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Article: Deer Vehicle accidents the past 8 years.. Shocking

Shall I start a conspiracy theory for you Brock? Maybe there are some corrupt officers issuing road kill permits to their buddies? Deer aren't dieing by vehicle, but some police officers or highway patrol are handing out road kill tags like it is nothing? I don't know anyone in Fayette County. I am not even sure where the heck it is to be honest. Don't think i am implying this is happening. Just a curious thought and speculation about why your deer numbers are down and your "road kills" are up.
 
Well Jesse, really it doesn't matter. We've said that the buck population hasn't appeared to show a decline. So Long as that remains true, why would rex care. I mean. When was the last time you saw him post a doe he shot?


Actually if you look, the only people who show opposition to this whole thing are the ones who shoot big deer on a semi consistent or consistent basis. Obviously if that we're the case personally, you wouldn't think the system works fine also. If you're accomplishing your goal as a buck hunter year after year, you would think the odnr is doing a fantastic job.. Does be dammed. Less does just means the bucks move more.. Win win for them. ;) Now for the other 95% of ohio that doesn't have the property capable of holding the genetics or age to produce such deer so they enjoy seeing and killing plain old deer.. Well, they just suck. Dumb pleasure hunters anyhow.[/QUOTE]



I guess I am in the minority then by thinking odnr is doing a fantastic job then...

I for one could care less how many doe mrex has killed in his lifetime. I still can not figure out why the people that are not "seeing" deer can have time to sit on the computer and complain about it. Get out there and find them.

Another thing... I hear guys complaining about low deer #'s but yet they have killed 2 or 3 doe... Well let me think about this... 2x2 is 4, 3x2 is 6 and 3x3 is 9??? But yet I hear all the time that's just a drop in the bucket, well add it up. Gotta have meat in the freezer...lol

I'm sure this is gonna upset a lot of people but when I read statements like this after all the time that me and my buddy put into deer hunting it gets to me. Running around all the time, getting in fights with the wives, getting up at 5 every morning to go look around, knocking on doors and asking people all the time for permission to hunt and $$$ put in to it.. I've never had a buck run up to me yelling shoot me, shoot me,shoot me... No I haven't had a bad day ether... :smiley_chinrub:
 
I'm sure this is gonna upset a lot of people but when I read statements like this after all the time that me and my buddy put into deer hunting it gets to me. Running around all the time, getting in fights with the wives, getting up at 5 every morning to go look around, knocking on doors and asking people all the time for permission to hunt and $$$ put in to it.. I've never had a buck run up to me yelling shoot me, shoot me,shoot me... No I haven't had a bad day ether...
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I am curious to see what responses come from this statement. Fight with the wife? Check. Scouting morning and evening? Check. Money spent on the sport in gear, cameras, fuel to scout. . . .? Check. Trying to gain permission? Check. Easy to come by bucks? Haven't found one yet. I would love to see the deer we used to see. I would still love to see the deer other parts of the state see. However, if it were "easy", I think I would pursue a different hobby. In regards to ever having a bad day? I don't think I can agree with you. I HAVE had some bad days hunting. Those days were still better than not hunting that day though. Those are the days I learn the most.
 
hickslawns said:
Shall I start a conspiracy theory for you Brock? Maybe there are some corrupt officers issuing road kill permits to their buddies? Deer aren't dieing by vehicle, but some police officers or highway patrol are handing out road kill tags like it is nothing? I don't know anyone in Fayette County. I am not even sure where the heck it is to be honest. Don't think i am implying this is happening. Just a curious thought and speculation about why your deer numbers are down and your "road kills" are up.
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I really don't know how a county can kill more deer via automobile than shotgun. Beats me. I don't even see them up there when I'm driving around, and havent in great numbers for years, really. Beats me.
 
brock ratcliff said:
I really don't know how a county can kill more deer via automobile than shotgun. Beats me. I don't even see them up there when I'm driving around, and havent in great numbers for years, really. Beats me.
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Certainly does sound like some fuzzy math.
 
