Seeing less deer this year?

[Ifishandhunt]

Is it me or is anyone else in Ohio seeing less deer in the woods? I have been thinking about it the past month but now I am hearing a lot of people in my area (SW Ohio between Dayton and Cincinnati) say that they have not seen deer around like they used to. In just the past few days alone I had a few people tell me they have not been seeing deer, not even during the rut when car accidents become more common.

So it has me wondering if maybe the DNR needs to lower the bag limits. What are your thoughts on that?

[Jslotter]

Im not in Ohio, but IMO, pressured deer won't move unless people start pushing them out of their beds. I've had seasons where all movement shuts down the second and third day in season. Then some determined hunters will get up and look for them, and some will get a group together and start a drive. Then the action starts back up. If hunters don't get off their stands, those pressured deer will lay all day until they leave.

[Ohio farms]

Good point Jslotter. Lots of hunters in the woods on opening day and again on the next Saturday. After the first couple of days of gun season, the deer just don't move unless they are pushed. Their normal routines are gone for a while, plus a lot of deer have been removed from the area.
Ohio has been very liberal with the taking of does for a while now, but this year there have been some subtle changes in the rules. My farm in NE Ohio it seems has had much more damage by deer in the corn field than in the past. I've never been one to apply for damage permits though. My philosophy has always been, they eat some of my corn and I eat a few of them.

[Sierra]

I have seen less myself, but they can't have vanished. I get one whole day of my fiance hunting with me, and I thought that after the morning it might be wise to take turns doing a little bit of stealthy walking on the trails behind our respective stands. See what happens.

[scottflesher]

I saw less for sure.