Are the glory days of deer hunting coming to a close?

[Baker]

Dang, I see I'm getting pulled into this conversation as a reference point. Several thoughts occur as I read thru all this. First it makes me aware that we might have the best hunting camp in the world. There simply is no bickering. Yep, I'm the landowner and I get to make the rules. One of the primary rules is for everyone to have a blast! No exceptions. After that we have clear guidelines and vision for what we want to do. Do " mistakes" happen based on our goals. Just about every year. But if someone grumbles about it, that is the person that probably want get invited back. Grumbling, complaining, bitching simply isn't tolerated. Curiously there are far more people that want to be a part of our camp than I can accommodate .

I appreciate everyone's circumstance can be different. I too was frustrated when neighbors were killing all the young bucks compromising what I wanted to accomplish. Rather than complain about it I took action that fit my goals. Yep I have several thousand acres under high fence. In that circumstance it was the best thing I could do and was one of the best decisions I made. also worth noting I have over twice as much low fenced property as game fenced. Candidly, the folks that hunt with me could care less whether they are hunting the fenced property or not.

I very much enjoy adapting opportunity to circumstance. If we have a young hunter excited to be there, we will do everything possible to assure that the hunt creates magic memories that last forever. Even if that means lessening the guideline. Bluntly, I don't care if they use a bazooka or long bow. Have a thrill! Yet many of the folks that have hunted with us for years are delighted simply to be on the property to enjoy nature at its finest fully appreciating what has been accomplished.

 

[MN Slick]

^^^ Let's see him!!

Look at this stud! The left side was intact when I shot him, not so much on the right, lol. All we could think of with those brows and no beams is a bunch of eyes being poked out.

 

[Howboutthemdawgs]

Look at this stud! The left side was intact when I shot him, not so much on the right, lol. All we could think of with those brows and no beams is a bunch of eyes being poked out.

Wow! I mean that is a stud just without the big rack!

 

[bueller]

Love it MN Slick. Imagine if bucks were scored by weight only instead of inches. Sorry folks from the south

 

[Brian662]

So in your world shooting a young buck is exactly the same as shooting every deer you see? If me deciding to shoot 1 young buck seriously affects your entire hunting experience you should maybe look into other hobbies? Way to much time spent worrying and hand wringing about what others are doing.

Yeah, it's exactly the same thing except to two different people.

(Hypothetically)I don't like my neighbors continually shooting small bucks year after year, but it's well within their right to do so. Doesn't mean I have to like it. Maybe they have friends who use their land and they shoot small bucks too.

(Hypothetically) You don't like me shooting every deer I see year after year, but it's well within my right to do so. Doesn't mean you have to like it. Maybe I'm a farmer and they are eating into my profits. Not only do I use all the tags I legally buy, but I also get crop degradation tags in excess of those original tags.

Neither of us are happy about the way each other is being stewards of the herd, although all actions are perfectly legal. They are one in the same.

 

[gunther89]

Our issue in our area are Amish. They claim they are gonna pass the 2 and 3 yr olds because "they want to shoot bucks like us". Then comes bow season and the excuses come out, well he came in so quick and he looked good so I shot, or the well he was outside the ears so I shot. Gun season is more of the same, gotta feed the family of 10 or well I got a tag so might as well use it. It gets old real fast.

 

[Angus 1895]

One of my best memories was hunting general deer rifle in unit 50 late season.

We rode 3 miles in the snow on the mules near the devil’s bedstead.

We had two saddle mules and a pack mule.

We split up but had radio contacts ( rhinos)

I cut a track of a small group of deer.

They were heading higher and back towards camp

I followed the sign into a herd of bedded elk

I didn’t want to jump em so I took out my “ monster bull” bugle and got em up to wander off.

I followed the tracks through the elk tracks


About 1.75 miles into the deal ( 3 hours) the tracks appear to go straight off a cliff!

I get my field glasses out a looked into the abyss…no tracks

I started circles and found where they doubled back

I finally see em!

Ones a buck!

It green scores betwee 8 to 10 inches ( barely legal)

I am shaking so hard I had to back off and reapproach them to get a rest for my rifle.

It was challenging to re identify the “Prince of the Mountain” from my new position. But it worked out. A most satisfying hunt.

