Be Honest
06-11-2007, 05:54 PM
#1
Super Moderator
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Indiana
Posts: 7,182
Be Honest
How many hunters shoot the first deer that walks by them during the firearms season. That includes shotguns, rifles or muzzleloader. I myself am picky and wont shoot a yearling doe or button buck.
06-11-2007, 06:10 PM
#2
Join Date: Apr 2007
Posts: 321
RE: Be Honest
I guess it would all depend on what state - where you were hunting at and how many days you had to hunt.
Where I live, they have changed the rules to where you can shoot a doe the first day of the rifle season.
Nobody in my family will shoot a doe until atleast the first Saturday and most of us will wait until the last two days of the hunting season to shoot a doe.
Where as - if I didn't have any vacation days to hunt and only had the first day and the two Saturdays, I would have to think twice before I turned down anything that was legal.
I have had years where I didnt get a deer and I hunted 6 - 12 days of the season. When you have responsibilities and a family to feed. You have to decide if you are going to be honorable and let it walk - or if you are going to tag it and bag it.
Before you grill it, first you have to kill it.
I figured it out one year and a deer aprox. 125 lbs cost's me $4.00 a lbs to hunt it, kill it and process it. Which at that time, mininum wage was $3.35 a hour. Ground beef was $.99 a lbs. Now a good steak might cost you $10 and a good job might pay $10 a hour. Which would put the cost of hunting a deer up around $600 - $800 each.
Nobody could justify shooting a deer because their family needed the meat. You could make more just by going to work and buying it in the grocery store.
Where I live, they have changed the rules to where you can shoot a doe the first day of the rifle season.
Nobody in my family will shoot a doe until atleast the first Saturday and most of us will wait until the last two days of the hunting season to shoot a doe.
Where as - if I didn't have any vacation days to hunt and only had the first day and the two Saturdays, I would have to think twice before I turned down anything that was legal.
I have had years where I didnt get a deer and I hunted 6 - 12 days of the season. When you have responsibilities and a family to feed. You have to decide if you are going to be honorable and let it walk - or if you are going to tag it and bag it.
Before you grill it, first you have to kill it.
I figured it out one year and a deer aprox. 125 lbs cost's me $4.00 a lbs to hunt it, kill it and process it. Which at that time, mininum wage was $3.35 a hour. Ground beef was $.99 a lbs. Now a good steak might cost you $10 and a good job might pay $10 a hour. Which would put the cost of hunting a deer up around $600 - $800 each.
Nobody could justify shooting a deer because their family needed the meat. You could make more just by going to work and buying it in the grocery store.
06-11-2007, 06:31 PM
#4
Typical Buck
Join Date: May 2007
Location: South Carolina
Posts: 957
RE: Be Honest
Well here at home we don't have a limit on the number of deer that we can kill. So, if a mature doe comes out I usually watch it to see if anything else is with it. If she is alone, most of the time I will shoot her. If she has yearlings, I will watch them for a while and see how big they. If they are big enough, I will shoot the mature doe. If I think the yearlings need to stick with mom a little longer, I will let her go.
Smaller bucks I usually let walk. If I feel like shooting one. I will. If not, they walk.
Here in South Carolina our buck to doe ratio is terribley out of balance. I used to let does walk alot until I done a lot of reading and research about the buck to doe ratio theory. So now, like i stated above, I kill more does that in my past.
I have a very small tract of land (18ac.) That I do most of my hunting on. On a good day of hunting on this tract of land, I have passed up 10 does to wait on a decent buck. Since I've started shooting more does, I have been seeing a lot more MATURE bucks.
This year will be the first season that I get to use my new bow. So, I plan on taking as many does as I can.
Smaller bucks I usually let walk. If I feel like shooting one. I will. If not, they walk.
Here in South Carolina our buck to doe ratio is terribley out of balance. I used to let does walk alot until I done a lot of reading and research about the buck to doe ratio theory. So now, like i stated above, I kill more does that in my past.
