I say we all hold out for bucks in our areas but go to strouds to fill the freezer during our plethora of gun seasons
I'm not sure what to expect for the early muzzleloader hunt at Strouds this year. We
used to be inundated with flat landers during firearms season but they disappeared
when their deer numbers grew at home. They've since been replaced by non resident /
out of state trophy hunters who come primarily in late October and early November to
bow hunt. My gut feeling is that the pressure won't be all that bad as the NR's and
flat landers will probably not travel for an anterless deer.
An idea I have to make it a little more interesting this year is to organize a
poundage hunt. I did this on my place 10 years ago and we had a blast. The way I did
it back then was pretty simple. I invited 7 guys to hunt with me. We each pony'd up a
Ben Franklin then drew numbers from a hat for 8 stands that I had pre-hung. We did this in
January and the rules were simple, no shed bucks, (punishable by death), any un-recovered deer or button buck was an automatic disqualification. The heaviest aggregate won. I made up a pot of chilli at
my camp and we made a day long event of it. The first Saturday ended
controversy as the "would be" winner pulled a "Joe"...err had a button buck in his
bag along with 2 does. We decided as a group not to pay 2nd and push forward to the next Saturday
and double the bet. In all, 8 guys killed 17 does and 1 bb in 2 days of hunting and one guys walked off with $1,600.
We probably can't pre-hang stands but we could dissect Strouds into sections and draw for them if we have an accurate head count
weeks before the event. I've got several other places within 10 miles of the
park that need thinned out which can be included. I'm thinking we can easily accommodate 20 - 30 hunters
or more if we have a good pre-hunt head count...what do you guys think of the idea?