Sightings Per Hunt??

[Cabin Fever]

I've been keeping a hunting journal now for the past 9 years. During bow season, I 'average' seeing 1 deer every 3hrs of stand time. During gun season, I 'average' seeing 1 deer every 9hrs of stand time. This might not sound too bad to some, but these are averages over the season. If you think about a doe a two fawns strolling by one morning, that's 3 deer, so I might not see anything for the next 2-3 outings! OUCH!

It kills me to watch shows on the Outdoor Network and have guys saying they saw 100-200 deer that hunt, or were covered up with deer all day, or there was a constant parade of deer coming by all day, etc... I wonder if they know or appreciate how good they have it?

What do you typically see on your hunts??

[burmjohn]

On my uncles current property we would see anywhere from 1 to 10 deer per day, average of maybe 4 per day.  On his old property we would see and average of 10 per day.  I'm hoping own my property I'll see a ton   We shall see this will be the first year there but the previous owner and neighbors say 20+ per day easy.

[Cabin Fever]

We shall see this will be the first year there but the previous owner and neighbors say 20+ per day easy.

Holy CRAP!! That's about what I see in an entire bow AND gun season combined!! And I spend a LOT of time hunting!!

[burmjohn]

We will see this season if it holds true

[WNYBuckHunter]

I usually see around the same numbers as burmjohn, I wont say there are that many in range, or that walk into a shooting lane, but I do see alot of deer.

[wztirem]

I usually see around the same numbers as burmjohn, I wont say there are that many in range, or that walk into a shooting lane, but I do see alot of deer.

Interesting question regarding deer sightings. I am always amused when turkey hunting (fall and spring) I see many deer but few turkeys. During gun season I see many turkeys!

[wellsley]

Last year I was seeing between 13 & 19 deer a day. But not to long ago I would see over 30 deer a day. One bright note is that I see more and bigger bucks now.

[fasteddie]

This is one of the ways the DEC gets counts . They have archery hunters keep track of their hunting hours and what they see when on stand . What you see while driving to your area doesn't go into the count .

[Buckstopshere]

I filled out the bowhunter sighting log for years and it varied, through the 1990's up to about 2,001 it was a bit better than one deer per hour spent in the stand. Now it is not quite that, but last year it was pretty close to one deer per hour. This does NOT count the ones I see walking in to the stand or walking out (especially at dusk.) And it holds true during the gun season too, but then, I chose stands where I can see further through the woods and fields in general.

[sweet old bill]

I also keep a log book of hunting etc, were I hunted and did I see game and or weather conditions. IN the mid 70's I think was the best the deer herd was and it has been on the down side was when they started having to many doe permits and take a buck for each tag you buy.

Lat year it was more like for every 3 days of hunting I would see a deer. During the bow season for the total time I saw only 3 bucks and none were in shooting range, during gun I never saw a horn. I am retired and hunt each day from a hour prior to sun up to 10 am and then from 3pm to dark.

[orion]

Lately on average if I see 10 deer a year I am doing good. I hunt about 20 days a year.

Although there has been exceptions where I have seen 14 deer together come into one of our foodplots. That happened once and then we never even got close to that many tracks let alone seeing that many deer.

[Doc]

I haven't gone back to my spreadsheet to check, but I would say that Bowseason sightings on average across the whole season is probably less than one deer per hunt (from stand). That would be a quite a bit higher when scouting or walking around. I spend a lot of hunts closing in on where the deer are. And those hunts may pass without seeing one deer. That brings the average down in a hurry.

In gun season, the number would be a whole lot lower. Even though opening day I may have deer running all over me, when you average in the weekdays when deer have moved into the survival mode, that average number drops way down. That number also changes upward on days when I am still-hunting. I tend to see a lot more deer that way than when I am sitting like a lump, feeling like the only guy in the woods, and all the deer are switched to nocturnal movements.

