Should it be this hard?

[Timberstalker]

My 2012 season was not what i was expecting. Oregon has been fairly good to me over the years as far as hunting goes. But as time goes on, I find it harder to find success. One would think that afte hunting some areas for over 20 years it would get easier?

I hunted deer a total of 18 days. I saw a total of 13 bucks most of those were one day when I ran into an area that held 9 bucks. None of them ever let me get into bow range.
I also hunted elk in the Cascades with a rifle, I have hunted this area for many years. I typicaly don't have a problem finding elk there. This year I hunted 7 straight days and never saw an elk.

I sometimes wonder if I am trying too hard, I hunt harder than most people I know, I always have. But lately it seems no matter how hard I hunt, I see less game now than I used to.

I have respect for the people on this site, I wonder what you think. I know I'm not a bad hunter, I've had too much success for a bad hunter. Should 18 days of deer hunting and 7 days elk hunting end up with tag soup? Do I need to start hunting out of state?