Lots of deer again this year, can't wait.

[Hammer Handle]

With a firearm, I hope to get my 55th deer this season. Possibly my 60th if you count the few I got with a bow.

As a kid, deer where I hunted were not real common, but I had all the luck. In a party of 10 we would get 7-10 deer...and I would typically end up with 2-5 of them. Pure luck that I always saw the deer.

Now, I have a string of 10 years going were I have gotten at least 2 deer a year. Do that again this year, and I will hit my numbers. Not bad for a guy that is 40 years old.

Can't wait!!

Now, if I could only get that big buck. Have a few, but I want the big guy!!

[harvey lee]

I still put the hammer down on plenty of deer and have been doing this for years. I have no idea how many deer I have shot in 35 years of deer hunting. I do know that in the last 10 years I have probably taken 40-45 deer with bow and gun. Now, for the last 4-6 years I have cut down on the total numbers and am really just looking for Mr BIG. I will still take 3-5 deer this year. I love shooting deer and have many friends that also love to eat venison.

The area that I hunt in North Dakota looks to still have too many deer in the woods. One has to enjoy these great years as this could all come to an end with a couple tough winters.

[slimngrizzly]

Youve obviously been successful shooting deer! Just remember, harvesting Mr. Big is often the result of letting Jr. walk by for a few years. Keep smackin the does down if you need, let the younger smaller bucks go for a few years and youll be surprized how quickly Mr. Big will come around! Good luck this season.

[harvey lee]

That is the exact program we have where we hunt. No younger bucks are taken that look to have good genetics. We do have numerous nice bucks roaming the woods where we hunt. Yes, the does get thinned out to help the ratio and winter kill from lack of food in a harsh winter.

For the last 10 years we have carefully watch the bucks grow in size from careful hunting and now it looks as though we should have some great buck hunting.

We limit the buck kill for size and amount yearly to control the buck population on the ranch we hunt. I oversee the ranch we hunt on so it is like being a landowner when it comes to hunting.

[Boar]

Every Friday night before opener we sit down an form a game plan so every one is on the same page an everyone one knows where each hunter is gonna be. One thing that always come up an everyone agrees upon is letting the smaller bucks go. Well come evening what do ya think happens? Yup here come the smaller bucks being draged out. Coupled with adjacent neighbors that live by "If its brown its down" theroy, it's no wonder that in the last 25 yrs of deer hunting I have only seen on buck truly worthy of putting on the wall, it was in the 180's. Tons of deer in an around out land but nothing can grow, I get very frustrated with it but there just dosent seem to be much I can do, every one is well aware of QDM but nobody follows thru. Oh well we still have fun. Boar

[harvey lee]

I agree, you need to have everyone shooting for the same goal. I'm very lucky as all the guys that I hunt with are looking for the better bucks and not the baskets.

[Hammer Handle]

As a kid growing up on a very small farm...venison was a necessity for the meat it provided. Now, it is not the case but with several people under 17 years old looking for their first deer, several small deer can be shot. And, the deer are over-populated and I love to eat venison!

Also, except for last year...our season is only two days. It is hard letting the 6-point walk by when you know you only have 1 more day to find a nicer one. My main goal is to get a deer for meat, second goal is to get a "trophy".

[realtower]

Hammer, Now you sound like the city guys that hunt arround here. I always say you cant eat the horns so take a doe because the guys I know are not going to brag to there buds obout the 6 point they just shot. When I hunt if I am not going to mount it I will not shoot it. So take the does.

[luckey]

Boar,

Don't give up hope. People change over time. The biggest misconception is it will take many years to show results. We started shooting does and 8pt or better (no baskets) and in a couple years we saw a big change in the size of the bucks. We now have around 7 landowers (approximatly 2000 acres) following the "plan". Yes, there are neighbors who use the brown is down theory but each fall I make it a point to show them a big deer or two along with pictures of other big deer. Last year they said "you guys always get the big ones. You must have much better hunting land" Note: Maybe he forgot we share a boarder. Anyway that was a good opening to once again let them know what we are doing. They are slowly comming around. They have also begun to see and get bigger bucks as a result of our efforts.

[Guest Kyle]

Realtower,

Im getting kind of sick of reading posts like that. Your commenting on what someone else wrote, comparing it to yourself, and at the same time your telling the guy that hes just another trigger happy city guy. If you read his post, he said he was waiting for that trophy deer and that he is out there for the meat more than anything! A trophy is in the eye of the beholder, and for a city guy that sees deer only a couple times a year, then maybe a 6 pointer is a great sight and is hard for him to pass up, but does it anyway. You are right in the fact that little bucks need a chance to grow up, but dont ride someones back when they write about positive anticipated future events, or something they havent done, and in this case they didnt say. This forum doesnt need negativity, direct or indirect.

[DonBo]

Just goes to show how passionate we all are about this sport. Wouldn't have it any other way...

[TrophyEyes]

In the last two years our group has shot over 50 deer a year (12 people). Now people are amazed by that number, but the area we hunt is so over populated that crop yields are around 20% because of the deer. The state is now allowing shooting in the summer for landowners and they took an additional 17 in the summer that are not included in that 50 per year total. You know what the amazing thing is. Those deer were all taken off less than 300 acres of land, and here is the kicker, only 3 bucks were taken. The bucks scored 192, 183 and 165. We have a fining process in our group that if the deer doesn't score 130, it will cost you $150 that is put towards food plots next year. I would also suggest that if people want to bet on who gets the biggest deer, do it by weight. It is a lot more fun to beat a guy that has a small eight pointer with a 230 lbs doe. Just a suggestion, but I do know how that eight pointer can get your heart going.

[Mark Christianson]

Post up the pics of them bruisers. Wow! Thats insane huge.

[Guest Kyle]

Very understandable.

[TrophyEyes]

I have one of the pictures, but it isn't me, so I don't really want to post another guys deer. The one that is amazing is the one that the land owner found dead in his stream in the spring. It scored 207. It had frozen in the stream with an arrow in it (gut shot). He didn't shoot it, but the DNR said he could keep it because it was on his property. The guy actually had the Game Trail Camera pictures of that deer for 5 years. We had 4 deer that weighed over 210 lbs, biggest was right at 250 lbs dressed. Corn, Beans, Apples, clover and age will do that.

The insane thing is that I am switching hunting areas and heading over to Benson this year because my father in law and a couple guys leased some land for pheasant, ducks, geese, and deer. I may make it down there for Muzzleloader, but who knows. I also have my first kid coming Oct. 5th, so hunting may be an after thought this year.