Are the glory days of deer hunting coming to a close?

[Natty Bumppo]

Northern MN and WI have lots of public land, but also lots of wolves. Some of the deer densities are so low they are essentially not worth hunting, but you can certainly try!

20 years ago there was a family in NE MN that shot some giant bucks and found piles of sheds, but the wolf population and bad winters changed things. A friend of mine just got back from a grouse hunting trip on the edge of the boundary waters on public land. He said deer were non-existent there and buck sign was also not present. He said there was a little wolf sign, but it isn't surprising the wolves weren't there in large numbers since there weren't any deer.

Interesting. Man, glad we don't have wolves. How about logging? One of the things northern Maine has going on is massive logging. The amount of deer habitat that produces is simply mind boggling. Is there private logging company land or timber trusts doing any logging? Or even the MN/WI state DNR's?

 

[356]

In an attempt to steer this discussion back to the question, “Are the glory days of deer hunting over?” I decided to look at something more concrete than nostalgia or perception—my hunting logs from the past three seasons. Numbers don’t tell the whole story, but they do give a grounded place to start.

2023–24 Season​

I logged 128 hours in the field that year, including 27 hours guiding seniors and adult hunters through Field to Fork (F2F) events.

• Personal hunts: 101 hours over 30 days, 21 deer seen
• F2F events: 27 hours, 47 deer seen
• Total sightings: 69 deer

That breaks down to:

• 1 deer every 1.84 hours across the season
• 1 deer every 4.8 hours on personal hunts
• 1 deer every 0.57 hours during F2F events

2024–25 Season

I spent 200 hours hunting, with 159 hours on personal hunts and 41 hours in F2F events.

• Personal hunts: 24 deer
• F2F events: 56 deer
• A nine-day stretch (Nov 16–25) produced zero deer sightings
• Total deer sightings: 80 deer

Season averages worked out to:

• 1 deer every 2 hours overall
• 1 deer every 6.6 hours during personal hunts
• 1 deer every 0.73 hours during F2F

2025–26 Season​

This past season I logged 198 hours in the field, with 159 hours of personal hunting.

• Personal hunts: 76 deer
• F2F events: 33 deer seen over 39 hours
• Total deer sightings: 109

Which averages out to:

• 1 deer every 1.71 hours overall
• 1 deer every 2.1 hours during personal hunts
• 1 deer every 1.2 hours during F2F

So… Are the Glory Days Gone?​

In my opinion—no.
I primarily hunt in a county with naturally low deer densities and low harvest rates, so my expectations are calibrated accordingly. Sure, I get the chance to take new hunters onto some truly exceptional properties—hundreds or thousands of acres—where deer can pour into food plots in small waves. But those experiences, as memorable as they are, aren’t the norm. Most of my sightings come one or two deer at a time, and that’s perfectly fine with me.

What counts as “glory days” varies from hunter to hunter. It might be:

• High deer harvest numbers
• Older-age-class bucks
• Frequent harvest opportunities
• Quality time introducing new hunters
• Hunting with family & friends
• Or simply time outdoors

For me, it’s a blend of all these things.

Golden ages never last forever. Land development, habitat loss, predators, disease pressures like EHD and CWD, and shifting cultural attitudes will all continue to shape the future of hunting. Aging plays its role, too. My days of shimming up a tree and sitting on a limb are behind me. Eventually, even 20-foot ladder stands will give way to 5–10 foot box blinds and ground blinds. Already the crossbow is starting to replace the compound.

And when those days come, it won’t mean my golden age ended. It will simply mean it has shifted.

Because as long as I can spend time outdoors, share the experience with new hunters, and watch the woods come alive—the glory days are still unfolding.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

Interesting. Man, glad we don't have wolves. How about logging? One of the things northern Maine has going on is massive logging. The amount of deer habitat that produces is simply mind boggling. Is there private logging company land or timber trusts doing any logging? Or even the MN/WI state DNR's?

There’s quite a bit of logging in much of it. Maybe less up by boundary waters/superior. Lots of tax forfeit (state owned, county managed), USFS, and corporate timber ground that is open to hunting with all three having some big chunks such that tracking for miles could be done.

Logging helps with food but mostly aspen dominated after a cut. They say loss of the primary wintering yards of mature White cedar has really hurt the herds ability to get through bad winters like we had in the early 2020s, I have no idea how true that is.

