A question for the Deer hunters

[misfish]

After our weeks hunting up north and hearing some tough weeks,I had this thought/theory,that maybe you can only take so many bucks from an area,and the numbers will dwindle until the big boys can get thier mojo going again and repopulate the numbers.

Like I said to a member here,I have seen many pictures from the area we hunted,and there where nothing but big bucks,10,12 and 14 pointers on the meat pole and no DOES.

Maybe passing on that big boy would be a good thing???????????? Take a button head or a spike and let the big boy walk by.????????????????????????

Wrong?????????????????Would like to hear your thoughts.

[Big Cliff]

I'm a meat hunter so I don't worry about getting the biggest, In fact I have never taken a BIG buck prefering to go for a younger smaller animal, I'll leave the trophies for those guys that are more interested in bragging rights than the quality of the game. By the same tolken though I know a lot of guys that will hunt hard all season and pass up a lot of opportunities just to get that trophy so perhaps they are better conservationests than I am.

[Entropy]

I have just found out that cleaning a doe is easier than cleaning a buck.

 

 

Entropy

[evster]

I have taken a couple button bucks and does... I would use conservation as my reasoning, but really its just because their the deer that walk in front of me first . One place I hunt has ALOT of people hunting around it waiting for the big bucks and I have only ever saw one large buck there in about 5 years of hunting it. Maybe thats because everyone was taking the big bucks and there hasn't been any good genes in there for a while. The only bucks i see are 3 or 5 pointers, always a different number of points on each side. Its gotta be the genes in the area, because about 2 miles down the road last year a monster was shot just down the road from me, although it had an odd number of points as well (i think 19).

 

I'm not sure what the best thing for deer conservation is...with my 5ish days of deer hunting a year i take whatever comes in front of me first that we have a tag for. So...be watching December 10th for a report to find out what decided to walk in front of me first that week LOL

[walleyejigger]

i'm also a "meat hunter" wether it be a buck a doe or fawn we take what our tags allow us, in the area we hunt i've been told that in the 80's was one of the largest and strongest deer herds in the province, but with heavy hunting pressure and some very hard winters one after the other the herd dwindled down significantly,

 

with that so did the hunters, we started hunting the area in the early 90's and for the 10 first years it was common for us to have a 0% success rate and some years not even seeing a deer, (were at least 4 guys for 2 weeks) for the last seven years the hunting been getting better and better, with the past 2 years being the best (lots of numbers seen, and harvesting decent bucks and large does), then came this year where the 6 in our group all got antlerless tags (we've never had more than 3) all this pointed to a rebound in population for the herde but we actually had another tough year, (compared to the last few) we were successful in taking 2 button heads and seeing a few more,

 

reasons for this i cannot be certain but i believe poor weather conditions and fewer hunters than others years affected our hunt, we hunt an area where deer "move south" for winter to their winter yards, they are driven by cold weather and snow, which we have not had, and also by hunting pressure pushing them which was significantly less this year, as also said the success of previous years may have been a downfall to this season

 

are these some reasons for our tough year? or are there just less deer to "push south",

 

was a great time anyhow and will continue to do so in seasons to come

[oxcowboy]

i also am a meat hunter, sort of. i wont take a fawn or a small buck, but i will take the first mature doe or buck that shows a good clean shot. i am happy to say that i have yet to walk further than 20 yards from where it was standing to retreve any animal that i have shot. i usually only get to hunt opening day of shotgun season here in ohio because i have that day off, after that its just an hour or so of an evening during the week and by saturday everything is tucked away and hiding. i have killed a few decent bucks, but i have also missed some chances to get a great one, because my buck tag was filled. but ol well i still have meat in the freezer from what i did take. as for up north im not sure, but i would think food supply and the previous winter would have a pretty good effect on the population. i also have friends that are headhunters and will only take a big rack, i think it just hurts the next few years of hunting. im sure they have got some does bred, but would be nice to keep those genetics going. all in all i say to each his own, im sure the mnr have a decent idea of what is going on within the herds, and will make the proper adjustments.

 

happy hunting to all,

 

jason

[Guest gbfisher]

Did the island thing for 15 years. Some years big deer. Some years not so big. Doe's, Fawns, Bucks. Didnt matter. They all taste great....