JAckalope said:
Well Jesse, really it doesn't matter. We've said that the buck population hasn't appeared to show a decline. So Long as that remains true, why would rex care. I mean. When was the last time you saw him post a doe he shot?


Actually if you look, the only people who show opposition to this whole thing are the ones who shoot big deer on a semi consistent or consistent basis. Obviously if that we're the case personally, you wouldn't think the system works fine also. If you're accomplishing your goal as a buck hunter year after year, you would think the odnr is doing a fantastic job.. Does be dammed. Less does just means the bucks move more.. Win win for them. ;) Now for the other 95% of ohio that doesn't have the property capable of holding the genetics or age to produce such deer so they enjoy seeing and killing plain old deer.. Well, they just suck. Dumb pleasure hunters anyhow.
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Jdboyd said:
I guess I am in the minority then by thinking odnr is doing a fantastic job then...

I for one could care less how many doe mrex has killed in his lifetime. I still can not figure out why the people that are not "seeing" deer can have time to sit on the computer and complain about it. Get out there and find them.

Another thing... I hear guys complaining about low deer #'s but yet they have killed 2 or 3 doe... Well let me think about this... 2x2 is 4, 3x2 is 6 and 3x3 is 9??? But yet I hear all the time that's just a drop in the bucket, well add it up. Gotta have meat in the freezer...lol

I'm sure this is gonna upset a lot of people but when I read statements like this after all the time that me and my buddy put into deer hunting it gets to me. Running around all the time, getting in fights with the wives, getting up at 5 every morning to go look around, knocking on doors and asking people all the time for permission to hunt and $$$ put in to it.. I've never had a buck run up to me yelling shoot me, shoot me,shoot me... No I haven't had a bad day ether... :smiley_chinrub:
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Can't speak for anyone else, but it doesn't upset me. It is a typical response from someone in an area not noticably effected by the decline. I would likely have the same thoughts were I in your shoes. Thing is, I still look for specific spots to hunt more than I sit in a tree...I'm still looking for deer all the time. Difference is, I rarely find them anymore. It's hard to imagine spending so much time in the field in Ohio and not finding deer unless you have done it. It doesn't mean there are none, it means there are few, and it hasn't always been so difficult. I have never had a deer run up and ask to be shot either, I've always looked for the best spots to be, but even when I missed the mark I would see deer of some kind. A day without seeing a deer while hunting was a rare thing for 15 years, and I don't mean a herd, but at least a deer. Now, I see deer about every four hunts (and that is a guess, it could be a lil worse or maybe not quite so bad). And I might see one or two or three when I do see them. My son and I saw a ton of them (11) Saturday morning. Some could have been counted twice, but we did see at least 6 different deer. I was amazed. That used to be the norm vs. the exception on that property. BTW, I haven't shot a doe off that farm in four or five years. I am guilty though, I shot one in Ross Co. this year... a 6 deer county.
 
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jackalope said:
Well Jesse, really it doesn't matter. We've said that the buck population hasn't appeared to show a decline. So Long as that remains true, why would rex care. I mean. When was the last time you saw him post a doe he shot?


Actually if you look, the only people who show opposition to this whole thing are the ones who shoot big deer on a semi consistent or consistent basis. Obviously if that we're the case personally, you wouldn't think the system works fine also. If you're accomplishing your goal as a buck hunter year after year, you would think the odnr is doing a fantastic job.. Does be dammed. Less does just means the bucks move more.. Win win for them. ;) Now for the other 95% of ohio that doesn't have the property capable of holding the genetics or age to produce such deer so they enjoy seeing and killing plain old deer.. Well, they just suck. Dumb pleasure hunters anyhow.
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JD Boyd said:
I guess I am in the minority then by thinking odnr is doing a fantastic job then...

I for one could care less how many doe mrex has killed in his lifetime. I still can not figure out why the people that are not "seeing" deer can have time to sit on the computer and complain about it. Get out there and find them.