 

[Brian662]

I would say that some of you take all this personally. I'm just stating the other side. That just because it's what you want doesn't mean everyone else must want the same. It's how some act or talk, if someone shoots a smaller buck or worse, one I passed they must be uneducated, or lazy, or a bad hunter. I'm saying some people just don't care about it. Some don't have the time to put in some of us do. Some are totally Happy with a 2 year old 8. To each their own. There will be more deer.

Who started this thread?

I'm getting frustrated

With my neighbor. Guy has hunted the same stand no matter what the wind is every day but 1 for the last 2 weeks. Tonight he text to see if I was going to hunt I answered I wanted to but would get home after 5 ,to late to try to get in stand. 5:30 I get a text telling that he had just climbed...

habitat-talk.com

 

[Howboutthemdawgs]

Who started this thread?

I'm getting frustrated

With my neighbor. Guy has hunted the same stand no matter what the wind is every day but 1 for the last 2 weeks. Tonight he text to see if I was going to hunt I answered I wanted to but would get home after 5 ,to late to try to get in stand. 5:30 I get a text telling that he had just climbed...

habitat-talk.com

Lol
Good for that guy. I mean he’s not doing anything illegal. He’s having fun. Wish him the best and hope he keeps doing what makes him happy.

 

[Bill Loser]

Who started this thread?

I'm getting frustrated

With my neighbor. Guy has hunted the same stand no matter what the wind is every day but 1 for the last 2 weeks. Tonight he text to see if I was going to hunt I answered I wanted to but would get home after 5 ,to late to try to get in stand. 5:30 I get a text telling that he had just climbed...

habitat-talk.com

Yeah I see your point. I guess I look at it a little bit differently. It's kind of the same thing but not completely on my opinion. I'm not complaining about what he shoots. I'm not complaining about anything other than when he goes out and how he goes out. That affects both of us and makes it so neither one of us see any deer. On the other hand, again, in my opinion there are guys telling others that if they don't shoot exactly the buck that they deem then they are doing something wrong. They're not doing anything wrong, just like my neighbor isn't technically doing anything wrong. It was just frustrating watching him do this day after day after day after day. On the other hand, I get the frustration that some of you guys feel. What I don't get is the judgment of anyone who decides to shoot anything other than the buck that you think they should shoot. This idea that somehow if someone shoots a young buck that all of a sudden there will never be an old buck around is just crazy to me. I'll go hunt and I'll shoot whatever makes me happy. And I don't care what anybody else thinks and I think that's how everyone should hunt.

 

[Bill Loser]

Lol
Good for that guy. I mean he’s not doing anything illegal. He’s having fun. Wish him the best and hope he keeps doing what makes him happy.

You and me both! It's frustrating. Yes, but he is a good guy and I wish him nothing but the best luck. For a while there I was kind of veering off of that, which is why I started that thread. I wanted to just vent a little bit. But I've come around. We've been talking more and more and I think he's starting to understand a little bit about what he was doing and how it was affecting the deer movements in the area.

 

[Brian662]

Yeah I see your point. I guess I look at it a little bit differently. It's kind of the same thing but not completely on my opinion. I'm not complaining about what he shoots. I'm not complaining about anything other than when he goes out and how he goes out. That affects both of us and makes it so neither one of us see any deer. On the other hand, again, in my opinion there are guys telling others that if they don't shoot exactly the buck that they deem then they are doing something wrong. They're not doing anything wrong, just like my neighbor isn't technically doing anything wrong. It was just frustrating watching him do this day after day after day after day. On the other hand, I get the frustration that some of you guys feel. What I don't get is the judgment of anyone who decides to shoot anything other than the buck that you think they should shoot. This idea that somehow if someone shoots a young buck that all of a sudden there will never be an old buck around is just crazy to me. I'll go hunt and I'll shoot whatever makes me happy. And I don't care what anybody else thinks and I think that's how everyone should hunt.

...and you should. I hope your neighbor keeps hunting weird hours, with the wrong winds, and shoots as many deer as he has tags for if it makes him happy.

