Gun Season!!!!!

[ManOfTheFall]

Although I don't gun hunt I know alot of people that do in different places. The stories I am hearing are no one is seeing anything and if they do it is only one deer. What is everyone else either seeing or hearing? Just curious!

[mrbb]

well I gun hunt, here in pa, I more or less go out to catch trespassers, got 4 guys yesterday, but also seen a nice 110 inch 8 I passed on, and then one doe, super slow day here, not too many shots either, considering we have like 750,000 gun hunters in Pa
also seen one real pretty mink yesterday, haven't seen one of them in a long time, forgot how cool they are to watch run about, they always seem like everything is a game to them and having fun lol

[mrbb]

also, stopped at my buddy's butcher shop, and he had about a 1/3 the amount of deer as iof last yr opening day, but all bucks, just 2 doe, but some slammer bucks too
so quality of bucks seems up for my area, or thats all there shooting, and maybe leaving smaller one be

[nomad_archer]

I saw a few yesterday but not much at all considering. My dad says six guys only saw 6 does yesterday and there was very little shooting up at the family hunting cabin. So it seems pretty slow. They had 12 inches or more of snow up at the cabin so Im sure that slowed everything down a bit.

[Strother23]

My in-law took me out yesterday morning to Vinton county. A nice 8pt walked by at 60yds at like 7:45am so I decided I was going to shoot. This is my 1st buck and my 2nd year hunting. Not much of a gun hunter but the opportunity was there. I know it doesn't count towards team Hatfield but It was to hard to pass on. Good luck to all those gun hunting for the week.

10467

[nomad_archer]

That is a very nice buck. Congrats. No shame in shooting one with a gun

[NGonzo0208]

I would take the shot too. Nice Buck

[zachc]

Well you're going to get the same story from me...haven't seen one single deer this week. Hunting my uncles property, which we always see deer on. Not a huge chunk of land but deer are always moving through. Haven't seen one yet or even heard to many shots. Actually sitting in the stands now bored out of my mind, lol.

[mrbb]

well day 2 and again a SLOW day, hunted all day, and only seen one small bear, and 5 hunters, all trespassing too!
but not a single shot near me all day, closest shot was a many miles away far far off and that was about noon time, all evening dead quiet!
deer are so nocturnal now its crazy, pulled sd cards on 4 cam's
all pic's are from 11pm till about 4 am and then not a critter
been this way and getting worse every yr
like deer only move more or less in the dar, ovnce that velvet comes off and the bucks start to get shot!
crazy hard hunting like this! unless you maybe do drives??

[Flyerzfan10]

I'm from PA also. Pretty good here in 4E. Two 8 pointers and a 5 on the first day on our property. Today my best friend took a beautiful 9 pointer out of my gun stand. I was lucky enough to take a big 8 on Halloween with the bow. It's been a pretty good year compared to last year.

[nomad_archer]

Congrats flyerz fan on the bucks. As a pens fan Im sorry about your hockey team at least they are doing a little better now. Although I'm not too far away (2 hours) from you in Lititz.

[zachc]

I'm from PA also. Pretty good here in 4E. Two 8 pointers and a 5 on the first day on our property. Today my best friend took a beautiful 9 pointer out of my gun stand. I was lucky enough to take a big 8 on Halloween with the bow. It's been a pretty good year compared to last year.


Where's the pictures? Lol

[radicalxl]

Congrats flyerz fan on the bucks. As a pens fan Im sorry about your hockey team at least they are doing a little better now. Although I'm not too far away (2 hours) from you in Lititz.

Lets go Pens! Lets go Pens! Lets go Pens!

[Flyerzfan10]

10476
Not sure if this worked..

[Flyerzfan10]

Sorry about the double post. The previous post is a picture of my 8 that I got on Halloween. As far as the Flyers... well that's a different story. They are doing better... that's about it.