Doc

[Cabin Fever]

WOW! The #'s sure do vary! I guess I'm not the only one that doesn't see much then! I don't understand why though. My property is situated right between 2 thick, jungle-like, undisturbed bedding areas. I'm surrounded by ag fields and apple orchards, plus I plant 2 acres of food plots that are way back off the road undisturbed. And I also have little to no hunting pressure on the surrounding properties, where I also have permission to hunt.

I dunno...

[Doc]

WOW! The #'s sure do vary! I guess I'm not the only one that doesn't see much then! I don't understand why though. My property is situated right between 2 thick, jungle-like, undisturbed bedding areas. I'm surrounded by ag fields and apple orchards, plus I plant 2 acres of food plots that are way back off the road undisturbed. And I also have little to no hunting pressure on the surrounding properties, where I also have permission to hunt.

I dunno...

In some cases it may just be perception. I know it is the days that I actually see deer that stand out in my mind. But I also know there are days when I don't see any deer. So when you say "average", I have to factor in those days when nothing is spotted.

Also, there is a huge difference depending on hunting style. In my younger days, I used to stand for a couple hours in the morning and then head out to do some scouting/stillhunting. Then go back to stand hunting for the last 2 hours. I would see all kinds of deer during those "walking" hours.

Another feature regards food. Last year, we had a bumper crop of acorns. This had the effect of dispersing the deer because there was no concentration of their food source. I think that comes into play anytime you have too much food available.

As far as pressure is concerned, sometimes the right kinds of pressure will keep deer on their feet. That may be a factor during gun season as far as higher sighting numbers. A little pressure usually winds up to be just enough to put deer in their survival mode, but not enough pressure to keep them moving. That all combines to provide low numbers of actual sightings. That doesn't mean there are no deer, it just means that they are not out and on display.

I'm guessing that every area is unique and has different features and influences that effect sightings. Some may legitimately be low deer numbers, but that is not always the case.

Doc

[Doewhacker]

It depends on the spot that I am hunting, at home here in Northern Saratoga I average 2 but down in Green county its more like 10 per morning sit and some times 20+. The max that I saw was 60 by lunch time, but that was doing drives during gun season, that was one of our first trips down to the area @10 years ago. It was a shock to the system after hunting an area where you were lucky to see a deer in a whole days hunt. Now I feel lucky to have a spot with lots of deer.

[wellsley]

I would have to wonder how much time you spend hunting and whether you are still hunting or stand hunting. What hours are you hunting? I also wouldn't hunt the bedding areas but the trails on the outskirts going in and out of.

WOW! The #'s sure do vary! I guess I'm not the only one that doesn't see much then! I don't understand why though. My property is situated right between 2 thick, jungle-like, undisturbed bedding areas. I'm surrounded by ag fields and apple orchards, plus I plant 2 acres of food plots that are way back off the road undisturbed. And I also have little to no hunting pressure on the surrounding properties, where I also have permission to hunt.

I dunno...

[Cabin Fever]

I would have to wonder how much time you spend hunting and whether you are still hunting or stand hunting. What hours are you hunting? I also wouldn't hunt the bedding areas but the trails on the outskirts going in and out of.

I certainly put in my time! I just checked my journals since 2001 and I've been going on 40-65 hunts (130-170 hrs stand time), between bow, shotgun, and muzzleloader season.  The majority of my time is spent on stand. When my son is with me during gun season, we might put on a couple small drives to eachother. I typically hunt mornings, but also some mid-day, and afternoons.

[wellsley]

You are certainly putting in the time. What county are you hunting in? Do you pay close attention to the wind direction and the thermals? One thing I do differant is I spend the whole day afield. Whether or not I'm sitting or still hunting I don't come home usually until dark.  1/3 of the bucks I've shot were between 11am and 1pm. I've noticed alot of deer movement  at 9am, 12pm and just before dark. For some reason I've shot very few deer at first light. If there are good #'s of deer in your area and your not seeing them I'd keep asking why. Even in the adirondacks I see deer I just don't see that many bucks, but I've never hunted there during the rut.