Slow Day... The Best Big Buck State

[Mortenson]

What size properties are you guys surrounded by? 80 acres would be a decent sized farm in our neighborhood. I just pulled out a plat book, and touching us or within .75 mile I see properties of 9, 10, 36, 34, 16, 8, 12, and a bunch of small tracts in the 5 acre range.

I read homerj's articles. The studies hang their hat on the ricochet factor. I think they carefully phrased things to make trajectories between slugs and rifle bullets seem closer than they are. I'm open to being educated on this enough to change my mind, but that didn't do it. I think I need to find more info on these ricochets.

 

[Peplin Creek]

For the record I hunt with a rifle. I don’t have anything against them. I do think shotgun areas have a better age structure in there herd. I just thought it was ridiculous to say that rifle hunting would result in less wounded deer. People take stupid shots with rifles too. Hell I’d bet that half the hunters in wisconsin probably don’t even check their scopes before going out on opening day.

 

[bueller]

For the record I hunt with a rifle. I don’t have anything against them. I do think shotgun areas have a better age structure in there herd. I just thought it was ridiculous to say that rifle hunting would result in less wounded deer. People take stupid shots with rifles too. Hell I’d bet that half the hunters in wisconsin probably don’t even check their scopes before going out on opening day.

That is a pretty safe assumption that I wouldn't bet against.

Consider this. How many deer hunters hunt over farm fields that give them the opportunity to shoot 300+ yards? A very small fraction IMO. And those with that access and desire to shoot that far likely use a weapon capable of doing so already. The "average hunter" is in the woods, often times heavily timbered and hunted public land or small tract. 100+ yard sightlines and not so common. The average shot distance of a harvested deer is not going to all of sudden double with rifles instead shotguns, heck it may not change much if any at all. The wounded 75 yard shotgun deer may now be a dead 75 yard rifle deer. That's why I think less deer will be wounded with rifles vs shotguns. Big field long distance deer hunting is not the common man's hunt. It's the property rich and/or wealthy man's hunt.

 

[bwoods11]

Hunters should be supporting each other no matter what the weapon.

I support hunters, just not rifles in Ag zones. No changes needed in my area. It’s bad enough already (29 gun days) Since 2000, the number of gun days has doubled.

 

[Suburbhunter]

Back to the OP's question. Rhode Island!!!

 

[roymunson]

I support hunters, just not rifles in Ag zones. No changes needed in my area. It’s bad enough already (29 gun days) Since 2000, the number of gun days has doubled.

29 GUN DAYS? Wow? Thats a lotta gunning.

Ohio has a week after thanksgiving, a bonus 2 day shotgun, and a 4 day muzzleloader in early january. So that's 13 I believe. If you wanna throw in the 2 day youth season we're at 15 all told. All substantially outside the rut, all shotgun or straight walled rifle. I'm sure there are things to complain on about just about any DNR, but on the whole, I think Ohio does a darn good job at protecting the resource and giving people the tools to help manage the herd they're chasing.

 

[bwoods11]

29 GUN DAYS? Wow? Thats a lotta gunning.

Ohio has a week after thanksgiving, a bonus 2 day shotgun, and a 4 day muzzleloader in early january. So that's 13 I believe. If you wanna throw in the 2 day youth season we're at 15 all told. All substantially outside the rut, all shotgun or straight walled rifle. I'm sure there are things to complain on about just about any DNR, but on the whole, I think Ohio does a darn good job at protecting the resource and giving people the tools to help manage the herd they're chasing.

That’s a great season structure. Plus one buck . Very lucky!

 

[roymunson]

That’s a great season structure. Plus one buck . Very lucky!

Not if you go ask the keyboard cowboys on the archery website. They're convinced we don't have any deer left. It's embarassing.

My only gripe would be I'd like to see NR prices go up to reflect the quality of hunting we have here

 

[bigbendmarine]

On a half-joking note...

While I appreciate some of you lucky bastages in the upper midwest have the luxury of smirking at the thought of harvesting 120 to 140 class bucks... AND I'd NEVER argue that in general Florida has much of ANY bragging rights as deer go... I've actually been "pinch myself" happy at what I've been able to harvest off my unfenced 100 acres since moving to it in 2014... and to Baker's point, tis' MIGHTY fun being able to catch fair-sized bass (and even bigger saltwater fish) year-round!

And on the rifle / season length note, though I only make sits on the most ideal of days (cold fronts close to rutting periods), for those who like an excuse to be in the woods and / or shoot rifles, you can gun hunt North Florida with most any centerfire rifle from the start of November through the end of February if willing to hunt across zones in bordering counties... for that matter for those willing to drive to South Florida you can bow hunt as early as the first week of August. Hunt deer for over HALF the year in our state

 

[H20fwler]

My only gripe would be I'd like to see NR prices go up to reflect the quality of hunting we have here

That is my biggest gripe with the ODNR, the NR license fees are way to low...and they should be licensing guides and outfitters too especially the ones pimping public land.

