I'm hunting a new property this year and have seen more bucks than ever! In total, 5 so far (on a 45 acre parcel of woods)! I'm sure, depending on your area, you've seen more than this but I feel like I've hit paydirt! They are really starting to move around now.

Good morning Ann -

I did not see a buck untill two weeks ago. This was the first and only one until this past Saterday Afternoon. I was leaving the woods as it was getting dark and walked right into a heard and eight bucks were in it. This all started when the weather started getting colder and wetter.
Score one and post it. I'll send you and e-mail of one we took ( not me ).

Turtle

Ann
On my little patch I have seen some nice deer for
CT.I have a 140 class whitetail,and 2 respectable
110 class one a 8 pt one a big 6.Saw a small brush
rack 6 pt Tues nite chashing a doe.For my little
piece pretty good.Friday is our opener,will start
tommorrow afternoon.
Get a big one.
Jeff

Guys, you're seeing way bigger bucks than me. Oh and Turtle, I got your photo. That's one NICE buck. Thanks!

I haven't been out a lot this archery season, but I have been seeing as many bucks as does and fawns. We've been doing QDM for about four years now, and it looks like it is actually working. All small bucks (spikes to 5 pt), but I expect the bigger bucks to move back in for the rut.

Regards, Bill

I saw three good bucks running together in July. Can't quite tell what they will be when they are done growing but one was a 12 -14 pt with a lot of antler. The other was a 10 pt who will be very good next year and one was a 2.5 yr old 8 pt.

Seen a few others scatered around lately, nothing to make me get buck fever though.

I have planted alfalfa, oats and winter peas this year in hopes of keeping them around. My neighbor has an excellent management program and extremely limited access to the area that borders mine. Their ranch is 120,000 acres. I have a large cliff that I can sit on and see for miles, I can see a lot of their bottom land and I have NEVER seen a hunter on their place close to mine.

I have adopted their same management policy in hopes of keeping the quality up.

Will have more news on Monday as our season opens Saturday morning.

Did my first deer hunt ever last week in California on Public lands. Saw exactly 0, nada, nil, zip, ZERO bucks. Tons of Does and a few fawns but the bucks were as scare as in my wallet. Hope the rest of you have a great season. My trip was great fun but a little disappointing from the stand point of filling a bag. I was hopeful/planning to fill, but not expecting it. Great experiences for next year.

Archery is all I've hunted so far and the Rut is usally not for at least a couple weeks.I hunted public land a couple weeks ago,only saw does but one of the ladies I was hunting with got a 7 pt. Last week a nice 8 pt came by my stand but didn't offer the shot I wanted.Things should heat up in a couple weeks.

Well I've only been out one whole day so far (last Wednesday) I saw 15 different bucks. Three of them we bucks I may regret not shooting later, but I'm looking for a specific buck which makes it easier to pass up some of those nicer bucks that are tempting me. I definitely had to cover a lot more country than 45 acres to see that many bucks though. I can't imagine hunting such a small area, but the environment one lives in dictates the way one must hunt.

Big Sky, you do have patience!

Ann,

I have 80 acres near Charleston, WV. Last evening at dusk I saw 6 deer ... 3 bucks and 3 does. Watched them for 40 minutes. After dark, the yearlings and several additional doe came in.

The 3 bucks were a very, very nice 8 pointer, a 4 point, and a spike. I had the bow drawn on the 8 pointer and was just about to release when something made some noise about 50 yards away and spooked him. Quite exciting!

Have seen two other bucks here over the course of the last 6 to 8 weeks. One is a huge 10 pointer and the other was a medium sized 4 pointer that I culled because he had a broken rear left leg.

The deer have begun to "form up" and move around here too. Was worried that we'd hit them too hard last year (9 deer were taken on the property) but there seem to be plenty again this year. Will still go easy on them as a matter of principle.

Good luck with your hunting.

I've seen quite a few.
Shot one with a bow in DE, and a nice sika stag on MD's Eastern Shore with the blackpowder.
Have probably counted 20 different bucks while in the treestand, two bruisers that I will be obsessed with, and chase with a bow for the next month, and then with the rifle for another couple of weeks. Definite 150 class deer, really good for MD.
Saw 4 bucks last Sat in NJ, so they're really heating up here in the MidAtlantic region.

I hope you guys get those big bucks you've been seeing! I tried again this morning, the place is tore up! The bucks are rubbing and scraping everywhere.

Adam, sounds cool, I've heard of that sika herd in MD. Nice opportunity you have there. I hear those sika can be aggressive.

