uberyan

I still hunt so I only do blind calling when I'm taking a rest or when I get very bored and frustrated from not seeing any deer signs for an extended period. Granted it wasn't done very often but I've never had any deer pop out from calling so I was just curious. Almost wondered if the deer hear calls and automatically think "oh there's some idiot hunter out there trying to get me out in the open". But I guess people have had experience with them making noises after all.

This was the first season where I was able to be out in the woods throughout the majority. Pre-rut, rut, post-rut etc. I noticed I have never actually heard a deer vocalizing. No estrous bleats or territorial buck sounds. Just curious how many here have actually heard a deer make sounds other than grunting if you bump them.

Not to derail the thread but what do folks do when the deer start bedding down in the really thick stuff? i like to still hunt but I'm talking about spots where there's no way to stealthily sneak in.

Deerskin rug for sure on that one Cynthia. Well im back home to spend time with the wife and kid for the rest of Sunday. Zero activity where I was and I fear they've all gone from their previous bedding spots which were somewhat accessible to the areas of the woods where you really just can't see or get into. No recent signs of dragging or bloodtrails either. Closing the book on this spot for the season. Not worth driving close to two hours to not see anything. Time to focus on the spots closer to home. I did see a hawk fly overhead low enough to see. And on the drive home a bunch of turkeys hanging out on the opposite side of the main road. There was a cyclist heading right towards them hope he didn't crash.

All the big fresh tracks lead south across the highway into the restricted part of the park. Hoping for scraps here but no dice so far. Prob call it a day around noon if things don't perk up.

Yep. Deer moving during daylight hours has been hard to come by in my limited experience. Really hoping that's an anomaly.

Live from Dunkin' Donuts. Coffee and wake up wraps for the road out east most likely my last hunt for this spot for the season. Stick around to closer areas as needed until the season ends. Starting to lose motivation overall but dragging myself out for one last hurrah here.

Can't double dip on weekends. One day for hunting. One day with wife and kid. I've been telling her things like there are guys on the forum who have gone out 64 times this season alone. She's not getting the hint.

Wind speeds will be near 30mph tomorrow to go along with the snow we had this evening. Go out or go on Sunday instead when the wind is not as crazy?

Well I think that was hunt number 10 or 11. Still zero deer. Does popped out ten minutes before legal light ended but they wouldn't come in range. Some random guy comes up from behind me asking if I saw a deer he shot. Really kicking myself for passing on the doe and spike when I had the chance early in the season.

Took afternoon off. Got to spot with doe encounters last time. 2out of 3 south side spots taken. One with a doe already in the carrier. Headed to northern spot in the main lot. Not ideal but what can you do. Bumped two teens making out in the lot. Human rut is always on. Saw sone turkeys on trail into northeast corner. Time to found s good set of tracks and hope for the best. Light snow falling. Gorgeous.

Godspeed TF

Where'd you pick up that deal?

Live from the bed. 8+ hours of driving yesterday. Much of it though snow storming conditions with a cranky toddler in the backseat. Got me all tired and not motivated at all to get out of bed. Hunting with snow is a rareish opportunity here but I'm just beat. i was all prepared to follow tracks and go charging into some deer bedrooms today but I think I'll let them go one more day.

I saw some informational poster about how they use controlled fires to maintain Sarnoff. My guess is they haven't done it in a while. Shame as it's one of the larger public parcels on the island.

You and me both. Well more like 36 hours for me. Going to hit it up Sunday morning hoping for some good tracks to follow.

After wasting the morning at Sarnoff I decided to spot check some of the other public spots somewhat nearby. Headed to a state park about 20 mins north. Best parking spot (imho) was open and it seemed like no one was hunting. So i parked the car jumped in the backseat and got changed again into my hunting gear. Explored/still hunted for a bit. Signs here and there but no deer. Bumped into some older guys hiking on the trail. They said there were definitely deer there but they don't come out until sunset or early morning. It was too late in the day to really get deeper in so I picked a spot that looked like there would be some traveling through. Positioned myself facing northwest to catch anything coming over the ridge on the north and paths on the west. I decided to forget about the sides behind me as I figured anything from that side would scent me. Well i guess my scent control regimen is pretty good. Deer came from my 5o clock and just like the guys had mentioned 5 minutes before legal light ended. First doe walked right by me and as I was trying to position myself to the other side of the tree I was standing behind to get a shot a second doe popped out. i figured I was done and she would spook immediately. I was not behind anything just next to the tree mid turn with my bow pulled up and my right hand holding the release taut with the dloop. She didn't book it immediately and I got the whole head bobbing hoof stomping routine. In the end she decided I wasn't enough of a threat to run away but not safe enough to walk past and walked the long way around me. I watch her walk around and start to turn back around to see if that first doe was still there. And now I'm facing a third doe who's got me dead to rights. Again doesn't immediately spook and I get another bobbing stomping routine. This one went on for way too long and legal light was gone. Oh well at least I saw some deer up close.

Wasted morning. Took the day off from work but still had to wait for nanny to arrive before I could leave the house. so figured I'd try a new spot closer to the house. Sarnoff preserve. Follow navi to the parking spot I picked out. Closed private road. Guess that area is no longer part of the public land area. Good thing the dec keeps their maps up to date. Find a different spot in the main parking lot. Now I'd been told it was thick in there and wow they weren't kidding. Walked around for hours just looking for a way to even get into the deeper woods. It wasn't happening without a machete or a flame thrower. One to five feet high bushy branchy things as soon as you got a few feet off the trail. So dense it looked Iike fog in the distance. Only huntable spot was the 100 feet right by the car so unless the deer were going to be stupid enough to jump out of the woods and say hello I wasn't having any shots. Very curious to see if anyone has had success here recently. Maybe I just chose a really bad part of the area.

Wedding and birthday party this weekend. Can't squeeze in hunting on either day. Sucks. Hope there are some deer left in the woods for next weekend.

Happy thansgiving y'all.

I think I'm closing the book on rifle season after my one outing. It's too much of a pain to get to a rifle area and not see a thing. Gonna focus on bowhunting the island where I know there are deer. Good luck on gun for the rest of yous.

Crows going ape. Still nothing.

Out and about in 4z. Ain't seen diddly save for squirrels and a mosquito trying to land on me. Just let out a booty call to see if that has any effect. If this place ends up being a bust again I'm crossing it off my list. 4-5 visits over two seasons and all I've seen were some does, one bear and one turkey.

Driving out to the east end for a late start. Hoping for lucky number 7

Well it's my first bow season so I'm trying to stay positive. It wouldn't be so bad if the hunting spots were closer to home. Definitely envy those that can roll out of bed and walk out their back door to hunt. from hearing what others have said, it looks like this season is just one of those oddball quiet seasons. Friday will be my 7th time in the woods since I started hunting last season. Hoping for lucky number 7.