I've spent significant amounts of time in the Watertown and surrounding areas and despite GREAT looking country, I have seen VERY FEW deer. Not even while driving have I seen many. Are there limited numbers there or am I just not seeing them ?:cool:

If you guys got as much snow last winter as we did here in Maine, then that's probably a big part of the answer. Winter kill.

You know, I never thought about that. I guess here in WV, we don't worry about such things anymore. We don't get nearly as much snow these days as when I was a little boy (1970's). I also heard once that Watertown got as much as 500" of snow per year. Sounds like a lot to me !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:cool:

We don't have those problems here in central Virginia as one would in snowy areas .

However the guys in Rockingham and Augusta counties of Virginia are complaining of down deer populations !

These guys are in the Shenendoah Valley on the West Virginia line .

You know we had some deer die-off last year in certain areas here in WV as well. It seemed to be linked to some kind of insect. The deer were more often than not found dead near a water source. I'm not sure if they were fevered and trying to cool themselves down or if they contracted the virus at the water source. Kind of spooky, you know.:(

I've spent significant amounts of time in the Watertown and surrounding areas and despite GREAT looking country, I have seen VERY FEW deer. Not even while driving have I seen many. Are there limited numbers there or am I just not seeing them ?:cool:


Huntdaddy,
I don't know much about the dear population around Watertown, but I have lived/hunted most of my life in the Northern Adirondacks (just south of Malone, NY). Here, the deer population is less dense than in the southern tier; however, the whitetails are much larger here. Long, cold, tough winters keep the herd thinned, I guess. Hunting is difficult with thick forests. Given this, it is very rare to encounter any out-of-area hunters around here.

Best,
Dan

Dan 444 - How did your deer fare this past winter? I believe conditions are similar in the Adirondacks and northern Maine. Same low deer density, etc. Thanks, Guy

Dan 444 - How did your deer fare this past winter? I believe conditions are similar in the Adirondacks and northern Maine. Same low deer density, etc. Thanks, Guy

We received a lot of snow last winter, but I don't think that it had any affect on the population.

Hunt, when I was working around Watertown I didnt see many either.It seems as if Parish area is part of their boundary where they start getting plentiful. That town is on the southern edge of the snow belt with watertown at the north.2 years ago I used to see alot of deer at my brothers house east of Parish, now you cant find any sign.The winters havent been any worse but more coyotes were killed last year.also dont start any rumors ...take about 250 inches of snow off that figure :)

I thought 500" of snow sounded a bit much !!! I do recall several years ago Watertown was crowned "Snow City USA" or some such handle and I'd swear it was because they got to the 500" mark. Maybe it was just that one year or something like that.:cool:

We used to have a hunting camp in Minerva (Essex County) and when we hunted up there, if you saw any buck over a week of hunting you were doing pretty good. Heck, very few people actually saw deer while they were hunting. My Grandfather used to hunt with the large groups of standers and drivers. They would push entire mountains and score some really big bucks. You don't see a whole lot of hunting like that anymore though. Scotty

Hi.
I live just north of Oneida Lake, and have a hunting camp just east of Adams.
There are gobs of deer. The winter kill has been minimal in your-and my- area for some time. I just drove through the area today looking, and saw many from the road. Once the snow gets deep this time of year, the deer will yard up and be concentrated. When you get up onto the Tug Hill region, the lack of agriculture scatters the deer, making a "big woods" habitat. I am guessing with all the development around Watertown and Fort Drum, there is also increased hunting pressure close in making the deer scarcer. There is a late muzzleloading season in your area partially due to the larger deer population. One area in particular you can find a hellofalotofdeer, is on Wellesley Island, within the state park. Archery and Muzzleloading hunting is allowed in season in designated areas. Take a drive up even now and you should be able to see plenty...especially near dark. Sorry for not specifying more where you would find em closer to my camp! There are alot of deer in your area.