[Flyerzfan10]

10477
This is the picture of my best friend who shot the 9 pointer in my gun stand. The deer in Pa are definitely getting big! I still want to come to OHIO to bow hunt. I'm planning to come out next year for a couple days of scouting... going to try Athens county area. Hope you like the pics!

[zachc]

Couple of nice looking bucks. Congrats!

[ManOfTheFall]

Anyone hearing any numbers yet for opening day?

[nomad_archer]

Couple of nice looking bucks there flyersfan. Are you hunting private or public. Looking at those bucks I am assuming private but I have seen some slammers come off of pa public lands recenctly

[skeeter]

Yes, here is link.
http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/Home/News/NewsReleaseArchives/tabid/19075/EntryId/3348/Ohios-Deer-Gun-Season-Opens-with-22-620-Deer-Harvested.aspx

[radicalxl]

Nice looking deer for sure. Congrats to both of you.

[mrbb]

well didn't hunt this morning, lack of motivation LOL
but got out this evening, looked like rain, and foggy, got on stand at 1 pm, at 1;15 p it started to pour, and fog rolled in and and out all the while , while it rained , heavy then light then heavy
seen a big long beard gobble, then a red fox, then another red fox, then two small bucks, and then to doe
and that was it, only heard 2 rifle shots , and both were again trespassers on the lands that border me, I say trespassers, as there is NO hunting allowed on the lands, so any shots there are???? oh well what can I do!

[Flyerzfan10]

Thanks guys. Yes, it's private land. My family owns a little over 200 acres. I've been pretty patient over the past several years and let the little ones go. It's really starting to pay off. Our doe season starts Saturday and this will be the first year in about 7 years that I've taken a doe. Good luck to you guys!

[deerguy10]

My father and I sat sun up to sun down Monday and neither of us saw a single deer. Everyone I have talked to is having a slow week here in NE Ohio.

[Jeff Randolph]

Congrats on a nice Buck !!!

[00buck]

shot a doe at 510 Wednesday evening will post pics later

[nomad_archer]

Co grants oo

[mrbb]

well 12/7/2013 , finally got some better weather, well sort of
had rain all day yesterday that turned to sleet then snow over night
made everything have an inch of snow and a half inch of ice on it, super crunchy in the AM, just 22 degree's and a slight wind
at 9 am I heard some noise, then had 4 doe coming running at me, jumped by hunters I gather
they were on the other side of a stream, about 15 ft across, and due to 3 days of rain, it went from about 2 ft to about 6 ft deep
they jumped in like it was summer time, swam across teh swift currect like a duck, nothing but there head sticking out, hit dirt shok off and back to running full steam ahead, ran as far as I could hear them way past being bale to see them??
hardly any shooting today at all, teribl;e for a first saturday of gun season and having snow on the ground
last light I had 3 more doe show up, and that was it
but first time I seen a few der in 5 days of hunting sun up till dark, so, try again on Monday(no Sunday hunting here)

[Strother23]

Anyone planning on going out for the last day of gun season? My guess is there will be a lot of shooting going on trying to get deer down on the last day.

[mrbb]

my last day is next Saturday LOL
and the way deer have been so nocturnal in my area, don't think its going to make anyone's kill easy!
people will need to start doing drives to make deer move, if not, its going to be a low deer kill yr in my area
a double edge sword, good to have bucks make it, but I already have way too many doe/ deer
so less killed, means more mouths to fill all yr and less food plot come next hunting season with so many eating
and lower weights too, due to less food per deer!

Good luck to anyone hunting today!

[zachc]

Soo....got to the woods/fields shortly before sunrise this morning. The plan was me and my buddy were going to walk out a bunch of public land and jump some deer. We started out by stalking a small plot of woods without any luck. After that we ended up walking a good 4-5 miles off the road (8-10 round trip) and didn't see a single deer. We walked tree lines, fields, anything and everything! We only saw about 5-6 trucks out today and didnt probably hear a dozen shots. I gotta admit, i'm real bummed about shotgun season this year, yeah I prefer to bow hunt but it's a nice lil break around here to be able to reach out and touch em'. I hunted 3 days this week and did not see a single deer! What's going on with these deer this year.......!!

