Hunting another property - is a deer a deer?

[j-bird]

When you guys hunt your own place as well as other properties - is a deer a deer? By that I mean do you have any different thoughts about the deer you harvest off of a property you don't own and work vs the property you do own and work?

 

[bueller]

If I was hunting somebody else's land, my harvest goal would be based on what the owner wanted.

Agreed, and on the public land I hunt in IL it's an either sex tag and they want deer harvested so I take shots at whatever I can get. If the hunters don't take them there, the sharpshooters will.

 

[Natty Bumppo]

On my small property I am way more selective. With that said, I have a very low deer density in a "brown and it's down" state. I don't see many deer during the hunt. But I still try by hardest to refrain from taking young bucks on my property. And never a doe. It's not always easy. When I hunt the mountainous state forest close by all I want to do is put meat in the freezer. So yes, if it's a legal buck and/or if I have a doe permit I'm going for it.

 

[wiscwhip]

When hunting multiple public grounds in multiple areas of the state, my "harvest goals" are based on what I deem as a "good" deer for the area. I will shoot bucks in Juneau Co that I would not even consider pulling up on in LaCrosse, Vernon, Trempealeau, or Buffalo Co.

 

[j-bird]

I guess I wasn't real clear - let me explain a little further.

I have NEVER killed a deer off my own property. I have access to another property that isn't mine and I can kill any and as many deer as I want/legally can take - that isn't the issue. I think I need to take a deer or two off this other property to help fill my freezer this year.

I'm talking about - for the lack of a better term - the emotional part of it. Taking a deer off a property you are not "invested in". If you kill a 140 buck on your place vs killing a 140 buck off of a place you hardly ever step foot on, is your emotional connection to that deer any different????

Sorry I wasn't clearer in the OP

 

[wiscwhip]

Nope, they all taste the same and the mounts look good no matter where I shoot them. Never mattered to me if I shot them off of our old place or across the fence on the county land. All deer are "good" deer in my eyes.

 

[bat man]

Agreed, and on the public land I hunt in IL it's an either sex tag and they want deer harvested so I take shots at whatever I can get. If the hunters don't take them there, the sharpshooters will.

? Who is they and why do they dictate your actions?

 

[wiscwhip]

bueller is referring to the state of IL and they will have sharpshooters come into the CWD affected counties(where he hunts) and take those deer out anyway.

 

[wiscwhip]

Damnit whip, quit shooting "our" spikes! :D

I haven't even pulled up on a spike or a forkhorn in Juneau Co for about 20 years, but yes, "quit shooting our basket 6's and 8's"!;)

 

[bat man]

bueller is referring to the state of IL and they will have sharpshooters come into the CWD affected counties(where he hunts) and take those deer out anyway.

Think so? The sharp shooters will kill all the deer he doesn't kill?

 

[wiscwhip]

I can't say they will kill them all, but they kill very many every year. Look at the statistics and prevalence rates of CWD infected deer in the northern IL CWD Zone where sharpshooters are used regularly compared to the WI CWD Zone where sharpshooters are not used any more. The numbers are eye opening to say the least. And yes, they will shoot any deer, so not just does are killed to keep the overall numbers down, many bucks are killed as well because they are seen as the primary spreaders of the disease.

 

[j-bird]

For me, and I haven't shot anything like what you guys shoot, I have a lot of satisfaction out of getting the wildlife to go where I want them too. "Engineering" the habitat to control their movements. Can only do that on my property. So it would probably mean more to me to kill one after setting them up to be on a certain location at a certain time. I know now how much more difficult this is to accomplish with adult bucks but still love the challenge.

....I built one of my Jap millet plots two seasons ago down in a wetter area. Mowed a figure 8 into it with the crossing of the eight 15 yrds away from a hang-on set about a month before the season. Diagramed it for my buddy the night before the opening night of the bow season and I told him not to shoot until the deer was at the intersection. Late Friday night we were getting full on into the beers and he was laughing at me and said things like, "what your a deer whisper now."

Saturday evening he hunted the stand and comes back to camp with the shakes and chew running down his check. I asked him what he saw. He had a little six pointer walk out of the grass lands and start feeding on the millet heads ending up on X. All with 1 hr of shooting light left. To me this was very cool. Plus I got a little more respect from my buddy after that night;)

That is sort of what I am talking about. To take deer off of my place I get a "buzz" off of that. I helped create that situation, I worked for that situation. I fear I won't feel that way when I take a deer off of a property I have not worked with. Maybe that seems stupid, and maybe it doesn't matter, but I guess that is what it sort of boils down to.

 

[bueller]

? Who is they and why do they dictate your actions?

IL DNR. This is in a CWD county and for the most part it is the only sizeable forest in the immediate area. Farmland dominates the rest of the area. Sharpshooters have been deployed into the park and have taken large amounts of deer out of there. They now allow public hunting however before the whole CWD thing they did not. If the population gets out of control again, which from the stories I hear they were before hunting was allowed, the sharpshooters WILL be sent back in.