 

[jsasker007]

What would the average temps be in south florida in august?

 

[roymunson]

On a half-joking note...

While I appreciate some of you lucky bastages in the upper midwest have the luxury of smirking at the thought of harvesting 120 to 140 class bucks... AND I'd NEVER argue that in general Florida has much of ANY bragging rights as deer go... I've actually been "pinch myself" happy at what I've been able to harvest off my unfenced 100 acres since moving to it in 2014... and to Baker's point, tis' MIGHTY fun being able to catch fair-sized bass (and even bigger saltwater fish) year-round!

And on the rifle / season length note, though I only make sits on the most ideal of days (cold fronts close to rutting periods), for those who like an excuse to be in the woods and / or shoot rifles, you can gun hunt North Florida with most any centerfire rifle from the start of November through the end of February if willing to hunt across zones in bordering counties... for that matter for those willing to drive to South Florida you can bow hunt as early as the first week of August. Hunt deer for over HALF the year in our state

View attachment 28146

View attachment 28148

View attachment 28147

Now you're just being cocky... And I resent you for it...

Keep living that dream man. You're in paradise.

 

[bigbendmarine]

What would the average temps be in south florida in august?

GREAT point, Jsaker007!

 

[bigbendmarine]

Now you're just being cocky... And I resent you for it...

Keep living that dream man. You're in paradise.

Living / loving it every day I can, though dadgum office work has been getting in the way FAR too often of late.

Lest anyone feel much too resentment, let me help temper that by sharing my neighbor immediately to my north told me his best guess is that he killed 100 feral hogs in 2019... combine that with what I along with another neighbor killed and I bet we reached 150... and still feels like we may not have even made an appreciable dent. Wouldn't wish them on anyone.

 

[Ben.MN/WI]

Living / loving it every day I can, though dadgum office work has been getting in the way FAR too often of late.

Lest anyone feel much too resentment, let me help temper that by sharing my neighbor immediately to my north told me his best guess is that he killed 100 feral hogs in 2019... combine that with what I along with another neighbor killed and I bet we reached 150... and still feels like we may not have even made an appreciable dent. Wouldn't wish them on anyone.

I paid a few hundred dollars and drove 20 hours to hunt feral hogs a few years back! That camp in texas was filled with guys from northern states wanting to have some off season fun and to fill the freezer. If our DNR ever gets the deer numbers here to their desired level (close to 0), I'd love to have feral hogs here. They are much more fun to hunt and eat than squirrels-

 

[Ben.MN/WI]

The truth is those afraid of rifles are not afraid of being shot by a rifle, they are afraid of "their" bucks being shot by someone else's rifle. Pretty selfish if you ask me.

In MN we have far too many days of gun hunting to make it any easier by replacing shotguns with rifles. Our area is 75% ag and 25% wooded, so 400+ yard shots will be very common here if rifles are allowed. If we keep making it easier and easier then the age structure goes down the toilet and we will be back to where we were 20 years ago. I don't think it's wrong to want to maintain the good hunting we have by keeping the same regulations that brought us the good hunting. I'm speaking specifically for my area in SE MN.

 

[bigbendmarine]

If our DNR ever gets the deer numbers here to their desired level (close to 0), I'd love to have feral hogs here. They are much more fun to hunt and eat than squirrels-

Don't get me wrong... I love eating them... sows good all the way around and even smelly boars make for good smoked sausage.



But the trade-off if they're on your land is this... have spent a few grand in box mower repairs after running over less visible / obvious spots and having blades dig in.



Did manage to make one of the ones involved with the pictured damage above pay ... but another sow and half a dozen piglets got away and likely managed to turn into at least 50 more hogs / piglets by now.

 

[Ben.MN/WI]

That pig should have filled up the freezer nicely. Are they all nocturnal from the constant hunting pressure or can you hunt them during the day?

We shot a couple that were not quite as big as the one you have in that picture. We also shot a bunch of young ones that were probably 50 pounders. Those younger pigs were really good eating and they were much easier to drag out of the woods.

 

[Ben.MN/WI]

It takes a few passes in my tractor to dig up a plot as well as your pigs do for free. You have them trained pretty well! Do the pigs eat everything you plant for deer or is there anything that the hogs will leave alone?

 

[roymunson]

That's crazy. I have no desire to have hogs where we're at here in Ohio. That said, bigbend, i have an AR and am willing to travel