Deer Idea

[BRULEDRIFTER]

Jumbo, you seriously measure every buck you shoot? Thats the problem right there! Stop measuring the quality of your hunt in the inches of antler. That is not hunting its competition.

AMEN!

[kaz2611]

First off QDM was not brought about for the sole purpose of increasing the number of trophy bucks. Its about keeping a quality (healthy) decent number of deer in an area bucks and does. You see yourself as a trophy only deer hunter (in favor of point restrictions) go hunt at a deer farm where they are raised for that purpose. The vast majority of deer hunters in Minnesota hunt for not only the sport but also for the meat. Sure most of us deer hunters dream of shooting a record book buck, but is this what deer hunting is really all about. How many points my buck has or how great my bucks rack scored. There is no need for point restrictions,if you only want to shoot mature bucks then perhaps the area you hunt should have a lottery for buck tags,why should that person who failed to be drawn for a doe tag have to pass up a buck because doesnt meet the point restriction. another option maybe eliminate party hunting in that area for a season or two. There is nothing wrong with party hunting for the most part with the exception of some parties who dont together in the same vicinity. Most hunting parties consist of grandparents,parents ,siblings,aunts,uncles, and cousins.These types of parties normally are hunting private land owned by one of them or more also they have engaged in these party hunts for decades. I use to hunt with my uncles and cousins on 3 sections of land they owned (farmed) with a great deal of success. Eventually though with continued success the deer numbers dwindled. Now the uncles have passed on but alot of the cousins and their children still hunt the area and dont have near the success as years past. I havent hunted with them for over 20 years. I still party hunt with my sister her husband their 3 kids my wife and our 4 kids we hunt mostly public land that holds good number of deer but we may only shoot 3 to 5 deer each year, mainly because the cover is incredibly dense and my self and my nephew are the only ones that attempt to push it to the rest. The number of hunters out in that area also is down from past years thus means less pressure. Opening day saw a few hunters around the area otherwise we had it to ourselves. While party hunting the youths shoot their own deer the rest of us tags are used in the order of the ones who will be out the most their tags used last therefore we never have problem of having to get someone from work to tag a deer i know this happens and why some are against party hunting but it happens alot more with bow hunters. Why not go back to the old metal tags they used back in 70s early 80sor go to a heavier plastic tag you can punch through the ear like we do with livestock and go back to you have to go in to register your deer.

[gr8icefishinmind]

I go deer hunting to shoot a deer. Thats why its called deer hunting not deer watching. I can watch all the deer I want 51 other weeks in the year. Maybe I should have said the other 356 days of the year.

So do i but if i don't shoot one it isn't a disappointment! Hunting means more than just shooting something.

[Juneau4]

If I just wanted to shoot something I'd hunt squirrels.

[gr8icefishinmind]

Or in your case deer hunt and shoot the first thing you see!!

[Juneau4]

Havn't fired a shot in 2 years other than at a target.

[Scottie Thomas]

I havent read every reply on here... but heres my opinion for what its worth...

I want trophy bucks and also love the taste of venison.

Minnesota has so much potential for giant deer it makes me sick. Habitat and food across a very diverse state. It my OPINION but I feel the vast majority of hunters are a hindrance to most bucks growing to 3.5 plus years old. I feel that hunters are the only thing holding those bucks back.

If you truly want the meat, SHOOT A ROUND HEAD. If its one of your first bucks, or one of your first times hunting, yeah, shoot at a smaller buck. Maybe its just me but, my goodness, it bugs me when youve got guys who hunt year after year and harvest smaller bucks. Why so many people shoot small bucks is beyond my comprehension and it makes me very unhappy.

Heres a quick story...Hunting some private land in Central Minnesota this rifle season. First weekend was just our family hunting. We passed 8 bucks for 4 guys. 2nd weekend down there, was just myself hunting the land. I passed 10 bucks, 4 of them were some we had seen before. Talking to other property owners, they said things like this... "Yeah, we wont shoot small bucks this year" "We have no interest in shooting 1.5 year old deer" "We plan on passing up small bucks and letting em grow". I was very excited and thought we maybe had something good going on in this area. Well, when I went to talk to the guys to see how hunting was, sure thing, they had 4 pointers hanging. 6 pointers on the ground. Cutting up basket 8s. Yippppppiieeee! A 'giant' 4 pointer, hahahahaha please.

