so i hunt this good spot that is bow hunted pretty heavily by several people. well firearm season started friday and some guys from out of town showed up thursday night, put a stand right next to by buddys stand, put a ground blind by my stand, and another blind semi close to another stand. opening morning me and my buddy both tagged out with a decent doe each. well i called the out of towners a few minuires ago to see if they would be back in 2 weeks, they said they arent coming because they shot a 10 point, 7 point, and a button buck. im glad they got some deer but i guess im kinda frustrated that the bowhunters out there spend alot of time and effort in those woods scouting, watching, and using a lot of patience to hopefully end up with one of those bigger ones. they have permission to hunt there so maybe in just jelous.
I have a similar situation that my neighbors give a bunch of guys permission to shotgun hunt and they shoot at anything that moves. It is extremely frustrating but you can't really do anything. I've been in arguments with them because they wander on my property too
Bowhunters in my state get 4 1/2 months to hunt deer plus they are the only ones hunting during the rut. Shotguns get he 2 weeks after the rut and 2 days in January. The way I figure it, if a bowhunter can't get it done in 4 1/2 months and during the peak rut then they should probably review their hunting skills/techniques and make a change. To just complain about what another hunter takes, regardless of weapon used, does not make a person a better hunter, it just makes them a bitter hunter. Our energies are much better utilized in becoming better hunters .
In my state gun hunters get 3 weeks during prime rut and yes i am complaining because shooting deer that are smaller than an average dog just because you own a gun does not make you a hunter. Everyone should practice some management. I gun hunt myself so I have nothing against them but trespassing and shooting at noise or setting up blinds right near other stands is ridiculous.
LOL So, people that don't hunt like YOU want them to are not hunters? I am betting you don't hunt like someone else wants you to, would that mean you are not a hunter? Trespassing and shooting at "noise" is not hunting but that has nothing to do with antler management. Believe it or not but there are some hunters that do not really care that much about big antlers but they do care about supplying their family with venison.
We have kind of a similar proble. Where I hunt we try very hard to practice good management practices. That being said my father in law passed on a 2 year old buck and watch it walk into the neighbors property, within about a minute the neighbors shot it. What can you do, we have talked to them and tried to get the on board with us, so are willing, some are not... I hunted property with people, I've had a very nice buck that I have been passing on and this year they shot it. I am disappointed that I didn't get it, but happy that a younger/new hunter got what I would consider a buck of a lifetime. What do ya do?
The root of a LOT of hunting "issues" is......one man worried about another man shooting "his" deer. Been there - done that. Move along. You said yourself, they had a right to be there. They also had legal tags for the animals they took. So....what's your beef?
i appreciate the input and i see all points made as valid. from what i know about the hunters they are the kind to shoot at noise, trespass, etc. i saw the deer today and the 10 was actually a 5 due to one side broke off completely and the 7 had one real nice side with 4 and the other side was just a main beam with a couple bumps, the button couldve been confused as a doe, so maybe i was complaining about nothing. although i was told by the landowners son today that there is some issue every year. either way we ate some of my doe last night and ill be back out bow in hand thursday!!!
Our topo is flat here except for this one ridge that is about 5 miles wide. Some friends of mine have leased the rights to hunt 160 acres. We only have a week long shotgun, slug only season which ended today and the rest of the time is bowhunting only from oct1-feb 28. This ridge has produced many many a state record. There is no management strategy that will work. If you pass up a deer that you have the chance to kill that should wait a year or two to be harvested, it will just be killed later that day or that week by another property owner. OR poachers!!!! The name of the ridge is Crowleys ridge, but we call poachers ridge. During the shot gun season, you can hear rifles being fired all over. During bow season you can hear rifles everywhere. I really do not know how there are any deer left. That being said since last Saturday we have kill a nice 9 point, a nice 8 point, and a 6 point that was damn near a spike. I shot the six point and it was aged at 3 1/2 yrs old by the processor. There are tons of deer on this ridge and the kicker is>>>>> way more bucks than does. I think there are a lot of does harvested in the first week or two of bow season. Everyone fills there doe tags early on. I have not yet. My dear was my first in over 15 years. I just started back hunting this year. Now I am hunting THE GHOST! I will post pic soon as I figure out how.
one man worried about another man shooting "his" deer. Understand that! I still haven't shot a buck due to seeing nothing "big" yet. Then the neighbors shoot the same ones that i'v been passing up.......oh well.
Im in the same boat as you are, soon as the deer cross the road they might as well roll over and die becuase the neighbors shoot anything.
I have that kind of problem here too theres a firearms ordinance in the town i live in but unfortunately that doesn't stop guys from poppin a few bucks with the rifle. It's a shame too it's such a small area, takes away the deer from the few guys who actually sit in the stand all day with their bows!
If someone hunts on a well managed area, with very minimal trespassing, passing up smaller bucks sometimes can be done. But passing up that deer is no guarantee that deer will be there next year. It could get hit by a car, poached or simply shot by someone else. Sometimes you gotta take the opportunity to bag that deer. I like meat in the freezer, so decent does are fair game to me. Depending on whether the season is dwindling down or not and I don't have a deer yet, I take what comes by. As long as its not a yearling. The areas I hunt, there is a slim chance of a buck being around the following year, so if you want to take it, better take it.
Yeah, I agree that, while annoying, we need to share the woods at that time. IMHO gun hunters get the "leftovers" after the rut in most areas, and only for two weeks. That's the main reason I switched to bow hunting, so I could take my time and get out earlier, and not have to deal with a bunch of people. I'm not very social to begin with, so I just give them their two weeks and I watch the outdoor network. (However, sometimes I've even been known to pick up a rifle, too)
Hey worm read my post on a mercy buck it might make u feel better. Either way anyone puts it im more upset with button buck and yearling shooters no matter what they shoot them with. That button may have grown to be a p&y record buck u never know letem get atleast a couple srasons in .
I would be a little upset if I showed up to my stand and there was a blind set up under it or a stand right next to mine, but thats just me, maybe I shouldn't be, maybe I'm the one who set up in this guys long time spot? IDK
