nysbowhunter

I am sure a vast majority of us on this Forum are hunters, so let's run this by you. (with all the talk about wolves and such lately). I was talking to a friend of mine about a hunting lease he used to be partners in. His friends still are. One of his buddies did a little shed hunting yesterday and what he found was sickening... 21 dead deer in a short walk. We have had a devastating winter here in Western New York. For three straight months you couldn't walk across my back yard without snoeshoes! By far the worst in my 42 years. We had one minor thaw at New years but thats it. So here's my opinion and i wonder if anyone else shares the same feelings. We as hunters want to kill deer, obviously thats the point. But we take it to extremes, We buy land (or Lease) and the first thing we do is post it up so no one else can kill "our" deer. Then we plant food plots so we can attract and hold as many deer as we can on our posted land. Now you have a ton of Deer on a tract of land that only a few hunters can get too, and if there that serious about hunting, they are probably letting all but the biggest bucks walk. That is exactly what happened here, 21 dead? how many haven't they found yet? Would have a few of them made it if we had thinned out a bunch of them in hunting season? Yes, the Food plots would have made for healthier deer coming into season but the land can still only sustain so many during the winter months. Those deer were safe as could be during hunting season only to meet death in a cruel way. We helplessly watched our Deer starve to death this year in Western New York. There Is no doubt we had substantial losses this winter everywhere in this part of the state. This was such a waste. How many" First Deer", "biggest buck I Ever Got", and Filled freezers are laying out there rotting away. We as Hunters have to let go of The Egos and greed and open up some opportunities to go get those deer. After all we own land not the Wildlife. I understand people have the right to do whatever they want in regards to there land, period. But before anyone gets upset with my opinion think about this. How much time, effort, money, and dreams of big racks were wiped out this year in that lease? When you consider only a couple of nice bucks were taken there last year it doesnt seem worth the trouble does it?

Muley Hunter

Well, my opinion won't be popular with some, but I don't really care.

My dad taught me to hunt 60 years ago. He taught me ethics and fair play. He taught me how to hunt. Not became a sniper.

Food plots are just another form of baiting. I hate any kind of baiting, and I feel the same about tree stands, or even ground stands. Private ranches are in the same category.

I'll only hunt public land for free roaming game. Spot and stalk, or still hunting is all i'll do. I find it hard to even read about any other method.

Give the animal a fair chance. Hunt for it for cripes sake!!

nchawkeye

Well...We all have different life experiences and different feelings about hunting...

My dad was a John Deere dealer, a WW-II vet and stopped school in the 5th grade to market hunt...We owned 3 farms and raised corn, peanuts, wheat and soybeans...Who needs a food plot when you have a 100 acre bean field???

We kill 40-50 deer a year on these 3 farms and have done so for over 25 years...I don't trophy hunt...I will let smaller bucks walk and kill the does, they eat better anyway...If a niece, nephew or guest kills a smaller buck, I'm happy for them, I just don't usually do this as I prefer hams from a younger doe...

One thing dad beat in our minds, if you kill it, you eat it...What bothers me is folks that kill, but don't care to eat deer...

halfbakedi420

wondering if anyone actually read the op?
If its a hard winter, you can expect deer to be dead. almost anything can die, including us, in those extreme conditions. back in the day i imagine many humans died from the same stuff.
other than housing the deer, there is probably nothing you can do, unless your a fortune teller and can foresee the frozen tundra coming, and have everyone you know come and tag out before it gets there. then its 50/50 whether you killed a deer that would have made it, or died. (ok well i guess if you can see the future you would know...get off me!)

Terasec

people hunt for different reasons, and for different circumstances,
agree with if you kill it, eat it,
if you eat it, cook it right,

but what may be a legitimate reason to hunt in NY, may not be justified in TX,

while many do try to play armchair biologist, thinking what they're doing is best for the animals,
in the end nature knows best,

as for methods,
going primitive is all fine and dandy,
but our ancestors livlihood was hunting, they were out day after day hunting and gathering, most days they werent always successful, most would have used any tool at their disposal to take game,
today most are going out for a few weeks a year, and want to make the most of that time, they want to increase their chances of filling their freezer with the little time they have out in the woods,
balancing fair chase and filling the freezer is really subjective and will vary from person to person, season to season,

bronko22000

NY - the heavy deep snow is bad enough. But when you get a thaw then a long cold spell that puts a heavy crust of ice on the top you are going to find a quite a few deer dead in high density areas. I remember a good number of years ago under the same conditions where there were lots of deer at the bottom of the mountain with broken backs.
Muley please don't go bashing other guys because of the methods they use. As long as it legal there is nothing wrong with it. Just because its not your cup of tea doesn't mean its wrong, or "cheating".

Semisane

You make a good point nysbowhunter. Maybe those guys are trying to carry too large a population on land that can't support them through the winter. On the other hand, if it's a one in ten year situation because of unusual weather, well - that's nature. Regardless, finding that many starved deer would make me sick also. Fortunately we don't have to worry about winter kill very much down South.

Nothing wrong with your viewpoint Muley Hunter. I respect your right to believe and hunt as you wish. Everyone is free to hunt within the established rules.

As for me, I spend a lot of time, energy and cash maintaining three small year round food plots. They do the deer good. They do me good. And by gosh, I'm going to hunt over them without apology or shame.

Do you really never hunt the edges of agricultural areas, or the trails between such areas and bedding areas, or a cluster of oaks that are dropping mast?

As for not becomming a sniper. Some of us think that's the best way to take game. Do you never shoot game that's unaware of your presence, such as from behind a tree?

50calty

We all grew up differently and have different view points. Also it depends on the State in which we hunt. I know alot of States that don't have much public land therefore the hunting lease is created. Some States have lots of public land and therefore we don't have many people having hunting leases. So for that view point its all about location. I really don't have a view point on the food plot issue. As for shooting does vs bucks. I grew up with the view point providing for my family. If a mature buck shows up I'll shoot it, but if a doe shows up I'll shoot her. Before I got my big buck this year I shot does for 4 years in a row. Never had the chance to get a mature buck. A mature buck to me is a three point or bigger. For mule deer actually a three point is the norm. Its is abnorm for them to be bigger. And usually if you see a three point that is what it will be for the rest of his life. I didn't know any of this until I talked to a Fish Wildlife Biologist. So every year I always buy extra doe tags and help thin out the deer pop.

Muley Hunter

I have strong opinions, but I didn't mean to sound like i'm bashing anyone.

We're all free to hunt as you please.


I do like to move in on the animal. Instead of having it come to me, because of bait. Even if I could convince myself to hunt with bait, or take a 500yd shot. I think i'd get bored fast.

Haven't you guys tracked down an animal? Snuck up close without being smelled, seen, or heard? It's a ton of fun, and feels good. I let the animal use all it's senses, and won the battle.

To me it's what hunting is. I couldn't do it any other way.

Semisane

Yeah, you can do that in some of the bottomland hardwoods around here, and in the swamps. But come on down and try it on a thousand acre pine tree plantation with waist high brush and briars under the trees. You just might end up sitting on an old logging road hoping a deer will cross it, or buying yourself a climbing stand, cause you sure ain't gonna sneak through it.