Don,
I totally agree with you! I grew up hunting in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, where I rarely saw another hunter, allowing me to stalk deer undisturbed. Later, I moved to the Black Hills of South Dakota, where it was similar in the back country. I hunted remote canyons by glassing to locate a deer then stalking it.
Then I moved to Wisconsin, where it’s totally different. More hunters are afield, 600,000-700,000, than the entire state of South Dakota population! And deer are hunted like rabbits- gangs of drivers push the deer out of brush and woodlots, whereupon other hunters blaze away at the running deer. I routinely here of multiple hits from multiple hunters needed to bring down a fleeing deer. A lot of deer are wounded and escape to die later, unfounded someplace.
Because of this style of hunting, I was so disgusted with Wisconsin deer hunting during the general gun season, that after my first year I switched to only hunting the black powder season. Twenty eight years later, I still hunt onlyduring black powder season, and I never see another hunter in the deep woods. I’m unmolested by other hunters and able to stalk any deer I locate, much more sanely and safely.
In over 50 years of deer hunting, I’ve never shot a running deer and never will because I have too much respect for the animal. All except one kill have been one shot kills while the deer were eating, walking, standing or bedded. Again, this is my personal opinion and my choice.
