deer in Rockland county in loplaces you cant hunt and/or private property ; not so much on state/publica land. I think thyeve figure out theyre safer living right on top of us!!

Perfection!!!! Hunting for the best and smartest of the species has never been better.

It's a great time to sit nice and cozy in my Tree Stand and take a Nap ! If something strolls by so be it ! This is my 50th year hunting , success is still being out there !

This weekend was pretty slow. Saw a few Doe and 1 nice 6 pt too small for me to shoot. So few weeks a go my brother is bow hunting and a grey house cat comes along with a Doe in tow. The Doe followed the cat. I brushed it off but on Saturday morning here comes the grey house cat with the 6pt following it. Weirdest thing! My neighbor shot a Coywolf Sunday. Weighed 60 lbs. Big dog!!!! The guy holding it is over 6'.

So the other morning I went for hunt and the temps were in the high teens, I was bundled up good with warm clothes so I could stay out for a bit. I was carrying my new Model 70 6.5 PRC and spotted a Doe about 75 yds out in hardwoods meandering around grubbing for acorns. I pulled up on her with the rifle to take a look and found with all those heavy clothes on it changed the eye relief on my scope for full field of view, I had to crane my head forward in an unnatural shooting position to get a perfect full sight picture. For a standing shot I could make things work ok but for a quick shot where speed comes into play it would and could be a problem and cost you. I want a perfect sight picture immediately when the rifle is shouldered, no craning my neck for sure! When I mounted the scope in the Fall I thought I had it back far enough and with the hunting clothes I am usually wearing everything came up good. I did not take into account hunting in colder temps wearing extra heavy thick clothes. It is a common mistake, most mount their scopes when the weather is pleasant and do most of their shooting in light clothes. You will get a surprise when you shoulder that same rifle wearing a lot of clothes. Also some scopes are much more forgiving when it comes to eye relief having several inches to play with to get a perfect field of view. So the Winchester will be getting a different scope, I will be using a Burris Timberline on that rifle, with four inches of eye relief it is perfect for cold weather. Al

There are 3 and sometimes 4 of us hunting my SIL's property . One neighbor hunting his property East of us and 1 or two sometimes hunt on the property West of us . As far as I know , no one is hunting the woods North of us . Not hearing a lot of shooting but my sons and grandson have taken several deer off of my SIL's property this season and previous years .

My buddy got a nice 5 point on my land on the opener and I go a nice 8 the 24th. I still have a doe permit and have let a lot of does walk because they weren't big enough to give me the meat I expect for the amount of work I will have to do. I'm now only hunting for a big doe. Still got muzzleloader to hunt too.

The large 54" one would be your best choice. Here is pic of my son's bow kill buck on our 54" jet sled.

Excellent post Grouse; enjoyed reading VERY much

I think it's very area dependent, certain state lands still get pounded (Montezuma) for instance. I've noticed since rifle was made legal in Madison County there are a lot less deer than there were before on state land after hunting the same area for 15 years. It's just a changing sport, like everything, it always changes. It's more about food plots, tower blinds, cell cams, trophy hunting and high power rifles now. I'm not saying it's all bad, just different. Traditions in all aspects of life aren't what they used to be. Sent from my motorola edge (2022) using Tapatalk

Double edged sword for sure. Less pressure works out great for us looking for only the top of the class when it comes to whitetails. Some say there are not less hunters year after year but that’s a tough one to deny. Most definitely less hunters in my areas of choice.

Awesome buck. Congrats!

I hunt on club property surrounded by other clubs and I can tell you that none of them were out there for opening day. I am experiencing less and less hunters in the woods every year. Amongst my friends and family, I was the young guy over 40-years ago and guess what … I’m still the young guy with no youngens taking the baton from me. Truly sad …

I thought that dial was to focus the reticle Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

Love the horns!

I thought I was filling a DMP with a Doe , guess not !

We have been removing some of the useless vermin around here as of late as well.

Water Rat has the best posts !

More than one way to skin a cat! The same knife and blades already here from Ebay, black handle instead of orange. Al