People do crazy stuff because of deer....

[Bowkills]

It was back in 1977. My folks got me the 50 cal. Thompson flintlock muzzy kit for Christmas. By spring I had it stained and browned. I spent all summer shooting that thing in anticipation of taking my deer with it. Patch and ball. Iron sights, Old school. I couldn’t have acted like Ralphie and his Red Ryder much more…

In those days, Ashtabula County was swarmed with carloads of guys from Cleveland, Road hunting block by country block. Posted property made no difference. Drop a carload of guys and push the block. After block. After block. The first few days of gun sounded like a war zone. Harvest counts were only at 23,000 so people would empty a gun in an effort to kill a deer. The state would let you use a muzzy for the week of gun but other than that it was shot gun. Smooth bore, lead pumpkin ball slugs.

I was 16. Gramp had taught me the most basic of hunting but most information was learned from deer hunting magazines. I would subscribe to 3-4 mags a year, reading of the tactics used by the authors. No one had trail cams, computers or anywhere near the data at your fingertips you have 45 years later…



Anyway, I was ready. I had “found” wood scraps from Dads out building and made a tree stand 200 yards off a back road in the corner of the woods over looking a corn field. As I sat in my stand with every piece of hunting equipment I had, (just in case), I watched a lone buck run into the field. He milled a round and finally started to come my way. I got ready…annnnd a was still ready what seemed like a hour later. Hands numb from unknowingly squeezing the gun in anticipation of my first deer kill. Finally, he came into range, nervous from shooting a block to the east. He turned giving me the 1/4ing away shot and I took it at about 50 yards. I was amazed how fast he turned and took off. Waiting the hour was an eternity but I did it. I had killed my first deer. I climbed down and started my blood trail. He had gone the 200 yards and crossed the dirt road into a overgrown field/ young woods. I was no further than a little ways in when I saw the 5 guys in orange huddled around talking. As I got up to them, I saw my 6 point laying there dead. Nervisly I said “ thanks for marking my dead deer guys”…

“Your deer ? That's not your deer boy. We shot that deer boy”.

“O common man You can see the tracks came from across the road. You guys haven’t fired a shot!!!”

“That’s our deer kid. What you going ta do about it? “( laughter)

I left. I wanted to scream, cry and get revenge. By the time I walked home and called the game warden and went back, they were gone. Just a cold gut pile an a drag trail to the roads edge. It would be several years after that before I was able to tag a deer.

View attachment 167343

My grandfather dropped me off at a lot when i was 15. I spooked a buck walking in. I watched him run into a lot being pushed by a group 3/4 of a mile away. A man let 5 ring out. I was nearly in tears. I walked a ways in and sat down. That buck ran back to where id walked to with a hole in his snout non leathal until starvation infection or healed. I Nervously watching the bedded buck 60yds away. He jumped from the group of orange coming through. I shot him in the back of the head on the run dropping the full sprint whitetail. The hunter that had unloaded ran up to the deer flipping him over cussing searching his body for a hole. Fortunatley my grand father made his way back to the crowd. The hunter said as granddad was walking towards us 'im not going to fight ya for his one kid....' I feel i would have had the same result as you if my grandfather wouldnt have been there...

 

[brock ratcliff]

That’s a wonderful and an awful story, Jim.

 

[Bigcountry40]

I am figuring out that there two different types of whitetail hunting obsessions due to technology mostly. Some guys enjoy the preparation (cameras, baiting, food plots, etc) this typically comes with property ownership or long term leases, these guys probably actually spend more time preparing, than actually hunting. (I wish I could be one of these guys). Other type is guys that physically like to be in the woods and hunt, typically other than taking certain precautions such as wind, parking to close, leaving bedding areas alone, etc. they hunt more than they prepare, This type of hunter either hunts public or has access to pressured private. I am in the 2nd group where I feel like I am constantly in different woods, but have little real preparation because a squirrel hunter will blow it up right after I’ve patterned a giant. Both probably spend as much time and energy on deer but in different ways

 

[bowhunter1023]

I am figuring out that there two different types of whitetail hunting obsessions due to technology mostly. Some guys enjoy the preparation (cameras, baiting, food plots, etc) this typically comes with property ownership or long term leases, these guys probably actually spend more time preparing, than actually hunting. (I wish I could be one of these guys). Other type is guys that physically like to be in the woods and hunt, typically other than taking certain precautions such as wind, parking to close, leaving bedding areas alone, etc, they hunt more than they prepare. This type of hunter either hunts public or has access to pressured private. I am in the 2nd group where I feel like I am constantly in different woods, but have little real preparation because a squirrel hunter will blow it up right after I’ve patterned a giant. Both probably spend as much time and energy on deer but in different ways

