How many deer on average do you see per hunting day?

[Chad Gus]

Felt closer to 95%.

On public i would agree, seen 1 buck on public and my son passed him up wanting a 3 x 3 or bigger

 

[bigjohn]

I enjoy hunting coues deer. I have noticed that as my binoculars and spotting scopes have improved, the number of deer seen has increased as as well as the distance that they are observed. I started in the early 60's with a cruddy pair of 7x35s and then 25 years ago got a pair of 10x42 Swavarski SLC's. Big difference! Then I attached them to a tripod and that was another improvement. I now use the 15x56 on a tripod with a Swavarski 80x20-60 scope for long range. Many days I feel more like a deer gazer rather than a deer hunter, but it sure is fun! I am usually in that 0-75 deer per day range, with an average of about 25.

 

[1eyedshooter]

I own a farm in W/C Michigan that I have hunted al my life (I am 73) in the 70,s you could see 50 to a 100 deer a day, we see 20 to 30 on a good day 1 to 5 on a normal day, and every now and then a nice buck will wonder in BANG !!!!!

 

[Muley_Stalker]

I don't count does because I never shoot them. So, 0-2 bucks.

 

[OldTexicanNewMexican]

My old lease in deep south Texas you'd typically see 25ish per sitting. On exceptional days, usually due to cold/rain, it was not uncommon to see 50 or more. Bucks in every age class and ranging from 120 to 150+ were common and typically made up half the deer you would see.

 

[Mitchellmountain]

Mostly hunt private land in Pa , will see 10-15 per day. I’m not an all day sit type hunter though, I like to move and still hunt. In rifle season we were seeing upwards of 20+ a day, mostly doe, we need to be a little more aggressive on our doe hunting.

 

[BRaska]

Hunting mainly Public land in east and south Texas south Tx. maybe 3 a day east Tx. about 1 deer per 3 days. I have been going looking for Mule deer in north the past 3 years and seen 2 a day average.
Since Harvey I am seeing more here in so. Tx. but I believe because a lot of brush has been blown down.

 

[Howdy]

COLO. In unit 67 we were seeing over 200 a day, From 50 to almost a 100 bucks a day during the third season.
Year was 2007-or 08

 

[Shangobango]

Would depend on how “hunting day” is defined.

I don’t keep a journal of all sightings and all hours spent hunting.

On the public land I hunt here, if I see more than one family group of deer I don’t say “I only saw x amount of deer” when I get back to camp.

My best day this season on public for deer sightings was 10. I saw no deer at all more days than I like to think about.

A conservative estimate would be that I deer hunted at least some on 40 different days this season mostly on public land.

May be more like 50 days...

I prefer to hunt all day but my j-o-b gets in the way.

Wish I’d have been born rich, or at least good looking....

 

[Aussie_hunter_JD]

Red deer around here is low density, one deer every 5 hunts is probably the norm.

High country fallow 5 would be low, 10-15 norm. Have counted 100 deer over 5 days before (some double counted though).

Tahr in NZ averaged probably 20 a day up to 50 plus.

Sambar in Aus, have hunted 5 days without sighting a stag, have also seen 8 in 3 days once.

 

[tjones]

The Custer has tons of 3x3 160’s . Nice mature bucks. I saw it on YouTube and Amazon.

 

[TheKnigit]

Hunting coastal blacktails in Oregon I typically see 7-10 deer on a good day. Maybe 1 of those would be a buck. This last year however I saw 7 deer the whole month long general season, and no bucks. I did see a lot more beer sign in our "normal" area.

 

[AmericanLongrifle]

0-10 mixed bag in Colorado where I hunt.

 

[Cheater]

Wow, hadn't been following this thread at all. I don't think I'd be cut out for eastern whitetail hunting. I probably see 20-50 mule deer in a day hunting, covering a lot of ground with the glass. This past season was tougher due winter kill, more like 10 a day.

 

[Western Traveler1]

Last Fall 100+ mule deer doe and 20-30 bucks a day in the MT GMU we hunted. Around home about the same in whitetail but not as many Muley’s. Not unusual to see 50+ Deer in an alfalfa field just driving around town, on the side of the roads, in folks yards etc. we drive the deer lane at night around here (center line). Last summer 20+ were feeding across our front lawn. Finding a shooter is a bit harder....

 

[Muley_Stalker]

This will depend on where you hunt. If you glass open areas at the right time of the day you'll see a lot of deer.

I hunt nothing but dark timber. You just won't see a lot of mature bucks hunting like that. However, when I do see one it's always close and I can shoot. I only need to see one.

 

[AmericanLongrifle]

This will depend on where you hunt. If you glass open areas at the right time of the day you'll see a lot of deer.

I hunt nothing but dark timber. You just won't see a lot of mature bucks hunting like that. However, when I do see one it's always close and I can shoot. I only need to see one.

This also brings up the question: Is the deer within shooting range (given your terrain and capabilities) or 1/2 mile to a mile away in a spotting scope? I am a spot and stalk hunter usually and most of the deer I can come in contact with will be 100 yards or less.

 

[lynlan1819]

Thought this would be a interesting thread.
So many variables can be tossed in here to muddy it up but to keep it somewhat clear generally how many animals do you expect to see on a given hunt in your area on a average day afield. I've hunted quite a few different states for whitetail and it's amazing the differences on how these numbers change per region.

In the Appalachian Mountains here on Virginia public land an average day would be maybe 0 to 3
A good day would be 4 to 5
Many days however it's 0
In the valleys on private though you can see quite a few more but that's the generally the norm everywhere.

Here in Nevada today about 4-10 a day,back in the 80's-90s my dad and me would see no less than 200 a day in 8-10 herds of 20-40 animals in each.Also in the 80s-90s you could hunt doe in all the Nevada areas,now you can only hunt doe in 3-4 areas.

 

[lynlan1819]

True fact ,in 1981 in Nevada area 11 (its area 111 today) me and my dad counted a herd of 450-500 deer on the east of the mountain range

 

[kwyeewyk]

Central WA public land mule deer, early-mid season 5-25, usually a few small bucks, once I find a 3 point or better usually done. Late season archery can expect to see 50+, sometimes over 100, usually a few nice bucks.