I remember a few years back the place I hunted, a few of the guys were convinced there was a die-off due to blue tongue. No dead deer found mind you, they just weren't seeing deer. They all hunted on weekends. I hunted during the week and saw gobs of deer.
Seen other times/places when land use or the character of the land adjacent to where I/or others were hunting changed, and it drastically changed the deer herd's patterns.
Pressure and land changes can have it's effects. Sometimes it may be something out of your knowledge and control. And, in the southern areas where our deer don't rut til later, we also have the "December doldrums". Time between opening day in Novemeber and the rut (anywhere from late December to late January) when many complain of the same thing...deer going nocturnal.
I killed a doe opening day, and an 8pt the day after Thanksgiving, and have not had much chance to hunt since. I killed the 8pt at straight up noon on a day when nobody else saw any deer where I was hunting. I've heard of the same complaint in the last couple of weeks locally too. I believe the single biggest pressure that affects deer is scent. They get used to seeing people, and hearing shots, but when they smell you in close proximity, that will make them change things. They learn to pattern people's movements, and I have had some success hunting midday, especially on a full moon.
There may be some validity to them "going nocturnal" at times when the pressure is on.