Wendell, what are you waiting for???? Git out thereeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

Add 13 more bucks to the count for a total of 28 different bucks and I still haven't found the buck that needs my tag tied to it. However I saw some real nice bucks yesterday. My 12 year old son is hunting this year for his first time and he missed a solid 150 class muley yesterday. While not a giant, it would have been an outstanding first buck. Saw one other slightly bigger and another that would of scored around 130, but neither gave my boy much of a shot. An experienced hunter could of killed any of the three, but the boy is learning and with time they won't get away from him either...sure is aging his dad though.

if I go home to Texas in the Big Bend Area if is not unusual to see from 10 to 50 bucks a day and get shots at 5 to 10 of them...I didn't count this year but I suspect we saw at least that many...

In Idaho this year I went out one day and saw one super fine buck with about a 30" set of horns that were really high and he would score like the dickens...biggest buck I have seen in several years...I saw another 4x4 with about 25" spread..and all we had were two doe permits...figures.....

Behind my house in Idaho is a draw hunt (South Hills Unit) and I expect to see 3 to 5 bucks in a day and perhaps one of at least 4x4 with 24" spread and they still have a few real monsters in there....Prior to the 1993 winter I would guarentee you that I could kill a 30" 4x4 on any given day..One after noon my daughter shot a 32" and I shot a 34.5" an hour later, but the winter of 93 got most of the big bucks comming out of the rut and thin...F&G has continued to hammer that unit and I'm wondering if they didn't kill out the gene pool...IF&G plays to the meat hunter in Idaho, so much the shame..they hire these urban kids out of other states and all they know about game managment is what they learn out of a book, and they bring an almost anti-hunting attitude with them, and one gets the impression that the less game there is the easier it is to manage...it is quite bothersome to me to see the prime deer herds managed for meat only hunts. On top of that I have eaten older bucks that were fat and in good condition that ate very well indeed....

Ann
Friday was the opener for us and my wife took
my stand.She did not see anything.Sat in the am
I took my young lab Ted out for birds and had
my limit at 7 am. At 7:15 I pulled in my driveway
and there in the lot is the nice 8 point.Not the
big one but nice.Well... I figure he'll go bed in
the cedars and be out in the afternoon.7 minutes
before sunset he stepped out and I was able to take him.Will post a few pics after I get film developed.
Jeff
Oh yeah,he was the 8 point,nice big chunky buck.
Will fit good in the freezer.

[ 11-04-2002, 18:14: Message edited by: JeffP ]

Hey, I got one with my bow last night!!! I posted a photo in the bowhunting forum. Go look!

Yesterday my 13 yr old nephew Bobby and I were on my stand in a light rain 30 minutes when three bucks walked out on us only 25 yds away. The first was a six or eight point about 10-12 inches inside, didn't look too hard at him cause the second was a dandy. The third was a forkhorn or so. They were keenly interested in our stand and kept looking for us. I reminded him to freeze whenever they looked our way. Adrenaline was in good supply! I got my rifle up first to get a good look then whispered to get his rifle up quick. About the time I expected him to shoot he clicked his safety off pretty loud and they decided they had business elsewhere.
The big one was in full stride and he shot. The buck went a few yards into the woods and fell. Bobby was shaking so hard I thought I would have to help him from the stand. He had placed a 100 gr Partition right behind the shoulder and low, severing the heart from the rest of the organs, then it angled back through the lungs and liver then exited. The buck weighed 212 lbs on the hoof and had a heavy eight point rack 16 1/4 inches wide. Not bad for a first deer.

Congratulate him for us! Also congratulations to you for helping him with his important first buck!

If you have them please post pictures for us all to enjoy!

Greg:

The pics were taken with a standard 35mm, so I hope they scan good enough. I will put the roll in for developing today.

Thanks W. Wilson
Most of what I have posted were 35 scanned so you should be OK!

My dad scouted Area 41 in Arizona (30 miles east of Yuma) for the last few weeks and saw 10 bucks, from 4x's to spikes. I believe at least 6 were taken withen 5 miles from where I got mine. When I shot mine there was another spike with him and in the next field over another hunter shot a fork.

During three days of hunting we at least 30 does.

Big Sky,

It is a priveledge to enjoy our great deer hunting here in Mt. Since the season opened Sunday before last I've lost count of how many bucks I've seen. Easily over 100. We have taken several beautiful bucks in the 22 - 26 inch range. And the rut is just starting! Good luck to all

Keith I couldn't agree with you more. I've had it bad (living in another western state) and I've it like it is here in MT. There's no comparison in the lower 48 for over all quality.