who really pratices?
09-16-2004, 01:36 PM
#21
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location:
Posts: 1,345
RE: who really pratices?
Im more likely to shoot a big-healthy-gonna-make-great-eating doe than a small rack buck anyday.
I figure it this way, the land I hunt is exclusively hunted by me and two other guys(and their not much competition). So I'm controlling my doe:buck ration and setting myself up for a nice buck another day. ...and I'll still have meat in the freezer. Three birds, one stone/arrow.
I figure it this way, the land I hunt is exclusively hunted by me and two other guys(and their not much competition). So I'm controlling my doe:buck ration and setting myself up for a nice buck another day. ...and I'll still have meat in the freezer. Three birds, one stone/arrow.
09-16-2004, 07:44 PM
#22
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Blissfield MI USA
Posts: 5,293
RE: who really pratices?
I think the term " If it's brown, it's down" is a little misleading and doesn't sound very good. It sort of implies that you are going to shoot virtually anything, and as many as you can. I don't think that is the case with most hunters.
I think the the biggest thing that makes a difference is how long you've been at it, how much success you have had, and where you hunt. If you are hunting an area that has a lot of pressure and you just don't see very many deer, you take what you can get when it presents it's self. Also I think if you are new you tend to not be so selective. You just want to see if you can do it or not. Your so excited when you actually see a deer you don't want to let it pass by.
I sort of fall into both catagories. I am pretty new at this really, I'm 37, but just started hunting deer in 2000. I told my buddy the first year I bow hunted I was going to take the first legal deer that came near me. Just to see if I could do it, and how I would feel afterward. I wasn't sure if I would feel as gung ho about it after actually doing it. It just so happened that the first two deer I saw were a 7 point and a 10 point. I wanted the 10 point but it would never give me the shot I wanted, perfect broadside inside of 20 yards. Well eventually the 7 point turned perfectly sideways and stuck it's head in the weeds, so I took the first good shot that was presented to me. It was just luck it was a seven point buck. Had it been a doe the same thing would have happened I assure you. Of course now that I know more about shot placement and the such things would have turned out differently. I had a couple of good quarting away shots I passed on with the bigger deer.
I took a doe last year during bow season, and may take another one this year if that's all I see. I am just bow hunting my back yard pretty much this year. I lost my other property and couldn't pick another one up in time. I know there is a doe and a fawn because they sleep in my yard at night. I will wait a while to see if anything else comes around, but if it doesn't look promising I will take the doe. I am sure I have deer in my area, but I think they are all nocturnal because of all the activity. They are building houses and stuff.
In archery season I will shoot a doe or a buck, I don't really care to be honest. I have tags for both. I am picky in the sense that I will not shoot a really young deer, or a small buck. If it's a buck it has to be at least a 6 point, or I will take a doe. I am not shooting a spike or a 4 point and wasting a buck tag on it. In MI we can get one doe tag a day for $7 on private land. I'm guessing they want the does thinned out.
This is only during archery season though. During gun season I am not allowed to shoot does on the property I hunt. And he would really like it to have at least 4 points on one side. I don't mind because it's a great place to hunt and really close to my house. Besides we have a great time there as well.
Paul
I think the the biggest thing that makes a difference is how long you've been at it, how much success you have had, and where you hunt. If you are hunting an area that has a lot of pressure and you just don't see very many deer, you take what you can get when it presents it's self. Also I think if you are new you tend to not be so selective. You just want to see if you can do it or not. Your so excited when you actually see a deer you don't want to let it pass by.
I sort of fall into both catagories. I am pretty new at this really, I'm 37, but just started hunting deer in 2000. I told my buddy the first year I bow hunted I was going to take the first legal deer that came near me. Just to see if I could do it, and how I would feel afterward. I wasn't sure if I would feel as gung ho about it after actually doing it. It just so happened that the first two deer I saw were a 7 point and a 10 point. I wanted the 10 point but it would never give me the shot I wanted, perfect broadside inside of 20 yards. Well eventually the 7 point turned perfectly sideways and stuck it's head in the weeds, so I took the first good shot that was presented to me. It was just luck it was a seven point buck. Had it been a doe the same thing would have happened I assure you. Of course now that I know more about shot placement and the such things would have turned out differently. I had a couple of good quarting away shots I passed on with the bigger deer.
