Im too young to know....
 

For you older clients, do you remember what it was like hunting in say...the 1970's?? I know the deer are more numerous now, but did you enjoy itanymore than now?? Was it a better time to bein the woods as far as how it was done?? Is there just too much thought on deer hunting now?? All the talk about QDA, nutrition, # of does vs Bucks, age this age that... what do you really think?? Would you go back and like to revisit those days??? Not for the deer but forthe time??? I didn't start carrying a weapon untilI was 13 yrs old, I used to go when I was 5,6,7 etc, but I don't recall too much of it.I started on my quest for deer in 1989.

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In Ny you had to have 4-5 guys to get a party permit (doe tag) not many deer around my parts back then.

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yeh, so charlie didn't it make killing a deer more of an event that it does now?? I mean wasn't it almost as if everyone in your group killed it??

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I first deer hunted in 1977 and it was something to even see a deer back then in Indiana. My taxidermist tells a funny story, he first seen a deer in the late 60's in Indiana while trapping as a young man, and it scared he so much he threw a hatchet at it.

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damn.

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It sure did. There wasn't much instant success.

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I started Bowhunting in "68" and it was not unusual to hunt several times and never see a Deer, close or far. There are many days now when I will see more deer in one evening than I would see in an entire season back then. As a matter of fact the place I got permission to Hunt (I still Hunt) The landowner asked me not to kill any does but I was welcome to shoot any Buck I saw. There weren't many Deer or Bowhunters around then. Most guys wouldn't have the patience to hunt an entire season for one chance. 1st Buck I killed was a 9 pointer and it was onDec. 23rd, 10 degrees with a windchill of about 10 below. season ended last day of Dec, so I was running out of time.

It is much more Fun now I have to admit, but I enjoyedthe early days for different reasons.I hunted hard about 16 days during Rut this year in IL., and out of my Treestand I saw over 100 deer and 60+ were Bucks. It's amazing anymore!!

Dan

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My neighbor always told me story's of his 6,8,9 points he shot 40 and 50 years ago. I asked him if he ever shot anything bigger then that and he goes what do you mean bigger? I said did you ever shoot a 10 or 12 point? He then tells me that back then they only counted one side of the rack. I about crapped my pants when he said that. Years back Minnesota was the #1 state for booners and P@Y. How things have changed!!

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Yes they have, I have grown up seeing deer everywhere on the farm and in the woods, I wouldn't know what it was like to just see a track and be excited. I love anything Old Shool, even late 80"s and early 90"s is still old school for some of us. You guys remember the old Tree Lounge stands??? Wow, they were beast!!!

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I began deer hunting in the early 70's and would go for days before seeing any deer. There was hardly anyone in the woods during bow season. I did enjoy being out but bow hunting never was as good for me until I got smart enough to build my own climber and hunt from a tree. Darn near got killed in that thing when it slid down a tree at about 100 mph with me hanging on for dear life like something you would see on a cartoon. Anyway, as the deer population increased, along with all the new do-dads, I think bow hunting is a lot more fun now.

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Oh it is definitley a lot easier to see deer/kill deer now Im sure, it has to be with so many around. I just want to hear some old school products and hunts for some reason, take me boys!!!

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That would of been a site to see!![8D] Glad you came out of it ok.

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I started bowhunting for deer in 1977. In all honesty I had as much fun(maybe more) then as I do now. In the late 70's through the early 80's I had more land to hunt than I do now but never saw nearly as many deer back then. It was much easier to find land to hunt, more land than I could successfully scout and hunt. One permit was all we were allowed. Seeing any deer was a treat back then, now I am so spoiled because I am sorely disappointed and surprised if I don't see at least a few deer every time out. Two of the first three seasons I bowhunted I filled my tag on Oct. 17 and Oct. 9. I remember being so pumped after filling the tag those two seasons, but also being a little depressed knowing my season was done so early.

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I have read 2 books are pretty good, they are based off hunting stories from way back. Kind of gives you an idea of how things have changed.
The books are Dawn of the Deer Camp, and A Hundred Hunts Ago

RE: I'm too young to know....
 

I started bow hunting for deer in 1978. We had recurves and thought they were great and deadly accurate (Compared to Some Stick Bows). I remember my first tree stand was in the crotch of a tree with two 2x4s and a small piece of paneling for a platform, it was about 12" long, the tree was wobbly and I missed deer. We built a couple of other stands where we would see deer enter a huge field, they were not much better. There were no other bow hunters around in that area. There were many deer in that area of NY (Dutchess County) much more than where I live now in NC. I wish I could go back and hunt that 100 acre sanctuary again but it's all big houses now. That was a special place, I ran my first trap line there a few years before. I could walk there from the house.

