Southern Deer-The "Myth"

[cynthialee]

Vern I've seen the same thing happen with a bass fishin buddy of mine. His fish tend to grow a lot after he caught em.

my dads fish got biger as soon as they were eaten

 

[hoochiepapa]

Just got my new American Hunter magazine, and they say the largest whitetail ever was over 500#.

 

[Johnny Too-Tall]

Ok I am an Army guy and hunted all over from my stompin ground of michigan south to Ky, then to GA, now Kansas when not deployed. I have shot 200lb bucks in Michigan, 150's in KY, and 125-150 in GA. The body size is typically bigger the areas I have hunted. I shot a 10 pointer on Fort Knox that scored 148 3/8 and dressed in at a massive 107 lbs. and that was during the rut all swelled up, Hell i thought he was a 175 inch buck but had a tiny body. But i have also shot deer close to 200lbs there as well but those were farm deer on private property. At Ft Benning, GA your allowed to kill 12 deer 10-does and 2-bucks, then ya cross the bridge and theres Alabama and a new tag and even more deer cant remember the limit there. Biggets buck I shot was a 127 inch 8 point and he dressed around 140 lbs. But most deer are smaller but this is likely due to the deer gettin shot all up with out a chance to bulk up, unless ya go deep in the swamps.. But there are 200 lb deer in GA seen them but never got one. Size is all a matter of where ya hunt, ya go in way deep in the woods 2-3 miles in and you will see monsters if ya walk 200-300 yards ya gunna see tiny deer..

 

[smokymountainmike]

You're right Little John. If you are looking for a big buck you HAVE TO get away from the other hunters. Big bucks that have survived 4 or 5 seasons have learned to avoid human contact and they have put the sneak on a lot of hunters to have survived that long. I've learned to be as quite as possible walking to the stand because they will high tail it out of the area if they sense something is going on. If your going to beat a big buck you have to beat his nose first. Their sense of smell is amazing.

 

[Sperit de bois]

You can't "Heater Hunt" ( drive around in your Pick up) and see big deer,,they are smarter,that is how they go bigger and older.
Go where there are no food wrappers,GPS/cell phone reception and your getting close,just two miles more and start looking.
I don't care how big they were when they dropped,by the time you get them hauled out,, they weigh a lot more!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Vaino]

I've heard that a few Southern states bought huge whitetail bucks from some Northern states to increase the size of their whitetails. One Southern state in particular {North Carolina} has seen a big increase in whitetail buck weights and antlers....a result of Northern transplants?....Fred

 

[blackpowderscout]

Nope, ther are no big deer in the south....

This is a deer my dad killed in 1980 in St. Mark's WMA, Florida (home of the dog sized deer)... with a .50 patched round ball I might add...at that time it was #3 on the all time Florida list. Now he's WAAAAAAy down there.

No, there are no big deer here. I thnk all the yankee's should stop retiring here and just say up there. There's nothing here worth coming for....

 

[dc7x64]

Lesson learned for me here. One thing I noticed that we all have in common...we hunt. Regardless of where we are from, where we have lived, size of our deer, if its in your blood you are gonna go. If I get an invite to hunt in Michigan, Minnesota, or anywhere else, am I gonna go? Heck yeah! I believe that anybody who would say they wouldnt hunt our Southern deer because they are too small, probably dont even hunt their Northern deer or even hunt at all! :v

 

[hanshi]

Who was riding it? :rotf:

 

[hoochiepapa]

They didn't say. :haha:

 

[crockett]

Nice Deer- thought about hunting there a few times. I would say that there is a difference but not as much as some folks think and there are exceptions to the rule. I think it is fair to say a southern whitetail may on average be 10-20% smaller than a northern whitetail- which means there is a lot of overlapping in size between north and south. Same thing with other game- like largemouth bass. In Florida they grow bigger but there are lots of 2 1/2 lb bass and if you are expecting a 5-10 lb bass every trip you will be surprised. Generally, if you are hunting in the south and the deer are in an agricultural area- and you are in the Blackbelt of south Georgia/Alabama- you have a good chance at a very good deer.

 

[Baxter]

From 2007 until 2011 I lived in SD, on the prairie. I saw thousands of deer and spent quite a bit of time trying to compare them to their southern counterparts in TN. Overall, I think they were bigger, on average. They were, however, like women up north....uglier :blah: ff :stir: :wink:

Say that last sentence to a Jack Pine Savage , face to face, sir. :wink:

 

[Stumpkiller]

From 2007 until 2011 I lived in SD, on the prairie. I saw thousands of deer and spent quite a bit of time trying to compare them to their southern counterparts in TN. Overall, I think they were bigger, on average. They were, however, like women up north....uglier :blah: ff :stir: :wink:

Say that last sentence to a Jack Pine Savage , face to face, sir. :wink:

Yep. Them Southern Belle Hotties just are lovely. I specially admire the way they can cuss out a trooper without the cigaratte falling off their lip.

 

[wattlebuster]

Hey stump where did you get my sisters pic from :rotf:

 

[Bill Hall]

Ok, now I'm having flashbacks of the N.C. sticks. And those were the pretty ones :shocked2: . Bill

 

[Nifeman]

Ok, now I'm having flashbacks of the N.C. sticks. And those were the pretty ones :shocked2: . Bill

Last Springs Prom Queen :rotf: :rotf: