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2 does tonight

Iowa_Buckeye

Smartest person here
1,776
85
Linn County Iowa
I left work a bit early and headed out to try and fill my 2 first season doe tags and ended up filling them both. I use a muzzy and have been disappointed with my blood trails so just switched from TC 250 Shockwaves to Barnes 290 TMZs. These were the first deer I have shot with them and the blood trails were incredible. They were both quartering away and didn't even pass through, still more blood than you can image. Stevie Wonder could have followed it. I did take some video of the trails with my phone but don't know how to post it. If anyone does and wants to see it, shoot me your cell and I'll forward it on to you.

Out of tags till Late Muzzy season. Good thing is I'll have another buck tag for it!
Good luck if you are still chasing.

IMG_4841.jpg

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giles

Cull buck specialist
Supporting Member
Damn! If you ever want to trade hunts or something, let me know. I've got a place that I can promise will be disappointing. If that doesn't work, I've got a hell of a squirrel woods. Might even see a cat at that one.
 

"J"

Git Off My Lawn
Supporting Member
56,762
274
North Carolina
Damn! If you ever want to trade hunts or something, let me know. I've got a place that I can promise will be disappointing. If that doesn't work, I've got a hell of a squirrel woods. Might even see a cat at that one.

Dude you're a mess lmao....


Congrats on the doe harvest.... Good luck on the upcoming muzzy season....
 
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Bigslam51

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
25,778
127
Stark County
Damn! If you ever want to trade hunts or something, let me know. I've got a place that I can promise will be disappointing. If that doesn't work, I've got a hell of a squirrel woods. Might even see a cat at that one.
Haha! Congrats on the doe!
 

livetohunt228

Junior Member
59
0
You see a lot of posts lately saying "Ohio sucks", "where are all the deer", "we ain't seeing any deer or even hearing any shots", obviously referencing the deer hunting. 1st of all I don't want to start a war here and I know these does were taken lawfully but this is why OH and so many other areas around the Midwest are declining so bad. Over harvesting of the does. The deer herds are hurting guys. The over harvesting of does now for so many years, EHD, predation and more and more habitat being taken away from the Whitetails. We're doing what the legislation wants us to do, wipe out the deer. Their paid and lobbied by the insurance companies. It's up to us to make the change. Just because they say we can legally shoot 5, 6, 7 deer, does anyone really need too? Shoot a buck and a doe to fill the freezer, that's great. I get hunting and killing deer is fun but if we continue to slaughter all the does we aren't going to be able to enjoy deer hunting for much longer. The good old days of going out and seeing deer every sit are over, atleast for most of us anyway. Sure there's still areas that have a good population, and who knows maybe this particular area where these 2 does were shot is 1 of those areas that even needs thinned out. I'm not coming at this hunter, congrats on your accomplishment, I'm just trying to point out and express a real concern. We need to stop killing all the does. PERIOD!! Take this example as an equation, 2 dead does that were more than likely bred. Thats possibly like killing 6 deer. One last thing, what's crazy too me is it's the guys that are killing multiple does year after year after year for the past 6,7 years that are the ones saying "where are all the deer". Their all being killed! If we want good deer hunting for generations to come this has got to stop!! I know how this works.. let the bashing begin

 

Quantum673

Black Hat Cajun
Supporting Member
You see a lot of posts lately saying "Ohio sucks", "where are all the deer", "we ain't seeing any deer or even hearing any shots", obviously referencing the deer hunting. 1st of all I don't want to start a war here and I know these does were taken lawfully but this is why OH and so many other areas around the Midwest are declining so bad. Over harvesting of the does. The deer herds are hurting guys. The over harvesting of does now for so many years, EHD, predation and more and more habitat being taken away from the Whitetails. We're doing what the legislation wants us to do, wipe out the deer. Their paid and lobbied by the insurance companies. It's up to us to make the change. Just because they say we can legally shoot 5, 6, 7 deer, does anyone really need too? Shoot a buck and a doe to fill the freezer, that's great. I get hunting and killing deer is fun but if we continue to slaughter all the does we aren't going to be able to enjoy deer hunting for much longer. The good old days of going out and seeing deer every sit are over, atleast for most of us anyway. Sure there's still areas that have a good population, and who knows maybe this particular area where these 2 does were shot is 1 of those areas that even needs thinned out. I'm not coming at this hunter, congrats on your accomplishment, I'm just trying to point out and express a real concern. We need to stop killing all the does. PERIOD!! Take this example as an equation, 2 dead does that were more than likely bred. Thats possibly like killing 6 deer. One last thing, what's crazy too me is it's the guys that are killing multiple does year after year after year for the past 6,7 years that are the ones saying "where are all the deer". Their all being killed! If we want good deer hunting for generations to come this has got to stop!! I know how this works.. let the bashing begin
Pretty sure these weren't Ohio deer.

 

Iowa_Buckeye

Smartest person here
1,776
85
Linn County Iowa
Yea not Ohio deer but still Iowa/Midwest deer. We too have folks out here who state there are not enough deer, so it is just not an Ohio thing for sure.
Times do change though. When I started deer hunting in Ohio (back in 1983 or so) you could only get a buck tag, and could apply in the lottery for a doe tag. Those were the real days of few deer and you had to really 'hunt/work' to get one. When I started deer hunting here in Iowa (1996) there were also not very many deer in today's standards. 1st shotgun was buck only statewide and there were no 'doe tags' available. Well the population got so out of control for a few years (I'd guess from 2002 - 2008) there are now opportunities for you to get many, many doe tags (allocated by county) if want to. I'd guess most of the folks (in Iowa at least, maybe Ohio?) who state there are not many deer any more are the ones who started hunting during the height of the particular state's population and were spoiled by it? And now maybe are disappointed if they do not see the deer numbers they used too. Or maybe they are hunting in a crappy, over-hunted place? Who knows, but it is hunting after all..... It is hard for the state to manage down to the micro level.

