Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting So, who all got skunked this year?

Worst year EVER for me. The super hot and dry summer pushed the deer out of my lease. We had over 3 months of over 100 degrees and a drought coupled with it. I never even saw ONE! If the summer does it again I may think about putting in water tanks even though there is a deep creek that runs through the property.

The only other reason they wouldn't be there would be poachers (which wouldn't shock me).

Maybe that's why I'm planning an elk/ mule deer hunt in Colorado this year.

...never even bought a permit, too busy working I guess. Maybe next year.

Saw deer every time I hunted except for 2 days,real windy those days. Shot a doe in the shoulder with a 10 mm and did not get her.

Naw, I wouldn't say that's being "skunked". Actually, far from it.

Aye (raises hand). Was a humbling year, but got in some good tromping around in beautiful WI.

I got an antelope a few minutes after the season opened.
I got a mule deer a few minutes after the season opened.

There were a lot of winter kills, and the animals were not where they usually are.

Much better hunters than me got skunked, because they have jobs, and did not do the kind of pre season scouting that I did.

I too reside in the "losers lounge" this year....but I did put my best friends son on a real nice 8-pt...his first buck, and I did choose to pass on the ladies this year.
Bucks went and stayed nocturnal unusually early this season in these parts. Still consider it a great season though!
johnny

Saw fewer deer this season than ever before. Got a doe the second week of a five week (modern gun) season and I was there every day.

Tagged out on meat doe's, but "big boy" gave me the slip again this year

Gunner

Saw lots of wolf tracks, heard a bunch of coyotes howling every night, admired the eagles soaring in the crystal sky and saw a few bear tracks.

Never saw a male deer during the season, not even a button buck. The only deer I saw were 3 does and 3 fawns that were so tame that I could feed them by hand from 10 feet away. I never got mad enough at them to shoot.

Wonder why there were so few deer around?

I didn't get skunked. Moose didn't get skunked, but Supercore did. He got one poorly planned shot at a buck that was way too far out-- offhand at 300 yards with an unfamiliar rifle.

Overall it was one of the poorest excuses for a season we'd had in years, even though the county as a whole set a new record. My guess is that it was due to the acorn crop failing. That had the deer coming off the ridges and concentrating down in the bottoms.

Oh well, if it was a sure bet they'd call it deer shooting and not deer hunting, right?

Never saw a true mature buck this year. Hunted hard and long on three ranches and came home with does only.
However, the average bucks we saw and passed should be nice with some rain this year.
Luckily, I have taken some nice deer in the past and not as disappointed as I would have been 20 years ago.

jcc

First year in many that I didn't shoot a whitetail around home. but whitetail numbers were down in our area, bad winters and too liberal seasons and limits. I hunted whitetails a few days, didn't see any mature bucks at all and the does and fawns that I did see I passed up.
I was not too disappointed since I was fortunate to take two mule deer, a moose, elk, and black bear and a bunch of geese and ducks and pheasants. Besides whitetails it was a good year.

"Not I," said the little red hen. Shot a nice 6X6 in Colorado and two nice bucks here; a 3 1/2 year old and a 6 1/2 year old.

Left the house to head up the mountain and before I got outta town I got rear ended and push into the car in front of me, totaled the truck and destroyed my 10' utility trailer. Transferred all the stuff to my buddy's truck and spent all season enjoying the beauty. Saw 1 elk.......in someone else's hands.

Booked a cow hunt on private land and got call 3 days before the hunt saying there were no elk.

1st time in 20+ years I failed to put venison in my freezer.

I spent three days total in the woods this season and did not ever fire a shot.

Twice!

no deer, but wasted a skunk...

I filled the mule doe tag and the antelope tag .... but I did not fill the white tail doe tag.

The white tail herd was outsmarting me, again, as it got dark I was waiting for the white tails, a skunk ran right passed me.

I took that skunk as an omen to go home.

I did, still smells real bad! I had my chances!

I have been skunked for the last 6-9 years, I quit counting but this year was different. Both of my daughter's, 16 and 17 seemed more interested than in years past to hunt so I did what I could to set them up in the right places on our farm; places I knew deer crossed on a regular basis.

My oldest didn't even see a deer and my youngest had one chance but moved the Steven's barrel about 2" to reposition and sent the doe back in the timber. Late in January a coworker invited my youngest out to fill a doe tag in the late youth season.

We were in the blind about 15 minutes when she connected with her first WT. We will have one more chance before they start college and I hope my oldest tags out this year.

After they head off to college I will probably have the opportunity to hunt more often than I do now. I think my first deer hunt was around 1999 and to date, I have two spikes, one tiny 8pt and a half dozen does.