Alright I quit, you guys win.

Germ + Ross = spanking buckeyebuckhntr

Yes sir, but we have to take small steps[8D]

Here is where you guys always crash and burn..........you just can't hunt your own way without insulting others who don't do the same. What a stupid thing to imply about another hunter that you don't have the first clue about what makes him tick.........what a joke.


Another huge joke.............the foundation of QDM is to make it easier to get big ones. That's all you have to do is increase their numbers and they will fall to hunters of all calibers. You can see examples of women who have never hunted before and business men who don't know realtree from a real tree........and they have MONSTERS on the wall that they paid to get to hunt (and I don't mean pens.........just nice no pressure honey hole land in a great deer state.) There is a picture of a teenage girl on this site right now with a deer bigger then anything most of us will ever see.


Again you can't see the forest through the trees. Your in the middle of over 1,000 acres of prime land with 5 guys hunting it. There have been times when I will pass more guys then that just trying to find a spot to sit down............and this is on 100 acre plot. Every place is not the same. It takes TIME, ENERGY, AND PATIENCE for me to accomplish what I do as well..........even though the antlers on my deer won't make some stupid book. I hunt HARD. I have killed 15 deer in the last 4 years......8 with a bow(and I still have 2 tags left). I can PROMISE you that is far and away above the norm around where I live. I know guys that have hunted for 15 years and have 1 or 2 deer with the bow. They just don't grow on trees around here and you have to work your butt off to have success............that's right, I had to work my butt off to kill three 6 pt and one spike 1 1/2 year old deer in those years. That may be hard for you to believe in your situation but it's true. I go days at a time without even seeing a deer. My brother has seen 1 doe all year this year and he has only killed one deer in the last 4 years (he hunts like most "normal guys"......weekends etc.......definately not hardcore). You have to work your butt off around where I get to hunt to have success too.........you are not the only guy in the world who knows how to hunt. I have no doubts in my mind that if I lived in Kansas, Iowa, Ohio, Illinois etc I would have walls full of huge bucks by now because that is what is out there to shoot. As it is I am MORE then happy having the kind of success I enjoy year after year in my own challenging deer woods.

I don't judge the challenge of killing a deer by what is on it's head.........because there are spots you could sit for one day and see 4 big bucks walk by and there are spots you could sit for a week before you got a look at a spiker.

It's all relative.


Again with the implication that you are somehow going above and beyond what other lesser men can only dream of

You are doing the same thing that everyone else is.........the only difference is you have bigger bucks roaming around to shoot at.



Again, you are wrong. There is no choice where I hunt. I can say without a doubt that if I went out "trophy" hunting where my options are I would not fill a tag for many, many years........possibly never. I would have no bow kills, and only 1 gun kill. I'm sorry but taking one deer in 19 years of hunting is not my idea of fun.

Would you "trophy" hunt if you knew you would only fill 1 tag every couple decades??



Wake up.

You people need to learn how to read!

I get what you're saying and know that it is good practice to get the doe numbers down and let the young bucks grow, some just seem to want to argue over anything.

Howler, how would you expect Germ to know how many doe that you need to kill in your area. It was a general statement, that you need to be pushing for a 1 to 1 ratio concerning bucks and does. You do the math since we don't have the numbers for your area. If you can't figure out the math, go hunting and shoot every legal doe you see. If you see a mature good looking buck, shoot that too. If you see a young buck, let it live. Soon you'll be in good shape. Or you could just go shoot whatever you like. No one really cares.

Well hello Atlas, good to here from you[8D]

Maybe you are just hunting in the wrong spots[8D]

Although, I will add you are doing the right thing by taking a doe out as well. Alot of guys will shoot their buck and call it quits for the year.

I stay out of these arguments these days..... Just not worth it. I will only take mature bucks and does and that works for me. If shooting yearling bucks gets ones blood pumping more power to them.

I do agree with most everything GregH has said as well. Back a few years ago these discussions used to get pretty intense. They aren't like they used to be (which is good, alot of guys would go way to far).

That's what I have been saying for years!

Well, since a 1 to 1 ratio is probably only found behind some high fence in TX., I can safely assume that across the rest of the country, shooting one doe to every buck will never acheive a 1 to 1 ratio. If that is the goal of any hunter for his/her area, then shooting one doe for every one buck will neverreach the goal.
I already shoot what ever I like, thank you very much! Matter of fact, I chose to shoot a doe this year, and no bucks. Since I already have an elk, an antelope, a few pheasant and quail, and a turkey to eat! Passed up many small bucks, and crossed my fingers that they make it through rifle season!
By the way, I care

New 61Guy, I'd like you to read this post to Davoh from this thread.
[blockquote]quote:

ORIGINAL: Davoh

I don't get where you guys are coming from with the "I get out what I put in stuff".

This year it's still up in the air on if I'll get to go. This year I havn't had the time or money to go to the family place and scout or hang stands.
But if I can at all get the gas money to get out there, I will. I've hunted that property all my life, quite literally. I know the places that hold deer year after year.

Regardless, I can say this, I get infinitely more out of spending just 30 minutes out there than I could ever put in. I didn't have a bow or rifle to hunt with last year, but I still took my wife out there and sat on a stand. Just to go.

