Good Deer Season - What does that mean

[MACHINIST]

Seeing them mostly,and killing a few or getting shots if I mess it up.I just hate the dry spells that you get that are weeks long

[Vince1]

first year hunting and I saw a good amount of deer, got a shot on one, enjoyed learning and loved it.

 

wish I didn't have to drive so far or I woulda been out way more, so all in all I have to say it was a good season even if I don't get one for the fridge

[Terry]

Any year I get to hunt a lot. Time spent in the field is important to me. My worst years are the one's where I have a lot of regret about missing a lot of time in the woods.

Edited December 12, 2013 by troutfisher13111

[Paula]

My good season was more days off to get out there to get pictures. The bounds would have been getting a deer.

[New Jack Hunter]

Hmm, I needed to think about this one. Here’s how my season went. Being part of the “Orange- Army” it’s not always easy. My season always starts out one week before opening “Rifle” day. First it’s a 6-½ hour ride from the Big City to Cattaraugus County, Can’t Beat the beautiful country up there. Always like to get up there before hand, to do some scouting and a little bow hunting.

 

This year was different, before the season began I was experiencing terrible foot pain if I turned my foot a certain way (haha I know, don’t turn your foot that way) well I didn’t. Being stubborn and thick headed, us Irish are known for this. Nothing was going to stop my season. Dealt with the pain, which was even worse going up and down the hills on uneven terrain, just tied my boots tighter, kept telling myself, pain is temporary pride is forever. Besides this was nothing, compared to what I have inflicted on my body through the years.

 

So anyway, this year was going be different, all the same people were going to be up at “deer camp” friends that I have met while up there, some I haven’t seen since last year many from out of state, always a good time. And a new member to this “our little boys club”, a “new hunter” first timer, the ink on his hunter safety course certificate was still wet. He was so excited to be going hunting. I decided that it didn’t matter whether I shot a deer or not. I was going to teach him what little I know about hunting, but all I knew about proper hunting adequate. Like to be in your tree stand a 1-hour or more before sunrise, and always help drag a deer out of the woods, especially for the older members. And my biggest pet peeve, pick your damn feet up when you walk, can’t believe how many adults still drag there feet as they walk, among others.

 

So, this year I ate “Tag-Soup” most everyone in our hunting party was successful, including our new hunter, with a doe. Who by the way has the hunting itch, or as I like to say, he’s now converted and is addicted. So I wont look at it as a bad season, even though I didn’t take a deer, had several chances, twice during bow, and twice during rifle, but passed. Ill always have the memories knowing that I was able to introduce a new hunter to this tradition of ours, and the scars that I’ll have, found out after the wife hounded me to go to the Dr’s that I ruptured 2 tendons in my foot, heard that surgery real fun, 8 weeks in a cast and about 6-9 months before I’m back to normal. Ha, that’s debatable “normal”. 

[NFA-ADK]

I base my personal success on how well I hunted, deer sightings, deer passed and knowledge gained.  Success is also based on other game, coyotes, eagles, hawks, turkey, bear, fox, bobcat, moose and weasels of all types make my days afield more memorable and are a big part of my enjoyment.   

 

One of my big issues with hunting is staying healthy enough to hunt.  I feel blessed every time I step in the woods and make sure I thank GOD every time.  If I am in the woods and healthy I am happy, everything else is just details. 

 

While taking a buck is the ultimate goal for me, just being afield and seeing deer equals success especially if I can go undetected.  The more I can go undetected the higher I consider my success.    A good season is when I go afield often, don't get shot at and see deer.  A great season is when I can put everything together and get a buck.  A pathetically crazy season is bagging a buck my first day and ending that season.  Lucky for me bow is another season so I can quench my thirst for the hunt.  

[G-Man]

A good season for me is getting everyone at camp an opportunity at a deer, bow and gun. as for getting a deer for myself its not hard i have always gotten multiple deer(benefit of living where i hunt)but to get a trophy buck/bear is a great season.

