bluebird2

[quote] i just don't understand because i would not be satisfied with a kill of a small buck.? [/quote

If I don't fill my buck tag by the end of the concurrent season, I will be more than happy to harvest the first BB i see that is worth skinning. I will not have a buck mounted unless I can sell the mount and I won't place the antlers on a plaque. I may nail the rack on the barn so the robins to have a place to build a nest, but that is about all that big antlers mean to me at my stage in life.

sproulman

[quote]ORIGINAL: bluebird2


GASTLY

bluebird2

The highest BB harvest on record occurred 20003. The highest 2.5+ buck harvest occurred in 2004. so ,can you explain why harvesting BB is Gastly?

the outsider

"No , I am telling you I would rather have the opportunity to harvest a spike or a Y every year than have the potential to to harvest a 10 point once every 20 years!"

BB, I totally agree with you on this one. And you know what, the big racked deer were there all along, way before AR's. The biggest buck I ever shot in 2G was in 1990. And the year before that I passed on a 10 pt buck with an estimated 22" spread there because I didn't have a goodclear shot.Didn't want to take a chance on wounding it.

My point is, there were smaller racked deer and large racked deer, and it was my choice if I wanted to shoot a smaller one or a larger one.

4evrhtn

Even with an antler restriction you have a very slim chance of harvesting a mature buck since your sights are on bare minimum requirements. If you shoot the first buck you see you'll almost never see the larger buck that you claim AR's don't produce. I pass up deer time after time till I find the buck I am hunting for but then again I put the time and effort into knowing what buck are in the area so I know which buck is the largest and pretty accurately judge how many deer are in the area and the ratio of buck to doe. I base the submission ofmy antlerless applications on the deer population of area I plan to hunt. If I see more than 2 to 1- doe to buck I submit for 2 doe permits if I see it at 1 to 1 or 2 to 1 I don't submit for doe tags in that area for that year. I am not a meat hunter who only cares about filling a tag and that is what your statements make you appear to be. You have alot of good info in some areas and some skewed info and opinions in other areas. You must do alot of reading and that is great but it makes me wonder- When do you have time to hunt when spending so much time reading PAGC stats and reports. Spend as much time in the woods as you do coming up with arguments and you might see these bigger bucks.

4evrhtn

You "passed" on a 10 pt. OK, so if I see a deer and have no shot, that means I passed on that deer?
Don't claim to pass up a 10 pt if you are admitting to wanting to shoot a spike or Y. You didn't have an opportunity to shoot the 10 point- tell it as it is. I commend you for not shooting and wounding the deer. Like I wrote above.. if you shoot the first bare minimum buck you won't shoot a big buck.

cuernos1

Deleted for skirting the profanity filter, violation of posting rule number 1.

sproulman

not degrading anyones opinion,you all are good info.

let me give mine from hunting 47 years and dads from back to 1925..

he said way baCK THEY KILLED big bucks because the hunters left spikes go so they would grow up.

then, he said they started to kill spikes and small buck around 1960s as deer became less .

back in early years you would see 5 to 10 buck a day easy, so they shot big ones.

his racks are in my garage .

now from the 60s to when they started the AR , the bucks killed in clinton county were not to large on horns..

this is because hunters shot any buck.

2 years after AR went into effect, i saw huge bucks here in clinton county.

in those 2 years ,not many shot a spike buck even tho legal for kids.

after that , the word got out that kids could shoot a spike buck,this has hurt the bigger rack bucks that i was seeing after first 2 years.

i saw nice buck this year BUT very few.

not like the 2nd 3rd year of the AR.


I BELIEVE THE lack of fawns IS ONE REASON.

OTHER IS NOW, I AM SEEING 3 TIMES THE NUMBER OF LICENSES FOR KIDS than the 2 years after the AR was started here in clinton county.

so, i feel shooting the little bucks and lack of fawns is reducing the number of 2.5 yr old deer.

right now is crucial..

i feel the AR should be for all of us.this would help.

next, we got to kill off these coyotes,they have done a number on the fawns here in clinton.

we got to get word out to sportsman that killing a fawn is ruining our sport.

this is what i am seeing.

if doe hunters do a number on the deer on saturday here in clinton county, i feel that next year will be worst than this year has already been..

i stopped at many camps in kettle creek that NEVER saw a deer, others no buck and others with 1 buck but saw very few deer.

this was good week to hunt to, snow onground and LOTS of hunters were into renovo area to hunt but many were not to happy.

most said this,IF ONLY WE WOULD SEE A DEER WOULD MAKE OUR HUNTING FUN, WHY DONT THEY CLOSE THE DOE SEASON HERE IN WESTERN CLINTON COUNTY.

WillCz

sproul

Only 30 years here but I agree with everything you said.

The brown it's down guys really beat up on the herd. I layed out all of the racks I have shot over the past 30 years and it tells the story. Now is better than ever. Also, I stopped shooting does in my area and I almost always get a doe tag just to take 1 off the market. On public land the slaughter has taken its toll.

Now things are beginning to look up. On my SGL 4c we always had over 100 cars in the parking lot and a real pumpkin patch back 3-4 miles. This year we counted 45 cars at 11:00am opening. Reports from real hunters that know how to locate the deer is that they saw more this year than the past 5. More big bucks also. The problem is what it has done to the sport. Where did the 50+ cars of hunters go. The sport is dieing. I have no legacy of hunters other than my nephews and I will love it as my SGL becomes less and less hunted. More and better deer for me. I do feel very sorry for anyone trying to get a kid interested. A glimpse of a deer is not enough to keep anyones attention. I love just being out there for the day and enjoying the outdoors. Very tough to teach a teen that.

sproulman

very good post

most of hunters that left here in clinton is do to they got their doe in early in-line season.

others went to other countys,like allegheny for doe kill.

most of hunters i talk to ,if they got their doe early, they only hunt here in clinton if weather is nice.

just about everyone that was at camps this week, got a doe in another county early.

so, they dont kill themselves.

read btb post on him getting a few deer in freezer early.

not degrading him only using him as the AVERAGE hunter that wants meat and has already got deer.

this is A reason you dont see large crews now and then add in lack of deer and possibly driving a DOE out to another hunter that is sitting in a treestand in middle of their drives.

lets say over half hunters want a deer, lets say that, others want a buck or enjoy camp.

thats what i am seeing.

i was surprised the number oif hunters that came to clinton this year but MOST already got a BUCK OR DOE.in ANOTHER COUNTY BEFORE THEY CAME THIS YEAR.

THEY DID NOT HAVE the drive to kill a deer here as they already got one in early in-line season .