Poll on deer hunting activity

[MUP]

It is cool to see the numbers and the bar graphs. I wish I could hunt over fifty days per year again. College has got me in the 20 day bracket.

Heck, work has me a little lower than that even!

 

[Headhunter]

Scouting is WAY overrated in my opinion. Since I quit scouting, I kill a ton more deer and better bucks. My scouting, if done, is done while hunting, and very little of that. I will look for oak trees that are "hot", but not much more than that. If on public land I just go to the most remote spot and when run into the first decent sign I hunt.

 

[Baxter83]

The people have spoken give us what we want.

Yes, the majority of the board has spoken...

1) 6-10 days scouting....hmmmm not much time scouting for a specific deer

2) 21-40 days hunting.... Must be very good at scouting, killed their limit

3) yes... Wow! See 1 & 2

4) doesn't matter

5) after reading 1 & 2 no wonder the
Majority wants to kill 2 bucks, they are so good at scouting they can kill 3 bucks in 21-40 days in the specific age group they are looking for.

Sure as hell wish I was that good at hunting and had that kind of hunting ground, cause where I hunt, I'm luck to see 20 deer a year.

You need to find a better place to hunt.

Very easy to say something like that....

I've been trying to find this place for quite some time, and still haven't been able to do it. I only wish I was fortunate enough or financially able to find a "better place to hunt" myself. Some of us beggers can't be choosers..

 

[BuckCommander25]

I'm in

 

[spoon]

The people have spoken give us what we want.

Yes, the majority of the board has spoken...

1) 6-10 days scouting....hmmmm not much time scouting for a specific deer

2) 21-40 days hunting.... Must be very good at scouting, killed their limit

3) yes... Wow! See 1 & 2

4) doesn't matter

5) after reading 1 & 2 no wonder the
Majority wants to kill 2 bucks, they are so good at scouting they can kill 3 bucks in 21-40 days in the specific age group they are looking for.

Sure as hell wish I was that good at hunting and had that kind of hunting ground, cause where I hunt, I'm luck to see 20 deer a year.

You need to find a better place to hunt.

I do, it's called IL. TN will NEVER be an IL, IA or like any other buck state

 

[SEC]

The people have spoken give us what we want.

Yes, the majority of the board has spoken...

1) 6-10 days scouting....hmmmm not much time scouting for a specific deer

2) 21-40 days hunting.... Must be very good at scouting, killed their limit

3) yes... Wow! See 1 & 2

4) doesn't matter

5) after reading 1 & 2 no wonder the
Majority wants to kill 2 bucks, they are so good at scouting they can kill 3 bucks in 21-40 days in the specific age group they are looking for.

Sure as hell wish I was that good at hunting and had that kind of hunting ground, cause where I hunt, I'm luck to see 20 deer a year.

You need to find a better place to hunt.

I do, it's called IL. TN will NEVER be an IL, IA or like any other buck state

I agree but we could do better. States like IL.and IA. and all the other big buck states have one thing in common shorter firearms seasons and lower buck limits. It sure would be nice to see a couple 130s every year around here but with every tom,Richard,and harry blasting away at them for 60 plus days with highpower rifles its never gonna happen.You cant kill what aint there.

 

[muddyboots]

The people have spoken give us what we want.

Yes, the majority of the board has spoken...

1) 6-10 days scouting....hmmmm not much time scouting for a specific deer

2) 21-40 days hunting.... Must be very good at scouting, killed their limit

3) yes... Wow! See 1 & 2

4) doesn't matter

5) after reading 1 & 2 no wonder the
Majority wants to kill 2 bucks, they are so good at scouting they can kill 3 bucks in 21-40 days in the specific age group they are looking for.

Sure as hell wish I was that good at hunting and had that kind of hunting ground, cause where I hunt, I'm luck to see 20 deer a year.

You need to find a better place to hunt.

I will have to times 2 that. That would be tough Spoon.

