Where’s The Beef - I Mean Venison?
The 30th. of December was a lot like all the other times I sat for hours on end, and didn’t see a thing. I honestly cannot recall another hunting season where I saw nothing, nada, zilch, zero day after day. Looking back, the first part of October, I saw more deer than any other time during the season. By the time the rut rolled around, and through November and December, things fizzled out fast.
Of course there can be any number of explanations for the lack of deer sightings. The first one I think of is that there just aren’t that many deer in the area I’m hunting! I might believe that theory if it weren’t for the presence of numerous scrapes and rubs around the property. It’s also the same place I hunted last year, and I saw plenty of deer. This leads me to my second summation! Two days before opening of gun season I heard many shots being fired, in the very late evening light. You’d be hard pressed to convince me that this activity was guns being sighted in! Of course you always hear the rumors about so-and-so starting season early, and about the family who’s motto is “If it’s brown it’s down!” I don’t want to believe this scenario, but it is not beyond the realm of possibility. The fact that much of our sport depends on the “HONOR SYSTEM,” surly leaves room for cheaters and the dishonorable. There are not enough conservation officers in the state to properly patrol public lands, let alone private property. Now I am left with my third possibility. Could it be the deer are still in the area, but are getting wiser by the year? Are they going totally nocturnal on us (me?) Is there so much pressure on them that they hold up in various pockets, and do not venture out for days or weeks?
As I’ve been contemplating on my season, I think the answer may be that all three scenario’s are at work in the equation. I don’t especially like using the word “luck,” but being in the right place at the right time can make a huge difference on how you view your hunting season. Maybe I was just out of sync - let’s hope so!
Mike
January 8th, 2008 at 10:25 pm
I think all of us have been there Mike. I went two years without shooting a deer and thinking it was never going to happen and then suddenly this year I was in the right place at the right time.
There are just so many factors that play into hunting that it even gets the best of us sometimes. I wouldn’t sweat it. It will turn around.