I took a doe last year during bow season, and may take another one this year if that's all I see. I am just bow hunting my back yard pretty much this year. I lost my other property and couldn't pick another one up in time. I know there is a doe and a fawn because they sleep in my yard at night. I will wait a while to see if anything else comes around, but if it doesn't look promising I will take the doe. I am sure I have deer in my area, but I think they are all nocturnal because of all the activity. They are building houses and stuff.
In archery season I will shoot a doe or a buck, I don't really care to be honest. I have tags for both. I am picky in the sense that I will not shoot a really young deer, or a small buck. If it's a buck it has to be at least a 6 point, or I will take a doe. I am not shooting a spike or a 4 point and wasting a buck tag on it. In MI we can get one doe tag a day for $7 on private land. I'm guessing they want the does thinned out.
This is only during archery season though. During gun season I am not allowed to shoot does on the property I hunt. And he would really like it to have at least 4 points on one side. I don't mind because it's a great place to hunt and really close to my house. Besides we have a great time there as well.
Paul
09-16-2004, 08:06 PM
#23
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Southern WI
Posts: 1,766
RE: who really pratices?
In MI we can get one doe tag a day for $7 on private land. I'm guessing they want the does thinned out.
As I have stated on other posts we are planning on shooting 8 does this year. I would like to get 4 bucks but I let the smaller ones go. I too would rather shoot a doe for meat then a small buck. My son and nephew may not be letting smaller bucks pass because they are 16 and 20 and have never killed a buck with a bow. My nephew has never killed a deer with a bow and my son has 2 does.
09-16-2004, 08:06 PM
#24
Fork Horn
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Florence Wisconsin Florence WI
Posts: 197
RE: who really pratices?
I Won't shoot a nubby but I have no trouble shooting his sister!!!
Spots are gone on fawns by season here and doe tags are sold until gone so they are easy to get. I like the meat better on the small deer and when winter is in full force and the deer are competing for food it is the small ones that starve to death. 40 inches of snow is tough on deer and that is a mild year. I can fill my freezer with a couple of tender ones and still have my buck tag left to get serious!!
Spots are gone on fawns by season here and doe tags are sold until gone so they are easy to get. I like the meat better on the small deer and when winter is in full force and the deer are competing for food it is the small ones that starve to death. 40 inches of snow is tough on deer and that is a mild year. I can fill my freezer with a couple of tender ones and still have my buck tag left to get serious!!
09-16-2004, 10:23 PM
#25
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Central, Illinois
Posts: 119
RE: who really pratices?
unless it has spots or is just really small i will shoot it. I also dont hunt for antlers because they dont taste good. I will shoot does all day because we eat a lot of deer and doe tags are unlimited here. And yes i will waste a buck tag on a spike or a 4 pointer. I have yet to take a deer with a bow so i am not picky.
09-16-2004, 10:48 PM
#26
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 105
RE: who really pratices?
ORIGINAL: Dave Solgat
I Won't shoot a nubby but I have no trouble shooting his sister!!!
Spots are gone on fawns by season here and doe tags are sold until gone so they are easy to get. I like the meat better on the small deer and when winter is in full force and the deer are competing for food it is the small ones that starve to death. 40 inches of snow is tough on deer and that is a mild year. I can fill my freezer with a couple of tender ones and still have my buck tag left to get serious!!
I Won't shoot a nubby but I have no trouble shooting his sister!!!
Spots are gone on fawns by season here and doe tags are sold until gone so they are easy to get. I like the meat better on the small deer and when winter is in full force and the deer are competing for food it is the small ones that starve to death. 40 inches of snow is tough on deer and that is a mild year. I can fill my freezer with a couple of tender ones and still have my buck tag left to get serious!!
09-17-2004, 06:40 AM
#27
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Ocean Springs, MS
Posts: 4,103
RE: who really pratices?
I (will) only take bucks with 6 points or better. We have a 4 point rule with a 12" spread here. I don't like blasting everything in range. It's fun picking out one deer and trying to get it.
09-17-2004, 07:41 AM
#28
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Almost Heaven,WV
Posts: 4,087
RE: who really pratices?
I have 2 tags to fill in bow season so I don't usually shoot the first thing I see but when it gets late in the season and I have an unfilled tag, it starts burnin my pocket and then>>---------->If it's brown...It's goin down. They all eat good.
