From my December 20, 2012 News Journal column.
During the past eight weeks, I’ve fielded inquiries from Delaware deer hunters in person, by telephone, through email and via my website.
Just about all of them asked the same question: “Where are the deer?”
After nonchalantly responding to the first email, I was somewhat surprised to see a similar email less than a week later. I then received two phone calls from perplexed hunters who haven’t harvested deer in more than three years and a Web form submission from a hunter who hasn’t yet seen a single deer in the woods all season.
Originally, I believed their stories were exaggerated. I attributed their lack of whitetail encounters to insufficient time spent in the woods, poor scent control and other manageable factors. After all, I have hunted deer from one end of the state to other, and I have encountered more deer this year than in the past three years combined. Then it hit me: It may not be how they’re hunting, it may simply be where they’re hunting.
I followed up with the hunters and asked about their hunting spots. It became clear. Every one of them hunted solely on Delaware public ground.
Any hunter who spends enough time hunting deer in Delaware knows the dirty little secret that deer in our small state quickly adapt to public land hunting pressure by moving to private land. After the first shots are fired on opening day, mature deer know the odds of survival are better if they vacate the public hunting areas quickly. And it doesn’t take immature deer long to figure things out. They will flee danger with their mothers or herd members and head toward areas of lesser hunting pressure.
Unlike the hunters who contacted me, I have hunted only on private property, including suburban backyards and large properties that border public hunting lands. In fact, I saw deer every time I deer-hunted this season.
I am frequently met with rolling eyes, groans and barbs when I mention that I usually hunt private land. Many hunters believe they cannot find private land to hunt, and they regard those who hunt private land as a privileged minority. However, gaining permission to hunt private land isn’t as difficult as some think.
The simplest way is to ask friends, relatives and acquaintances. If no close personal contacts own property where you can hunt, perhaps they can refer you to people who do. During your conversations with the landowners, educate them about applicable hunting laws, provide proposed hunting schedules and offer to assist with yard work, especially tasks that will make the property more attractive to deer. If a property owner is hesitant to allow gun hunting on his property, don’t end the conversation without discussing archery-only hunting.
An alternate approach is to lease hunting property and/or join a private hunt club. Ask fellow hunters about available leases and hunt club memberships.
While it’s true that deer frequently flee to private ground, I don’t want to readily dismiss other possible causes for the lack of deer sightings and harvests on public land.
There have been isolated deer kills caused by epizootic hemorrhagic disease throughout Delaware this year, so it’s possible that some hunting areas – public or private – have fewer deer. We should know more when this year’s deer harvest statistics are released by the state.