RE: Deer eating crops... okay to shoot???
 

I have to disagree. my family owns hundreds of acres in northwest missouri. and when they project their harvest they subtract the first ten rows around the entire perimeter due to deer. its sad but i have seen some farmers that ride around with rifles in their combines and just open the door and shoot.

RE: Deer eating crops... okay to shoot???
 

part of farming? shoot the does during season? My boss personally shoots over 60 deer a year in MD and still has huge crop damage problems on pumpkins and corn. If it werent for crop damage permits there would be no crop to harvest.

RE: Deer eating crops... okay to shoot???
 

Use a deer repellent, instead of shooting.
Join my Firearm Deer Contest.
Then hunt them during deer season, then use the score for your team.

http://www.messinawildlife.com/

RE: Deer eating crops... okay to shoot???
 

Harvesting that many deer and still having problems further validates my theory that the crop damage farmers attribute to deer is BS. Personally, I see more damage resulting from coons.

RE: Deer eating crops... okay to shoot???
 

What Deer Repellent? as for this "don't shoot em evah unless its season" thing U hunters only take 1 or 2 from my land a year. Total taken maybe 5 not even close to 10, the herd is in the 1k mark for my place alone. U hunters hear of this shooting all year round thinking this is killin off your opportunities but no body seems to remember the farmers only make money when our crops are IN the sale barn.:(
When we invite you out to go hunting its to git them dam deer's off my corn. not to manage the land for more deer.[>:]
Now dangit when I say I need deer taken off the property and u say u will hunt em off of there. I expect u to hunt down the deer herd, not MANAGE IT!!![:@]

RE: Deer eating crops... okay to shoot???
 

If you really have such a problem (too many deer and can't find enough hunters willing to shoot does) that is quite different than where I live. We have good deer numbers, but not enough farmers are willing to let hunters on. If I lived near you I'd take all the does the law allows.

RE: Deer eating crops... okay to shoot???
 

It's very disturbing that hunters expect farmers to fund their hobby.

Deer repellant?That's funny.

RE: Deer eating crops... okay to shoot???
 

Exactly!! My dad has the same problem here in MS. He will get a depredation permit and shoot them in the summer and then take out as many does as possible in the hunting season and he still has problems with the deer eating his crop up in one area. Most of it's because the hunting clubs around there won't shoot does and they get mad at him because that's all he shoots there.

RE: Deer eating crops... okay to shoot???
 

I have several close friends that are dairy farmers.For the past 6 months,their milk checks aren't even covering their feed bills.Sorry,but people expectthere to be way more deer than there has to be.Unfortunately in the case of Pa,the habitat has taken a huge nosedive as a result.There's absolutely no reason forhunters to expect struggling farmers to pay for someone else's need for excessive deer populations.

In Pa,a Farmer that generates the majority of his income from crops doesn't need any type of depredation permit.

RE: Deer eating crops... okay to shoot???
 

If you stil have that many problems wit deer, lease it out during the hunting season at $300-500a pop. let em shoot as many does as they are allowed (legally) and hten you make some cash in the process.