I'm a "Type 1" in this analogy and am very grateful to be such. I do indeed enjoy the preparation as much as the activity and have been that way most of my life when it comes to my pursuits. There's a part of me that is also Type 2 and that's rooted in the novelty of being a new hunter. I simply love being in the woods and have always loved exploring new woods with a pack on my back. Since I was 5, I can remember packing a backpack and taking off to "parts unknown" and loving every minute of it. That's why I like hunting public land. Yes, it's also hard work, but there's more adventure to it than there ever will be managing a farm you've known for 17 years.

 

[P8riot]

I will soon be #1 and I hate being #2. I always feel there is a better spot I should be at and the thought runs through my head all day as I sit at the spot. Is it just me?

 

[Dannmann801]

I'm still stewing over Jim's story.
I can't fathom that a group of adult men would knowingly do that to a young man - that's pure fucking evil.
Like I said, they're rotting in hell.

Good stuff guys, keep it coming -

 

[Bigcountry40]

I will soon be #1 and I hate being #2. I always feel there is a better spot I should be at and the thought runs through my head all day as I sit at the spot. Is it just me?

Every single sit I second guess myself, but #2 sort fits my personality, sort of allows me to work through season like making cuts as a running back or reads as linebacker. If I were in the #1 group I would probably still blind hunt state land because I just enjoy hunting and can’t stand not being in the stand

 

[Bowkills]

I got some mental issues to work through.... Im struggling with type 1 and type 2 deerabetes....dang.

 

[Johnny44]

I've witnessed a grown man (probably in his 50s) cry over me "being in his spot." It was private land, landowner did not communicate to either of us. I was FLOORED! I told the landowner I would never hunt the property again because of this guy. I joke that this guy is a reason for the "Red Flag Laws" proposed for handgun carriers. I was genuinely concerned for my safety due to his mental state. Lost a good spot, but I lived to tell about it because I kept my cool and realized what I was dealing with. There is a good chance I will cross paths with this guy again (several mutual friends). Everyone in proximity will see a level of smart ass they did not know existed as I will have my say with him.

Ironically, all of my negative hunting experiences but 1 have taken place on private land. Way better interactions with people on public land.

 

[Bigcountry40]

I've witnessed a grown man (probably in his 50s) cry over me "being in his spot." It was private land, landowner did not communicate to either of us. I was FLOORED! I told the landowner I would never hunt the property again because of this guy. I joke that this guy is a reason for the "Red Flag Laws" proposed for handgun carriers. I was genuinely concerned for my safety due to his mental state. Lost a good spot, but I lived to tell about it because I kept my cool and realized what I was dealing with. There is a good chance I will cross paths with this guy again (several mutual friends). Everyone in proximity will see a level of smart ass they did not know existed as I will have my say with him.

Ironically, all of my negative hunting experiences but 1 have taken place on private land. Way better interactions with people on public land.

Public land hunters typically have low expectations and have patients for other hunters, now Karen walking her gold retriever on land designated for hunting (not a park) during prime time brings the devil out of me

 

[Johnny44]

Public land hunters typically have low expectations and have patients for other hunters, now Karen walking her gold retriever on land designated for hunting (not a park) during prime time brings the devil out of me

LMAO, you described my one negative Public Land Experience to a T. She knew what she was doing, and she was pissed when she said she was going to call the GW, and I said "here, use my phone. His name is Maurice! He's a great guy!"

 

[CJD3]

I'm still stewing over Jim's story.
I can't fathom that a group of adult men would knowingly do that to a young man - that's pure fucking evil.
Like I said, they're rotting in hell.

Good stuff guys, keep it coming -

A couple times during the following years I had "Road hunters/Gang drives" push through our property from that same road. You would see cars and trucks slow down, Orange vests crammed inside even from 200 yards away.

So one year I got the bright idea to hang 6 orange vests or shirts on hangers 40-50 yards apart just inside the treeline. From the road that far away, it looked like a line of stand hunters. That worked for a few years. I'd leave em up all week. Vehicles would slow down. Stop then pull away.

Then one year someone either came in from a different direction or glassed em out. Stole some. Trashed the rest.

