# I've seen 2 deer in a month



## slowroller (Jun 30, 2009)

I'm starting to get irritated. After a lot of thought (and sitting in a tree with icicles hanging off my kneecaps not looking at deer) I have determined that I must be doing something wrong. So I started reading and learned that in the winter cold, the deer apparently hang much closer to food sources. Where I have had the most success is in a somewhat thin line of woods between a lake and two corn fields. The tree I sit in virtually splits the about 100 yds between the two. In the fall, I see deer there every time I go. Now, nothing (zero) at that location in a month +. Where have the deer gone? Why are they not traveling those trails? Its close to food, close to bed. I went after the snow purposely to check out the tracks and there are none! Only freakin turkey. I thought maybe it was due to gun season and they went nocturnal for a while, but that doesn't explain no tracks. I understand that their patterns change, but I have yet to figure out exactly how. However, another thought just came to mind... duck hunters. Is this pushing them out?


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## huntindoggie22 (Mar 28, 2008)

What are the cornfields like? If there is hardly any corn left and been picked over pretty good earlier in the year then they have most likely moved to a more plentiful food source. Just my thoughts 


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## slowroller (Jun 30, 2009)

That may be the case, I'll have to check. I don't generally walk into the fields as it is someone elses property. But I could likely see enough from the property line.


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## c. j. stone (Sep 24, 2006)

The corn fields no longer have any food in them if they were harvested early. During cold weather with snow cover, they are browsing on brush (or more likely), hanging out by the nearest HAY field. It is always available and high in nutrition! Find the hay field, find the deer!


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## Mason52 (Aug 21, 2009)

Went out this morning and my woods are the same way, almost no tracks...Right down the road there are houses with fields that are uncut and across the road ther are fields that have Winter wheat and/or are un used and I will see 6 to 10 deer in each of the 3 or 4 fields every time I go by early or late in the day. And that is every day or two... Still lots of deer, just not trippin through the woods I can hunt.


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## BassCatcher12 (Jun 24, 2005)

If you can find the rye fields there will be deer. In one of the fields i hunt saw 38 deer in it last week..20 yesterday. heading there in about an hour! They are really hitting it hard. cut corn or hay fields hardly any tracks.


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## mlayers (Aug 22, 2011)

Take corn, oats, hay apples, and salt blocks out to the area where you hunt feed the deer if you want them to feed your family for the year. Invest in your area that you hunt in and it will repaid you with your meat. We take stuff out 6 months out out the year. Once you get the deer coming to your area they will keep on coming back. We still have 6 different bucks coming into our woods and I don;t know how many does in coming there.


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## ostbucks98 (Apr 14, 2004)

if every hunter who pursues deer gets atleast one according to the numbers that would leave us with about 10,000 deer left in ohio,lol....thats not counting the ones that die from being wounded hit by cars etc...this is based off of deer tags sold 647,000....throw in land owners and farm permits with a stroke of luck we could decimate the whole deer population in a season...food for thought.


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## Carpman (May 18, 2005)

Agreed 100%



ostbucks98 said:


> if every hunter who pursues deer gets atleast one according to the numbers that would leave us with about 10,000 deer left in ohio,lol....thats not counting the ones that die from being wounded hit by cars etc...this is based off of deer tags sold 647,000....throw in land owners and farm permits with a stroke of luck we could decimate the whole deer population in a season...food for thought.


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## Bowhunter57 (Feb 9, 2011)

ostbucks98,
I'll have to agree with you too. We can't kill deer that aren't there.

I've been experiencing the same thing as slowroller and was blaming it on the coyotes. However, since the deer have left, the turkeys have moved in and that tells me that it's not the coyotes. Simularly to slowroller...after a walk around the section revealed no tracks...well, that means no deer. 

As much as I'd like to fill my tag, I'll pursue coyotes, fishing or something else, until the population comes back up. I've hunted in other areas and there seems to be plenty of deer there, so it depends on the hunting pressure of a given area.

Bowhunter57


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## dwmikemx (Mar 22, 2008)

No shortage of deer around my house!



new house.jpg (175.4 KB)


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## 9Left (Jun 23, 2012)

dwmikemx...awesome pic!!!


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## treytd32 (Jun 12, 2009)

thats cool they all have their own pile of corn..head count ~100


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## turkeyt (Apr 13, 2006)

dwmikemx said:


> No shortage of deer around my house!
> 
> 
> 
> new house.jpg (175.4 KB)


Now that's a fact. Almost everyone is feeding something, from birdseed to corn and it don't take 'em long to get used to going there and leaving the woods. Got to set up in the back yard and hunt. Huh


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## Lundy (Apr 5, 2004)

dwmikemx said:


> No shortage of deer around my house!
> 
> 
> 
> new house.jpg (175.4 KB)


Wow how many people live in that house of yours?

That picture has been around for years and everybody always claims to live there


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