[bubba]

I guess as far as it goes, every season is a good one as long as I can get out there.  I have this weekend left for this year and supposed to be cold and snow  -5 tonight and up to a foot of snow between Saturday afternoon through Sunday.  That may change plans a bit for me.  Anyway my goals every year are to get out as much as possible and open my camp and land up to a few people to enjoy and enjoy the time spent with them.  I also enjoy seeing a new hunter get their first deer, so they get preference at my place.  If I have opportunities to harvest a deer and I decide to pass it up, I feel I have had a good season. This year and last, I had a few opportunities, and passed them all.  So, I feel they were good seasons.  I could say the season this year especially was not bad but disappointing because I saw very few deer.  I enjoy watching them and fooling them. Do I need to harvest a deer to feel I was successful? absolutely not.  I enjoy the whole hunt not just the numbers part.  

[Doc]

Ha-ha ... I love to fool myself into thinking there is some financial benefit to putting venison in the freezer. Free meat .... right? .... lol. Of course we all really know that venison is some of the most expensive meat going. However, I still always think that a deer or two in the freezer kind of adds some level of success to the season. And of course aside from cost, venison is some of the more healthy meat that you can stuff into your body. And like I said before, I do carry the gun for a purpose or else I would be out with my camera.

 

But there is no doubt that there are other benefits that add to season satisfaction besides venison in the freezer. So no season is really a waste of time.

[pointman]

It is hard to reply to this topic.  For bow season  ,which I went out mostly every day, was a bummer due to the fact that I only saw 4 does and no shots.  In the gun season, I harvested an eight pointer on the second day of the gun  season. The best time for me was after my harvest was that my grandson joined me for his first deer hunt.  I was able to pass on information to him that my father passed to me. Even thought we didn't get a deer, we both had a great time sharing the experience.  He said to his mother that next summer he was going to spend more time a poppys house learning the land and getting as much information from his grandfather.  Talk about what makes it great to hunt

[genesee_mohican]

A good season would mean being healthy and having enough free time to get out hunting several days during bow, gun and black powder. Seeing some nice bucks and taking at least one deer for the freezer. Hunting with friends and taking a nice buck are always enjoyable. I don't think I've ever had a bad season, it's all be good. I've had unsuccessful years but I can't think of many things I'd rather be doing.

 

[nyantler]

There are many factors that make my deer seasons all great... most of them spoken of already.. last on that list is taking a deer.. that would be a bonus to an already great experience.

[moog5050]

Hunted with good friends. Enjoyed in their success. Shot my biggest bow buck. And one of my favorites was planning a specific stand for a specific deer under specific wind at a specific time of the day and see it actually work. That was cool. Friend missed the deer, but it came where and when we expected. Very good season even though I missed the last two weeks due to work. More addicted than ever.

[WNYBuckHunter]

For me, at this point, a good season is a deer with the bow and another with the gun. A really good season would be 3 or 4 deer. This season has been my best ever, with 6 so far, and one of those being a nice buck. The only thing that would top what has happened for me this season would be to drop my target buck.

 

Also, I cant forget other things that made this such a great season. I got my daughter out there with me a few times, was present for 2 different hunters taking their first bucks, and another taking her first deer. I also introduced another female to the sport, and ended up taking my buck with her right there in the stand with me. I was able to be right there when my hunting partner took the biggest buck of his life as well. If I can get one or two of those things accomplished, plus a couple of deer, Id call it a good season for sure.

 

 

[Elmo]

Did I have fun and enjoy myself?  Yes.  Then good season.  No?  Then bad season.

[518BowSlayer]

haven't really had a bad season yet but this year was my best so far. shot a small doe opening day with the bow, a nice 8 pt with the gun and watched my girlfriend shoot her first deer. a 135lb field dressed doe. got plenty of meat in the freezer and a will have a head on the wall in a few months. saw a ton of turkeys too so spring time should be just as good. hopefully the girlfriend will get her first gobbler this year. best year yet!!!