Another thing... I hear guys complaining about low deer #'s but yet they have killed 2 or 3 doe... Well let me think about this... 2x2 is 4, 3x2 is 6 and 3x3 is 9??? But yet I hear all the time that's just a drop in the bucket, well add it up. Gotta have meat in the freezer...lol

I'm sure this is gonna upset a lot of people but when I read statements like this after all the time that me and my buddy put into deer hunting it gets to me. Running around all the time, getting in fights with the wives, getting up at 5 every morning to go look around, knocking on doors and asking people all the time for permission to hunt and $$$ put in to it.. I've never had a buck run up to me yelling shoot me, shoot me,shoot me... No I haven't had a bad day ether... :smiley_chinrub:
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Oh come on man. We talked about this quite a bit this season when we were hunting. How many times did i walk out of the woods up there shaking my head and rambling about all the deer I saw. There was nothing personal to be taken by my statement. You have a fuggton of deer up there. I think I even told you hunting up there and seeing all those deer reminded me of hunting VC years ago. But the fact is man that's not how it is elsewhere. Champaign county has seen a +84% increase in the numbers above.

I wasn't saying you or mrex or anyone else doesn't put in the time. That would be an idiotic statement. I was saying that the lower doe numbers might not matter as much since its not yalls style of hunting. But fact is the vast majority of hunters aren't like that because they don't hunt areas capable of carrying deer like y'all have. So they are more "general" hunters vs specific . They just hunt and shoot what they see, be it a doe / small buck etc. It is these people that it matters the most to. Combine that with them being in areas that aren't like champaign county and it's bad for them they notice, and it sucks. That's all I was saying.

And trust me, I saw how many hours you put in hunting scouting and taking care of landowners. From July through November I was right there with you scouting, cameras, salt, and hunting, and offered to help when you were picking for the landowner. Lol. I even just showed up where yall were to see if yall would just put me to work. Every free hour I had I was up there, and even when I wasn't, I was at home going through pics 20 times and looking at maps, texting you questions and plans etc. There was t a saturday, or sunday, or free evening durring the week that my butt wasnt in a stand up there. Fights with wives? Hell buddy, it ended my marriage.. Even after we split and I was. I siting her once a month, I left the ex in Indiana early one Sunday just to drive back to Ohio and go run cams since that's when you could go. Last Sunday I even drove up there between hunts and drove the loop around the property for two hours just to see who was hunting and where as I was worried about those three bucks making it. Trust me, I wasn't saying you, mrex, or anyone else doesn't put in their time to kill big deer. I was saying what we're bitching about might not matter as much to y'all since its not your style of hunting. When i was hunting with you man i didn't change my effort one bit, ive always been this ate up with hunting, even when i would only see one deer every three days in VC. But just imagine doing all that, putting in all that time, doing everything you do, all to see maybe one doe, imagine getting skunked more than 50% of the time. If that happened up there in two years I'm sure you would sit back in your stand pissed off and say WTF.
 
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I guess I am in the minority then by thinking odnr is doing a fantastic job then...

I for one could care less how many doe mrex has killed in his lifetime. I still can not figure out why the people that are not "seeing" deer can have time to sit on the computer and complain about it. Get out there and find them.

Another thing... I hear guys complaining about low deer #'s but yet they have killed 2 or 3 doe... Well let me think about this... 2x2 is 4, 3x2 is 6 and 3x3 is 9??? But yet I hear all the time that's just a drop in the bucket, well add it up. Gotta have meat in the freezer...lol

I'm sure this is gonna upset a lot of people but when I read statements like this after all the time that me and my buddy put into deer hunting it gets to me. Running around all the time, getting in fights with the wives, getting up at 5 every morning to go look around, knocking on doors and asking people all the time for permission to hunt and $$$ put in to it.. I've never had a buck run up to me yelling shoot me, shoot me,shoot me... No I haven't had a bad day ether... :smiley_chinrub:[/QUOTE]





Doesn't upset me any. Good post.

The thing that gets my goat are the guys who sit there and say they see plenty of bucks, but very few does.....
Ok, then why haven't you filled your buck tag yet? Are you only out there to pass up bucks and shoot does? I doubt it.
 