There is nothing wrong with putting forth tons of effort for your hunting. It's a self-respect, pride-in-your-work kinda thing. But don't lord over those of us who have not the finances nor the free time to drive 8+ hours to camp and days scouting and hanging stands.

Bottom line, we all have different priorities and reasons for hunting. I just wish people would stop belittleing those of us who do not ascribe to the "Trophy Hunter" creed.
[/blockquote]


Davoh, your a nice guy, but you're going to have to read the posts again. Nobody is lording over or belittleing anyone. Show me where. My bottom line is, and always has been this.

SHOOT WHAT YOU WANT, THE CHOICE IS YOURS

I also feel that in most cases, not all, where time, money,hunting spots or lack of thereof, is used as an excuse for hunting experiences which are less desirable than your expectations..... it is just that, an excuse. You have to be willing to do what it takes to satisfy yourself. If you want something bad enough, do something about it. Take a partime job, mow some lawns, plan ahead and save some money. If you are not willing to do this, then you must not complain and make excuses. Accept the fact that you have made the choice for your hunting experiences and don't begrudge the guy for getting his trophy.

Everybody should be congradulatory towards each others hunting experiences. There should be no ridicule or bashing.


_____________________________

GregH
I learn something new about
the game I hunt every season.
That's what makes it so fun.

I'll go the other way on this and use myself as an example. Since I was 4 years old, I'd stand at the window and wait for my dad to return from bowhunting. I couldn't wait to get out there and see the deer. I had to touch it, poke its eyes and feel its tongue. Well, I still feel that way. As I grew and read my dads hunting mags, I'd always stare at the majestic 10 point buck that graced their covers. Still do. At 5, I started shooting a recurve (1961). By 11, I was good with it. I was also tall enough that my dad took me to get a liscense. I finally got to hunt! Late season, cause my dad always went with his buddies in the early season. Nothing the first season (too far), but late season 1968, I shot my first deer! A 6 point buck, 15 yard running shot on the ground! I was hooked for life.

Over the years I had slacked off on the archery and chased girls instead. I always gun hunted though. I went to collage in 1974 and got a roommate who liked to bowhunt. He's still my best friend. Started bowhunting again. I found out that the more time I spent in the woods and learning about deer, the better my hunts and enjoyment became. I read everything I could get my hands on about deer. I was already fasinated with them. Kept reading, learning, hunting deer every chance I could. Got married, divorced, raised a son to enjoy hunting and archery. We became tournament archers, shot for HCA and by 1999, We both took 3rd in the NFAA Indoor Nationals. How cool, Father and son, THIRD first time there. I took up archery to improve my hunting, it worked. My son's first deer was a 122" 8 point when he was 12!! 205# dressed. He grunted it away from 2 does! Son turned 18 and is out on his own.

I've always been facinated by big bucks, so in 1991, when they came out with the first bonus tags, I began trophy hunting. I figured I could get my meat with a doe, then wait for horns. Shot a doe one opening morning and a 182" buck on Nov 11th. Never looked back.

To this day, I work overtime all winter long, don't vacation much, work on my house, garden and wood work in my spare time. Along with shed hunting and permission seeking for new places to hunt. Otherwise, I hunt. I have whittled away all of my other hobbies and kept the few that will allow me the time and money to experience deer hunting the way I want. Somehow, through it all, I have managed to maintain a wonderfull girlfriend for almost 14 years.

The bottom line is that it is everyones own choice as to what kind of sacrifices they are able and willing to make in order to get the hunting experience that they desire. You have to settle for what you are willing to invest. No complaints or begrudging, it was your decision.

Atlasman,

Everybody on here knows you and what your opinions are. Your longwinded, meaningless, word twisting, know nothingresponses will not be responded to. Good try but sorry.[:-]

There is no right and wrong............I hunt everywhere I can. I hunt private farms and suburbs, I hunt big plots of deep state land and everything in between. Hell, I have even hunted a few times on land that is QDM'd by the state..........I have hunted state parks, archery only islands and permit only private/state combos.

I know the deer in my area. Are big deer extinct around here??........of course not. They usually come off a local farm that has more posted signs then trees and is just not available to hunt to anyone but gramps and his boy..........you can relate If I could hunt there I would........so would everyone else. I picked up 2 more farms this year and was fortunate enough to get my 6pt off one of them. I also got kicked off a farm because the guy who is related by marriage and hunts there "heard" someone saw a big buck there and decided he wanted it all to himself.

Any areas you pick up to hunt around me already have guys hunting them............there is minimal land available to large numbers of guys..........then there are huge plots posted to high heaven that maybe one guy hunts each year.........and yes I try to get on the properties that join those low pressure spots.

The whole point is it's OK with me...........I know what I have to work with and I don't delude myself into thinking I am on an episode of Realtree Roadtrips. I do the best I can with the hand I am dealt and quite frankly I think I do pretty good. I am proud of the success I have been able to achieve in the time and places I have been able to achieve it.

Do I sit in my stand daydreaming about spike bucks??.........of course not. I like big bucks as much as anyone and wouldn't be mad at all if one strolled in front of my stand some day...........but that is the reality of where I have options to hunt. I might see one someday...........I might not. Judging by the data I have to go on hunting my local woods for 19 years I have to say that waiting for Mr big is not a wise or viable option. That's OK with me. I like "my" deer and I like hunting them.