As for the particular farm I hunt it is one of those pockets of high deer density, and we make it worse by improving the habitat and making them want to stay there. We can't seem to kill enough does to keep them in check. This picture is from late season a couple years ago. There is about 30 in the pic (out the west window of the tower blind I was hunting). There were probably another 60 or so out the south and east windows. Timber to the north so who knows how many more in there. This is also only 1 of 3 main/destination plots we have on the farm. So times that by 3 or so? We kill 20 or 30 does every year and every year there seems to be the same amount or more.

I do know every situation is different. And so is every hunter.

Late season pic.jpg
 

bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
48,879
274
Appalachia
Yea not Ohio deer but still Iowa/Midwest deer. We too have folks out here who state there are not enough deer, so it is just not an Ohio thing for sure.
Times do change though. When I started deer hunting in Ohio (back in 1983 or so) you could only get a buck tag, and could apply in the lottery for a doe tag. Those were the real days of few deer and you had to really 'hunt/work' to get one. When I started deer hunting here in Iowa (1996) there were also not very many deer in today's standards. 1st shotgun was buck only statewide and there were no 'doe tags' available. Well the population got so out of control for a few years (I'd guess from 2002 - 2008) there are now opportunities for you to get many, many doe tags (allocated by county) if want to. I'd guess most of the folks (in Iowa at least, maybe Ohio?) who state there are not many deer any more are the ones who started hunting during the height of the particular state's population and were spoiled by it? And now maybe are disappointed if they do not see the deer numbers they used too. Or maybe they are hunting in a crappy, over-hunted place? Who knows, but it is hunting after all..... It is hard for the state to manage down to the micro level.

As for the particular farm I hunt it is one of those pockets of high deer density, and we make it worse by improving the habitat and making them want to stay there. We can't seem to kill enough does to keep them in check. This picture is from late season a couple years ago. There is about 30 in the pic (out the west window of the tower blind I was hunting). There were probably another 60 or so out the south and east windows. Timber to the north so who knows how many more in there. This is also only 1 of 3 main/destination plots we have on the farm. So times that by 3 or so? We kill 20 or 30 does every year and every year there seems to be the same amount or more.

I do know every situation is different. And so is every hunter.

View attachment 50280
Good rebuttal.

Congrats on the does!
 

livetohunt228

Junior Member
59
0
Like I said when I posted my comment, I understand not every area is in the same state as far as the herd. I also didn't know these does weren't killed in OH., we are on a OH forum. Whether they were or not, that's not the point, I'm basically talking the whole Midwest, which obviously includes OH. I'm originally from OH, now live in MI. I've hunted the last several seasons in IL, OH, KY and IN. 1 thing I'm seeing and hearing is low deer numbers across the board. Again, there's obviously areas that are thriving like wherever the original poster of this thread hunts in Iowa. I've heard of several of the same concerns statewide there as well about the overall herds though and that's that their overall low. Guys are using these essentially unlimited doe tags and wiping them out. I get it needs to be done in certain areas, again where this guy shot 2 does, looking at the pics, they have an abundant amount of deer/does. I'm taking about the areas that don't have the abundance and guys/girls are still shooting every deer they see. If this keeps up we will have no more deer hunting. Our kids will not want to get into deer hunting. They don't want to go sit out there and see nothing, they'd rather just stay home and play their IPads. We as the hunters need to make the change, not the legislation or the states. Us, the ones pulling the triggers or letting those arrows fly. We can control what and what we don't do. We GOT to lay of the does if we're going to have deer hunting for future generations. It's not just the over harvesting of the does, it's diseases like EHD, predation, I read that something like 70% of new fawns are killed of by predators. These animals need help and we can't control mother nature, although I really would love to see more intensified research done on EHD and how or if we can fight it. I guess what I'm trying to say is we can control our own actions and in my opinion that needs to start with laying of does in much of the Midwest for awhile. Just because the state will allow you 4,5,6 tags... don't mean you have to fill them. Who wants to join me in this effort to restore hunting and make deer hunting great again? 👍
 
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livetohunt228

Junior Member
59
0
Check out the "Ohio SUCKS" thread...I think you will like it.
Giles, I've read the "Ohio sucks" thread. Don't know if your being serious by saying you think I'd like it. I don't like reading that hunters are experiencing bad hunts or not filling their tags. I know there's way more to hunting then just filling your tag but most of us are out there for that main reason. I'm just 1 hunter expressing my thoughts and concerns. I'm not here to hate on anyone for what their legally allowed to do, I'm just expressing what I feel is something that really needs to be discussed amongst us hunters. Maybe I'm clueless and have no idea what I'm talking about when it comes to the state of the herd across the Midwest. I don't think I am but I'm sure many reading probably so. Like I've said over and over, it's up to US, the hunters to change what needs or what we want to see changed. The states can set bag limits, don't mean we have to go by them and fill every tag they allow us to. We're the ones out there hunting, we're the ones making the choices. We believe we CAN and need to make a difference. I'm very passionate about Whitetails and Whitetail hunting and just want to see it be the best it can be for all my fellow hunters and myself for many years to come. I believe for that to happen, we have to lay off the does. I personally have not shot 1 in 8 years and won't until I'm hunting an area that needs thinned out or the herds start rebounding, numbers wise. Thats my 2¢ for what it worth... I'm sure to most not much. Good luck to my fellow hunters and Happy Holidays!!