So What Happens To Deer You Pass On ???

[Fletch]

My cousin and his son are packed and ready to head out to Illinois for their first Mid-West hunt... I have them set up on an 80 acre farm we never hunt... Actually Chad hunted there... They asked if there's a minimum on what they can shoot??? My response was: NOPE... If your happy I'm happy... All I want is to see smiles on your faces to go along with some great stories....

 

[at1010]

One last thing I will mention - that I don't think has been mentioned yet.

Always check plat books every few years and see what is changing around the farm. I know on 2 different farms I hunt, have had major changes in the past couple of years. For example, the one farm now has a 300ish acre nature sanctuary. This is less than 1 mile from one of my stands (as the crow flies). This will absolutely have an impact on mature bucks.

 

[Fletch]

AT....I'm always cruising the area looking for changes... When the one character put up a house at the end of the road at one end of farm... I immediately noticed a quad in the yard along with targets... Next trip out yard was filled with junk and looked like white trash lived there... I said to my friend, This guy we are going to have issues with.... He's the one pictured above trespassing...

 

[giles]

One last thing I will mention - that I don't think has been mentioned yet.

Always check plat books every few years and see what is changing around the farm. I know on 2 different farms I hunt, have had major changes in the past couple of years. For example, the one farm now has a 300ish acre nature sanctuary. This is less than 1 mile from one of my stands (as the crow flies). This will absolutely have an impact on mature bucks.

Don't hold your breath on that. More than a couple of us hunt nature sanctuaries. They care more about the plants than deer. They promote the killing of deer and anything that kills them. So if it's part of the same program, you might want to get in touch with them about hunting it.

 

[Boarhead]

If your goal is to someday kill a 140 it will never happen if ya shoot a 120 or 130 class deer. Just shoot what ya like and be happy with it,ya cant worry about what the neighbors are doing takes all the fun out of hunting.
Their is more and more hunting pressure every year..we have hunters on all the neighbors properties but they dont all get killed and some years the biggest do.
I'm good with eating a tag just not gonna shoot something I myself am not happy with. I have goals every year sometimes it doesnt happen.
As far as age if a buck is in the 160s and only 4.5 he is getting an arrow if he walks by. I think most guys get the age thing wrong most of the time thinking they are older than they really are. I woulda swore the 167 inch buck I killed last year was 5 or 6 but sent a tooth into the lab and he was 4.5..still woulda shot him if I knew he was 4.5

 

[at1010]

Don't hold your breath on that. More than a couple of us hunt nature sanctuaries. They care more about the plants than deer. They promote the killing of deer and anything that kills them. So if it's part of the same program, you might want to get in touch with them about hunting it.

Dave - don't you have faith in my neurotic tendencies? LOL! I have spoken to them on this particular piece.

 

[hickslawns]

I'd like to offer some input. Sadly, whenever I feel I have learned something. . . My observations tell me something different. All the reading and stand observations and growing we do as hunters tends to make me feel dumber. We are almost over educated on deer. The more you learn, the less you know.

Lots and lots of fantastic replies here.

Personally? I was getting to a point where I didn't care about antlers and was hunting age class. I realize not all will make 140-150. Then EHD hit and reset my game plan. Now I'm looking for a big body. Which, coincides with age to an extent. Not a lot of big bodies 2yr olds out there.

Wish I had an answer to your question, Rich. Our great philosopher, Brock, once told me "deer are the most random creatures ever." I think there is a lot of truth in it. I don't think they bed the same place every day. I think deer have ADD and are easily distracted. Start heading west. Another deer goes north. The deer heading west thinks "oh, I guess we'll go north then." They bump into something they don't like and do something totally different. I don't think they are ever fully comfy on one property. I think they can make their homes in many places but have a handful of locations they stay at more frequently. But I'm getting dumber every year, so don't ask me.

 

[Fletch]

Phil.... Brock is right they are random... But... Halloween came and went and I got a freaking spike on camera... Avoiding my camera??? Very possible but there a 6 other cell cameras running with nada... Should be bucks cruising from miles away... But hey I'll have a great time non the less...

 

[Curran]

Eventually all deer will die. It's science.

 

[Floki]

I was just thinking this ..I could write 10 pages plus about where I hunt. None of it makes sense what so ever..

Seems the deer here just grow wings and fly the fugg away.

Never no rhyme or reason as to what they do.

Ive hunted a lot of places in Ohio and where I’m at is fuggin special.

I actually plan to sell and move eventually..

 

[Bowkills]

I just enjoy hunting. Pass alot up and see them get offd be someone else, but give them a high five give congrats and help track or drag if need be. kill what makes my heart race or what needs to go in the freezer. Life is to short to have negative issues keep u up at night...

 

[bowhunter1023]

I was just thinking this ..I could write 10 pages plus about where I hunt. None of it makes sense what so ever..

Seems the deer here just grow wings and fly the fugg away.

Never no rhyme or reason as to what they do.

Ive hunted a lot of places in Ohio and where I’m at is fuggin special.

I actually plan to sell and move eventually..

We've wondered for years what happens to the 5+ year old bucks. Behind my house, they routinely see 5 and older, but they have access to some amazing cover inside the square mile. Our farm doesn't have that luxury, so they're moving off to greener pastures. We're the home for 2 and 3 year olds primarily. Probably too many ladies around too. It's a tough thing to manage and manage well consistently that's for sure.

 

[Dannmann801]

This contributes no wisdom to the subject, I just feel the need to put in .02 cents to a great conversation.

I generally shoot the first deer that tickles my fancy. People have poked fun at me for that but I don't give a shit. If you let something pass, it was probably shot by a guy like me. And you should be happy for him, as long as he was acting in accordance with the landowners rules.

The deer don't belong to us, or even the State.
The deer belong to God.

 

[Sgt Fury]

AT....I'm always cruising the area looking for changes... When the one character put up a house at the end of the road at one end of farm... I immediately noticed a quad in the yard along with targets... Next trip out yard was filled with junk and looked like white trash lived there... I said to my friend, This guy we are going to have issues with.... He's the one pictured above trespassing...

 

[Floki]

View attachment 139113

Yup I totally agree we got a Nazi on our hands.

I could tell by how he used the letter A in a sentence..

Learned that shit straight from CNN!

 

[finelyshedded]

Here's are trespasser shed hunting... Wearing a mask in the woods... REALLY???

Hope the GW pays him a visit Rich

 

[angelzd28]

My dad and I have the same conversation every year. Every year I have 3 or 4, 3.5 or 4.5 year olds that score 140 to 150. My thought is man, next year we'll have 2 or 3 booners running around, but then next year comes and same ole same ole. We have good cover, not much hunting pressure, I'm in tune with what a lot of the neighbors shoot, but it just seems that they "disappear". Thats why in the last 4 or 5 years, if I have a crack at one of the 140's I'm letting it fly, and im happy with that. Like some have said here, deer do some weird things. Just my thoughts......

 

[JOHNROHIO]

Sean and I had this conversation today before seeing this. I was asking him how do I have 452 different first rack deer on a 200 acre ag field farm with one mature deer in the bunch. It is like that on this particular farm every year. Where do they go to get big? They never come back or I would have 452 2 yro 452 3 yro 452 4 yro and so on. I should have at least 2000 bucks on this place but nope I have 452 spikes and forks and 1 nice one…… 453 deer ain’t bad though

 

[Fletch]

Finally... I'm so happy... Excited can't describe how I feel....

 

[Curran]

Good luck with him @Fletch He's a beast!!