I am not sure if I want to hunt?

[bigbore442001]

In the last week, we got two snowstorms in the southern New England area. I have noticed that there aren't any tracks so it means they headed to the swamps to yard up. I have been blessed with taking four deer so far, all in different areas. I do worry about the deer herd in one area I hunt. I've taken a doe and can take another one if I want to do so. But I am thinking. If I take out another doe, that may hurt the little herd that occupies this one area. It may be a rough winter and I don't want to take out a breeder, so to speak.

Some people think I am foolish to refrain from taking another one if I am able to but I just have this nagging bad feeling. The last storm had some freezing rain so there is a crust. If anything, I will go out and see if I can thin some coyotes out of the area.

Does this sound odd? Should I just take another doe if possible? Maybe I am getting soft.

 

[RC]

well, in N.Y., they have doe permits, and ml tags (either) bow (either) and regular season tag...(which you can tag a doe with in late ml season) so that means I CAN kill 4 doe ml season,,course can so big bro, nephew,an lil bro can kill 3, plus the mennonites up the road (2 hunt??) 8 more plus they received :cursing: crop damge permits, 5 of them!! although, they have ONLY seen 7 deer all year long!.. I seen NONE in our southern zone ,nephew seen none lil bro see 8 ,big bro see 7....this is from oct 13-dec 18...my point? yer out there in the woods, you see what there is, I've yet to see anyone from the state anywhere I hunt..and I'm not crazy about their numbers figurin system either...basically I don't believe them.. so even tho there's four of us, the spike will have to do for meat,,we don't see the deer or the tracks so :shocked2: we're figurin they're not their..hopefully next year I SEE a deer,worst year in 37 years..state don't care neither do some other hunters, neighbor received a yearly doe yesterday, from a "hunter" who don't eat deer...but killed a doe...why, (yep! this guy said there weren't many deer too..but shot a doe???????????????????????/ :cursing: :cursing: oh it's not just me, I've talked to a bunch of hunters that hunt same area,ALL aren't happy..I love to hunt, but damn, if ya don't see somethin..even sign...takes the fun right out'a it! (yes I'm suffering from DHS..depressed hunters syndrome.sorry so long but.. :cursing: :cursing: :cursing:

 

[Protrucker]

WOW.....I guess the population varies a lot from one area to another! This has been a banner year for us. :thumbsup:
Between my wife & I, we had six tags (a buck tag & two doe tags each) We did have to go to another county for our second doe tags though. Before the season ended we were able to fill all tags & still see plenty of deer around. The last Saturday of season I was pushing a wood lot for a friend, to try & get him a doe. I saw a couple deer go out in front of me toward him & he got one. When I got down to him he said that I had pushed seven or eight past him.

I still have two tags left to fill in PA & I'm really looking forward to the late flintlock season! :applause:

 

[RC]

BMM, I'm in unit 5S Herkimer co...got a 1000 acres private(??) an 850 state where we hunt..had snow for most of the season(thus tracks???) please send meat! :thumbsup:

 

[Hayduke]

Taking another doe out will also have the effect of making the remaining herd stronger...more food for the others to get through the winter. This crust of frozen snow and ice isn't going anywhere for a while and it's near impossible to break through so food is going to get scarce quickly.

Just another perspective. Best of luck.

 

[RC]

Taking another doe out will also have the effect of making the remaining herd stronger...more food for the others to get through the winter. This crust of frozen snow and ice isn't going anywhere for a while and it's near impossible to break through so food is going to get scarce quickly.

Just another perspective. Best of luck.

???????? IF there is a population problem! i've seen NO evidence of that!

 

[bwhoffman]

Gut instinct "conservation tactics" work well. Go withyour gut! you will be a better man for it!
IF you dont need the meat, leave it!

 

Go with your gut. I've seen more freaking deer this year than ever. I have to head into the woods this morning to find the one my neighbor shot last night but we couldn't find. I would be out there right now but I am typing this from the tire store right now getting two new backs. Anyway on the way here I clipped one with my truck! Only visible damage is a broken signal light and a little hair. They are everywhere in in Orange County NY. If you have no deer in your neck of the woods in NY come here, we'll appreciate it!

I'm not trying to knock anyone but if your not seeing deer think about where you are hunting. Patterns change with the weather and conditions. Know your area, your deer and their habits, food sources and you will see deer. So many people think they can just walk in the woods deer will appear it cracks me up. I've heard from a few hunters complaining in deli's etc and I ask them when did they come up to scout, and they say what? Nuff said. Get in the woods a month and a half before bow season and get an idea where they are and where they are running etc and you will get deer but it might require a little time an effort.

Come to Orange 3M/3P and you will get if not at least see deer.

Good luck and again go with your gut and enjoy your memories of this years successful hunt!