[Deerhunter]

Soo....got to the woods/fields shortly before sunrise this morning. The plan was me and my buddy were going to walk out a bunch of public land and jump some deer. We started out by stalking a small plot of woods without any luck. After that we ended up walking a good 4-5 miles off the road (8-10 round trip) and didn't see a single deer. We walked tree lines, fields, anything and everything! We only saw about 5-6 trucks out today and didnt probably hear a dozen shots. I gotta admit, i'm real bummed about shotgun season this year, yeah I prefer to bow hunt but it's a nice lil break around here to be able to reach out and touch em'. I hunted 3 days this week and did not see a single deer! What's going on with these deer this year.......!!

Get used to this the DNR / Farmers wanted this. I thought it would take longer to happen but WOW 2nd year and now the deer population is way down.. I would love to see the stats day by day especially the Monday after the doe only season we had I bet the Buck kill was high on Monday. poaching is now the new normal... why tag a deer in if you get it home cut it up and save money on getting another tag. I hunted all day Sat and a lot on Sunday very few shots heard and none close to me I saw 1 small doe the entire time and very few tracks.
A few years ago I could put my camera out and in a week have 100 plus pictures now I keep it out and get maybe 10 to 15 picture.

Something is wrong????

[mrbb]

well I will not say deer numbers are down where you hunt, but I have lots of deer here, yet in past 3 weeks of hunting I have seen very few deer if any at all, same goes for all the guys hunting with and about me
its not no deer, its the fact deer here anymore only move at night, they get in nasty stuff before light and don't come out till dark
making it seem like there are no deer, but there are lots of deer, over a 100 hit this farm at night
I think this is happening in a lot of places to, more and more deer have adapted to living in the dark to avoid people in places people shoot them, I have lots of poachers here, and they are what blame it on

[nomad_archer]

Well deer camp was brutal. Got there last friday and left today. I planned on hunting today and leaving tomorrow but mother nature had other plans. Saturday was really really cold like 10-15 degree wind chill and snow, I did not see any deer and there were not many deer seen that day. Today (monday) we woke up to freezing rain and when the first guy slid into the ditch coming out of the drive way we called it a day and packed up and waited for the dirt road to get treated. Thankfully by noon it had been treated and we were able to get out it was a little hairy but we made it out. Due to heavier ice on my way home I had to make an overnight layover at my parents house in pittsburgh before I make for final leg of my trip tomorrow. Ice is no joke and I am glad we got out. It was going to get very cold again to night so that road will be an ice skating rink again tomorrow. So its been a tough one so far.

The deer movement was way down and so far this winter is shaping up to be a hard hard winter on the deer up there. We have had snow on the ground most of the time since mid November and have already had several weeks of below freezing weather in the teens and a one heavy 12+" snow. It will be a hard winter on the deer. On the plus side the hunter numbers and kills have been way way down. The hunting pressure was way down for the opening of buck/doe season this weekend. We only saw 2 other vehicles in the area we hunt. Tough one so far

[mrbb]

well Nomad, I hear you, I hunted all day today in a freezing rain sleet mix, and all I seen was a small bear at 7;45 am
rest of the day was like I was the only thing living in the woods, didn't hear a gun shot all day
terrible season
my buddy is a butcher, and he normally gets about 150 deer on opening day, so far this whole gun season he has only got in like 65 deer
so kills are down all over

lots of guys out my way, just no one seeing any deer
pulled carema's sd cards again today, 198 pictures and not a one in legal shooting hrs, ever pic started about 10 pm and were done by 5 am
deer have us hunters figured out I think LOL

[zachc]

