I tracked my hunts from 2021. Put in nearly 35-45 miles in 5 days with some vert in some areas I've usually encountered a couple shooters/year and many more does and small bucks on a good winter. Since 2017 when I started taking notes, I've drastically seen less and less deer and have only killed 1 deer in the last 3 years and it was 1 of 2 that was north of 150 (not great deer). The other good deer we saw in those 3 years my buddy shot in 2020. Last year I passed up an okay deer as I've seen him 2 years in a row in the same area and would like to see if he's in there this year. I plan to start documenting the number of total deer I see in a day so I can look back 5 years from now and see the change. These areas are not known for good deer but usually hold a few nice ones if you're willing to work for them. I've seen 3 north of 175" in the last 5 years of hunting it, all 3 killed in 2017 and 18.
Tracks for 11/8/2021-11/12/2021 (forgot to track the 9th)
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I have also seen multiple houses go up in winter ranges that used to hold deer in late November. Pressure has been pretty consistent but as we all know, the season remains rock solid through the rut and there has been 2 years in the last 5 that additional doe tags have been given out in the area I hunt. Less and less deer have been seen and in just 5 years it's become a place you really have to "lace them up tight" if you want the slightest chance at a 155" deer (which I personally try and avoid shooting).
Here's the only deer I've shot in 3 years and it was one of those things I cut his track and followed it for a mile and had to make a quick decision once I bumped him, otherwise I probably would have let him walk:
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I'll probably spend a day or two looking for the buck I found last year to see if he's still around. Sad to see things trending the way they are..
