Can you top this?

[smalls]

When you're stand hunting, how do you know how many deer everyone from your party has down? If your shooting 2,3, 4 or 5 bucks, that's eating tags pretty quick!

I guess if others want to party hunt, so be it. I just get uncomfortable with the shoot now, find tags later mentality. Plus, I want to harvest my own animal, and if someone shot my deer and we had to track it four miles to an abandon farmstead so I could tag it, it would **** me off.

But, I won't tell you that you can't do it, freedom of choice!

[Stratosman]

Here's a hypothetical question, in regards to the all season pary hunting. If I fill my tags say in the first season and want to hunt with my dad and grandfather in the second season, is that legal, or can you only hunt in the season in which your last tag was filled? I've read the reg's and they way I percieve it is that it is legal.

[Mark Christianson]

Stratosman,
You can legally party hunt the second weekend, even though you may have filled your personal tag the week before.
Be sure to have your license with you though, even though you have no tag.

I agree that party hunting can have some holes. We have no care in the world to fill all our tags. We go in the woods with a pretty firm plan on what we want, and thats it.
Where trouble comes, is for groups that are shooting everything that comes by. I have no clue how you can party hunt within the law, when everyone has free reign to shoot whatever comes by, so all the tags can get filled.
Oops. Off topic. sorry.

[bigbucks]

I agree on the having a plan for your party. We know opening morning everybody's not going to fill their tags. Many of our stands are close enough if one guy shoots a deer or more when he gets down to gut it he then goes & talks to the next guy. Each hunter's allowed to choose what they want to shoot, we usually say don't shoot more than one small one (fawn), at least until we see what's been shot.

Most openers when we get together around 10-11am to see about making a few drives we've got 2-4 deer for 11 guys, occasionally as many as 6 maybe, but that's rare. Lot of times most people have seen deer, but some were too far or they missed, whatever. Very few stands will have opportunities at multiple bucks & most of the time those are the stands of the guys who've been bowhunting & will pass on the smaller ones anyway.

[mille lacs muskie bum]

my great grandfather once got over 17 deer in one season.

[Crusher]

My best hunt was on the Kobuk River at the base of the Brooks Range (Mountains) in Alaska. 5 Bull Caribou and a Black Bear in the 2 days. It was awesome.

Crusher

[MikeYager - Suzuki]

My hunting camp is stricyly party hunt. We hunt as a team. We have so many tags for buck or doe and the team fills the tag. The team then butchers the deer. No problems and no hard feelings. These are my inlaws and they are not into individual acheivement hunting deer. They are into providing vension to the whole family. I think it's kinda of cool. Having said that I do hunt other places with other people that I choose to hunt for my own tag. Maybe party hunting is easier with relatives or close friends.

[ikes71]

Our group decided to party hunt one season, and it didn't turn out very well. We made the decision that anyone could shoot what-ever, just fill the tags. We had nine tags, and I filled seven of them. The other two guys didn't even fill one of them. After that we have decided that everyone can fill their own tags, to cut down on the bickering. Since then our group has done fine. Frankly I would rather eat the tag, than have to have someone fill it for me, and no it isn't a ego thing, I have high standards for what deer I shoot. My rule on a buck is it has to be at least eight points, wider than his ears, good brow tines, and good tine length. I don't want to tag something I wouldn't shoot, myself. For all of you that think I have unrealistic standards, I do get a buck like this about every other year.

[jlm]

Some parties hunt "party style" as a tradition and have done so for many years. Its more than being alone in the woods, I believe it can almost be considered a social thing. Its not about trophies, its about filling the freezeer. Many do not care if they harvest the deer or not as long as they get some of the venison. Its kind of funny but those guys who refuse to let someone shoot a deer for them, they are usually in line to get venison from someone else when they are not successful at tagging a deer. What is the difference, someone else shot your deer in the end anyway!

[Dan Thiem]

Speaking of party hunting.
What if someone shoots a nice buck and uses another persons tag-who gets the rack?

[bigbucks]

To answer the rack question, in our party, there's no question the shooter gets it. Why would someone want someone else's rack, unless they didn't want it then I could see using it for rattling or just keeping it to show people. Even then I'd tell them, yeah, this is the buck my buddy shot in 98...

[lumpy]

Crusher,

Planning a trip next fall up to Alaska to hunt on Selby north of the Kobuk River. Was planning on taking my 280 Remington up there. Will that be enough rifle. My cousin who lives up there has a 7mm mag, his brother-in-law who is going with us just bought a 337 Win Mag. I'm beginning to feel outgunned but wonder if it is really necessary.

[Big-Al]

I have no problem with a hunter shooting 6 deer as long as the gang agrees to that and they get legally tagged. (Remember one person can tag up to five in a lot of locations.) I also have no problem if everyone wants to shoot and tag his or her own deer. What I do have a problem with is all the folks that seem proud of throwing lead at deer that they have little probability of making a clean kill on. If your shot does not have a high 90's percentile of making a clean kill, don't take it.

[John_Ted_Carrier]

Everyone, quit your crying about this...I mean yes, it is may be a little bit obsurd to shoot multiple bucks (I think it is), but still it is there experience and their way of life. You probabally do things that THEY see as wrong, just let this go. As long as all the deer are perfectally legal there should be nothing to be said, so everyone crabbying just just the H$LL up and listen to the cool stories.

-Ted