Some time after that, the farmer stopped planting corn. Then the property sold. Now it has a house by the road an horses in the back.

 

[Big_Holla]

LMAO, you described my one negative Public Land Experience to a T. She knew what she was doing, and she was pissed when she said she was going to call the GW, and I said "here, use my phone. His name is Maurice! He's a great guy!"

Follow that up with "he loves taking reports of hunter harassment"

 

[Johnny44]

Follow that up with "he loves taking reports of hunter harassment"

No doubt. She really didn't appreciate that I knew the regs better than her either. I'm like B****, you know I'm hunting, right? You think I don't know the rules? SMH

I believe that the number of good people/ethical hunters outnumber the idiots and jackwagons, it's just the bad ones get the press. EDIT: Likely most of her interactions have been with said jackwagons. Like Jeff Foxworthy said, the only problem with rednecks is you can't keep the dumbest of us off the TV. It applies to every group of people; race, ethnicity, class, fanbases(especially Browns fans), hobby, etc., etc., etc.

Y'all please keep me entertained... waiting on parent-teacher conferences to start and then I have to work the middle school basketball game. Help me pass the time.

 

[bowhunter1023]

I had no vested interest in these shenanigans at the time, but this has always been one of my favorite stories. It dates back to the days of 35mm trail cams and VHS camcorders, both of which actually helped spur the whole thing on.

In the late 90s, my cousin was among the short list of guys hunting one of the local golf courses. Around the actual golf course is roughly 150+ acres of prime ground, which is about 3/4 of a mile from where this story actually starts. One of the bus drivers in our district was routinely seeing a giant buck feeding behind one of the cemeteries on his morning route. One day, he hauled his VHS camcorder on the bus and ended up videoing the buck (which I actually got to see some years later). The buck was a legit giant in the 180+ range as a typical. Anyways, word of the buck spread and it prompted one of the guys hunting the golf course to buy a trail camera. It didn't take long for him to get a picture of it and for word of the buck to spread even faster. With knowledge of the buck, the guy with the pics and another guy hunting the property started jockeying for position to kill this buck, and it wasn't long before things got personal.

As the story goes, one guy was visiting the local barber shop and collecting bags of hair that he was subsequently spreading all around the stands of the other guy. This prompted the other guy to start smearing human feces on the other guy's trail cam and even dumping fermented "trucker bombs" all around his stand. These activities eventually culminated in a physical confrontation and at the end of the day, we think the buck died of old age

 

[Bigcountry40]

Anyone else actually wrestle a deer, I have 3 experiences personally and watch my uncle (who passed last year RIP Uncle Ted fuggin miss you every day) get a running start and bull dog a decent eight down into the snow. He broke both his horns off and only found one, I'm smiling just thinking about it. My 3 experiences- 2 with a muzzle loader and one with a bow. Both time with a muzzleloader the deer were slowly staggering away which I tackled both down and used my knife. Bow I spined a huge doe forgot my knife and had to humanely choke the doe from behind (her front legs were still functioning. I think I have picture of muzzleloader hunt with my uncle, I was 19

 

[Isaacorps]

(especially Browns fans)

Hey! I resemble that

 

[Spencie]

Tyler followed a couple Amish guys around on public land in WV. They shot a doe and started to walk away from it. Tyler didn’t allow that. Made them take it with them.

 

[gjs4]

This years head shaker was in a very rural portion of Kansas- deer sexy draw in between fields. See a cell cam ahead and wonder how in the heck…. Then realize there is an antennae and solar panel 59-60 feet up in this tree. I’m an idiot for not getting a pic.

 

[Johnny44]

Anyone else actually wrestle a deer, I have 3 experiences personally and watch my uncle (who passed last year RIP Uncle Ted fuggin miss you every day) get a running start and bull dog a decent eight down into the snow. He broke both his horns off and only found one, I'm smiling just thinking about it. My 3 experiences- 2 with a muzzle loader and one with a bow. Both time with a muzzleloader the deer were slowly staggering away which I tackled both down and used my knife. Bow I spined a huge doe forgot my knife and had to humanely choke the doe from behind (her front legs were still functioning. I think I have picture of muzzleloader hunt with my uncle, I was 19

That is WILD. I had a buddy who wounded a deer. Went to track. It was still alive. They left all weapons at the truck, didn't even have a knife. Let's just say a log was involved and he won't talk about it much.