 

[Howboutthemdawgs]

Yeah I see your point. I guess I look at it a little bit differently. It's kind of the same thing but not completely on my opinion. I'm not complaining about what he shoots. I'm not complaining about anything other than when he goes out and how he goes out. That affects both of us and makes it so neither one of us see any deer. On the other hand, again, in my opinion there are guys telling others that if they don't shoot exactly the buck that they deem then they are doing something wrong. They're not doing anything wrong, just like my neighbor isn't technically doing anything wrong. It was just frustrating watching him do this day after day after day after day. On the other hand, I get the frustration that some of you guys feel. What I don't get is the judgment of anyone who decides to shoot anything other than the buck that you think they should shoot. This idea that somehow if someone shoots a young buck that all of a sudden there will never be an old buck around is just crazy to me. I'll go hunt and I'll shoot whatever makes me happy. And I don't care what anybody else thinks and I think that's how everyone should hunt.

Gotcha so this dudes actions, while perfectly legal, are having a negative effect on your enjoyment. So kinda like guys shooting 90% of 2 and 3 years around me having a negative impact on my enjoyment. Your hypocrisy is impressive

 

[Brian662]

You and me both! It's frustrating. Yes, but he is a good guy and I wish him nothing but the best luck. For a while there I was kind of veering off of that, which is why I started that thread. I wanted to just vent a little bit. But I've come around. We've been talking more and more and I think he's starting to understand a little bit about what he was doing and how it was affecting the deer movements in the area.

I'm happy for you that it appears you've communicated with him your thoughts about his hunting strategy and the effect it has on both of your potential future "success". I'm very concerned that if he shared his potential thoughts about your desire to shoot small bucks year after year and the effect that would have on his future "success", you would blow him off? Remarkable, really.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

This idea that somehow if someone shoots a young buck that all of a sudden there will never be an old buck around is just crazy to me.

Yeah it is crazy and nobody believes it so good job at constructing an argument that nobody is arguing against.

 

[Telemark]

Hunter safety class is for... Wait for it...HUNTER SAFETY, not for telling everyone which buck they should shoot. If you want a class for everyone on habitat improvement and QDM then have at it, but it has no place whatsoever in a Hunter safety class.

That's a strawman fallacy. I never once mentioned hunter safety classes.

I have only mentioned hunter education courses, which should include everything a new hunter should learn about. I have taken three such course because they were mandatory for me in the three countries I have hunted in. Here is the last one I took:

https://www.ontario.ca/document/ontario-hunting-regulations-summary/ontario-hunter-education-course

You'll notice safety is but one of several topics addressed in the course. Another one is wildlife management.

 

[Telemark]

It's called Hunter Education in Ohio.

https://ohiodnr.gov/buy-and-apply/hunting-fishing-boating/hunting-resources/huntered-courses

If you want to be petty and split hairs, I can do the same. Feel free to get caught up in the semantics for your argument's sake. Like the politician who once said "It depends what your definition of "is" is."

Incidentally, Ohio's was the first hunter education course I took, when I was maybe 12, and then Norway, and most recently Ontario. I have never taken a "hunter safety" class.

 

[Telemark]

With all due respect if I had a high fence too I could pass on 5.5 all day long

In fairness to Baker, if I could afford to buy a huge chunk of land and fence it off, that is exactly what I would do. I'm sick of shitty neighbors, and I'm weary of spending time and money on properties where I don't make the rules. If I won the lottery tomorrow, the first thing I would do would be to call a lawyer to set up a land trust and start buying up chunks of wilderness paradise in various parts of North America.

 

[Triple C]

Boys...Just throwing out a thought that might rekindle the joy of just hunting. Pick up a trad bow and hunt from the inside 15 yd game. You'll see just about every deer as a trophy whether you shoot or not just to get them so close. I"ve been at full draw twice so far this year on 2 bucks but 1st never offered shot I needed and 2nd busted me just as I was settling in on anchor. It's a blast.

My oldest son and oldest grandson took 2 nice bucks this week. One with rifle and other with compound. But we've yet to kill a 5 yr old deer off my farm since starting this journey in 2011.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

My cert is MN firearms safety, at least it only says "firearm" on the back of my drivers license. Regardless of what they call it, in 1997 it was "hunter education". I still remember discussion on trespassing, how to cross fences, game identification, hunting tactics, how to not die of hypothermia, tree stand safety, etc.

Edit: from the Horses Mouth-