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gern said:
Doesn't upset me any. Good post.

The thing that gets my goat are the guys who sit there and say they see plenty of bucks, but very few does.....
Ok, then why haven't you filled your buck tag yet? Are you only out there to pass up bucks and shoot does? I doubt it.
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I love how you guys prove my point sometimes. As I said. Of course it doesn't to you, you have different goals than most in the areas you hunt. You're a buck hunter, nothing wrong with it, but if I was knocking down a big one every year as a buck hunter I wodnt care if I saw 50-80% less does. If it were theoretically possible to every doe to disappear and the bucks to remain I would venture to say it wouldn't bother you a bit. Hence my observation. The only ones who show opposition to this debate of lower numbers are those that shoot big deer on a consistent basis. You, Rex , kaiser, and sometimes Jd. That's not a dig, just an observation. And I believe it to be because y'all have different goals than the vast majority of hunters who would like to shoot a nice one, try to, but it's not their season goal. I would say the. At majority don't have a goal, they just hunt and enjoy seeing and shooting deer, any deer, and for them this slaughter of the doe population is a kick in the nuts.

Nope. I shot a nice one this year. Passed on a sure thing with the tall 8. And botched a chance at one in the 150s. Want to know what I changed in my tactics, philosophy, or did differently from the past 5 years hunting in vinton county and not shooting a big deer. Not a dang thing buddy. Nada. What did change is I was hunting a county that has shown a +84% increase in DVAs in the past 8 years, and quit hunting a county that showed a -76% decline. Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying it got easier because of where I was hunting, I busted my ass just the same, it just had a higher probability of paying off.

I still saw good bucks in vc. I would see a couple 130+ deer a season.. Just could never connect or I passed on the shot hoping to see them next year. Call me an idiot but I quit shooting immature deer 4 years ago and ate my tag ever since until this year. I passed a chip shot on the tall 8, a deer in the low 140s that you said you said I was dumb for even thinking about passing. That's not a dig on you, just proving how dumb I am. He would have been the biggest deer by +20 inches that I've ever shot and the first in 4 years. I passed him because he's immature, and he'll be a slob next season. I did the same in VC. The difference is that's not the type of place one should do that as that's prolly mature for the property and the best you'll have in bow range all season. But to me, I don't care if I have to eat a tag for 5 years, I'm not shooting that deer. Let him grow. But there were times in vc where I would sit for three days and not see a single doe. Hence the bucks are still there but the does have disappeared.
 
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Jackalope said:
.

Well Jesse, really it doesn't matter. We've said that the buck population hasn't appeared to show a decline. So Long as that remains true, why would rex care. I mean. When was the last time you saw him post a doe he shot?


Actually if you look, the only people who show opposition to this whole thing are the ones who shoot big deer on a semi consistent or consistent basis. Obviously if that we're the case personally, you wouldn't think the system works fine also. If you're accomplishing your goal as a buck hunter year after year, you would think the odnr is doing a fantastic job.. Does be dammed. Less does just means the bucks move more.. Win win for them. ;) Now for the other 95% of ohio that doesn't have the property capable of holding the genetics or age to produce such deer so they enjoy seeing and killing plain old deer.. Well, they just suck. Dumb pleasure hunters anyhow.
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Joe - I'm not sure I understand what you're saying. Are you asserting that I don't shoot does or that I don't take pictures of does that I've killed?
 
JD Boyd said:
I still can not figure out why the people that are not "seeing" deer can have time to sit on the computer and complain about it. Get out there and find them.
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It's called work dude. I'm not giving up woods time to sit here and bitch. No one is willing giving up stand time to sit here and complain. Come on man, you're smarter than that comment...
 
mrex said:
Joe - I'm not sure I understand what you're saying. Are you asserting that I don't shoot does or that I don't take pictures of does that I've killed?
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Nope.. Not at all Mike.. I didn't take a shot at you at all.. Here, maybe this paragraph I posted above in response to Gern will help better explain..