[Deerslayer]

I had a great season, 8pter on last year's bow tag in early bow NZ, 7pter in SZ bow, pulled 2 'extra" 8N doe tags DEC gave out pretty much till the season ended, went out  there and stayed with my buddy and 3 of us crushed 'em out there, I filled both of my 8N tags there, and them came back & filled my local doe tag.  Surprisingly I still had my buck tag & my antlerless only bow/muzzy left over, but after all the successes I didn't hunt so hard in the last few weeks of season. All in all I have say it was a great season, saw deer pretty much every time I went out. My advice to anyone who didn't see much is to review your techniques, the deer are there if you aren't seeing them then you are doing something wrong, or you are not doing your homework.  That said, time to break out the tip ups and hit the hard water!!!! Merry Christmas and good luck out on the ice to all!

[Four Season Whitetail's]

I had a great season, 8pter on last year's bow tag in early bow NZ, 7pter in SZ bow, pulled 2 'extra" 8N doe tags DEC gave out pretty much till the season ended, went out  there and stayed with my buddy and 3 of us crushed 'em out there, I filled both of my 8N tags there, and them came back & filled my local doe tag.  Surprisingly I still had my buck tag & my antlerless only bow/muzzy left over, but after all the successes I didn't hunt so hard in the last few weeks of season. All in all I have say it was a great season, saw deer pretty much every time I went out. My advice to anyone who didn't see much is to review your techniques, the deer are there if you aren't seeing them then you are doing something wrong, or you are not doing your homework.  That said, time to break out the tip ups and hit the hard water!!!! Merry Christmas and good luck out on the ice to all!

Not to throw an argument out there but you are painting with a pretty big brush. I have 700 acres of prime farmland next to 20 thousand acres of prime deer land...So i have the land.. I have taken god only knows how many deer with 5 of them big enough to make a book..So i think i know somewhat of what im doing.. Trust me when i say some of us have the tools and the know how to get the job done!  No matter what you do, you cant harvest whats not there!!  You are right about the hard water though!!!! Merry Xmas!

[Uncle Nicky]

I never set goals before the season...too many variables, and things I can't control. Plus, between fishing, turkey hunting, work, and life in general, I'm too busy to give deer hunting much thought, until October rolls around.

 

A good season? Multiple deer sightings, at least 1 8-pointer, and a small buck, maybe a couple does (hunting PA, NY, & NJ). A bad season- a couple does, a small buck.

 

2013 I hunted in Texas and killed a very nice buck, killed a nice buck in NY, a nice buck in PA...so this has been a great season. And still have until the end of January, but motivation is way down at this point, just not in the mood to drag or process any more deer.

[Deerslayer]

Not to throw an argument out there but you are painting with a pretty big brush. I have 700 acres of prime farmland next to 20 thousand acres of prime deer land...So i have the land.. I have taken god only knows how many deer with 5 of them big enough to make a book..So i think i know somewhat of what im doing.. Trust me when i say some of us have the tools and the know how to get the job done!  No matter what you do, you cant harvest whats not there!!  You are right about the hard water though!!!! Merry Xmas!

Are you saying there aren't any deer on all that land?  I will give you that, the big woods is definitely tougher to hunt, what are your food sources?

Certainly there must be apples or areas thick with acorns/beech/hickory nuts? They have to eat somewhere!  Find the food and you will find the deer!

This day and age it's become much easier with our technology (trail cams). I hunt many parcels but started out up here when I got out of the service with nothing but 50 acres my Uncle owned. I cover each and every parcel, weigh the odds and go with my gut on my best bets. If a parcel shows little or no sign / not much food, you won't see me wasting time there. If I've hunted a spot more than a couple times with no results, you prob wouldn't see me there again either.  I also take advantage of earlier season, where many other hunters would pass on that doe because it's only opening day of reg season, I have seen many a hunter buddy do that and then regret it come end of season when the weather turns crappy and the freezer is still empty. Tags don't taste good so I use them when I can!  It is nice to get a bigger buck, however it's not the most important thing to me, I'm a meat hunter. 12 pointers are great but a 6pt walks out in front of me, it's dead. Tag filled. Come February the horns on the wall don't mean as much to me as meat in my freezer. I guess my point is if something a person is doing, say hunting the stand in the back of the cornfield every chance he gets isn't working, move it to a better spot, get out there and find the deer!  Sometimes it comes easy, other times it's backbreaking work finding where the critters are bedding/feeding/traveling, but with persistence and motivation comes success.  I also had a sharp incline of success when I started really working on scent control, probably the biggest factor in "seeing deer". I never go into the woods without a scent free shower & clothes washed in scent free soap,scent free dryer sheets and stored in plastic bins. Boots - I never wear them anywhere but in the woods, I don't even wear them driving to hunt, stopping for gas, Stewarts for coffee, etc.  Just my take on it. There are always people who won't agree with any given opinion & I know there are hunters who get a huge buck or they get nothing, it's a matter of personal preference and as long as it's legal, it's all good hunting!  I'm always happy to share my strategies to help others fill the freezer! Cheers!