I have a very small tract of land (18ac.) That I do most of my hunting on. On a good day of hunting on this tract of land, I have passed up 10 does to wait on a decent buck. Since I've started shooting more does, I have been seeing a lot more MATURE bucks.
This year will be the first season that I get to use my new bow. So, I plan on taking as many does as I can.
06-11-2007, 07:23 PM
#5
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: North Central Iowa
Posts: 1,642
RE: Be Honest
I am EXTREMELY PICKY first off that is
ended up shooting my smallest deer of all time last ml season. Now my standards will be lowered for my first bow season. WOOOO looking forward to it
ended up shooting my smallest deer of all time last ml season. Now my standards will be lowered for my first bow season. WOOOO looking forward to it
06-11-2007, 07:42 PM
#6
Typical Buck
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Southwest PA
Posts: 816
RE: Be Honest
It depends. If a group of doe come by and I dont already have any meat in the freezer, then I will usually take the largest doe. And thats only if Im absolutly sure a buck isnt following close behind.
06-11-2007, 08:03 PM
#7
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location:
Posts: 341
RE: Be Honest
ORIGINAL: StrutNtom
Well here at home we don't have a limit on the number of deer that we can kill. So, if a mature doe comes out I usually watch it to see if anything else is with it. If she is alone, most of the time I will shoot her. If she has yearlings, I will watch them for a while and see how big they. If they are big enough, I will shoot the mature doe. If I think the yearlings need to stick with mom a little longer, I will let her go.
Smaller bucks I usually let walk. If I feel like shooting one. I will. If not, they walk.
Here in South Carolina our buck to doe ratio is terribley out of balance. I used to let does walk alot until I done a lot of reading and research about the buck to doe ratio theory. So now, like i stated above, I kill more does that in my past.
I have a very small tract of land (18ac.) That I do most of my hunting on. On a good day of hunting on this tract of land, I have passed up 10 does to wait on a decent buck. Since I've started shooting more does, I have been seeing a lot more MATURE bucks.
This year will be the first season that I get to use my new bow. So, I plan on taking as many does as I can.
Well here at home we don't have a limit on the number of deer that we can kill. So, if a mature doe comes out I usually watch it to see if anything else is with it. If she is alone, most of the time I will shoot her. If she has yearlings, I will watch them for a while and see how big they. If they are big enough, I will shoot the mature doe. If I think the yearlings need to stick with mom a little longer, I will let her go.
Smaller bucks I usually let walk. If I feel like shooting one. I will. If not, they walk.
Here in South Carolina our buck to doe ratio is terribley out of balance. I used to let does walk alot until I done a lot of reading and research about the buck to doe ratio theory. So now, like i stated above, I kill more does that in my past.
I have a very small tract of land (18ac.) That I do most of my hunting on. On a good day of hunting on this tract of land, I have passed up 10 does to wait on a decent buck. Since I've started shooting more does, I have been seeing a lot more MATURE bucks.
This year will be the first season that I get to use my new bow. So, I plan on taking as many does as I can.
Same here, i live in sc and hunt a small peice of land.My "shooter" criteria is the same.
06-11-2007, 08:29 PM
#8
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Fulton county IL USA
Posts: 4,271
RE: Be Honest
ORIGINAL: _Dan
Only a doe or a 140"+ buck.
Only a doe or a 140"+ buck.
Waaaayyyy to many folks 'round here shoot the first glint of antler they see through the brush. Passing on Does, yet they proudly shoot a yearling buck! [
]
[:'(]Show some restraint!
06-11-2007, 09:12 PM
#9
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Winnipeg, Mb, Canada
Posts: 1,309
RE: Be Honest
We do use deer as our primary meat source so freezer food is most important. We bow, ML, and rifle so once we have our first 3 in the freezer we become more selective. The first couple usually will be mature does (will pass on little bucks) but by the time ML comes along we have a pretty good idea what's moving in the area (roaming bucks) so we become more selective. We also do all of our own butchering and the processing of the meat so that expense is not an issue. Trophy hunting is not a concern but we have havested a number of real quallity bucks. Comes down to knowing the area and being at the right place at the right time.
