Took an opening (gun) morning doe here to the processor at about 12:30pm and I was #75 already and they said it was a slow opening morning for them. Don't see a decline by any means in my corner of the state.
Indiana's Fish and Wildlife areas here are super crowded, has been ever since opening archery back on Oct. 1st ... I ve had more guys than ever walk in on me, walk by cams, or even set up close to me knowing I was there ... ... ... ... it has sucked royally with human intrusion this season .. these dudes were walking right on a major conflux of trails and had set up on a wind direction completely wrong for that spot.. I know the tree they went up, and on those days the wind was wrong, as I was in a different location a mile away cause the wind was wrong to hunt that spot !! .... stupid stupid people ... thus is public land .. I have the same thing on cams on another area, Elmer Fudds walking RIGHT ON THE TRAILS !! ... I will say thanks, they didnt mess with the cam (cabled in/camo'd and locked.... I pulled it next time I hunted there and noticed the climber marks on a tree 25 yds away from the tree I go up (I use a LW and sticks) ... also, the tree they used is only 3 yds from a major trail, they set up right on it , !! ...
When i bought my place 30 years ago, wife and i were the only hunters for a mile each way and on either side of the road. Now, we have 4 just in a half mile more beyond that. Herd is a shadow of its former self. The public i hunt has had the same high pressure since i started hunting there in the late 70
State wise, Indiana is having a good year, one of the best in the last 4 yrs, and equal to 2015... right now 113K+ taken, looking to see 124/125K at the end of season or close to that if it stays on track ... a couple of counties are closing in on the 3000 mark already/NE corner, Noble & Stuben counties/Ohio-Mich. line .. .. ... however, I'm still without, Ive had 11 bucks in range/makeable shots, just nothing I wanted, came close on one, same for antlerless, cant find a good doe right now and Ive passed numerous buttons and fawn does, I refuse to take a baby deer or small buck ... 1st year in 33 yrs bowhunting I havnt killed a deer ... did come close on a decent 3.5 yr old/180lb-ish 7 pt, but his buddy a forky picked me off drawing and took the 7pt with him as they bounded off ... oh well, there is next season ..
More Elmer Fudds walking on deer trails/thru funnels on state lands ... not sure what is in that bucket (bait/minerals ?) which is illegal here
It’s weird and maybe I’m too young still to gauge it? I started gun hunting in about 1990. Opening day in southern illinois (Pope county) sounded like a war zone. Starting at opening legal daylight I bet there was a shot every few seconds for the first hour. The last 5 or so year I bet I’ve heard 10 shots in the first hour. It used to be a big event. There was so much traffic down on Rt. 146. Now it seems like business as usual. We had beer signs and parties at our place so big that one year we had a news crew pull in wanting to interview us cause they mistook us for the check station!!! Kid you not. Now it’s low key. A lot more calm. But that’s only my observation as it pertains to shotgun season in one county of southern illinois. Bowhunting this year I noticed an influx of people on public land. The archery shops said it was stupid busy (good for them). I personally don’t care. Unless you are KNOWINGLY disrespecting my 200yd bubble on purpose because you are too lazy to keep looking for a spot or just being a jack ass because you think I’m in “your” spot then so be it. The more hunters the better. My great grandpa has killed more deer than anyone I ever knew and he swore by the lunchtime crew leaving the woods and bumping deer around. He loved to sit through lunch and killed a good chunk of his deer during those times. I hope numbers start growing. After all this is part of our heritage. What also needs to expand which never will is public land.
Are you the only one allowed to hunt the "public land" where you hunt? Seriously, all the bitching and moaning you are doing equates to one thing, welcome to public land. Maybe they don't give two chits about where you are hunting and want quick access to where they want to be, you see them going in but maybe there's a quicker route to drag them out if accessible. Nothing your pics show suggest wrong doing, the hippie with the bucket may be out collecting/foraging. Hell, he may go find a stump, sit down, turn that bucket over and start a drum beat singing "Kumbaya". Again, it is public land. Deal with it or find a more secluded spot
These lands Ive hunted since '81, almost 40 yrs !! ... btw, I also had private for 18 yrs ..... I know what public land is and the problems that arise from some of the idiots that hunt it ... public land IS public ... this is to show the ignorance of those that also hunt on those places ... I'll ***** as much as I want about all the Fudds that are out there ... btw, I STILL kill big deer off these places because I am the one who knows what he's doing .... I dont trust to luck, I trust to my skill .... a good day in the field is when I dont see, hear nor smell/see signs of another human ..
Where I hunt in Ohio, it was super crowded this year. Lots of new hunters sticking close to parking lots and hiking trails.