[Four Season Whitetail's]

Are you saying there aren't any deer on all that land?  I will give you that, the big woods is definitely tougher to hunt, what are your food sources?

Certainly there must be apples or areas thick with acorns/beech/hickory nuts? They have to eat somewhere!  Find the food and you will find the deer!

This day and age it's become much easier with our technology (trail cams). I hunt many parcels but started out up here when I got out of the service with nothing but 50 acres my Uncle owned. I cover each and every parcel, weigh the odds and go with my gut on my best bets. If a parcel shows little or no sign / not much food, you won't see me wasting time there. If I've hunted a spot more than a couple times with no results, you prob wouldn't see me there again either.  I also take advantage of earlier season, where many other hunters would pass on that doe because it's only opening day of reg season, I have seen many a hunter buddy do that and then regret it come end of season when the weather turns crappy and the freezer is still empty. Tags don't taste good so I use them when I can!  It is nice to get a bigger buck, however it's not the most important thing to me, I'm a meat hunter. 12 pointers are great but a 6pt walks out in front of me, it's dead. Tag filled. Come February the horns on the wall don't mean as much to me as meat in my freezer. I guess my point is if something a person is doing, say hunting the stand in the back of the cornfield every chance he gets isn't working, move it to a better spot, get out there and find the deer!  Sometimes it comes easy, other times it's backbreaking work finding where the critters are bedding/feeding/traveling, but with persistence and motivation comes success.  I also had a sharp incline of success when I started really working on scent control, probably the biggest factor in "seeing deer". I never go into the woods without a scent free shower & clothes washed in scent free soap,scent free dryer sheets and stored in plastic bins. Boots - I never wear them anywhere but in the woods, I don't even wear them driving to hunt, stopping for gas, Stewarts for coffee, etc.  Just my take on it. There are always people who won't agree with any given opinion & I know there are hunters who get a huge buck or they get nothing, it's a matter of personal preference and as long as it's legal, it's all good hunting!  I'm always happy to share my strategies to help others fill the freezer! Cheers!

Trust me after having this property for 30 years i know where,when and why the deer are where they are. With 300 acres of corn, 300 acres of soybeans,100 plus acres of swamp and woods under my hand and then thousands of acres of prime wild deer acreage a guy would..and i have..come to expect to see deer at about any time. The deer numbers are not there. Thats what i base my..If i had a good year or not... could have shot some more and lowered my numbers even more but who losses there?   99% of hunters know what to expect from their season based on past seasons. Of course things change. Some get lucky and kill a bigger deer than they hoped for but when everything is in place to have some of the top hunting in the state and your own state works against you/us on that....A season or 3 can be a bust real quick!  The good newz for some of us is that we can go where the deer are!!!  

[Doc]

I think mostly a "good season" is anytime I can prove to myself that I know what the heck I'm doing out there. That doesn't happen every year ..... lol.

 

Sometimes that can happen during a year when deer are exceptionally scarce. In fact those are the years that really test what you are made of.

[nyantler]

Trust me after having this property for 30 years i know where,when and why the deer are where they are. With 300 acres of corn, 300 acres of soybeans,100 plus acres of swamp and woods under my hand and then thousands of acres of prime wild deer acreage a guy would..and i have..come to expect to see deer at about any time. The deer numbers are not there. Thats what i base my..If i had a good year or not... could have shot some more and lowered my numbers even more but who losses there?   99% of hunters know what to expect from their season based on past seasons. Of course things change. Some get lucky and kill a bigger deer than they hoped for but when everything is in place to have some of the top hunting in the state and your own state works against you/us on that....A season or 3 can be a bust real quick!  The good newz for some of us is that we can go where the deer are!!!  