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Amen to that!!!

Dan

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I started hunting (gun) in the early '70s in Bradford Co. Killed my first deer, a 6pt in '75.There were a ton of deer in the northern tier counties back then, that's not the case today. I hunted SGL 36 near Stone Mt. I saw my first bears, four of them over the years in Bradford Co. I also saw lots of Turkey as well.
I started bowhuntingin '75 and hunted from the ground only. I would put a natural blind together and hunt frombehind it. Igot my first 4 or 5 bowkills hunting this way. Around this time,Baker came out with their tree stand.:DI still hunted from the ground.
Today I hunt deer with bow only, and only from a tree stand!:DI hunt not far (12miles)from where I live (5D) and there are a bunch of deer! It's pretty easy to kill one or two.I also travel to Alberta each year for a chance at a real monster.I've killed around 30deer so far.

RE: Im too young to know....
 

I started deer hunting in 1974. Back then you pretty muchshot the first deer you saw, it might be the only one you saw all season. There just weren't that many around.

Hunting seemed more fun back then too. Not as competitive as it is now. And definately not as commercial. Now hunting is a Multi-Million dollar Industry. Back then it was a tradition and a time for family and friends to get together. Now noone has time to hunt together. They are headed in 10 different directions.

Don't get me wrong, I still love hunting. But it is a different sport nowadays.

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To all you PA guys! That is the State that really sparked my interest in Deer, and the possibility of Bowhunting them. It was back in "67" my Dad was test coring for a Dam project somewhere around Huntington/Huntingdon?? I never saw a wild deer until the summer I spent out there with Dad. We saw Deer every morning on the way to the rig. I spent most of my days hiking around the Mountainsides. So PA will always have a special place in my memories.

Dan

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I started deer hunting in 1977 or 78. I remember seeing deer, but not as many as today. One thing for sure was their was rarely a buck found in the herd. It was a big deal to shoot ANY buck back then.

One thing I remember about hunting back then was the rifle scopes always fogged up. I remember sending many scopes back to the factory to have them refilled with nitrogen. Every year someone complained of their scopes fogging up. Nowadays the only fog you get is by breathing too heavy on the scope...nothing inside anymore even with the cheap ones.:D

But now that I Bowhunt mostly I don't need to be out in that cold weather.

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Dan, that is an awesome story about your father and you. I bet you will never forget that as long as you live..

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Landon, I am no Spring chicken by any means, but I am fortunate enough to still have both my Dadand Grand Dad alive. They have both been a Huge part and influence on my life. Dad's 72 and we still take a Motorcycle trip at least once every year. Honestly he rides more than I do. He has more time. It's nice when you can have the relationship with your Dad and Grand Dad that I have been fortunate enough to experience.

Dan

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In the 70's, 60's & 50's the hills were much smaller......

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It sure does feel that way, doesn't it?:D I don't remember the 50's or 60's, but I started hunting in 76 when I turned 13. I don't think I even saw a deer until I was 15.

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Dan, that is awesome. My dad was too busy farming, coaching football, and doing whatever he wanted to do. He is still alive and I love him, but I had to learn how to hunt on my own. He gave it up when I was around 7 yrs old, he got too busy with other things. After killing over 70 deer he still has never congratulated me on one of them. He doesn't care and I guess never will. He thinks Im imature, Im 32 yrs old and Im raising a family, have a teaching career, and a wife, and a house. Every year he says to me, you haven't grown out of that crap yet??? I say nope, Im just getting started!! I wish I had what you have Dan, I know you appreciate every minute of it!!

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Exactly. I started hunting when you did. People today just don't get the concept of seeing a couple deer a year. And the guy who managed to stick one was the Hero of the area. I was fortunate to kill one or more every year but one. Hunters today really have no concept of what hunting was 35 years ago. I remember a stretch of 5 or 6 years where I never saw another bowhunter in the woods or on the way to the woods. It was peace.

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I guess some places in northern Wisconsin just took a step back in time now that there are wolves.[:'(]

hardly ever see deer there anymore.

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Time to wolf hunt.

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I was gun hunting in Arizona in the 70's...there was not as much pressure on anything, it just seemed easier back then, less complicated, I was just a kid, and I enjoyed it alot...the hunting & camping experience.