 

[stik]

I agree but we could do better. States like IL.and IA. and all the other big buck states have one thing in common shorter firearms seasons and lower buck limits. It sure would be nice to see a couple 130s every year around here but with every tom,Richard,and harry blasting away at them for 60 plus days with highpower rifles its never gonna happen.You cant kill what aint there.

and wide open terrain and millions of acres of agriculture and... they have much more than one thing in common.

they ARE there

 

[102]

SEC wrote:

"I agree but we could do better. States like IL.and IA. and all the other big buck states have one thing in common shorter firearms seasons and lower buck limits. It sure would be nice to see a couple 130s every year around here but with every tom,Richard,and harry blasting away at them for 60 plus days with highpower rifles its never gonna happen.You cant kill what aint there."

"It sure would be nice to see a couple 130s every year "

And here is the root of the problem. EXPECTATIONS.

Seeing a couple of 130s "every year" is NEVER going to happen for MOST of us. NEVER.

A 130 inch buck in Tennessee is like hitting the lottery. Although TV would lead you to believe otherwise, free ranging 130s are RARE. In the mid-west, maybe this is a little different, but still not that common.

Most Tennessee hunters would pee themselves if they had a TRULY 130 inch buck walk up to their stand. As would I. A 130 inch buck is a LARGE antlered buck.

Percentage wise, VERY FEW hunters in Tennessee will ever even SEE one. Even in other states.

There are those who say they have seen several, and maybe even passed several, but until it hits the ground with a tape to the horn, it is just TALK.

Trying to manage the Tennessee herd for 130s is INSANE!!!

 

[BSK]

I agree but we could do better. States like IL.and IA. and all the other big buck states have one thing in common shorter firearms seasons and lower buck limits.

...and massive agriculture on the best soils in North America. It is the soils and agriculture that grow those big antlers, not their gun seasons.

I guess some TN hunters will never face the facts, but many locations in TN have an equal buck age structure to IL and IA. In quite a few counties in TN, 1 out of every 4 bucks killed is 3 1/2+, which is equal or better to many of the big buck states. So why aren't we loading up the newspapers and recordsbooks with monster bucks? Because our soil and habitat doesn't grow antlers like the Midwest does.

It sure would be nice to see a couple 130s every year around here but with every tom,Richard,and harry blasting away at them for 60 plus days with highpower rifles its never gonna happen.You cant kill what aint there.

True, "you can't kill what aint there." But in many instances, it isn't old bucks that "aint there," it is large-antlered bucks. TN, even for bucks that reach full maturity, just doesn't grow many 130+ bucks.

I think most TNdeer users have seen the plethora of trail-cam pictures of good bucks I photograph each year from my property. I think most hunters would agree my place is well managed. I have an equal buck age structure to what other managers report from their properties in IL and IA. We kill a fair number of 3 1/2+ bucks, with about half of those bucks being mature. Yet over the last decade, do you know how many 130+ bucks we've killed? A grand total of one. Now we grow and kill a bunch of bucks in the 95-125 gross range, but 130+ is a rare animal indeed, even when 1 out of every 4 bucks using my place each year is 3 1/2+.

102 said it best when he wrote: "And here is the root of the problem. EXPECTATIONS." I couldn't agree more. If TN hunters want a good chance of killing a large-antlered buck, they need to go north into the Midwest. But if TN hunters want to kill an old buck, they can stay right here at home. However, here at home hunters will need to keep antler expectations low. TN can grow a snot-load of 100-120 class bucks, but 130+ is rare.

 

[scn]

Brian,

I really wish you would take that post and pushpin it to the top of the serious deer forum. You have hit on the true bottomline of the deer limit controversies.

Unfortunately, there are several that will refuse to believe what you just wrote.

 

[BSK]

As an example of "realistic expectations," the below pictured bucks are what hunters should expect to take as "good" bucks from well-managed hardwood habitat that is so common to TN. Now expectations can be higher (probably 10-15 inches higher) in the few heavy agricultural regions of TN. But the below bucks are good examples of what can be expected for much of TN, with all of the pictured bucks being between 115 and 125 gross.

Now that doesn't mean these areas won't produce the occassional whopper. They will. And if hunters can regulary take bucks like those pictured below, they will probably take a whopper on rare occassion. But they will also see quite a few older to mature bucks of far lesser caliber than those pictured. We kill more 3 1/2 and mature bucks in the 95-110 gross range than we do bucks like those pictured below.