 

[bueller]

That is sort of what I am talking about. To take deer off of my place I get a "buzz" off of that. I helped create that situation, I worked for that situation. I fear I won't feel that way when I take a deer off of a property I have not worked with. Maybe that seems stupid, and maybe it doesn't matter, but I guess that is what it sort of boils down to.

I can see that to a small extent on private property vs your private property. However ANY deer on the heavily pressured lands I hunt in WI and IL still give me quite the buzz.

 

[bat man]

If the population gets out of control again, which from the stories I hear they were before hunting was allowed, the sharpshooters WILL be sent back in.

...stories purported by state agencies bear little fruit for me.

I have read quite a bit on the CWD issue.

Not a fan of herd decimation.

Maybe I am overly sour and distrustful of the agency tasked with managing our herd, but I will waive the BS flag on the kill every deer mentality when CWD pops up. Until I am shown it is the correct approach.

Show me where CWD has hurt hunting, unless the brown its down policy comes into play. CWD deer have affected nobody.

CWD has hurt deer populations nowhere. Getting hunters to buy the tags and kill every deer they say most certainly has ruined many hunting areas.

And I am not saying I am correct on this. I am saying I have not been proven wrong.

 

[bueller]

...stories purported by state agencies bear little fruit for me.

I have read quite a bit on the CWD issue.

Not a fan of herd decimation.

Maybe I am overly sour and distrustful of the agency tasked with managing our herd, but I will waive the BS flag on the kill every deer mentality when CWD pops up. Until I am shown it is the correct approach.

Show me where CWD has hurt hunting, unless the brown its down policy comes into play. CWD deer have affected nobody.

CWD has hurt deer populations nowhere. Getting hunters to buy the tags and kill every deer they say most certainly has ruined many hunting areas.

And I am not saying I am correct on this. I am saying I have not been proven wrong.

No, these stories are from the hunters I talk with at the hunt that were some of the originals to hunt the land when it first was opened to the public. They used to have an antler restriction of at least 4 points on a side. According to them it was common to see herds of 20+ deer walking together through the property. I'm not advocating the deer massacre CWD created here, or suggesting that the overpopulation of the past was healthy.

 

[bat man]

No, these stories are from the hunters I talk with at the hunt that were some of the originals to hunt the land when it first was opened to the public. They used to have an antler restriction of at least 4 points on a side. According to them it was common to see herds of 20+ deer walking together through the property. I'm not advocating the deer massacre CWD created here, or suggesting that the overpopulation of the past was healthy.

What was unhealthy of seeing 20 deer per sit? Not saying they were wrong, but how did they make the decision there were too many deer?

Was it an excuse to kill deer, or did they give some habitat or biology based rationale for their assessment there were too many deer?

IMO< Most of the time when hunters say there were too many deer it is nothing but agency regurgitated deer reduction rhetoric. Not always the case, but it has happened way too much ion the past 15 years.

 

[bueller]

What was unhealthy of seeing 20 deer per sit? Not saying they were wrong, but how did they make the decision there were too many deer?

Was it an excuse to kill deer, or did they give some habitat or biology based rationale for their assessment there were too many deer?

IMO< Most of the time when hunters say there were too many deer it is nothing but agency regurgitated deer reduction rhetoric. Not always the case, but it has happened way too much ion the past 15 years.

I would agree with the assessment that there was an overpopulation based on the acreage, amount of deer being seen, and to this day the lack of forest regen. Have they taken the population down to low? IMO, yes. But at this point they allow a certain number of hunters in there per year so whether I go or not doesn't change the number of people hunting and possibly harvesting a deer outta there. I'm thankful for the opportunity this hunt provides as I get to hunt terrain that is the total opposite of the land I own. And there are still some really good deer in there because most "hunters" from this area are stretching the definition of hunter when they call themselves that.

 

[chummer]

I get the same rush wherever I take a deer. I am however very selective on the piece I manage. The residential deer I hunt is brown is down, but I still get the same thrill

 

[SD51555]

I guess I wasn't real clear - let me explain a little further.

I have NEVER killed a deer off my own property. I have access to another property that isn't mine and I can kill any and as many deer as I want/legally can take - that isn't the issue. I think I need to take a deer or two off this other property to help fill my freezer this year.

I'm talking about - for the lack of a better term - the emotional part of it. Taking a deer off a property you are not "invested in". If you kill a 140 buck on your place vs killing a 140 buck off of a place you hardly ever step foot on, is your emotional connection to that deer any different????

Sorry I wasn't clearer in the OP

Oh. I had to read that twice. I think (haven't had the pleasure yet) a deer off my own property would be far more special to me. I had a hand in developing that protein. I think that's the biggest connection. From setting the table, some trigger restraint, to sustainable harvest, and into the canner. Loop successfully closed.