killing a deer every year
 

Do you kill a deer every year that you hunt? The last time I killed a deer was 2 years ago. Have had a few close deer by my stand this year so far, but to far away to shoot.

RE: killing a deer every year
 

I' ve been deer hunting for 9 years, since I was 12. I' ve shot at least one deer every year, and two one year. I' ve been strictly bowhunting for 5 years, and have shot four deer in that span. However, I haven' t got one yet this year.

RE: killing a deer every year
 

My success rate after many years of hunting is slightly less than 50%. Yep, I' m not even batting .500 The one thing I have learned over that time is that the number of deer shot has absolutely nothing to do with how good a hunter someone may be. Everything is relative. Shootng a deer a year in some states with high deer numbers may be a piece of cake while shooting a deer every 2-3 yrs in other states/provinces may be considered very successful. Consistency is the game here.

RE: killing a deer every year
 

while i totally agree with Jimmy S, i enjoy keeping my freezer full of venison and have shot deer in the last 6 years, since i was 11. the first year was uneventful, but every year since that, i have been helpin my mom make venison stew. :D

RE: killing a deer every year
 

I' m at about 75%.

I have let a few walk in years past that when the end of the season rolled around I wish I' d shot. :D

also.... my success rate went down considerably since I started bowhunting!

RE: killing a deer every year
 

I' m up and down, depending on what my schedule allows. For 4-5 years in a row I shot at least one, if not 2-3 deer. However, I haven' t shot a deer the past two seasons. That' s not to say I didn' t have shots, because I did. I just elected to pass up small does and small bucks. I had a chance at 2 P&Y bucks in one weekend and missed them both last year. Can anyone say " CHOKE!" ? :D

I' m hoping to harvest a doe before the rut kicks in hard here in IL, but we' ll see how things go. I don' t have as much time to hunt as I used to now that I' m all grow' d up and I have a job and bills to pay. Ahhh....what I wouldn' t give to be 18 again and be able to take off whenever I wanted to go hunting.

I have to say I agree w/the statement that the number of deer you shoot doesn' t reflect on how good of a hunter you are. People put way too much emphasis on how many deer they shoot and how often they shoot them in terms of how good of a hunter they are. In 7 times on stand this year, I' ve had shots at 5 different deer. If I wanted my freezer packed full of button bucks, small does, and 1 1/2 year old bucks it wouldn' t be a problem.

RE: killing a deer every year
 

I agree with Jimmy S. Another variable is how selective you are. I usually let several legal deer walk each year. I have a friend who usually kills between 15 and 20 per yr by hunting in 3 states. It all depends..........

RE: killing a deer every year
 

im batting 1.000:D

RE: killing a deer every year
 

I missed 1 year since 1957. The most have been 5 in a year.But usually 2 or 3

RE: killing a deer every year
 

Im about 50% but some of that is my fault cause some years that i didnt get one I let some pass by. Including last year I had small 6 point 10 yards away first day of rifle in PA and passed on him. Didnt see another buck the rest of the year. I didnt mind though got to watch him bed down for a few hours.

RE: killing a deer every year
 

I usually let alot walk and still average 2-3 a year. As stated previously, keeping the freezer full is a priorityat my house. I also hunt 2 states, so that helps.

RE: killing a deer every year
 

well kinda.....i hunter 4 years and killed 4 deer.....but 1 year i didnt bag any deer and last year i bagged 2......but im not really selective either.....until now.....im becoming more selective....and focusing on a nicer buck (not huge but not a little scrap rack)...with the rifle and saving the does for the smokepole......

RE: killing a deer every year
 

I could easily kill a deer on the first day each year but since we only get one general whitetail tag per year I hold out for a trophy buck.Some years I pass up to 20 or 30 bucks and my tag still goes unfilled but it doesn' t bother me as my freezer is usually full of elk anyway.

RE: killing a deer every year
 

I' ve been shut out 1 year in the lasy 25. Often 2 or 3 a year, Passed a lot of deer with the bow so far this year.

RE: killing a deer every year
 

I have been hunting for twenty-nine years and have averaged almost four deer each year. Of course, I wasn' t consistent until I got older. Experience is the best teacher.