"""As I said. Of course it doesn't to you, you have different goals than most in the areas you hunt. You're a buck hunter, nothing wrong with it, but if I was knocking down a big one every year as a buck hunter I wodnt care if I saw 50-80% less does either. If it were theoretically possible to every doe to disappear and the bucks to remain I would venture to say it wouldn't bother you a bit. Hence my observation. The only ones who show opposition to this debate of lower numbers are those that shoot big deer on a consistent basis. You, Rex , kaiser, and sometimes Jd. That's not a dig, just an observation. And I believe it to be because y'all have different goals than the vast majority of hunters who would like to shoot a nice one, try to, but it's not their season goal. I would say the vast majority don't have a goal, they just hunt and enjoy seeing and shooting deer, any deer, and for them this slaughter of the doe population is a kick in the nuts. """

I'm sure you have and will continue to shoot does. I'm sure you do both kill and take pictures of them.. What I was saying is it's obvious that isn't your goal, drive, or passion by the lack of you promoting such endeavors.. For example, when was the last time i saw you post that you we're heading out this weekend to see if you can't fill the freezer, or talk about a spot you're going to hunt in hopes to kill a doe.. That doesn't mean you don't do such things.. It's just obviously not your drive.. JD doesn't shoot them at all, Kaiser may shoot one if it tickles him. etc etc. That's cool.. But most hunters shoot anything brown that walks within 40 yards.. None of this is wrong and is not a dig on anyone.. Yall just have your own goals and passions. But the kicker is Mike, the vast maority of hunters aren't like that.. To them this whole less deer thing sucks..
 
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Try busting your ass the way I do (which is on par with the rest of you big buck masters) and not seeing a God damned thing. Come down here and hunt for a year and tell me I don't have room to bitch. You'll be so fucking happy to go back home to your deer meccas, you won't be able to drive towards the county line fast enough. Again people, it is all a matter of perspective and some of you just have a FAR better view than the rest of us...
 
Jesse said:
Try busting your ass the way I do (which is on par with the rest of you big buck masters) and not seeing a God damned thing. Come down here and hunt for a year and tell me I don't have room to bitch. You'll be so fucking happy to go back home to your deer meccas, you won't be able to drive towards the county line fast enough. Again people, it is all a matter of perspective and some of you just have a FAR better view than the rest of us...
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I've hunted feast and famine man... Spectacular and the slums... But I can say people like JD, Rex, and the rest of them bust their ass and deal with other hunters on a constant basis just like the rest of us and have done the same in years past... While the area he hunts is flat out awesome, it's not as easy as just walking in and killing big deer. With that said, i think the thing they sometimes forget is that others bust their ass just as hard, but have a far less chance of it paying off... Having hunted a shitty area for 6 years, and there this year, I can say i didn't bust my ass any less up there than i did in the shitty spots.. I bust my ass regardless, as do you, them, and many others... But If i never hunted all over Vinton, Ross, Fayette, Highland etc. And spent my time where I hunted this year.. There would be no fucking way in hell anyone could tell me the dnr was hurting our deer, or that there was one less deer in this state.. NO WAY! If I never saw awesome hunting turn to shit in 3-4 years I would never believe it either. If I didn't walk 15 miles all over doing drives with Brock in highland county last shotgun season only to jump a group of three deer from sun up to sundown. I wouldn't believe it either. The sad thing is it happened all over ohio, and it can happen there too.. Two seasons ago you yourself said you didn't see a single problem in Washington county, the hunting was awesome.. Then last year it slipped, and this year it sucks... Darron was the same.. No problem in his area in VC.. Now that dude is fit to be tied this year he's so pissed.... See, we've seen awesome hunting turn to shit. They haven't.. yet...... But every year we keep saying, just wait, you'll see.. And every year there are more an more where seeing is believing..

Know where JD is right now? Sitting in a tree.. He doesn't even have a bow as he let a buddy borrow it, much less a tag. Now that's busting your ass! lol Dude has to be the most dedicated, die hard, deer fever parson I know.
 
