How many deer do you shoot?

[DRH1175]

I am getting sick of this. I hunt a private farm in Chisago county. With my father in law. The 2 of us shot 2 does and a small buck in the first 3 days of the season and One of our hunting members that didn't hunt because it was too cold on opening weekend wants us to stop hunting for the year. I was going to take off the week to hunt. He said we are going to shoot all the deer by taking a couple does. Leaving nothing for others. Okay intesive harvest, early anterless season and this guy thinks we are going to make the white tail deer extinct in our area. I have seen 7 deer in 3 days of hunting. But I am sick of this. I would rather hunt up north on public land than deal with this [PoorWordUsage]. Apparently the dnr is wrong on the deer herd in Chisago county. I am no longer able to bow hunt our area because of this same issue. Anyone else had a similar situation.

[Eskimoman]

I shoot what I can eat. No more. I also think ( this is just my opinion) that the venison donation program is for killers, not hunters. I respect what I kill, I cut it myself and eat it all. My family can go through 2-3 deer in a year pretty easily.

[Roofer]

I agree with eskimo. No need to kill off everything. We hunt our private land. There is private and public land around us. Most of the private owners shoot as many as possible most of the time. We don't. We hunt for what we are going to eat or for something on the wall. The people around us have ruined the herd for many years when they hunted most of the property there. Now, after 15 years of our own management, there are finally some decent bucks around and plentiful deer. Now, this is up north farther, so the situation may be different. I just think......why blast all the deer you see? You can't possibly eat all of them.

I don't agree with the venison donation program one bit.

[Mark Christianson]

My Grandpa wants a deer, but is too old to hunt.

I must be a killer and not a hunter.

Phooey.

Think outside the box a little.

PS - That same G'pa is the one that cleared that back field on our land 50+ years ago where we have 3 stands now.

[Hoffer]

Biglake...I respectfully would comment that I dont think the above poster was saying that if you want to take an extra deer because your grandpa wants a deer that that wouldnt be OK - certainly it would - and actually is probably a better reason than most to harvest an extra deer.

On the other hand, we have a party of 6 and we usually take no more than 2 deer - becuase that is all our family cares to eat in one year. However, on our 200 acres we have a group that hunts a 40 right in the middle of our 200. They usually have about 7 hunters and they each have an intensive harvest permit - so they can easily take 14 deer in 10 days. Seems to me that common sense dictates that is too much. We have noticed the last few years the deer hunting has declined in regard to the number of deer we see now.

[tunrevir]

Quick question? Is this "person" that doesn't want you to hunt the landowner? If so, I'd respect his wishes even though his deer biology is skewed. If it is not the land owner, speak to the landowner and find out how they feel about continuted hunting and go along with their wishes. I too, hunt a small piece in Chisago while bowhunting and my uncle and 4 of his friends hunt the same piece during shot gun, the woods is no more then 15 acres and there has been deer in that woods every year we have hunted out there for the past 20 years. I know there have been years where 10+ deer have come out of that woods and we still have deer.

Tunrevir~

[96trigger]

We get between 5-10 deer a year between 7 of us. I can go through 2-3 a year pretty easily. I usually shoot two does, and after that, if I get a third, its a nice buck. Thats only happened once. There is no problem with the deer herd in our area. We did have one land owner that quit letting us on because he said that there were no deer. I think his son told him to quit letting us on, and that is fine. I would probably do the same. All together we probably hunt almost 250 acres of wood in different parcels.

[N7709K]

I hunt up by Northhome. The deer were way down this year. I only saw 2 and out of that I got one. Between our group of 14 hunters we saw maybe 10 deer combined.

[big drift]

In regards to the donation being only for killers in some respect that may be true but here is another scenario.

The farm we hunt on has so many deer the landowner wants them thinned out. The predation he has suffered has significantly damaged his livlihood. He considered getting predation permits and just burying the carcasses but decided instead to allow us to take extra animals to donate to the food shelf.

So does this make us unethical killers or hunters helping to balance out of whack population.

Broad statements that do not cover specific details paint hunters in a bad light. Yes I believe that some are out only for the kill but many more are out for the hunt and experience.

