Where are the hunters????

[Doc]

Yeah, another year and another round of griping from me on the fact that there is no one out there moving any deer. Yeah we had some shooting for the first couple hours opening day and then everything went silent. Just enough shooting in the morning to put the deer in survival mode, and then a few scattered shots through the early part of the day, and then silence. I checked the state parking lot just a ways down the road on the second day of the season, and it was empty. Thanksgiving Day....... Absolutely silent. This is getting depressing. Every year it gets worse and worse. Anybody else noticing this? 

[CharlieNY]

My son and I are in absolute agreement with you. We have experienced the same this year and in the last few years. We are of the mindset that the only good deer hunting anymore is during bow season and opening morning of gun season. After that it is pure luck.

[airedale]

Not that many years ago around here it would be rare not to hear a couple of shots off in the distance during afternoon hunts, I have yet to hear a single shot this year.

Al

Edited November 27, 2023 by airedale

[First-light]

It's like everyone leaves after opening weekend and that's it. Heard 2 shots this afternoon. I have way too much private land around me that does not get pressured. We are all good friends so you can go wherever. I was hoping my crew would come back up but too many commitments. I have to start reading up on low pressure areas and late season hunting. Think out of the box!

[New York Hillbilly]

Doc, you are right on the money. I think the days of "orange next to every tree" is a thing of the past. Strange now to look back and realize the reason I bought my property originally was because of this very thing, and wanting to have a safe place for me, my family, and the occasional friend I might invite.

The landowner properties that border me on all sides are my age or older, and I think they quit hunting a long time ago for a variety of reasons, including poor health, or were just not into it to begin with. 

I suspect in the case of my one NYC neighbor just stopped making the trip up for his annual "deer camp" after his kids, much like mine, grew up and either moved away or got busy with their careers and/or kids of their own. The NYC guy had quite a big crew of guys coming up for years, and the shooting they did really kept deer on the move. Some of his guys were much older than me and may have died off or moved South to warmer weather. I have not heard one shot this year from that direction. And, as far as that goes, I think I have only heard one or two shots semi close in any direction since opening day.

There were lots of hunters on all the properties around me years past, and it was really exciting. Now, just distant memories.

I agree Doc, it is depressing. It's like a ghost town!

 

2 hours ago, Doc said:

Yeah, another year and another round of griping from me on the fact that there is no one out there moving any deer. Yeah we had some shooting for the first couple hours opening day and then everything went silent. Just enough shooting in the morning to put the deer in survival mode, and then a few scattered shots through the early part of the day, and then silence. I checked the state parking lot just a ways down the road on the second day of the season, and it was empty. Thanksgiving Day....... Absolutely silent. This is getting depressing. Every year it gets worse and worse. Anybody else noticing this? 

 

[Dr Juice]

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 …

[Four Seasons]

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. 

[Shoots100]

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

 

[GreeneHunter]

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 !

[landtracdeerhunter]

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

[Grouse]

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.

[Four Seasons]

12 minutes ago, Grouse said:

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.

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

[chrisw]

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

[Northcountryman]

I've only been out 2x so far this season: both outings on sunday.  Saw a 3 pointer first sunday and absolutely nothing last sunday.  I agree that hunting pressure has been light , but you would think that would to our advantage, right?

[Northcountryman]

1 hour ago, Grouse said:

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.

 

 

Excellent post Grouse; enjoyed reading  VERY much

[Grouse]

2 minutes ago, Northcountryman said:

 I agree that hunting pressure has been light , but you would think that would to our advantage, right?

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.

 

[Doc]

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.

[GreeneHunter]

42 minutes ago, Doc said:

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.

Guilty !

[Northcountryman]

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!!

[Hock3y24]

Every butcher shop here is at Capacity, some done for the season cause the have so many deer. Never seen that in my life. 

[luberhill]

16 minutes ago, Hock3y24 said:

Every butcher shop here is at Capacity, some done for the season cause the have so many deer. Never seen that in my life. 

Agree , I took my first one in during bow and they had 31 that day alone

went back last Wednesday with another and they were loaded 

[chrisw]

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.

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[Northcountryman]

2 hours ago, chrisw said:

It seems impossible to get permission most places that used to be easy to hunt on.

Do you think that landowners in years past used to be more hunter-friendly back in the day and more of them would allow hunting on their property? 

[fasteddie]

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 .

[genesee_mohican]

It does seem like the hunter numbers are down again this year. I didn't hunt this past Sunday but I drove around the access points of Letchworth park near me and only saw 2 vehicles. It was pretty quite most of bow after opening day.  I am hunting less this year myself. Just tired out from working 50 hr weeks and staying home with family.  It will probably be that way until I can 'semi retire'.