 

[stik]

Percentage wise, VERY FEW hunters in Tennessee will ever even SEE one. Even in other states.

There are those who say they have seen several, and maybe even passed several, but until it hits the ground with a tape to the horn, it is just TALK.

i have 2. one grossed 130 5/8. the other hasn't been measured but is bigger than the 1st one.one public(although severely access limited) and one from private land.

 

[MUP]

I have one that scored 138- 3/8. I've hunted, off and on, since the mid 70's. I've killed several in the 100" range, but this is my rarity, and I'm dang proud of it.

 

[8 POINTS OR BETTER]

And here is the root of the problem. EXPECTATIONS.

Seeing a couple of 130s "every year" is NEVER going to happen for MOST of us. NEVER.

A 130 inch buck in Tennessee is like hitting the lottery. Although TV would lead you to believe otherwise, free ranging 130s are RARE. In the mid-west, maybe this is a little different, but still not that common.

Most Tennessee hunters would pee themselves if they had a TRULY 130 inch buck walk up to their stand. As would I. A 130 inch buck is a LARGE antlered buck.

Percentage wise, VERY FEW hunters in Tennessee will ever even SEE one. Even in other states.

There are those who say they have seen several, and maybe even passed several, but until it hits the ground with a tape to the horn, it is just TALK.

Trying to manage the Tennessee herd for 130s is INSANE!!!

I have to disagree. If trigger control is used, the majority of middle and west TN can grow a good number of mature 130" bucks. And the more mature bucks you have in an area the better your chance is of killing one.

10 years ago I would have probably agreed with you. My place was surrounded by 3500 acres owned by Willamette, that was public hunting, and a mature buck was hard to come by. Fast forward 10 years and all the Willamette land is now private owned. And several mature bucks are killed in the area each year. And most of the mature bucks will score 130".

 

[Andy S.]

And most of the mature bucks will score 130".

Most of the mature bucks in the herd will score 130", or most of the mature bucks you see in the back of pickups (targeted by hunters) score 130"? BIG difference.

 

[BSK]

Trying to manage the Tennessee herd for 130s is INSANE!!!

I have to disagree. If trigger control is used, the majority of middle and west TN can grow a good number of mature 130" bucks.

How many is a "good number?" Depending on your answer, I may have to strongly disagree with that statement. Now don't get me wrong, 130+ bucks will pop up just about anywhere in TN. A few can be grown anywhere. But the mature and older age bucks that score less than 130 will outnumber the ones that score 130+ by a very wide margin. When you start looking at the percentage of bucks in the older age classes that grow 130+ antlers, it is pretty small. Again, I'm not sayling 130+ bucks can't be produced in TN. They can, anywhere. But they make up just a tiny percentage of the antlered buck population, even in well-managed areas. If you want to hunt for just that tiny percentage of bucks, go for it. But don't ask the state (or other hunters) to set or hunt by rules intended to produce a lot more of those bucks, because it won't work. You will never produce a lot of those bucks in TN.

 

[8 POINTS OR BETTER]

Trying to manage the Tennessee herd for 130s is INSANE!!!

I have to disagree. If trigger control is used, the majority of middle and west TN can grow a good number of mature 130" bucks.

How many is a "good number?"

I'd say 2 130+ bucks per 1000 acres is possible.

 

[spoon]

Trying to manage the Tennessee herd for 130s is INSANE!!!

I have to disagree. If trigger control is used, the majority of middle and west TN can grow a good number of mature 130" bucks.

How many is a "good number?"

Not in west TN where I hunt....keep dreaming
I'd say 2 130+ bucks per 1000 acres is possible.

 

[8 POINTS OR BETTER]

Trying to manage the Tennessee herd for 130s is INSANE!!!

I have to disagree. If trigger control is used, the majority of middle and west TN can grow a good number of mature 130" bucks.

How many is a "good number?"

I'd say 2 130+ bucks per 1000 acres is possible.

Not in west TN where I hunt....keep dreaming

For it to be possible you have to do what your not willing to do.


You have to let the young ones walk.