I'd have to say that it must depend on what part of the state you're hunting. I've hunted Kentucky's opening week for years now and every buck I've seen that first week was full velvet. Then again, I hunt in Graves county, not too far from the Tennessee line.
Pretty much. You're not in politics, are you? You're right about the heat. I've dropped a lot of deer that first week of Kentucky season when the daily high temps were around 90+. From the time you launch the arrow you know the clock is running. I've become fairly adept at getting a deer skinned, quartered and in a cooler though. The problem that I see with a velvet buck would be having to slow down on the recovery in order to protect the velvet. While I've never been lucky enough to score on one, I've spent a lot of time thinking about how to handle it. I've been told you can't hang them upside down because of the gravity flow of blood into the velvet. Kentucky is the only place where I have a chance at a velvet buck, and if I ever connect, there is a processor 30 minutes away that will meet me there and help me get it into a cooler.
Look into this product if you haven't already - https://www.velvetantlertechnologies.com/product-page/velvalok-velvet-antler-preservative Also, I know a lot of folks who wrap a towel or tarp or something around the rack while getting the animal out of the woods. We were able to drive a truck right next to where my deer died and still messed up the velvet loading it. It definitely requires a gentle touch.
Looks like this would be the way to go if I was just going for a euro mount. Just spray it in and wait at least 72 hours. Thanks for the info.
Ahh well if I get a crack at one it’s meant to be, I’ll be just as happen to tag a hard horn. Time will tell. Things are Tricky with one 2y/o and one the way!
Wow 1 tag?! In NY you tag out at 8. It's so interesting to me all the different styles and challenges state by state.
This blows my mind also, we are allowed 4 does during archery, 2 muzzleloader (some units 1 doe muzzleloader), 1 doe rifle. 2 bucks for the entire deer season. Some units are allowed 3 does a day. Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
Illinois they just keep letting you buy doe tags until they are all dead Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
Yes, one tag. There is a regular deer tag, which allows you to shoot mule deer or whitetail in units that have a season for them, but this tag closes before the whitetail rut. Depends on unit as to whether does are open or not. The other tag, that I always buy, is a "whitetail only" tag. This tag doesn't allow mule deer but runs clear through the rut to Dec. 1st in the units I hunt. Also depends on the unit whether does can be taken. I find Mule deer to taste terrible, unless you shoot one that lives very near crops, and much prefer to eat a whitetail anyway. There are some "extra doe" tags that can be acquired if you can draw one. These have been not too hard to get in past years. They are in select units and have to be filled "within one mile of a cultivated field". It must be working to thin out the does though, because the unit I always put in for went from offering 600 tags last year to only 300 this year. Odds to draw are much worse now. The first year I put in for it they were offering 750 tags and only 802 people applied for it. That's 92% odds to draw. To share my kind of drawing luck...I didn't draw it that year. Haha
It makes me sad to hear people in other states like you get one tag or maybe two for the whole year. That’s ridiculous! In my unit of Tennessee I could literally kill 4 Does in archery season, 2 in muzzleloader/Archery season, And 2 In Rifle/Muzzleloader/Archery season. If I wanted too. Not including two statewide Buck tags that could be used anywhere from September to January. Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
The number of tags is based on the deer population. Simple as that. The wide open spaces out west are game rich but don’t have the concentration of deer there are in the Midwest and eastern part of the country. Extra doe tags in the west are typically in areas where white tails are in higher numbers around agriculture. While you may only get a single (or two depending on the area) deer tag out west, you can also apply to hunt elk, moose, pronghorn, mountain goat and mountain sheep.
A bighorn sheep hunt would be awesome. There is a trophy caliber unit near me that gives away two tags. One by draw (.002% odds to draw) and one by auction, Governors tag, which generally goes for anywhere between $30k to $120k. My main archery elk unit gives away 8 Bull Moose tags by draw a year, a little better odds at 2%. Antelope are all down south, archery tags are over the counter and draw only for rifle. I hear that the ranch owners down there aren't fans of them. If you ask to antelope hunt on their place, they will offer to show you the best places, loan you their rig, rifle (during archery only), ammo, and their first born daughter to keep you company.
I would for it. Last year, my target buck was in velvet until the 2nd week in Sept. 2019. Rare for NC. I got pics of him in full velvet on one day, I hunted the next and it was all but gone.
I’m in the 3/day unit, I kept passing on doe because I didn’t see them all at once...until I started getting pictures like this; I learned one lesson from corona season, don’t rely on grocery stores to supply your food. I ran out of meat a few months into the rona. I’ll be slaying doe this season.
I personally would love to shoot a velvet buck some day. I would like to be able to have one velvet buck on my wall.
It’s the rage in Kentucky. Velvet or hard horned, I’ll be in the woods opening day September 5th. Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
