How Many Deer Do You Expect to See in One Hunt?

[SwampCat]

I read on this forum about hunting and not seeing a deer for days. Depending on which stand I hunt on my place, I expect to see from 2 or 3 to 15 or more. I know everywhere is different. If I went several days hunting without seeing a deer - I would quit shooting them. I would expect to see a deer or two everyday hunting public here.

How many deer do you expect to see during a single hunt - and if you arent seeing a deer for days, how do you justify shooting one when you do see it.

 

[Howboutthemdawgs]

I did get skunked once this year and was baffled. I must have really stunk. I’ll usually run from 4 on a really bad sit to 25 or so when they are moving well and I can see a lot

I like to think back and remember when I was hunting timber company land in Georgia and we’d go an entire weekend as a deer camp and maybe see a handful of deer. I spend and entire 3 hunts and not see anything routinely.

 

[Natty Bumppo]

Here in the big woods of the Northeast I can go weeks without seeing a deer. Last year I saw a single buck in 3 months of hunting...bow, shotgun, and muzzle loader. That's why tracking is the preferred method for the truly Northern big woods forests. During bow season when I stand hunt in my small food plots I've carved out of the timber, if I see a doe or two every other hunt I'm happy. Seeing a buck is a once in every 7 or 8 stand hunts.

 

[SwampCat]

I did get skunked once this year and was baffled. I must have really stunk. I’ll usually run from 4 on a really bad sit to 25 or so when they are moving well and I can see a lot

I like to think back and remember when I was hunting timber company land in Georgia and we’d go an entire weekend as a deer camp and maybe see a handful of deer. I spend and entire 3 hunts and not see anything routinely.

It has been 55 years ago, but we used to hunt on the Oconee River in GA. We would hunt almost every weekend for eight weeks and might see four or five deer.

Even on my place now, 15 years ago, we would go three or four hunts and not see a doe. We knew the neighbors were killing a few. We stopped killing does for 8 years - and that included the 8 yr old grand daughters.

 

[356]

2025 has been better than 2024 (slightly). So far I've seen 51 deer in 115.5 hours of hunting (40 sits) for an average of just over 1 deer per session. In 2024 I went 100 hours without seeing a deer (an anomaly, for sure). This is just the sighting portion of the log....the other section has weather, comments and harvest data.

 

[Barndog56]

Eight sits during bow season on my own 5 acres and saw a pair of does once, harvesting one of them.

Seven sits on public during this week's rifle season, saw deer on 4 occasions, shot the only doe that was in range.

I justify shooting them because there are more than enough deer in those areas, I just don't have a big destination field or food plot to sit over. I have to pick a trail deer use, and hope I'm lucky enough that one of them chooses that trail as well.

 

[H20fwler]

I feel I’m not average at all for my county.

6-10 a sit. Sometimes more.

 

[Native Hunter]

5 to 25

 

[Telemark]

Totally depends on circumstances, but I get really disappointed if I go a full day without seeing a deer, no matter where I'm hunting.

 

[Brian662]

Very rarely get skunked on a hunt but it does happen on occasion. Normally those occasions are when a season structure has me hunting allowable times (example late doe season in WI) and I can't hunt the weather patterns like normal.

Average hunt is 10-35 deer depending on length of sit, time of year, hunting over food, etc. Had a few hunts of 40-50 deer over late season food. Most bucks seen was on a Nov 9 rut funnel, saw 11 bucks in 4 hours.

 

[Feelslikefar.]

"Expect" to see? None.

If I go sit on the neighbor's right of way, I expect that I will eventually "see" a deer even if it takes several days or a week, even if it's just running across at 20 mph.

The last time I had genuine expectations of seeing deer for sure was in the early 2k's bow hunting. I had a spot were I knew if I was in the stand 2-4 evenings in a row, doe would come down the hill and walk past me at least one of those evenings. Never shot one, it was always right at legal light (or then some) and I never felt comfortable trying to track one in the dark. About that time maple syrup lines went up and changed their travel pattern and my great spot was no more.

I started deer hunting in 1985? Back then a hunting "season" may have been 2-3 days. I didn't get a shot at a deer til 1990-91? Didn't kill one till '93.
Now my "seasons" are 7-10 days of gun. 3-4 days of bow. MAYBE 2-3 days of muzzleloader. My success rate's about the same now though despite more days in the field.
I shot a deer this year, last one before that was 2018-2019?
(I am also the "luckiest" hunter in the world , in between those years I shot at and missed 4 deer. "Missed", meaning I hit branches and other vegetation deflecting shots. I can shoot at a deer in an open field and hit the one damn little twig thing growing in it. I've had scopes lose their zero for seemingly no reason, I've had a scope mount fall off a gun after being rock solid for 50 years prior. I'm blessed in that way. lol )

 

[bueller]

How many deer do you expect to see during a single hunt - and if you arent seeing a deer for days, how do you justify shooting one when you do see it.

Bow season I expect to see 1-3 deer per sit but zero sits are not uncommon at all.

Gun season I expect to see on average a deer every other day. Sometimes it's a group of 4 one time in 7-8 days of hunting.

I typically pass on several opportunities each year and only harvest one leaving a number of tags unfilled. If I waited until I was seeing 10 a sit before pulling the trigger I'd be dead before eating venison again.

 

[Catscratch]

"Expect" to see zero. Usually see 3 to 10.

Depends on time of season and how I'm hunting. I could sit the edge a bean field and see 20 does and spikes a night. Or I could sit a mile away on a small bedding area and maybe see one mature buck and nothing else.