Greg

RE: killing a deer every year
 

Since I started hunting in ' 85 I have not killed one deer evey year. I have killed on average 9 deer per year. My highest number of deer harvested in one year was 16.

RE: killing a deer every year
 

I have killed a deer every year that I' ve hunted(18th year). I have a good deer population. The most I got in one year was 6(last year). Many years at the begining 1 was all you could get. Over the last 10 years, I' ve probably averaged 3 a year.

RE: killing a deer every year
 

I have shot at least one deer every year since 1972. My average is 3 per year and the most I' ve gotten is 11 in one year. However, in the last couple of years, my numbers have gone down, largely because I' m more selective than I used to be. Last year I shot two and this year I haven' t shot any yet, though I' ve had plenty of opportunities. I' m planning to shoot a couple of mature does and hopefully a buck 120 or better this year. We will see how things unfold.

RE: killing a deer every year
 

Average 6-8 per year, but 90% being big does and usually i try to take all of them with a bow. Will shoot one buck a year if he is not 120 or better i will shoot a buck with A Screwed up rack. Looking at shooting a buck i have seen alot this year he is a spike with about 9 inches on one side and two inches on the other.

RE: killing a deer every year
 

I' ve killed at least one deer every year for the last 20, the last ten years I' ve probably averaged 3 or 4 deer per year.

RE: killing a deer every year
 

All you guys getting two or three (or more) per year are studs! That, or you are VERY good hunters. In my 7 years of deer hunting I' ve taken exactly one deer. Y' all must hunt where deer populations are high. In central Oregon, where I began hunting, there just aren' t that many mule deer to go around. Granted, I was probably doing a lot of things wrong (too much driving and not enough sitting). But since I' ve moved to Texas I' ve seen more deer in my one year here than I did in 6 years of hunting in Oregon. Now if I can just get my brother in-law to sell me his spot on the lease.

RE: killing a deer every year
 

I would say 5 or more each year. I think I could honestly shoot 50+ if I wanted to, but lot of days I pass 20+ that are legal deer.

RE: killing a deer every year
 

I began bowhunting in 1966 here in Pennsylvania. I' ve had 3 seasons that I didn' t kill a deer since but I' ve had several where I killed 2 a year after 1993 when that became legal. I' ve been getting rather picky over the past few years and last year never did take a buck and so far this year I' ve been having fun but not seeing many deer at all. I enjoy hunting with or without a deer but I do go out with the intention of bagging one every time I go or else I' d give the sport up. There' s no shame in wanting to take a deer, there' s just shame in going past the legal limits just to kill one.

RE: killing a deer every year
 

Just out of shear curiosity - can those of you who are shooting 5 plus deer a year tell me why? Do you honestly eat that much venison? Or is it more of the bragging rights to say you shot 5 or 9 or 16 deer in a single year?

RE: killing a deer every year
 

I actually use 3-5 deer per year every year currently, plus I usually donate a couple to the local food bank. There' s 3 in my family hunting, so we always have several deer available. All of the deer that I' ve shot, be it 1 or 11 (my max), has always been used and all that my sons have shot have always been used. Nothing goes to waste or I or my family won' t shoot it. It' s as simple as that.

RE: killing a deer every year
 

JZarr,

As matter of fact all the deer that I harvest is eaten by three/four different families. I an two others feed four families as well as donate meat to the Hunters for the Hungry in the Commonwealth of Virginia. All the meat is gone by the opener of the next bow season. We put up 14 deer last year and I took out the last pack of steaks the Saturday prior to the season opener on Sat 4 Oct. I didn' t have to wait long to put meat in the freezer. On the opening Monday I harvested a 70 lb (dressed) doe and on that Friday I harvested a 90 lb doe.. So to answer your question it all gets used and is gone prior to the following season

RE: killing a deer every year
 

I' m at about 20% right now, but in the past I didn' t hunt as seriously as I could have, so the number is probably a bit lower than it could be.

