Buck

[Wal]

Cedarranch,

Thanks for enlightening me! I feel like an idiot! /w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif When I first read your post on antler traps, I thought "My God, what an inhumane thing to do to poor Bambi".

 

[bky]

sure looks like he is in rut big time by the size of his neck
nice picture

 

[TresCrows]

Wal, I am kinda an animal person too but I used to hunt and while I have nothing particular against it I just have other things to do. One thing, do some research, if you are curious, the over population of deer due to restricted hunting seasons, loss of natural predators (including hunters) and abundence of food and warmer winters has and is having a tremendous effect on our forest due to over population. The deer eat all the young saplings--all of them!! Our forests progress like all living things from a youthful to a mature stage. Fire, disease and other elements act to remove old growth mature forest and allow for young saplings etc to spring up. When the over population of innocent Bambi's short circuits this cycle the result is dying forests, no new growth and destructive disease runs rampant (mature/older/waning forest are more susceptable).
The deer are becoming--hades--have become a huge problem for the environment not to mention all the property destroyed by rampant deer and auto accidents/deaths that result.
This is not an exaggeration/fabrication--numerous articles and research are avaialbe at your library if you are interested. Meanwhile, they are out there eating my trees right now. Why don't you hear more about this--because it is not politically correct and Rosey might get mad. /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif .J

 

[Boondox]

Another aspect of this that many overlook is the land's ability to support a deer herd is severely limited in a harsh winter. In years past we had self-appointed animal rights advocates protesting the fact that we allow deer hunting on our hill in Vermont. The herd was very large thanks to the summer residents who feed them Spring, Summer and Fall...and then go home in the Winter leaving them to fend for themselves. And as you may recall, last winter was a doozy!

Anyway, while snowshoeing with my dogs last winter I caught these very same people trespassing. Instead of throwing them off the property I led them to the starved and frozen carcasses of half a dozen doe. The sight convinced them that selective hunting is a far more humane option than starving to death.

Pete

www.GatewayToVermont.com

 

[cowboydoc]

You're right on not being politically correct TresCrow. What's even more insane is that now instead of letting hunters go out and trim down the populations they are feeding them with taxpayer dollars. This year in Iowa they limit the deer hunting to one week periods for bow, muzzle, and shotgun. We have got to have one of the highest populations of deer in the country. They are everywhere. I went out and spotlighted the other night to see what was around and I counted 42 deer in my one 80 acre alfalfa field.

The county one over from ours last year payed a professional $325,000 to come in and clear out the herd around ONE town. How dumb is that? They could have just had special hunts and collected that much from hunters to hunt in these special areas. The handling of wildlife is definitely politically motivated and insane.

 

[TerryinMD]

I was listening to our local news (Hagerstown, Md) this morning and they reported the following. On the Catoctin Ridge (basically the Appalacian Trail), the state game commission has counted around 150 deer per square mile!! A good count should be 15-25 per square mile!! /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif

Too many deer. I hate driving this time of year and running the gauntlet in the early evening. /w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif

Terry

 

[Von]

Well guys, yesterday was opening day of gun season here in NY and my neighbors and I did our part to help thin the herd! I got a four pointer and my one neighbor got two doe all before 8:30 am. Our season will run untill mid Dec. so there are more deer to get! I will keep you informed!

 

[gerard]

While personally I don't hunt, (just never got into it) I'm all for allowing hunting to control the population. Just wish more people who hunted did so responsibly. Deer season opened here yesterday (shotgun) and some putz already put a round into a house about 4 miles away from here. I also heard a lot of multiple shots from the same area. Now I interpret this to mean they were driving and as soon as the deer broke cover the hunters opened fire at the same time? I always thought you needed the deer to stand still to get a kill shot? Do people actually shoot at a running deer with slug and hope to get a kill shot? Seems to me that's when the accidents happen. Please enlighten me if I'm off on this - I'm really curious.
t hunt

 

[TresCrows]

Gerad, as I said I no longer hunt but I did grow up with guns and hunting, always had my Remington Targetmaster in the bow of my pirogue. Yes, it is best to shoot at a still animal but they rarely stand still. Hunting deer in heavy cover , walking then up is usually a running shot with buckshot from a twelve guage. I also have taken running shots with a rifle back in the old days (on family property)--now with the woods full of hunters crammed in to get in the one week of hunting they are allowed I would not do that. I did take a moving shot with my 22Hornet at about 100 yards on a javelina in Arizona in a dry wash that I had tracked him and his buddies to. Gun responsibility from my grandaddy--expect a gun to be loaded, never aim at anything you do not intend to shoot and don't shoot anything you don't intend to kill.
Most of the guys--actually all the guys I know who hunt are very responsible. It is true though that kids now days are not getting the kind off training we got from our granddads etc back in the old times. I could go off on a southeren "thing" here but suffice it to say we were all expected to be able to ride and shoot in my extended family (we count 9th cousins ya know and even marry'em). J

 

[gerard]

thanx for the info - I figured a running shot was possible with buck shot but in this area it's all slug and no rifle either (Different zones do allow rifles). I'm in law enforcement and so have general gun knowledge. Knowing what your backdrop is has always been very important and it just seemed you'd compromise that a little taking a shot at a moving target. Guess if you're out alone on your own land and nothing around that's not much of an issue but in my area that's not the case. (Which is probably why we got a house killed opening day and another hunter shot today!!)have less knowledge of thatyour backknowlknow they rarely stand totally still