maddawg0517

well im not paying 25 bucks just to shoot a deer then have to deal with the meat. we have a freezer full of meat from last year thats gonna be thrown away now because its freezer burnt. i hate to throw it away but its no longer good. and we will put new meat in and have to do the same thing next year.

id rather let a doe walk and have 1 more doe in the herd than to spend a day taking care of it, then having the extra meat we dont need sit in the freezer til its no longer good and then throw it away. its my choice.

PS-ive taken 7 does off our mountain in the past few years...not taking one this year wont hurt.

chasu

You're right, if you don't need a doe, it's reallystupid to shoot one, and you leaving one more to walk won't hurt the herd....not at all. I don't have the luxury of being able to shoot a lot of deer, so with my two, I'll vacuum pack and freeze itand it will stay good until we eat it, and we do eat it. There are too many people that would like to have meat to eat for me to be so wasteful as to have that much meat and not share it.

I look at my WV hunt this way.....I'm spending the antlered license money for a big buck......if I don't see that shooter I'm looking for, well that's too bad for me, that's why I'm there.......I spend the 25 bucks for a doe because I'm coming home with some meat for my family. If I had as much meat as you say you have, I wouldn't bother either, but I don't, so I'm shooting my doe.....Not a bad price for that much meat and time / effort spent cleaning, packing, etc.

nohillbilly

Where are you hunting at up here chasu?

chasu

New Manchester.........don't really know where, but it's near there.

nohillbilly

Thats about 10 miles from me. You should have some luck up there. It's not very populated and lots of farm land. I go up there to the shooting range at Hillcrest Wildlife Management Area.

WVHunter129

Good luck guys....I am outta here for a week!!

See ya after Thanksgiving.

I will jump between my forum and here to see what you guys got!! Hope everyone scores a big buck!

hillbillyhunter1

I'm looking forward to gun season and will be around here in Jefferson/Berkeley counties for the first 3 days (only get to hunt part of that time) then it's back home to Hardy county for the last 3 days of the first week (full-time huntin'). The second week, back here again,I'll get out part of the time as well. good luck all and I hope we can see some good pics from the upcoming week from you guys
hb

WV8Point

Packed and ready to head out in the morning to Ritchie Co.

Rem1100

wow...what a long strange trips its been... I hunted last 4 days before gun season near Baker(Hardy Co.)..saw 7 bucks that when put together wouldn't make 1 good spike!! all had 2" devil horns sticking out of their heads. no racks seen,which is unusual. after hunting the 1st 2 days of rifle, I saw a total of 2 deer..a devil buck and 1 doe. out of the 4 camps around us, there wastwo 6 pts...one 5 pt... two 4 pts and 3 spikes taken.. a very sad beginning for what was going to be a"Better buck due to less deer" season.we're talking an area about 3 sq miles.the herd count is well below the carrying capacity of that area, and the locals aren't very thrilled with the current state of the herd. I know that bigger bucks WILL emerge if left@ this level, but don't see the state selling many extra stamps next year... you'd be wasting your $$ in Hardy Co..... the locals who are 6 generations deep say that this is the fewest deer seen oiver an entire year, not just hunting season. they feel, as I do, that the DNR over harvested the deer in that county. the largest buck checked in @ Baker as of Tuesday, was a 7 pointer(according to my cousin who checked the 5 pt ) anyone who knows that area, can testify of what it USED to be, and what it could become if managed properly. everyone wants less deer for bigger racks, but killing off TOO MANY of the breeding does, is detrimental to that management plan. the local farmers have all stated that too many does were being killed off...they were right, regardless of what the conservationists are saying.
you know it's bad when the outlaws start complaining of no deer...like the camp down the road...all from Boone county.(tells me something about the hunting ethic down there, just callin' it the way I see it.)
but those small bucks make me smile for next yrs bow season !! I'm anxious to see the final tally for that county and the state overall. They say a larger harvest... the checking #s aren't supporting that assumption. those hunting west of I-79 will have the best hunting ...again.

Steve F.in MD

Prozaddict,

You are getting close to home. I am originally from West Union. I haven't hunted WV in almost 40 years. Sure do miss those hills.