B

 

[RC]

yea i hear it too from guys that buy their license (and sometimes a gun) :shake: the nite before south opens...but ""I'm not trying to knock anyone but if your not seeing deer think about where you are hunting."" i live here! the 1000 acres is my front back and side yard the state land is 2 miles from the house my brother and i drive by it thru it every day...5 years ago i'd see basically 20-25 deer at dusk in the field from my living room!!! i haven't seen 10 all year! and we've hunted this area for 35 years..(no not exclusivly) and not filled OUR doe permits here..(or anywhere actually) this is a $$$$$$$$$$$ deal for the state.. thats it! :cursing:

 

[kevthebassman]

In our little river bottom that we split with a hunting club, we have taken more than 20 deer, and just the other day I counted 14 deer in the field at one time.

My freezer is already full, I'm going after coyote fur now.

 

yea i hear it too from guys that buy their license (and sometimes a gun) :shake: the nite before south opens...but ""I'm not trying to knock anyone but if your not seeing deer think about where you are hunting."" i live here! the 1000 acres is my front back and side yard the state land is 2 miles from the house my brother and i drive by it thru it every day...5 years ago i'd see basically 20-25 deer at dusk in the field from my living room!!! i haven't seen 10 all year! and we've hunted this area for 35 years..(no not exclusivly) and not filled OUR doe permits here..(or anywhere actually) this is a $$$$$$$$$$$ deal for the state.. thats it! :cursing:

Try planting some food plots and trees for cover. If everyone did a little for the deer we hunt it would only get better. Keep an eye out for they "year round" hunters and turn their sorry asses in. I suspect there might be some of that going on with that much land and that few deer. How many and how much sign are you seeing in the woods? Put some food out for a night or two with this snow and see how many suddenly appear.

B

 

[Stumpkiller]

??? I can open the freezer door and tell at a glance if I need to be hunting or not.

Like RC and Bald Mt Man I got a passel of taks from the NY DEC. I have NY permits left over for one antlered deer, one antlerless and one either sex. I have a button and a buck in the freezer and that's all the meat my wife and I need plus a bit for giving (we also slaughtered four Boer meat goats and we're well stocked). I stop shooting when my cupboard is full.

The year my Father died I had a buck walk up to me on opening day and I didn't have the heart to shoot. I packed up, went home and put the gun away that year. If you don't have a driving desire to hunt and you don't need the meat you shouldn't force it. They're God's creatures too. Not souvernirs. Don't kill needlessly.

 

[Allan Gray]

This just shows that you are an ethical hunter and set a good example for others to follow.

I salute you! :hatsoff:

I think that any hunter with half a heart feels thier version of a little sadness after harvesting an animal. I know I do. Maybe it's our way of honoring the beasts and reminding ourselves that we are civilized human beings.

 

[jethro224]

They say the best thing for the herd is to take out a fawn. Fawns have the least chance of surviving a hard winter anyway, and less success at raising their own fawn next year. Taking out a young one will leave more food for the older does who will drop probly 2 fawns and will have better success at raising them healthy. Just what I've read...

 

[paulvallandigham]

Don't hesitate to go in those woods after a big storm, where some trees have been uprooted, or blown down, and open up some of the canopy with the selected removal of damaged trees. Don't log there without a permit, of course, but the biggest cause of reduced herds in any give location is the increasing density of the growing trees. They shade out brush and grasses, so there is nothing for the deer to feed on in the woods. The woods become dead area, and the deer don't go there anymore. If you open patches, you decrease the chance of a fire wiping out the entire stand of second or third growth timber, provide shelter and food for deer and other animals, and and give the deer a reason to go there.

Tall dark forests are nice for walking through, because there is little growing on the ground to trip you up. But you are not likely to find much in the way of game living there, either.

I found a dense thicket of entirely dead trees, probably no older than 15 years, which all died out because they were growing in the shadow of a large Oak tree. The termites were having a field day, as were the wood peckers. Nothing wrong with that. I looked at those trees as standing firewood for the taking. They were dry, you could kick them over, and stomp on them to break them into usuable lengths, and they burned well. Over a 5 day camping, we removed most of those dead trees. When I went past the site the next year, the area was covered in long grasses, and I could find deer tracks coming into the plot and evidence that the deer were eating the grasses. The Oak tree, which the loggers would get some day, was doing fine.

When I am looking for a likely place in the woods to " open the canopy for, I follow game trails through the woods and try to find a spot 50 feet or more off the trail where a small open meadow can be created. They serve as rest stops for deer. An,d of course, since chain saws would attract unwanted attention, I look for an area that already has downed trees. If someone asks, I am taking down a " widow maker".

 

[Black Hand]

Hunt to eat, not to kill.

 

[bucktales]

Well Said, Black Hand.

 

[rabjr]

Do what you want but where I'm at theres a very good reason why you can buy 9 tags for the mainland seasons. Tonight I had 8 Does and young walk by me at 4:00pm. Theres just plain to many deer here.

 

[Halftail]

I guess it varies from area to[url] area.In[/url] my area Deer aren't overly plenty.A friend shoots at least 4 Does a year then complains that he can't see a Buck DUH.....I like what Stumpy said about looking in his Freezer to see if he needs to keep on hunting or not. :thumbsup:

 

[bigbore442001]

I'll be honest SB, I hunted RI this past season and was unimpressed by what I saw. I seriously doubt I will ever hunt it again. I saw more deer in Massachusetts and Connecticut.