 

Not at all to take away from your deer hunting method, but I have never wanted to know the where and when part of deer before the season.. the challenge and the fun for me now is going into the deer season with no info about the place I'm hunting... I love doing all my info gathering during the season.. I'm not saying this is the way to hunt for everyone, just how I like it... some would say that I am making it very difficult for myself to get a buck... and I would agree with them, its a very tough way to hunt... but that is how I keep up my passion for hunting, by challenging myself to the extreme... so, although I think trail cam pics are cool.. I don't use them.. and although hunting on or around food plots are affective.. I don't plant them....Usually I don't even hunt with what most guys consider modern weaponry..LOL.. I don't even care to now what kind of bucks are in the area... I like the pure hunting experience from start to finish... I have been fortunate to be successful in harvesting a buck most years... but it isn't about just harvesting a buck for me, its all about the experience... and for me personally, the tougher the experience... the greater the satisfaction of the hunt.. my stories are seldom about just seeing a deer and shooting it... my hunting stories start long before I see a deer, kind of like a mystery novel where the exciting part of the book is gathering the clues leading up to solving the mystery... but doing it all in the same day. Sometimes I get the bear, sometimes the bear gets me... but successful or not.. the story is always exciting!

[Four Season Whitetail's]

Not at all to take away from your deer hunting method, but I have never wanted to know the where and when part of deer before the season.. the challenge and the fun for me now is going into the deer season with no info about the place I'm hunting... I love doing all my info gathering during the season.. I'm not saying this is the way to hunt for everyone, just how I like it... some would say that I am making it very difficult for myself to get a buck... and I would agree with them, its a very tough way to hunt... but that is how I keep up my passion for hunting, by challenging myself to the extreme... so, although I think trail cam pics are cool.. I don't use them.. and although hunting on or around food plots are affective.. I don't plant them....Usually I don't even hunt with what most guys consider modern weaponry..LOL.. I don't even care to now what kind of bucks are in the area... I like the pure hunting experience from start to finish... I have been fortunate to be successful in harvesting a buck most years... but it isn't about just harvesting a buck for me, its all about the experience... and for me personally, the tougher the experience... the greater the satisfaction of the hunt.. my stories are seldom about just seeing a deer and shooting it... my hunting stories start long before I see a deer, kind of like a mystery novel where the exciting part of the book is gathering the clues leading up to solving the mystery... but doing it all in the same day. Sometimes I get the bear, sometimes the bear gets me... but successful or not.. the story is always exciting!

Nope i got ya 100% and we hunt much the same. I use no trail cams and no longer do much if any pre-season scouting. Stand repair is about it. I do plant plots but not much of a hunting plot. I do corn the most 3,4,5 acres and leave standing all year.

 When i say when,where,why..I mean on the deers part. Like i know when and why they will be in the swamp at a certin time of year. Or maybe when they will start to travel the creek beds between the 100 acre bean field and 100 acre corn field. Or when the bigger bucks like to lock down and bed with a doe in my 30 acre grown up and nasty field that nobody steps foot on for the most part.

 I guess the point was being that i thought i know the deer and my land of 30 plus years good enough to know if the numbers are there or not.   Which i based my answer on. Not good at all this year and if this ice we just got does not give way some so they can travel, The future of the whitetails and turkeys in this area will not be good!!

[Doc]

You know what would be a perfect hunt? Go out and cut something like a hickory stave. Let it season for a year. Get out your best whittling knife and make a longbow. Make your own arrows. Oh, maybe to give yourself a fighting chance, a few purchased cedar shafts might be acceptable....lol..... or not. Knapp you own stone broadheads and then go out and get a deer (any deer) with your own home-made archery equipment. Man what an accomplishment that would be.

 

My introduction to hunting occurred in almost that same way when I was about 11 years old. Well, it wasn't deer .... lol. But it was pigeons in the barn that I killed with my trusty self-made longbow and fletchless willow arrows. I always had an idea of doing it in a little grander fashion and taking a deer with self-made archery equipment. Never did it, but it sure is a neat idea.

 

Now that would be a perfect deer season.