I hate NH deer hunting

[Ojibwa]

I lived in GA for over 30 years and killed a truck load of deer there including some great bucks....

fast forward..

We moved to NH from GA for the wifes job..this state is the black hole of deer hunting very low densities and the quality is awful, some states manage for quality some for quantity others just to have a good healthy herd , this state does none of the above. I thought maybe last winter hurt the herd but F&G says the herd is fine.. I consider myself a pretty good deer hunter but so far NH is kicking my butt.. can find very little sign at all and have nearly 100ac all to myself I have also scouted other properties up here if its not posted you can hunt it.. I have half a doz cams out and am getting a few doe pics but so far no bucks.. If it was up to me I would cut bag limits as well as bonus tags the limit would be one deer buck or doe like Maine does it for a few years.. They tell me the habitat is so poor that the land cant sustain anymore deer BS there are acorns, apples and browse out the kazoo up here.. This state could have a much better herd then it does but no one wants to take the necessary steps to get there... I can hear my friends on NE Hunting chat screaming at me now "you need to hunt them here" yes thats true but you need to find them first...

OK rant over thank you for reading..lol

planning a hunt back to KY next year...

 

[sandbur]

Welcome to our world :confused:
One thing about deer hunting in low density areas...its a real accomplishment when you are successful. Its easy to shoot deer when they're thick...not so much when there are only a handful of them on a square mile.

I always wonder how the hot shot TV hunters would do in areas like ours.

 

[Jim Timber]

I always wonder how the hot shot TV hunters would do in areas like ours.

Whole lotta deer camp footage and b-roll. ;)

 

[bat man]

Ever seen a tv show filmed in NH?

 

[Natty Bumppo]

That's rough Ojibwa. Sorry to hear. I'm just over in the Berkshire Hills of northwest Mass. and you pretty much just described the last 30 years of my hunting. I feel your pain.

 

[sandbur]

Ever seen a tv show filmed in NH?

Not many filmed in central or northern Mn. either.

I did see one short segment a few years ago from land SW of Mille Lacs lake. That's the old ranch land that was managed. They saw a decent buck, but ended with footage and pictures of Mille Lacs Lake.

 

[sandbur]

Ojibwa-do the bodies of the northern deer appear to be bigger?

 

[MA VT Flatlander]

Ojibwa what part of NH are you in?

 

[Jameson]

I always wonder how the hot shot TV hunters would do in areas like ours.

This reminded me of a professional walleye fishing tournament on Lake Minnetonka near the Twin Cities. A total of 2 walleye were caught by all the fisherman. Two total. Made me feel not so bad to get skunked out there too.

 

[Ojibwa]

Ever seen a tv show filmed in NH?

your sig says it all for me let the doe's go in NH and watch the herd grow....at least a little... and to answer your question there is an internetr show shot in NE not sure if they have done any hunts in NH..

 

[Ojibwa]

Ojibwa-do the bodies of the northern deer appear to be bigger?

Actually on avg not a lot bigger then GA deer, they do kill a few more 200# plus deer but the avg deer killed is about the same..

 

[Ojibwa]

Ojibwa what part of NH are you in?

south central where all the deer are supposed to be..lol

 

[Ojibwa]

I should have also added I have hunted deer in 8 other states mid-west and SE but have never had it this tough especially when you go from areas that have 30 to 40 deer per sq mile to one that might have 10. and the avg buck killed in NH is 1.5 they don't let anything walk if it's brown it's down..LOL..

the upside is the wife is making great money and has offered to send on a hunt next fall my vote is still KY...

 

[sandbur]

I should have also added I have hunted deer in 8 other states mid-west and SE but have never had it this tough especially when you go from areas that have 30 to 40 deer per sq mile to one that might have 10. and the avg buck killed in NH is 1.5 they don't let anything walk if it's brown it's down..LOL..

the upside is the wife is making great money and has offered to send on a hunt next fall my vote is still KY...

I have hunted much of my life in areas with populations around 10 per square mile and recently down to 5 (spring) per square mile. I usually have an opportunity at one or two bucks per year and most often they are yearlings.
I did go almost 2 bow seasons without seeing a deer.

