This isn't a bash to any recent thread. But I saw someone shot their 3rd deer of the season. If you can get more than two tags (we get a buck and one doe) do you shoot more? Do you limit yourself on how many deer you will kill? How about those who hunt multiple states - is there a limit to that? My husband and I both hunt. We hunt PA (Buck/Doe) and he usually adds another state - this year NY. Our game kills are pretty much the only meat in the freezer. We try and get at least two deer in freezer - but have had up to four. Any more and we seem to have way too much. (We also have our geese, duck, turkey, pheasant, and this year a bear).
My family and I eat a ton of deer meat each year. I hunt 3 states and generally have about 10-12 tags per year between the 3. I generally shoot 5-7 deer per season between the 3 states. We eat most of it, but I do give a lot away to friends and family. I will never kill something that will go to waste.
In Texas I can shoot a total of five deer. Two does and three bucks, or three does and two bucks. But each county has a restriction. I can only shoot two does in bowie county. And I can shoot two bucks in bowie county but One has to be a spike pretty much ( It has to have at least one unbranched antler. ) The other one has to have an inner spread of 13 inches or greater. If i shoot all four deer in bowie county then I can go to another count and shoot another deer. I will shoot all five if i can but that won't happen. In response to the guys third buck, I am pretty sure he lived in south texas where there is an over population of deer. Down by the border and the capital, deer are everywhere. I also give a lot of meat away as well. There are several people that I know that love deer meat but can't hunt so I try to shoot a deer for them to give them some meat.
I generally plan on shooting 2-3, I will probably only shoot 2 this year but if I can put 2 bucks down I will. Only going to shoot 1 doe though regardless.
We can get up to 4 bucks here in MD and unlimited doe. I will try to kill at least 1 buck and several doe. That's about 4 more deer than I need so I donate the remainder to either the homeless program or the landowners. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
This year I can get at most 3 - 2 bucks (1 rifle, 1bow) and a doe (bow). For the most part I have been the only person in my house to eat Venison so 1 average sized deer has typically been enough for me for the year. though my youngest daughter has been eating it with me lately. Anything additional to that one I give to family, mostly to the in-laws side that owns the hunting land but some with go to other family members.
I believe every hunter must and should have a conservation mind when it comes to filling tags. I personally will fill every single tag if I don't feel the localized herds my properties have are affected negatively. One of our properties right now has a healthy doe population and I personally will probably target two does off of it, one early and then wait till late season and tag another if population still seems healthy. However, another property some years is buck only as it simply doesn't have the doe numbers the others do...this is partly due to the overall habitat make up of the area but also the harvest practices of neighboring hunters. Over harvesting in some areas is impossible...others very evident....I will not take part in the latter and will help harvest more with the former. Anyone who believes I got a tag I should use it type of mentality doesn't understand localized deer populations and quite frankly doesn't care.
No limit on bucks where I live in SC. 4 doe tags a season. 10 or 12 doe days with 1 doe per day. Growing up, it was nothing for me to get 15 deer a season. (rifle hunting) Now that I bow hunt. I have gotten 1 and my wife has gotten 2 with her rifle. Our season goes from Aug 15th to Jan 1st. Or sometimes Jan 2nd if the 1st falls on a Sunday. The good thing is we don't have to buy meat from the store. About 8 deer will last us a year. I wont limit myself to a set number of deer, but I have let some walk.
I'd love to get 4 a year for the freezer, if I could. I get one buck-only tag in MN. Luckily I get a buck and doe tag in WI this year when I head down for the rifle opener. Last year it was buck only there too. No deer last year. The Fitzgerald's are hungry....
I can shoot 2 deer in OH and 2 in PA. However once I get a doe down, in either state, I am done with shooting does unless I know somebody that needs the meat. I would shoot a buck in both states if they were bucks I wanted to shoot (hasn't happened yet).
I have some venison in the freezer from last year and recently shot a doe. I recently have found out how much we have now so I am going to hold off from shooting a small buck. We have lots of venison for my gf and I, so my ultimate goal is a shooter! No need to shoot anything small for venison when we lots to eat already.
Our goal is for each family member to take one doe for a total of three. We won't shoot bucks just to shoot them however each family member does have a buck tag. It is rare we fill all those tags. For out of state I will typically buy one doe and one buck tag. I will typically donate the doe if they have a program.
I hunt 3 states: Louisiana - 3 bucks, 3 does Mississippi - 3 bucks, 5 does (and they don't have actual tags, it's an honor system) Illinois - 1 buck, 1 doe Now, I'm not going to shoot 16 deer but 3-5 is what I shoot for. We eat a lot of game (deer, duck, fish, pig)
I am really jealous of you guys/gals who get to shoot more than one deer per year... Just 2 deer would be just about right for me.
I can shoot unlimited does with my bow, 2 bucks with a bow, 1 doe with a rifle and one buck with my rifle. 3 deer a year would most likely be the max I'm willing to shoot. We couldn't possibly eat any more than that in a year. I do have a friend that would like me to shoot him a deer, so I will try and take one for him, but that would still be part of the 3 total.
Shoot what the herd dynamics can support and the landowners wish removed from their property. Then eat them. Keep the population in check. Its what as hunters do.
