same here, getting a few pics of nice bucks but not the ones i watched/fed all summer.

Ain't nothin goin on in Callahan co. either.

i have seen plenty of deer in person in palo pinto county. they were all dead on the side of the road.

I've hunted every Saturday morning, Saturday evening, and Sunday evening since the season opened, with the exception of last weekend when I was in Nebraska for a duck hunt.

I also hunted every morning/evening Thanksgiving day and the Friday after.

I saw one 4 pointer Thanksgiving evening, that was it.

Until yesterday. Finally bagged a buck after 4 years of hunting this place.

I've seen one spike , one lone boar from stand and had a group of hogs cross road in front of us on our way back to camp one evening. That's my whole year since opening weekend of bow season. I'm ready to break out the bass boat and go fishing already..

There's still a week or two to go, but I'm not holding out much hope. Gonna pull the boat out and start getting it ready. White Bass will be running on Canyon and on the Nueces soon. I got one Nice mature eight, then an Axis in the first week of rifle season. since then, nothing. Time to switch from antlers to scales, I think.

well i came to the realization that three of our feeders batteries were dead. dam solar panels were not charging them.

i should have spent this season jumping the ponds for duck. i could have come close to limiting out each time.

That's Hunting

so they say.

This season has been tough for sure, hang in there it WILL pay off. I was getting really frustrated myself...and yesterday evening at 5:15pm my patience and efforts did pay off.....I killed a nice 10 point.

Ive been out 6 weekends, 4 to 5 hunts per weekend(Got there for friday evening hunt sometimes) and have seen a total of 5 deer. All does. Saw a group of 3 and then a pair. Thats it. Oh, and a bobcat. SO i have driven 3 hours to the lease, and 3 hours back home 6 weekends. But I will be out again this weekend. All it does is make me want to go even more because I know patience will pay off in the end.

let me dog pile here...same same in Abilene too where we hunt...just got back from our 5th weekend since archery season started…my son and i have not seen a single deer on our property...we too have sat on every stand, every weather pattern, every wind pattern…ground blinds, tree stands, tripod stands, box blinds…heck I have even sat out in the open in a road…pulled our (6) cameras that have not been touched in (2) weeks…(1) deer pic on hundred of photos of cows, coons, porcupines, turkey, & pigs…we have a large Jake to show for our hunting experience this year…weather and cows have killed our season…still have a few weeks left and we will again put $100 gas per trip in the truck and make the drive no doubt…

I live on the property I hunt in Lipan , and have spent more time than I can recall in the stand since bow season opened and have seen a grand total of 10 deer all season . I was getting alot of tc pics up intill 3 weeks ago and now nothing has hit my feeders . Just going to stick it out and see how it goes .

I'm west if Abilene and its been the same thing for me. I got there Thursday night and hunted all weekend And didn't see a single deer. That's the way it goes I guess. I've had a rough stretch of bad luck so this just adds to it. Hope it turns around quick.

I dont buy that anymore (use to). I like productivity in my life sitting around looking for deer and seeing nothing is just a waste of time. I logged 27 hunts now and not a legal deer seen and on top of that the deer I did see was a 4 pointer at about 8" wide maybe when he grows up in five years I might be able to harvest him if it doesnt get hit by a truck! Worst year ever and I have been hunting since 1977

any ideas why? drought? fires?

Deer were flowing in like clock work till Thanksgiving. Its like someone shut the valve and nothing is coming anymore...except at night. I still have a ton of deer, but only on camera at night. They all went nocturnal.

It's pretty simple really.....I see 2 things that are to blame... (1)it has not been cold .... we haven't had a hard freeze until just this last week....lots of "green" browse around so the deer don't have to move much...especially since they don't want to...too warm during the day (2) late summer/early fall rains led to an epic acorn drop in my area and any property without live oaks is S.O.L! I usually see 5-15 deer per hunt...I've seen 5 deer all season. I was getting 600 pics a week on my game cams...right around mid October, the deer left and it dropped to 60 per week...in NW Coleman county....No Live Oaks = NO Deer

my bil has a place in coleman. if it is bad there, it is bad everywhere. he showed me a picture from last year - last day of the season and it looked like a deer farm! and that was while he was in his stand. he is a picky hunter.

There are a few simple rules we all should follow. It amazes me how many hunters break them then wonder we they can't get a good buck.
1. Look for and find sign of deer.
2. Determine the patterns they take to and from food and water sources.
3. Set up your ambush point where it blends into the surroundings away from bedding areas.
4. Respect bedding area's. Do not walk or travel in or around then.
5. Walk in and walk out of your hunting area.
6. Get there early and stay late.
7. Do not drive four wheelers and trucks through your hunting areas unless it is to fill feeders.
8. If you can't get past #1, move on and find another place.

A lot of people don't hunt deer, they just expect to feed them and harvest. I have hunted every weekend but one since bow season. I have had to make a few adjustments as the season has went on. As i have seen where the deer are traveling (tracks, sign and seen out of range) i have set up pop up blinds brushed in and made a brush blind to stay on them. If people are just going to sit in box blinds in the middle of a field with there heaters running, posting on the TFF, staring at a corn feeder wondering why the deer won't come eat there hand outs, maybe they should re-evaluate there game plan.

I passed on my #3 buck early in November thinking it was still early and I still had a buck 20-30 inches bigger than him out there.

I should have taken the shot but that is the chance you take. I took my first shot this Sunday evening (almost dark) at a pig but missed. I have hunted every other weekend since Bow season and the deer movement has gotten lower and lower with only 2 possible shooters seen and one of them being a nice 3.5 yo which I would like to let walk for next season.

Very frustrating and we are all in the same boat it sounds like.

Or...they have just gone nocturnal...Jack.

Hey!!! That's what I'm sayin.....

well i was there from 6a to 1130a this morning and saw about 15 deer, all does and fawns though. was nice to be able to sit and watch deer eat some corn (feeder and hand corn) for a change instead of watching them pass through chomping on acorns.

i still have hope..........a little anyway.