Well no offense but i'm glad to hear that i'm (and all my huntin crew) are not the only ones having a slow/bad year when it comes top deer hunting. And it definitely seems like the deer have figured us out this year, hahaha. As far as poaching goes...this call in/online tag system is probably one of the dumbest things I've ever heard of. What was wrong with taking your deer to one of many check in stations and doing it that way? I guess it's the new age with technology, everything has to do with computers our electronics some how huh? Also I liked taking them in somewhere to tag them cuz, at least around here, they were always down home kinda places and it gave you a chance to see everyones deer and kinda told you how the deer were moving. They want to cut down on all the poaching but then they basically give them a "free, all you can kill deer killing pass". But let's control our numbers right....

[mrbb]

Well I hear you, here in Pa, we have not had to check a deer in in about 50 yrs, we used to geta card we were supposed to fill out and mail in, thats right mail in within 15 days of a kill, yup 15 days, NOW last few yrs we are on a call in deal, and yes, many many many folks don't
for yrs and yrs and even now, the state estimates deer kills, not even a accurate deer kill, and never cared to have one, they I was told estimate that about 25% of folks don't report there kills, so add that in to there guess!
funny, they make bear hunters check in bears, and bears have been doing great in pa since the history of hunting them, with the check in deal, and deer, with the guessing deal, have not?? Wonder if they ever think about that?
as for having a check in station, I liked that in Ohio and other places, I think it also gave a lot of places more business too, as every time I checked in a deer, I bought something, be it a soda, a snack or??
so pulling them from business's like that hurt the economy too if you ask me, and gets a poor non accurate deer kill to work with
a shame if you ask me
but every state is always saying there short on budget, and I bet this saves them money, and why its being done

[zachc]

I have to agree mrbb. I'm from a smaller town and every time we took a deer to check it in, we always bought something else ( pop, food, etc) which obliviously helped small businesses around here. Can't tell you how many of those lil mom and pop stores have closed down since this started. But the government is always talking about shop local and small businesses, kinda hard to do when they keep shutting them down huh.

[rthensley]

Regarding the new deer check procedures, guess I am part of the minority here. I don't believe the new check in process has any bearing on deer kill numbers.

Poachers will be poachers. Doesn't matter what the check in procedure is.

Giving someone an easier way to check in a deer does not make that person suddenly turn into a poacher. Just like giving someone a gun doesn't suddenly turn that person into a criminal.

[mrbb]

Regarding the new deer check procedures, guess I am part of the minority here. I don't believe the new check in process has any bearing on deer kill numbers.

Poachers will be poachers. Doesn't matter what the check in procedure is.

Giving someone an easier way to check in a deer does not make that person suddenly turn into a poacher. Just like giving someone a gun doesn't suddenly turn that person into a criminal.
I agree it doesn't turn hunters into a poacher, but , I know a lot of guys that get lazy, and forget to call it in or send in a report card(what we used to have here in Pa)
and as such, anyone that just doesn't call in or report due to getting busy or forgetting or??
you end up with less accurate numbers IMO!
the check in I feel is the most accurate way and makes folks the most honest(again poachers will be poachers)
but gives a very accurate kill numbers
and its why in so many places where critters like Moose and bears, HAVE to be checked in, it gives a lot more info
I think, people running check stations can see if the deer are getting smaller , larger, more bucks, or does, or just amounts killed in a certian area,from yr to yr
as lets say a local check staion is up and running for a few yrs, the folks running it can give very valid feedback I think to the state on if kill numbers in THAT area are higher or lower, since most locals will go to the closest station
it can help get a better feel on an area's numbers, over say just a call in, by a guy that kills a buck 300 miles a away, and just gives a county for a location! the feel for a kill in the local area, is missing info(granted they may not use this now, but I think they should can could if wanted with a check in station, after all, most used to keep a place to post pic's of bucks too, for all to see from yr to yr
in todays day and age, better info is always best
leaving folks to be honest on there own, tends to lead to more folks slacking!!
call it the currect american way(sadly)