Opening Day

[bkln]

Is it just me in the Southern Zone or the opener is getting slower and slower..... sat in for 6 hours today from 6 till noon and didn't even hear 20 shots... Saw a nice buck walking away out of the kill zone, but generally where do you think the trend is going...??? Last year and this year was the most uneventful days I can remember...

[ATbuckhunter]

I know I have seen a big shift in the last 5 years. But that also could be because I hunt the day after the opener. 

[Napping in the woods]

All depends on where you are.  I didn't hear many shots today,10-15,  but that's because I was on my out by 10 or so with a filled tag.  I saw more deer today than in the last three years combined.  Saw more guys in the woods I hunt today than in the last three years too.

Edited November 16, 2014 by Napping in the woods

[Cabin Fever]

Sat with my daughter for 10hrs on opening day. Never saw a deer! Pathetic!!

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[grampy]

Not much happening here ether. Sat for first six hours heard a few shots but not close and saw not one deer. Back in stand by one thirty and just before dark a doe and small buck came through. Compared to what I was seeing during bow it was very slow today. Hope it picks up the next couple of days!

[Hock3y24]

Saw 3 deer this am, not many shots and the ones I did hear were 7-8 am

[BizCT]

Second slow year in a row. Sucks! Getting tempted to make the 2 hr drive each way to state land in the Catskills just to see deer

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[Short Track Hunter]

3J & 3M.   No deer in the woods.  I saw deer on the roads, and next to highways.   But not a track in the woods.  And there is snow where I hunt, so I would have seen tracks, and beds.   The Coyote population has exploded, and is taking it's toll.

 

I was excited too, because snow on opening day, and the rut.  I thought for sure I would see deer.

[Pygmy]

I only heard ONE shot before legal hunting time this morning..

 

The last few years, since rifles have been legal here, I've generaly heard 15 -20..

 

Back when shotguns were  required, I might hear 50-60 shots before legal shooting time.

 

Overall, it was a pretty quiet morning.  A few shots here and there.

 

Can't say about the afternoon..I shot a buck at 11;15 and after that I was on the ATV for awhile retrieving it and left the woods at about 1:30.

[cityboy]

Saw two of the smallest fattest spikes running full bore for about 1/4 mile from one field to another across the road. They were so fat their legs looked short. Wasn't hunting, driving my daughter to an audition in NYC.  (3M)

[blackradio]

Heard about 50 shots. I sat until 10 and then from 2-dark and saw 1 big doe in the morning at 20 yards but she winded me. The other guy that hunt the property say 8 does and a half rack six. Hopefully tomorrow is good.

[CvaBob]

Yotes will put a huge hurt on the deer population if not hunted/trapped hard. I hunt land down in SC and the yotes have devastated the deer there.

[Two Track]

worked lated so ended up sleeping through the alarm. Woke up at shooting time.  Someone got a buck in 3P and was loading it up at 8:15 as I drove by.

 

Heard maybe 5 shots all day between 8:30- 4:20. Not much moving in the piece I was in: two squirrels and a small bear

 

 

Edited November 16, 2014 by Two Track

[Elmo]

In years pass I would always reach my limit in "like" off of the gun harvest thread. This year there are only 4 posts? Are things that slow?

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[Elmo]

worked lated so ended up sleeping through the alarm. Woke up at shooting time. Someone got a buck in 3P and was loading it up at 8:15 as I drove by.

Heard maybe 5 shots all day between 8:30- 4:20. Not much moving in the piece I was in: two squirrels and a small bear

Guess you didn't want to take the bear? I was in Sterling all day. Hear a bunch of shots. Didn't see anything. Every hunter I bumped into all had the same frustrated look and report the same. Zilch.

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[SmokeinTN]

I only heard ONE shot before legal hunting time this morning..

 

The last few years, since rifles have been legal here, I've generaly heard 15 -20..

 

Back when shotguns were  required, I might hear 50-60 shots before legal shooting time.

 

Overall, it was a pretty quiet morning.  A few shots here and there.

 

Can't say about the afternoon..I shot a buck at 11;15 and after that I was on the ATV for awhile retrieving it and left the woods at about 1:30.

 

Congrats Pygmy hope it was a big one.

[Two Track]

Never had bear before.  No bears where I grew up, so I debated on it.

 

First spotted the bear it was headed into pile of downed trees and thought great... a den.

 

It came out the otherside and turned towards me.  The closest shot would have been a headshot.  Then it turned 135 degrees and headed up the slope.  Watched it pause, lay down, and then clean its paws while on its back.  I snapped the pick when it got back up.  It winded me 2 minutes latter.

 

The pic is cropped and zoomed in.  Lots of rocks and boulders around, so I was mindful of possible richot.  I was out with a smoothbore shotgun ground hunting.  If I took my grandfather's rifle, would have had no issue with the range. I was also making sure there were no cubs around.

 

If it came back when I had tuna salad for lunch, it would have been put on the menu.

 

There were only two others in area I was hunting in the northern parts of Sterling. There were two shots from the otherside of the ridge at different parts of the day.  Not sure how many hunters were in the upper parking lot.

 

Two weeks earlier saw a buck near where the bear was.  This may be an interesting spot to watch.

[Dunc08]

Heard 20+ in G4 I believe friends land.1 shot heard before 6:15,legal is6:40??? My boy did get nice buck though. Anyone on feelings of coyotes during season???

[Dunc08]

In friends land

[genesee_mohican]

Here in 8M central Liv co it was pretty quiet. Each year seems to have less shooting on opening day. There are a ton of deer in this area, I saw 15 doe/fawn and 4 sm bucks. I think there are fewer young hunters each year, some of the old timers can no longer get out, and more land is posted for sure making it difficult to find a place to hunt. Hunters are also sitting waiting for a big buck instead of shooting smaller ones. But we have seen a noticeable steady decline of shots heard on opening day for the last 5 years.

[growalot]

Not the case in 8N....first shot at 5:50..then another a moment later..7:01 opener.....then from 6:15 -6:40...30 shots...after that it was a few an hour...then I went in and fell asleep till 11:30

[FX62]

9N in stand at 6:20, first shot heard at 6:29 and counted 40+ before 7:00. I figured there would be quite a few since we had snow. Well over 100 shots throughout the morning. We are on a hill and it was calm so I could hear a long way off. Didnt see a deer until 9:50 when 6 doe trotted across the neighbors field. Couple grunts later and a yearling and mature doe headed my way and the mature doe fell to a 30.06 through both lungs. Finally some meat for the freezer after a frustrated bow season.

[Mustang51js]

I heard about 20 shots this year compared to about 50 last year. Saw the same amount of deer but no bucks again.

[landtracdeerhunter]

You could count the shots on both hands, here by 10AM.. Afternoon sit, maybe seven shots. Way down from previous years. Can't identify, with an accurate reason at this point. My son said his location, sounded like a war zone in northern 9F. Pretty normal there.

[GreeneHunter]

In the woods at 5:40 in ladder stand ..... sit wait , 8 am see movement 100 yards out then nothing , 8:20 see movement 50 yards out then nothing , 8:45 here come two Does , they bed down 50 feet from my stand and no DMP (4H) . 9:15 I yell at them - they don't budge . The hell with it I climb down to go for coffee and kick them both !  I'll be back !