Where I hunt the number of deer taken annually per square mile is .1 to 1.1. I have kept a detailed journal of the details of each of my days in the woods since 1989. I average just over one a year, mostly bucks. Some years I have not taken a shot, and many times have shot 2-3 in a year.
After two consecutive years not shooting a deer, the 1994 season was going poorly for me seeing any bucks, then on 11/14 I walked out the backdoor of our home heading into the breeze at about 1:30 PM after a trip to town with my wife. I hadn't gone a half mile when I spotted movement coming through the woods just to my left. I shot the 8 point buck which was right on a doe.
The very next morning I was hunting in the opposite direction at the house and about a mile in. Just as I was getting ready to settle down for a seat on a log, another 8 pointer walked in through the balsams just as the sun was getting above the trees. The morning light illuminating his head and antlers as he was peaking around the trees was a peak hunting experience I can picture like it was yesterday. In that instant he ended up affording me a shot through his neck at about 30 feet.
Many years we lose 30-50% of the fawn crop to winter kill. I only see one or two deer some seasons, and may only need to take one shot. Last year I didn't see a deer until day 3, and then saw 7 inside of an hour, the last one being the buck I shot.
I can walk miles in almost any direction and not cross a road, see another boot track, and never see another hunter.
The experiences afforded from this type of hunting situation have been incredible, and are among my most cherished memories. I have had a wolf come in to a can call, had some dandy bucks come in at almost a charge to grunt calls, and noisily cross a beaver pond, breaking ice, to a can call. I have shot deer from tree stands, homemade ground blinds, tracking in snow, and just ambling around and being in the right place at the right time. Some days finding a deer seems like finding a needle in a hay stack, and other days they are found regularly in a particular area, only to have a pack of wolves move in to make them scarce again.