 

[MN Slick]

In an attempt to steer this discussion back to the question, “Are the glory days of deer hunting over?” I decided to look at something more concrete than nostalgia or perception—my hunting logs from the past three seasons. Numbers don’t tell the whole story, but they do give a grounded place to start.

2023–24 Season​

I logged 128 hours in the field that year, including 27 hours guiding seniors and adult hunters through Field to Fork (F2F) events.

• Personal hunts: 101 hours over 30 days, 21 deer seen
• F2F events: 27 hours, 47 deer seen
• Total sightings: 69 deer

That breaks down to:

• 1 deer every 1.84 hours across the season
• 1 deer every 4.8 hours on personal hunts
• 1 deer every 0.57 hours during F2F events

2024–25 Season

I spent 200 hours hunting, with 159 hours on personal hunts and 41 hours in F2F events.

• Personal hunts: 24 deer
• F2F events: 56 deer
• A nine-day stretch (Nov 16–25) produced zero deer sightings
• Total deer sightings: 80 deer

Season averages worked out to:

• 1 deer every 2 hours overall
• 1 deer every 6.6 hours during personal hunts
• 1 deer every 0.73 hours during F2F

2025–26 Season​

This past season I logged 198 hours in the field, with 159 hours of personal hunting.

• Personal hunts: 76 deer
• F2F events: 33 deer seen over 39 hours
• Total deer sightings: 109

Which averages out to:

• 1 deer every 1.71 hours overall
• 1 deer every 2.1 hours during personal hunts
• 1 deer every 1.2 hours during F2F

So… Are the Glory Days Gone?​

In my opinion—no.
I primarily hunt in a county with naturally low deer densities and low harvest rates, so my expectations are calibrated accordingly. Sure, I get the chance to take new hunters onto some truly exceptional properties—hundreds or thousands of acres—where deer can pour into food plots in small waves. But those experiences, as memorable as they are, aren’t the norm. Most of my sightings come one or two deer at a time, and that’s perfectly fine with me.

What counts as “glory days” varies from hunter to hunter. It might be:

• High deer harvest numbers
• Older-age-class bucks
• Frequent harvest opportunities
• Quality time introducing new hunters
• Hunting with family & friends
• Or simply time outdoors

For me, it’s a blend of all these things.

Golden ages never last forever. Land development, habitat loss, predators, disease pressures like EHD and CWD, and shifting cultural attitudes will all continue to shape the future of hunting. Aging plays its role, too. My days of shimming up a tree and sitting on a limb are behind me. Eventually, even 20-foot ladder stands will give way to 5–10 foot box blinds and ground blinds. Already the crossbow is starting to replace the compound.

And when those days come, it won’t mean my golden age ended. It will simply mean it has shifted.

Because as long as I can spend time outdoors, share the experience with new hunters, and watch the woods come alive—the glory days are still unfolding.

I believe the original question the OP asked in this threas was basically: are the days of high potential bucks getting to 5 plus years of age on a somewhat consistent basis over. And to that I say yes,unless you are are in a unique situation or they were missed by someone.

 

[Natty Bumppo]

In an attempt to steer this discussion back to the question, “Are the glory days of deer hunting over?” I decided to look at something more concrete than nostalgia or perception

Sorry...was my discussion the Maine Northwoods off topic?

Not sure if 3 years of observations is concrete. But interesting nonetheless.

There is nothing more concrete than chasing 4 and 5 year old bucks in Northern Maine unaided by any technology as per the OP's original post. They are quite literally, almost everywhere. No misperception. There's nothing nostalgic about it. The fact that it does feel old there and that it does make one feel like going back in time is just a bonus I guess.

I agree with you though...for me the glory days are here and now. That was my point.

 

[Ben.MN/WI]

Interesting. Man, glad we don't have wolves. How about logging? One of the things northern Maine has going on is massive logging. The amount of deer habitat that produces is simply mind boggling. Is there private logging company land or timber trusts doing any logging? Or even the MN/WI state DNR's?

There is a decent about of logging in many areas (none in the boundary waters though), but the wolf and winter combo keeps the deer numbers low. A large number of the old deer camps in those areas are abandoned and the hunters moved south where deer are more abundant.

The glory days of deer are gone in northern mn and wi. They could return though if they had a wolf plan similar to the western states.