The other thing is that I' ve only hunted in Maine and New Hampshire, and I' ve gone more than one season without even seeing a legal deer- we just don' t have the numbers up here that some of you guys see. In some of these ' how many deer' posts guys are saying they see as many deer in an average day as I' ve seen in 10 years of hunting. If I saw 20 or 30 deer in a season I' d think I' d died and gone to heaven.

RE: killing a deer every year
 

With the two I' ve already taken this year, I' ve been successful with my bow for each of the last 20 years. I' ve taken as many as 7 on a couple of years. My family has finished as many as 6 deer before the next season starts (3 teenage sons:D), so if I plan on taking more than we can eat, I have a needy families already lined up BEFORE I will shoot another deer

RE: killing a deer every year
 

I have taken at least 1 every year I have hunted. Never more than 2 though.

RE: killing a deer every year
 

I have been hunting for three years and I have shot 4 deer. I' m working on my first bow kill still! I keep spooking them! GRR

RE: killing a deer every year
 

The most in one year 14, we were filling crop damage permits.Nothing got wasted. Usually kill three a year. It' s been about 20-21 years with out one.This year I can' t hunt do to back problems. I might try and fill a tag of my mother in laws back porch, it' s not hunting but I love venison.

RE: killing a deer every year
 

Its been a long time since I have eating tag soup.

I don' t shoot doe or small bucks - so I let many deer walk.

I get about 2 a year.

If I was after numbers or meat - I could easily pop 15 deer a year

RE: killing a deer every year
 

I agree with the following statements:
1. You can' t judge a person' s hunting ability by how many deer they tag per season because;
2. Alot depends on where you live and deer density and how selective you are.

That said, I average two per season, some seasons more and some less. Last season I put 4 in the freezer, with one from an out-of-state hunt. And to answer the question regarding " How do you honestly eat 4-5 deer per year" ...there are only 4 of us in the family, when you consider a 40-50% meat yield from an average sized deer of 100 +/- lbs. dressed, it goes quickly. We use it for everything, it was gone by April this year.......plus I give alot away to landowners and non-hunting friends.

RE: killing a deer every year
 

I have killed as many as 8 in a year but usually average probably 5. I could have limited out every year the last caouple of years in Ga. but who really needs 12 deer. I take a few doe and my 2 legal bucks in Ga and usually get one or two here in Fl. plus a hog or 2. We eat alot of venison plus I usually give some to family or friends who can' t hunt anymore.

RE: killing a deer every year
 

Ever since i' ve been bowhunting, since around 8-9th grade, I' ve taken between 2-4 deer per year. So I' ve been happy with that. But since I went to college, the past 2 years I haven' t killed anything over P&Y.:( I saw them almost every time out, but couldn' t get an arrow off. And the time isn' t there like it used to be. But that' s what the girls, school and work, and living 2 1/2 hours away does to ya.

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RE: killing a deer every year
 

for the 8 years i' ve been at it I have always got my buck and doe each year but i always rifle hunted whitetail. Not too difficult to shoot a deer here though i can' t drive from the farm into town without seein a couple. if i strickly bowhunted them or was put into a tougher area with a lower population i would not appear near as skillful.

RE: killing a deer every year
 

I average 3 a year, with a one year best of 7. We eat a lot of venison at my house so none goes to waste. Actually, we usually run out around may or june.

RE: killing a deer every year
 

Been hunting 31 years so far in minnesota, 20 of them with a bow. In the early 70' s,deer were tough to come by here. Not uncommon for hunting parties of say 6 hunters, to only down 1 deer between them. Since then, our deer populations have soared and are now are almost to the point where hunters will never kill enough of them to control the population. Then disease will set in and will end up being like wisconsin. Past 7 years I' ve averaged 4 deer a year(3 already this year). I make my own sausage,jerky,burger, and even corn the roasts(which is awesome if you haven' t tried it). My family eats venison atleast 2x a week. 4 deer comes to about 200-250 pounds of meat. Easy to eat that much in a year within a family.Happy Hunting! Steve

RE: killing a deer every year
 

This season will be my 17 season and I have killed a deer every year. I have killed a male deer every year, 2 years I it was button bucks. I have killed up to 4 one season but usually between 1 - 3.