The guys I hunt with are not picky. It's about the meat not the bones.

We shot a good 12 this passed Staturday morning. Back Strap lunch was amaizing...

 

Here's the one......

 

 

 

I know that down New York way it is hard to shoot something substantial with horns on it but there are lots of hunters down that way and lots of deer. No body shoots Does!!!

[Daplumma]

Never a problem down here putting meat in the freezer.I take one a year ,doe or buck,makes no difference to me.The land here has been cut up into many 10 to 30 acre plots with some hunted and others not.The hunted acres are hunted by meat and horn hunters and with the range that bucks have management for trophies is not possible.The genes of a great buck can be passed on if the buck mates young and killed before he reaches maturity.Its too bad that more folks won't let them basket racks walk and take out a doe or spike instead of counting tiny points.Its a right of passage of sorts.First you get your first deer.Then you get your first buck.Then you hunt for that big buck.Then you enjoy the hunt and take what presents itself.Then you take a kid out and he gets his first deer.and so it goes.......

[Bernie]

We have pondered this question as well at our camp. We take only enough to suit our needs. We like to take whatever comes out first in the first week (hopefully a fawn-real good eating at the camp). And if we have enough or close to it we impose a "buck law"-no does or fawns. It has been this way at our camp since 1943. We always seem to average 4 to 6 deer each season. We like to get a "trophy buck" but it isn't a priority. first and foremost is having a fun hunt and getting along. Our hunt crew brought home 4 bucks, 1 doe, and a fawn for our two week hunt. This will be divided among the 18 hunters that participated during the hunt. We seen mostly mature bucks during the hunt this year. Only 2 fawns were seen. This is somewhat unusual. I spoke with a retired MNR guy I know and asked him what his interpretation was. He suspects the recent high bear population is killing the fawns. I dont know if this is the case but its possible. I asked the folks at the Loring check station if the buck trend we seen was consistent with what we noticed. They told me that the proportion of bucks to does was higher.

Edited November 20, 2007 by Nipissing

[Zib]

Ever since I took my first buck (5-pt) I have let all bucks smaller than an 8-pt go. When I want meat for the freezer or to donate to needy families I take a doe. I NEVER shot a button buck or fawn & never will.

 

I hunt my buddy’s land in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula (1 of 5 spots I have to hunt) & ever since 2004 we have vowed not to take any bucks under 6-pt & only will take a 6 or 7-pt if it’s a bigger/wide rack. Since then we have been seeing a lot more bigger bucks. We do take the occasional doe for the freezer or to donate to needy families.

[misfish]

Hey Andy thats a nice buck fella yer dra,,,,,,,,,,,,Oh silly me,thats not you.LOL

 

Thanks for the replies guys. I shoot the first one that comes out. The rest of the week can be long if theres no meat on the pole.

 

Maybe the lack of hunters not pushing in the area is another reason. Deer will not move if not bothered.And yes,the weather is a major factor.

Guess getting deer 4 years in a row has spoiled me.

Thanks for the replies.

[Guest chopchop]

Very interesting topic as our group has also seen a large jump in the buck population in Central Ontario. Over the last couple of years we have only seen one doe while we have killed several bucks. We are not trophy hunters and only want a bit of meat to spread around so we are not passing on does, we have simply not seen them which is very worrisome.

 

While the bear population has increased, so have the wolves as they are now starting to spread beyond Algonquin Park. These are not coyotes, but actual wolves so I am sure that they are beginning to play a role along with the bears.

 

Winter yarding is now also beginning to change patterns as we are starting to find sheds that we never used to find. So the deer are hanging around longer due to the change in weather patterns. This must also have some kind of effect as well.

 

CC

[rickster]

Here in northwest ontario we have an over abundance of deer and for the past couple years we have been allowed to get an additional two doe tags per zone.

We have had four or five really good winters here and the deer population just keeps increasing.

I think the real problem is too many people just shooting a buck and thats it.

I think the way to curb the exploding population of deer is to take an example from some of our american counterparts and that is too make hunters shoot a doe before they are given a tag to shoot a buck.

I love to eat deer meat but I must admit I sit and wait for a trophy but would be more than happy to shoot a good tasting doe before I went after the big boy.