A fall population of 20 deer per square mile seems like a godsend!

 

[tooln]

My area is less than 10 dpsm. Amish are 75+ apsm.

 

[Satchmo]

In some parts of Georgia, northern deer from Wisconsin were introduced back in the 1950s to help bring their herd back.

You are correct on the Wisconsin connection. Not sure on the years, but 20 years ago I had a client from GA who was big in to deer hunting. You should have heard him go on about the time he shot a 185# nine pointer. You would have thought he shot Buckzilla. Bigger deer are much more common down that way now.

 

[Ojibwa]

He's in the southeast section of the state which has our highest density but, much harder to find open land.

Ojibwa, I have no experience over that way. I think the deer like to hang tight in small sections. Your biggest problem is going to be getting land access. This fall when the leaves start changing take some drives. The oaks are going to keep their orange leaves and you'll be able to find them. Then find the ones that are not posted. Here in NH you have full hunting access to land if it's not posted. If you're successful try to be discrete when taking your deer out. Keep at it and best wishes.

trying hard not to get frustrated, thanks for the advice...

 

[Ojibwa]

I've seen a lot of GA deer that seem pretty darn big bodied. Always wondered if they had northern deer genetics somewhere in their background.

WI, Deer were stocked in many areas back in the day..

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Yep - ^^^^^Pa. got deer stocked from Michigan years ago.

I have the same ? as Bur does in post #4 - how would the hotshots on TV do in my area ?? I'd LOVE to see them connect with ANYTHING - let alone a 150"+ buck !!! I watch those shows occasionally and watch them pour out a bag of " super acorn, apple, mineral, crush, rage, fantasma food " and sit in a deluxe 8 x 10 hut with sliding windows on private, pay-for-your-hunt ranches. 8 or 10 big bucks over 120" are in the view-finder .......... but we're holding out for that 160" that comes out right at 6:39 every evening.

I'm really curious why all those big - racked monsters in Texas come out into the wide open " sendero's " ( 300 yd. bare shooting lanes ) and feast heartily on what looks like bare dirt or sand ??? You guys in the sandy Upper-mids must have it easy feeding your deer with all your sand !!! What could be so nutritious and attractive in that bare dirt ???:rolleyes:

75,000 acres of private, guarded land with a paid staff of men planting, mowing, clearing shooting lanes, erecting shooting towers, installing water troughs, mineral licks - and a driver to chauffer the " woodsmen " to the stands. After such a tough hunt, I'd sure be proud of those " trophies " !!!:rolleyes: So much for my rant !!

I think most of us from the Upper-mids and the Northeast where " deer numbers were out-of-hand " and tags were sold like penny candy can attest to what REAL deer hunters must face. You have lots of company, Ojibwa !!

BTW - I should mention this ..... Pa. is set to raise the fees for hunting licenses. Make up for lower numbers of licenses sold ?????? Not enough kick-back from the timber co.'s ????

 

[Natty Bumppo]

trying hard not to get frustrated, thanks for the advice...

Not sure if you're into it, or have the time, space. or patients...but being in the same situation here in Mass. and southern VT I have taken to hunting whitetails Larry Benoit style after bow season closes. It takes a certain mental and physical toughness, but tracking deer in the Northern forests during a late season black powder or shotgun hunt can be rewarding. You cover ground, out all day, moving slowly through swamps, mountains, etc..it's like a chess match. Got to know when to move quickly and cover ground, and then when to slow down and creep along at a mind numbingly boring slow pace for that final 100 yards before the shot. Some days you get busted. Some days the sun goes down before you ever get close. But every now and then you creep around that last tree in a snowy spruce swamp and there he is 50 yards away, upwind, broadside with no clue that you are about to lower the hammer.

I figure I can sit in a tree all day and see nothing, or get down and track them down, enjoy the woods, get some exercise, see some beautiful country, and truly HUNT like very few of the big name TV personalities can. They'd be like babes in the woods without every creature comfort known to man in the stand with them.

Just a thought....