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I would venture to say that ANYONE, buck hunter or not, would be a little grouchy about seeing the herd disappear as I have. My favorite farm is not in a high deer county - it never was. But by putting in enough time, I have always seen a good one eventually. I always figured if I spent enough time, I'd get ONE opportunity at a deer I wanted. It never bothered me that I didn't see large numbers of deer....I was only looking to shoot ONE. Thing is, I would see some, even though they were not ones I wanted to shoot. Now, I typically see nothing more times than not. And that, I think is the difference. I gotta guess it would be easy to say "I'm not looking to shoot a bunch of does anyway", if you were still seeing a few to pass the time on stand. It isn't so easy to say when you see NOTHING for LONG periods of time.

Any of you are welcome to come down and scout around, or hunt with me. Maybe I just forgot how to find deer and could use some help in relocating them. I'm all ears when someone can teach me something about deer...
 
I agree with the above. In fact, I am willing to bet that if I lived and hunted where JD does, I'd be even more hardcore and I'd hunt even harder than I do now because of the opportunity for success being much higher. I've jokingly busted JD's balls for years about hunting in a "utopia" and for being "jaded". Not for one second do I question his dedication, skills, work ethic, or any of that jazz. He's a top-notch hunter who earns every inch of antler he kills, sees in a field, or picks up in the spring. But he'd hate life down here, no if, ands, or buts about it. He could bring that knowledge, effort, and intensity down here and it wouldn't matter. Sure, he'd kill a couple of good bucks. But his overall experience would pale in comparison to what he enjoys on a daily basis up there. I feel comfortable in saying the same applies to Mike, Chad, and Zach. Those guys are the elite, the upper level of the "common man" that I know and I have no doubts that spending a season or two down here, especially in a couple of choice areas, would drive them fucking bonkers...

brock ratcliff said:
I would venture to say that ANYONE, buck hunter or not, would be a little grouchy about seeing the herd disappear as I have. My favorite farm is not in a high deer county - it never was. But by putting in enough time, I have always seen a good one eventually. I always figured if I spent enough time, I'd get ONE opportunity at a deer I wanted. It never bothered me that I didn't see large numbers of deer....I was only looking to shoot ONE. Thing is, I would see some, even though they were not ones I wanted to shoot. Now, I typically see nothing more times than not. And that, I think is the difference. I gotta guess it would be easy to say "I'm not looking to shoot a bunch of does anyway", if you were still seeing a few to pass the time on stand. It isn't so easy to say when you see NOTHING for LONG periods of time.

Any of you are welcome to come down and scout around, or hunt with me. Maybe I just forgot how to find deer and could use some help in relocating them. I'm all ears when someone can teach me something about deer...
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A-fucking-men Brock! Come on down boys. I'll hook you up with some ground and you show me why it is that I suck so bad at this bowhunting game...
 
brock ratcliff said:
I would venture to say that ANYONE, buck hunter or not, would be a little grouchy about seeing the herd disappear as I have. My favorite farm is not in a high deer county - it never was. But by putting in enough time, I have always seen a good one eventually. I always figured if I spent enough time, I'd get ONE opportunity at a deer I wanted. It never bothered me that I didn't see large numbers of deer....I was only looking to shoot ONE. Thing is, I would see some, even though they were not ones I wanted to shoot. Now, I typically see nothing more times than not. And that, I think is the difference. I gotta guess it would be easy to say "I'm not looking to shoot a bunch of does anyway", if you were still seeing a few to pass the time on stand. It isn't so easy to say when you see NOTHING for LONG periods of time.

Any of you are welcome to come down and scout around, or hunt with me. Maybe I just forgot how to find deer and could use some help in relocating them. I'm all ears when someone can teach me something about deer...
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Same here... I've got a 1000 acres and a cabin in VC I can hunt anytime.. If someone can show me where the deer are holed up hiding that would be sweet. We'll even go with snow on the ground to make it easier... I went down winter before last with a 2 day old snow and walked every hill and holler on the 1000 acres.. I only counted 28 sets of tracks. Maybe they can fly now.
 
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