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I started bow hunting in 1965. I lived in Md at the time and while shopping with my wife we went past a sporting goods store going out of business they had a dummy in the window dressed in camo with a bow and arrows armguard and glove, I went in and bought the whole outfit. It was a 6 in Ben Pearson recurve 45 # wooden arrows with helbrose broadheads. My first attempt at a deer was at an 8 point at about 15 yards I missed by about a foot he ran off to about 30 yds and I turned and flung one at a bunch of does at about 20 yds yep missed them too, got my arrows back and walked out the ridge and saw a rabbit at about 30 yds and fired at him hitting him in the mouth and coming out his butt completely gutting him. And I was hooked. It took me several years to connect with a deer ( a spike) but for the first several years I was the only person I knew that hunted with a bow ( I moved back to WV in that same year.
Like some have stated sometimes I hunted for weeks and not ever see a deer at all and when I did they would be 50 to 100 yds away. But I really enjoyed those times it didnt take me getting a deer to make it a successful hunt. Today with all the modern things we have it is a lot easier plus the fact I see more deer in a day then back then in a season. I still love it but it is getting harder for me all the time what with 2 heart attacks and age I just cant get back there where I want to be anymore. Oh yeah I still have 2 of my very first arrows.
Back then 45 # Ben Pearson recurve no rest shoot off shelf no sights at all
30 in wooden arrows with a helbrose head
three finger glove
hunt from ground and always try to guess yardage.

Today Bowtech Guardian 60 to 70 with one moveable pin that I make myself
Ripcord drop away rest
349 acc"s 27 1/2 with 100 gr Shockwave
Scott release
Bushnell rangefinder
at least 5 different camo outfits 2 in scentlock
3 different pairs of rubber boots with different degres of insulation
5 tree stands
Do I enjoy it more no do I enjoy it less no I am still just as excited today when I see a deer as I was back then.

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I'd like to have back the body and the hair I had in the 70's, for sure - thank God disco died and the double knit liesure suit is no more. ;)

Deer were few and far between where I lived back then and theyquit paying bounty on coyotes, where I got a good bit of spending money in high school. Grampa's old farmwas turn into a subdivision in the mid-70'sandlosing the farm put me out on public land. Public land is a lot more crowded than it was then. Access to privatehunting land has gotten a lot more complicated... and ridiculously expensive!

So, in a way, hunting sucks worse today thanit did then. Back then we didn't have manydeer and I didn't often get a shot. Now we have deer butI can't oftenget to 'em.Either someone has beat me to my spot or I can't afford to pay the fee. So, I haven't even bothered to buy a hunting license in the past two years.

All in all, I wouldn't mind a rerun on at least hunting the early 70's, but I'd much prefer a re-go at the 80's. :)

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I remember being able to count on both hands the number of deer seen the whole season, I remember when the compound bows first came out. you never seen another hunter because most did not have the kind of drive to keep them interested. I even remember when climbers first came out. most stands were permanent built. I was young and did not have a clue what i was doing, it was many years before i conected. But i would do it all over again, it was a joyous ride ;)The industry is absolutly huge compared to what it was then.

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I started hunting in 1972 and there were tons of deer in PA , Lot of big herds 20 to 30 in a pack. Mostly small bucks, the brown its down time. The Rooster hunting was some of the finest in the land in the 70's and early 80's. There are no Roosters in PA anymore just when they stock them for the Hawks, fox and Yotes and what hunters we have that hunt them. The deer hunting is still good and were starting to see the results of the antler restrictions Dr Alt and the Game Commission put in place some years ago. Less deer but some nice rack Bucks are coming out of PA now!!!

Hatchet Jack

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I started bow hunting in 1977. There were plenty of deer. The one thing that stands out in my mind is the fact that I could bow hunt anywhere! Can you imagine!!!!! One farmer wouldn't let people bow hunt because he found a dead deer that was shot with a bow. He told me bows weren't capableof killing deer.
The other thing that stands out is how stupid of a hunter I was:D

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I had an interesting story told to me when I was down at Cabelas filming for River Valley Game Calls interactive TV. We were filming for our deer calls and this older gentleman came up to me and asked me what was happening.

Well, he told us this story when he was in the Norther Tier of PA and in the snow there was a single deer track/trail. (A deer crossed the road in the snow). People came from miles and miles simply to see this deer trail in the snow as deer were almost non existant. It was a real treat to listen to him tell his story.

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I love hearing the stories about my grandfather and fathers hunting days! Sometime it would almost bring a tear to my eyes! Miss them both! They used to do deer drives and one time my uncle got turned around, got lost and they found him 16 miles from the cabin! The drive started 1/4 mile from the cabin. How he got 16 miles away and they found him walking down the road at night I'll never know!

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Neat story Rob!