[deerminator]

One because that's what I'm allowed in a lottery zone, but I know of plenty of guys getting tags for girlfriends, mom, grandmas, aunts, you name the relative. I'll bet you'll see female and youth hunters increase substantially in lottery zones across the state these next few years with the abolition of the all season license. I have no problem with party hunting or tagging one for someone else in your party who's out hunting. But otherwise, kinda defeats the purpose of the bag limits to manage the herd. If we go back to managed, which I doubt will happen for many years, I'll take two because we can eat that many easily.

[BobT]

I look at it this way.

First, the allowed harvest is based on the population and health of the deer herd. I also believe the DNR takes into consideration the ability of the ecosystem to sustain the population as it is. An over-populated area is not in the best interest of the deer herd.

Second, the donation program is not a program for "killers" as has been stated. Except for the recent lead issues, which I think are a bunch of crapola, the program is a good way to allow hunters the ability to reduce the herd in over-populated areas while still having a good use for the meat rather than having the DNR send snipers out to reduce the herd without a purpose for the meat. Yes, this has been done on occasion in severe cases.

As far as getting tags for other family members.

First, that's illegal game. Get caught taking deer with a tag that does not belong to the hunter and they'll find out rather quickly how illegal it is. If the other family members are out there hunting, no problem.

Second, with the new statewide zone and all the generous bag limits found throughout the state, there's no reason any one hunter that wants to bring home more than one deer can't do it. Even in the area I hunt near Mt. Iron (area 175) if we buy the appropriate tags, we can take up to five deer per hunter. If you want more than one deer, there's no reason you can't do it legally.

Bob

[Surface Tension]

I to have a respect for the deer I kill. I think about that every time I go out. In my years of hunting, it started out as Bucks Only seasons. Now we're in intensive harvest. All its going to take is one hard winter up here and we could be back to a Bucks Only season again. In a killing winter the deer will yard up. Too many deer in yarding areas will eat themselves out of house and home sooner with less deer surviving then if those numbers were reduced by hunting. So the Intensive Harvest areas are to thin the herd by hunting instead of starvation.

Its when that respect for the whitetail harvest turns into thinking of them as a pests, to me I think we've lost something there.

Intensive Harvest Areas are large areas. Its stands to reason that one location might be heavily hunted while another location receives very little. If its in prime habitat will deer move into that area or will it be repopulated by the deer left within that area? I think its the later.

[mrklean]

So trying to help a family in need with some meat makes me a killer huh? I guess i wont lose any sleep over helping someone in need eat.

[fishorgolf]

I hunt in SE MN and will only take a nice buck and one doe this year as that is all my family will eat in one year. If I take another Doe it will be because I have a family member that wants the meat. I could take a total of 5 deer if I wanted (and there are plenty of deer to do this) but I just do not need that amount of meat so what is the point. I like shooting deer as much as anyone but once you have shot 2 is the 3rd 4th and 5th one that much of a big deal. Also, the deer in the area I hunt are not going to starve.

[deerminator]

I would have to say the vast majority of people donating deer to the program are not doing so with starving families in mind first. They are hunting because they enjoy it and they are donating the meat to the food shelf if they know they cannot or do not want to eat it. That does not make them any less of a hunter. As for the term killer, hunters are all killers. We kill deer and ducks and what not. That is the goal of a successful hunt. Enjoying the woods and being a piece with nature is all great but you can do that taking a walk. You are hunting because you want to end up taking the life of an animal. Get over the label "killer" and choose another word to throw at those who do not agree with your viewpoint. Because no matter what kind of a hunter you are, you are a killer and rightly so.

[96trigger]

Quote:

That does not make them any less of a hunter. As for the term killer, hunters are all killers.

I agree with uncle Ted here. We do kill that animal, we are all killers, and we shouldn't be ashamed of it, if we weren't, we would all have cameras and not guns.

[deerminator]

Ha, uncle Ted. What a nut. There's a reason I tape his show every week on the Outdoor Channel. I love his passion. I don't always agree with him, and he is more of an entertainer than anything, but you can't dispute the man's passion for hunting or shooting or killing. Whatever you want to call it. And let's not get into the high fence debate (related to Uncle Ted) here please.