So simply, just my thoughts, but I dont think most guys have the guts to pass up a little/medium buck when its right in front of them. So heck yeah, Im all for making deer hunting regulation stricter and making taking a buck harder. In a perfect world, move the gun season out of the rut in MN and have antler point restrictions. If ya want venison, shoot a doe. If ya dont know if a buck is big enough, dont shoot. Simple right?

[Juneau4]

Ah, Just close the season state wide for 2 years and after that all bucks harvested Must have 5 points or more per side. The does leave for the meat hunters they can"t shoot any bucks.

[Scottie Thomas]

Juneau4,

what would drive you to harvest a 4 point whitetail in Minnesota?

[Juneau4]

F-150 Ford

[Scottie Thomas]

Ha!!

What interest do you have in shooting a 4 pointer in MN?

[certified jumbo]

Wow. We have some strong opinions here.

In my only post on this issue. I stated I don't have a problem if people want to shoot whatever or their land or state land. We choose not to do that. We hunt 60 days during the season and have opportunties to shoot yearling bucks almost every night. We love getting out trail cam pics, naming those bucks and then shooting them and we love putting the tape on them. Not sure how scoring our deer has any measure on our quality of hunt?? We like to do it and are pretty successful and shooting some nice bucks, sorry if that disappoints you. We like it. Again, I will not slam anyone for shooting what they want on thier land. Thats your call.

[Juneau4]

If you enjoy it and are having fun-thats what its all about. I like to fish and catch fish, hunt deer and shoot deer. Catch and release is easier though than shoot and release. As long as I'm legal by state laws I don't care if someone has other priorities just don't tell me I should abide by theirs.

[Scottie Thomas]

Thanks for the responses Jumbo and Juneau...

maybe my first post was a little harsh, its just my opinion. We've all got our own and no one can say one is more correct than the other.

I just cant figure out how some people think shooting small/medium bucks year after year is fun and cant see how they enjoy it. Obviously some people must think its fun and that is most definitely good for them.

For me, my opinion, my own thoughts... i wish people would let small/medium bucks live in most cases. If its on their land, private land they have permission for, state land, federal land, whatever it is, i just wish people would let deer in Minnesota grow.

Im going hunting, later guys!

[surewood]

In my opinion people should have the choice to shoot what they chose. I also think it's a shame to see immature deer in the back of a truck. Deer hunting isn't fishing, but most of us throw the small ones back. Why not let the young deer live? It's not about Trophies. It's about our deer harvest being of a more mature heard. We shoot a bunch of 6 month to 1.5 year olds every year. Why not try to get our harvest to 2.5 year olds. Maybe someday even more 3.5 year olds. I bet everyone would agree if that happened that it's better for everyone and the deer.

[reinhard1]

i agree, i dont shoot fawns. i do love the venison but i think your right on this one. i'm not a trophy hunter but some day if one comes along, it will be the hunt of a lifetime i guess. as far as fishing, i would hope most of us would throw the big ones back. good luck.

[surewood]

I also throw the big ones back, but I think you know what I'm saying.

[reinhard1]

like i said you are right on with that post, just had to throw that in there. good luck.

[bigbucks]

kelly-p thanks for bringing up the point about the big bucks being the 2nd likeliest deer to die in a harsh winter. I was thinking that should be said a few days ago, didn't get it done & then forgot.

There are so many management theories out there. I know there are quite a few groups of guys, I'd say mostly guys 50+ that intentionally shoot fawns & bucks. Their thinking is solely about what will keep the population up. As far as they're concerned shooting a doe just means two more deer, plus her that won't be there next year, & two more the next year, & so on. They don't care what size deer they shoot, they just want to get deer every year. As far as the herd sustaining itself, they're right on. We shoot only roosters when it comes to pheasants & that population survives just fine.

Personally a lot of us, self included shoot almost the exact opposite of that. Any doe, bigger than a fawn, & mature bucks. What it translates to overall is a pretty even distribution of ages & genders shot, but not necessarily within one small area.

It all has to do with what you're managing for.