about to give up hunting all together

[brew]

where are you archery hunting this late season?  do you have a vail permit?  if you do get a hold of me and i'll hook you up...

brew

[30draw]

no permit this year just stompin public land, well that i know of anyways. the places i listed is all i know of so far

[Tbar]

I always say I only have two things going for me, dumb luck and persistence.  It sounds like you have the persistence thing down! Keep at it and dumb luck will find you.  Good luck and have fun!

[Pete112288]

I hunted for many years without a single animal to show for it. My dad is still tride and true to the days when you could drive log roads all day and sit in the truck on a clear cut and get bucks and bulls. Once I broke away from that is when it got better. I dove in head first. I had a part time job and lived with the folks so I had 3-4 days a week from march till hunting season to spend in the woods, I spent all of that time in an area less then 2 square miles, most of the time less then 1 square mile. That fall I had close encounters with 5 different branched bulls in archery season and got a beautiful 3 point blacktail in the core of the area I was in. This area I had never seen a deer or elk in ever before during season till after I spent that time in the off season. The thing that really helped me is just to get off the roads and main trails. 90% of the animals I see are in the timber and brush where you cant worry about getting shooting lanes because they show up at all different points all the time, just when you see one, thats when you find a shooting lane, and wait for that hole through the brush to open for a shot. Most seasons since then I dont hardly see a deer till the one I shoot, the fact that I spent so much time there and I already have it in my head that I know they are there is what keeps me hanging in. 

[brew]

don't know where you are located at but if interested in hunting the south sound area get a hold of me around the first of november and i can show you some public land around here that has always produced a couple does...

brew

[Houndhunter]

Move out of WA, the wdfw is a joke. I moved, so glad I did and I'll never look back

[HunterStrait]

You're not the only one, i didn't get a deer this year and i'll still hunt next year.
My dad hasn't killed a buck sense 2010 and hasn't given up.
It all depends on the location and the quality of the habitat.

[Humptulips]

long time reader,  i get as high as i can when i can and I come home empty handed. 

Maybe that's your problem.

Seriously though I'm close to 60 and since the first deer I killed as a teen I have only once came home empty handed at the end of the season (broke my leg the day before season opened). What works for me is I walk a lot. I don't believe in sitting and glassing or taking a stand for BTs. Mostly just a slow walk and occasional stops to look over a place. There are a lot less deer then there used to be and especially now there will be a lot of land vacant of deer so you need to cover the real estate.
Watch for areas of tracks and return to those places and eliminate areas with no sign. I like to get away from people as much as possible too.
Eye sight might be a factor as some have mentioned. I never look for deer parts or brown spots. I just look and they usually just seem to appear or I catch some movement. I had a friend though that couldn't see deer for love nor money.
Hope that helps and sorry about the joke at the beginning but it struck me as so funny and couldn't help myself.

[ribka]

Buy a camera

Hunt in off season taking pics. Research an area with good harvest stats and start scouting when season ends. Learn the area and animal movements .

[hughjorgan]

long time reader, finally registered. I started hunting 4 years ago. I have asked a million questions, read 2 books on deer for this region, and tried it all. I am good with a rifle or a bow, i have tried both season, I spot n stalk, sit n wait, sit in the same place for days on end. i have hunted capitol forest, vail area, snoqualmie, naches, greenwater, a little on the east side. I use scent killer, i dont smoke, chew, or any of that, i get as high as i can when i can and glass nonstop, basically all day, i truly get out there and i work my butt off 95% of the time. and I come home empty handed.

I read all these posts from people passing on bucks, seeing 20 deer in a day.
and then there is me, in 4 years I have seen 2 does, while driving out headed home. never a bear. never a elk except one cow once.

Am i doing something wrong or hunting in the wrong places? seems i have tried it all, put it to good use, and still dont even see an animal. I know if i dont get something on the ground this year, I will never see another cooperative wife hunting season again.

Are you doing any pre/off season scouting of the areas you plan to hunt?

[fordpowerforever]

Another option is give up on your style and go for the spook and shoot method, work threw the "deer areas" ready to pull up and shoot, sounds like you will shoot any legal deer so you dont need much time to evaluate horn size. Out here we dont see a lot of deer but i rarely come home without seeing at least one a day, but a good day is around ten.

[Hoythunter]

It's already been said in different ways, but my take is you can't kill something if it's not there.  I set high standards and always remind myself throughout the year that I can't kill a giant Buck if one doesn't exist in the area.. Stay mobile, it'll happen.

[BOWHUNTER45]

Not sure what I think of this thread but if you are having trouble seeing deer then start looking at the ground when trying to spot them ..A lot of guys can not see them ..Most people think they just stick out ...and look right over them ..keep your eyes about 2 ft off the ground when looking for them ...be surprised how many more deer to will see 

[Westside88]

You've gotten a lot of good tips here already. Look for tracks, if you're not seeing the sign you need to keep moving since there just aren't as many deer as there used to be. I've had some good areas get totally wiped out due to Cougars. Once you find good sign pay attention to the wind. getting as little as a mile behind a closed gate is a good way to up your odds. Hunt as much as you can the last week of the season

[h2ofowlr]

If it was easy, everyone would do it.  Sometimes it takes scouting new areas.  Your always learning when going out.  I know guys that haven't harvested animals in years.