[slabchaser]

i would prefer to take a doe and atleast a six point buck. I would prefer an 8. Though the dnr says I can only tag one deer. The deer numbers were up in our area.

[child23]

Some people take the donation thing way outta hand though. Last year our neighbors were bragging that they donated 15 deer to that program. There are only two of them keep in mind. That kinda made our crew ticked off because we didn't even get a deer for every member of our crew. We are in the TB zone so it was legal but still that seems way overboard to me.

[DRH1175]

I forgot to mention we usually take 4 deer for the two of us. Which we personally consume. We take what we eat. I have the meat for the year. Now only wanting to hunt for the trophy, That I would also eat. We usually try to take the does for meat and leave the small bucks, as we suspect the ratio is out of whack. I do not donate any meat and am usually the one taking from others because they can't eat it all. Our hunting partner wants to get his grandson a deer. But like I said. They didn't hunt this weekend because the weather was too cold. While we spent many long hours to shoot our deer. We have hunting this piece of property over 20 years and he only has for about 4 years.

[DRH1175]

Also, no it is the brother of the land owner, My father in laws cousin. While we see 10 deer or more each year, they have seen only 2 in 4 years of hunting. I used to hunt the same stand they are in and shot plenty of deer over there. Also actually we have seen more deer since taking our 3 or 4 does each year.

[BobT]

I hunt in SE MN and will only take a nice buck and one doe this year as that is all my family will eat in one year. If I take another Doe it will be because I have a family member that wants the meat. I could take a total of 5 deer if I wanted (and there are plenty of deer to do this) but I just do not need that amount of meat so what is the point. I like shooting deer as much as anyone but once you have shot 2 is the 3rd 4th and 5th one that much of a big deal. Also, the deer in the area I hunt are not going to starve.

Maybe not but if history repeats itself there's a good chance they'll die off from diseases or automobile crashes. It is quite typical that when a population increases for a particular species, so too does the spread of disease.

Look at us humans. A kid gets a cold or flu bug and goes to school and pretty soon half the school is sick and then they bring it home to their families and so on.

Bob

[fishorgolf]

Originally Posted By: fishorgolf

I hunt in SE MN and will only take a nice buck and one doe this year as that is all my family will eat in one year. If I take another Doe it will be because I have a family member that wants the meat. I could take a total of 5 deer if I wanted (and there are plenty of deer to do this) but I just do not need that amount of meat so what is the point. I like shooting deer as much as anyone but once you have shot 2 is the 3rd 4th and 5th one that much of a big deal. Also, the deer in the area I hunt are not going to starve.

Maybe not but if history repeats itself there's a good chance they'll die off from diseases or automobile crashes. It is quite typical that when a population increases for a particular species, so too does the spread of disease.

Look at us humans. A kid gets a cold or flu bug and goes to school and pretty soon half the school is sick and then they bring it home to their families and so on.

Bob

Good point Bob. My question would be what is the proper deer per acre in the area I hunt? 10, 20, 50 ? If food is the factor it would be easily 50+. Now for disease that is something else and I really do not know what that would be. How much should we bring the population down because of the FEAR of disease? These are things I do not know the answers to but I think I will do some research and see what I can find out.

[BobT]

I figure the research has already been done. That is why the DNR has posted the generous tag opportunities. After all, that is what we hire them to do, right?

As I've alreayd eluded to, the disease issue isn't just a pointless fear. It is a reality that is proven over and over. When rabbits over-populate an area, there is usually an increased problem with diseases and in particular, boils. When coyotes or wolves over-populate, mange can become quite prolific. Over-population increases the occurrance of contact from one member to another and so communicable diseases and parasites are more easily transmitted.

Bob

[TrophyEyes]

We have hunt some private land in SE MN and the land owner asks our group to take roughly 30 does off it every muzzleloader. We either donate or find farmers that want the meet. The land owner only gets about a 30% yield because of the deer eat all of it. He has been given permission to shoot deer year round for this problem. Long story short I am a hunter the entire year, but come muzzleloader, we are definately killers. The fact of the matter is that over the last 5 years we have taken over 250 does off that property and they still keep coming. You could shoot all season and the deer would still be in there like misquitos.