rybohunter

We see this everyday here and don’t really know it. So what drives the regional (state to state) differences in hunter attitudes? Is it the deer herd? Or is the deer herd the way it is due to the wildlife agency? Do economic factors play in? Heritage traits/beliefs from where people came from? Are these perceived stereotypes true?

Here’s some of the way I see them (note-bits of sarcasm added, do not take it personal)
PA, MI, NY, WI- Shoot every buck you see or some one else will
WVA-We shoot deer, doesn’t really matter what the seasons are.
OH-Shhhhh. We’re still pretending we don’t have big bucks here, but too many dang people go shooting them and bragging about it.
New England states- You may only see one deer a season, so you’d better shoot it
Southeast- It ain’t no big deal, we’ve got deer and we just shoot em when we feel like it cause we are allowed to shoot 300 a year.
Texas-Everything is bigger in texas…..including the fences.
Midwest-yea we have tons of huge bucks, so what’s your point?
West- Deer are this little critters I see sometimes when I’m Elk hunting.
Canada-We hunt these big chocolate rack monster bucks when we aren’t playing hockey.

So some of this post is serious and what I’ve found amazing about these boards is learning the different ways of viewing hunting from other areas of the country. Obviously some parts of this post are poking a little fun at those stereotypes too.

peakrut

As for Wisconsin you are correct on Public hunting ground most are brown it is down.
As for me nope I am just a wholesome midwestern guy.Also glad the North beat the South.

Diesel77

Well, Im the state just below you, I guess that puts me in the Southeast catergory. Yeah, I guess its no big deal, and yes, we can shoot lots of deer. Thats because all the millions of PA hunters scare all the deer right to us [:-]

huntingson

I find that there is a big difference just between counties, let alone states and regions of the country. In Ohio,0 deer were entered into the Ohio Big Bucks record book last year (145"+ for a typical and 160"+ for non-typical) from my county. There were other counties with over 20 entries (near where Buckeye resides I might add). People around me are not generally "trophy" hunters even though the current world record was taken less than 30 minutes from my house. The genetics are here, but the deer just can't get old enough in my county because of the difference in mindset and culture. Of course, my dad and I could have entered a couple the last few years and did not and I am sure we are not the only ones, so it could just be a difference of who enters their deer into a book and who does not. Either way, there is a definite difference.

gzg38b

Your assesment is the same as mine. I notice the same attitudes on this forum, in magazines, and on TV. The funny thing is, when I hunt at home (MI) I have the Michigan mentality. But when I go out of state (for example Illinois), my whole mindset changes and I start thinking like I grew up in Pike County. Then as soon as I'm home, it's back to "brown its down".


I think stereotypes are created for a reason. There is usually some truth in stereotypes, as bad as that sounds.

wis_bow_huntr

Im from Wi and noone in my group hunts with the if its brown its down attitude, if that was the case I would have filled my bow tags opening day

quiksilver

You're not a true PA hunter until you:
[ul][*]Hate the Game Commission with every ounce of your being[*]Hate the DCNR with every ounce of your being[*]Insist that all the deer are either already extinct, or are about to become extinct[*]Shoot everything you see, all the time. Even dogs. Brown = Down.[*]Are on welfare[*]Have 32 illegitimate kids[*]Drive a monster truck with "Size Matters," "Primos," "Bowtech,""Hoyt," "DEERSLAYER," and NASCARstickers all over it, even though you only hunt for 6 hours a year on opening day and maybe the first Saturday of gun season. You haven't killed anything bigger than a button fawn since Reagan was in office.[*]You shoot the first scrubby buck that runs past your stand. That would be a good year, you usually just get skunked[*]You drive home with the tailgate down, so that everyone can see your untagged forkhorn[*]Your wife has a hunting license and 10 doe tags, but wouldn't know the difference between a shotgun and a rifle[*]You believe that the Game Commission has artificiallyinstalled diseases to the deer herd.[*]Coyotes were stocked by Geico.[*]So were mountain lions.[*]You hunt the "big woods" - even though there really aren't any big woods in the entire state. It's a patchwork of towns, roads and more roads.[*]You get fined by a wardenevery year for doing something illegal. Illegal activity varies yearly.[*]You feign a disability just to get a crossbow permit.[*]You feign another disability just to get a permit to hunt from the car.[*]You "don't roadhunt," but you know people who do. [*]You trespass all the time, but you constantly whine about other people trespassing into your spot.[*]You have an entire bin of scrub racks in the garage, but you constantly whine and moan about how "there are no big bucks," and that the "antler restrictions are worthless."[*]If you can't count the points - you "ground check" it[*]You complain about people baiting deer. Meanwhile, your favorite stand is perched over a mineral lick that looks like a meteor struck the earth and left a 10' wide crater. [/ul]
I think that's a fair summary.

davidmil

We must have had some inbreeding between some Upstate New Yorkers and West Virginia folks. Either that or here in NY we've found the missing Hatfield/McCoy branches from the family tree.

huntingson

David, that family tree doesn't branch

Austin/WI

I think it also depends on the type of land you hunt. In WI if you hunt only public, you shoot most anything that comes by. On the flip side, the people who own private land are getting into QDM in myparts.