Talked to a bunch of....

[growalot]

hunters and spouses from all over today...and some clerks in hunting shops ...What I heard and they say they have heard is........... it has been a rough year with all but the young ones being nocturnal since the begining of Oct...yes some deer taken but not near the sightings or takes as usual...yet they know they'er out there.....I came home...not feeling so perplexed over what I may have done wrong...

[greensider]

it seems like 90 percent of hunters had a bad year as far as deer sightings this year but if you spent any time in the outdoors as i do all summer and fall hiking all over there was a crap load of nuts this year so deer did not have to travel to find food does did not move so bucks did not have to spend as much time looking for them

[Taylormike]

Plus,my brother and I hunt two straight weeks with bow. We are literally 150 yards apart. I saw 25 deer with 2 shooters, he saw 5 and all yearling. They move a little and sightings change drastically. It's just the way it goes.

Edited December 12, 2014 by Taylormike

[Fletch]

I actually think my area had a very successful year. My group for the first year has not taken a buck yet! So weird I say this, but I passed a bunch of small ones and had a few good ones on cam. I am seeing more does and fawns than ever.

 

I have heard from other folks locally and some nice bucks have been taken and lots of deer sighted.

 

One big observation for me was almost ALL of my sightings were very early and very late in the day. Only a few days did I see any signs of movement after 1.5 hours after legal or more than an hour before end of legal. I also did not see barely any rubs this year and few scrapes. I do admit I do not get all up in the thickets as I do not want to screw up the area but I have never seen so few.

 

And up to the past week I have heard more shooting than usual. I think it is a very localized thing though. Half an hour away could be very different.

[ants]

Around my house, bow season was good. I didn't score but my buddy took a good 8 and I saw some good bucks and a lot of does. Since Nov. 19th I have seen one deer. a doe (I think)  about 150 yards out. I think they went nocturnal quick. With the snow I have seen them out in the fields, at night,  and see fresh tracks all around my hunting spots. Saw them out last night so I went out tonight and hunted the edges of the field………NADA!!!! At least I know they're there. I'll give it another shot Sun. and Mon…...

Edited December 13, 2014 by ants

[Stagger Lee]

You could just not be adapting to the changes in movement, sorry , a little sarcasm

[Four Season Whitetail's]

Hunting down around Letchworth this weekend and every deer we saw and took today were all in groups of 4 plus. One doe taken out of a group of 13. They are starting to get ready for winter areas for sure!

[Rhwrhwrhw0426]

I found a nice deep spot on state land sugar hill near Watkins glen and have seen deer everytime I've hunted there in muzzleloader. I haven't hunted there all year just knew it could be good. Hunted it afternoon on Mon tues Thur and Fri. Lots of small deer and no bucks. A couple big mama/lead does mixed in. I've seen a couple loner deer, both lil doe, I killed one. Mostly grouping up tho. They have been moving as early as 2 30.

[covert]

I don't know, I had a banner year.  I counted up my sightings on my DEC Bowhunter log and ended up with 57 deer total including 5 bucks.  Granted some of them were probably the same deer but still.  I hunted a lot this year (I used all four weeks vacation and four of my personal days during deer season) from opening day bow and am still going and so far I have only had two outings where I didn't see at least one deer.  That's even counting my trips up into 5H.  I even ended up with two bucks.

[Zag]

Our new spot has been fantastic, I saw at least one buck every hunt from the beginning of bow thru opening weekend of gun. An if I had a little more patience a couple weeks back id be $450 in debt to the taxidermist.

[Nomad]

Had a good season , saw close to 50 in bow 5 nice shooters . Took 3 doe, passed a ton of young bucks, friend took a 141 and heard about a 156 taken very nearby . Couple other decent bucks taken on the farm , pretty much everyone got something.

Still hoping for a buck in ML after I get off nights Sat. Morning. A man can dream right ?

[wolc123]

Fewest sightings ever for me also, hunting in the Northwest part of the state and the upper Adirondacks.  I got lucky they say on 2 of the 3 bucks I saw, one with crossbow, one with rifle (both posted in crossbow harvest thread).  No does in range thru archery or gun seasons.  Hopefully they show this weekend for late ML, but I will have to give them away as the freezer is stuffed now with buck meat.   A lot of my friends and neighbors were skunked this year, more than I ever remember. 

[Doc]

Well, at this stage it is all guess-work, but I believe that it is going to be a mixed bunch of results probably depending on where you hunt. I think the crazy weather kind of messed up a lot of people.

[growalot]

SL...read you bad gun season post....get the sarcasm...lol

[nyantler]

hunters and spouses from all over today...and some clerks in hunting shops ...What I heard and they say they have heard is........... it has been a rough year with all but the young ones being nocturnal since the begining of Oct...yes some deer taken but not near the sightings or takes as usual...yet they know they'er out there.....I came home...not feeling so perplexed over what I may have done wrong...

 

If you're looking to hear the woes of hunters and anecdotal guessing games hunters and hunting shop clerks are a great source... if you really want to know what deer are up to... that comes from experience with whitetails and spending hours following them in the woods... having dealt with NY hunters for nearly 25 years... I am amazed at how little most of them really know about deer and about hunting them... I think most of the problem is the deer finally figuring out that the funny looking metal ladder thing that's been in the same spot for the last couple years that smells funny needs to be avoided.

[growalot]

NYA...That may be true of some but I assure you not me...with 38 stands and 12 ground blinds....2 enclosed shooting houses . and 2 partially enclosed..they rarely see me in the same stand each week let alone the same area of the property....lots of those ppl were hunters...I just found it interesting I was hearing the same thing from nearly all of them plus guys on line....I have a pretty good idea of what happened here.and it has a lot to do with what others in the area are or are not doing...so I just need to work on counter measures...if The knee wasn't a mess I would have gone to camp and filled a tag or to...next year that might happen..I have 18 acres here that I never hunted due to not being able to maneuver it...The cams will tell me the rest of the story this winter..

[nyantler]

NYA...That may be true of some but I assure you not me...with 38 stands and 12 ground blinds....2 enclosed shooting houses . and 2 partially enclosed..they rarely see me in the same stand each week let alone the same area of the property....lots of those ppl were hunters...I just found it interesting I was hearing the same thing from nearly all of them plus guys on line....I have a pretty good idea of what happened here.and it has a lot to do with what others in the area are or are not doing...so I just need to work on counter measures...if The knee wasn't a mess I would have gone to camp and filled a tag or to...next year that might happen..I have 18 acres here that I never hunted due to not being able to maneuver it...The cams will tell me the rest of the story this winter..

 

I wasn't referring to you grow... I was referring to the thousands of hunters I have talked to over the years and my perception of most hunters based on those conversations... I have heard what you heard for almost 25 years its an ongoing theme with most hunters... I have a good idea that your not like most hunters. Sorry if it seem like I was implying that.