Conserving Does... Is It In Vain?

Dick, I haven't read all of the response, but I've read a few. My take is, if you are doing your part in conserving then I think it is helping... even if the guys on the other properties are taking a few. You will see a difference as time goes on.

I'm with the masses here... your property, your rules. Id be the same as you. My boys know on two of the properties we hunt that doe are off limits. One other property has a ton of doe. They are fair game there.

Mingo Sportsman Club put the kibosh on shooting does last year and this year (with the exception of youth gun weekend) to try and get their population back up. It is in the middle of public ground and two other sportsman clubs who have not put restrictions on shooting doe. But, I like that Mingo is doing their part to try and get the population back up. I don't think its in vain.

5Cent said:

I want to respond to this with my full feelings, but I will not be able communicate it well through written word without being labeled or crucified. Below is my attempt at a condensed version.
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No reason to crucify you as your are basically explaining how hunting is very scenario driven and everyone's motivations are a little different. I to will be holding a 75" 6 pt by the end of season if things come down to it maybe not necessarily to fill my freezer for the year but to enjoy the harvest and a successful season as a hunter not a trophy killer.

I personally don't shoot doe but don't know if I agree with some people's philosophy of going to "public ground" to shoot doe as for some people that is the only property they have to hunt so you are basically doing what you don't want done to your property somewhere where another guy is hunting.

bowhunter1023 said:

Middle-class hick. Sounds classy. lmao

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Sounds like me too. What do we need to become a High-Class Hick?
My son ribs me all the time 'your the only millionaire I know who has holes in their clothes'. I do wear clothes with holes in the proper places.
Let me know on the qualifications on High-Class Hick so I can work on it. LOL

PA Bandit said:

I personally don't shoot doe but don't know if I agree with some people's philosophy of going to "public ground" to shoot doe as for some people that is the only property they have to hunt so you are basically doing what you don't want done to your property somewhere where another guy is hunting.

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Very well stated!!!

Hortontoter said:

My stepson is 48 years old and has shot quite a few deer in the last 10 years or so. He hunts for meat not just to kill something.

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Then it's up to you. A grown man can find other places to hunt if he does not like the rules.

Do I believe your attempts are in vain due to surrounding properties...maybe. If you do not need the meat, then no. If you need the meat, then yes.

It's up to the ODNR to manage the overall herd health, not individuals as Joe stated. We all want to be in control of our future, unfortunatley with deer hunting in Ohio, we can only do so much. If you sleep better at night knowing you did a little to help, then no other justification needed. If you go hungry because you're trying to fix something that is out of your control, then yes, it's in vain.

Short answer: It depends.

I think that it's all relative to the property you hunt and surrounding areas. Hunters need to continue doing a better job of educating themselves about the "local herd" conditions and what they can withstand. We are getting better about it as a hunting community, but there is still a large faction of "brown it's down" out there.

I have one place I hunt that is a no doe property due to the lack of numbers and abundance of hunters in the area. Do neighboring hunters kill does? Yes, but I can't control that. I can only control my own actions. There are two other places I hunt that can withstand a doe or two taken as they seem to have stable numbers of deer from year to year. It doesn't mean that I kill does off of these properties every year, but if I do I don't lose any sleep over it.

You can only control what you do and what is done on areas you have control over.

You don't get to set ODNR bag limits, you don't get to tell neighbors what they can or can not kill, you don't get to control how many deer are hit by cars, poached, die of disease or old age or lost to predation.

Whether your self imposed restrictions make a difference in the big picture or not really doesn't matter. You can only control your land in the manner you choose for the reasons you determine to be important. So if you choose to let your stepson shoot a doe or not really just comes down to what YOU think, the rest is really irrelevant to the decision.

High-class hick...lol...Ted Nugent and Clint Eastwood are the first people who come to my mind.

Or, we just call you Typical Republicans...he he.

Curran said:

Short answer: It depends.

I think that it's all relative to the property you hunt and surrounding areas. Hunters need to continue doing a better job of educating themselves about the "local herd" conditions and what they can withstand. We are getting better about it as a hunting community, but there is still a large faction of "brown it's down" out there.

I have one place I hunt that is a no doe property due to the lack of numbers and abundance of hunters in the area. Do neighboring hunters kill does? Yes, but I can't control that. I can only control my own actions. There are two other places I hunt that can withstand a doe or two taken as they seem to have stable numbers of deer from year to year. It doesn't mean that I kill does off of these properties every year, but if I do I don't lose any sleep over it.

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Well said, Sean.

From a working class perspective,and 90% public hunter.I hunt for meat first,but this time of year the does get a pass .but by shotgun season I will take a doe.meat is meat
I'm just glad they did away with that early muzzle loader. That put a hurting on the herd in Guernsey county,The numbers are starting to turn around slowly. The bulls hit numbers dnr puts out is a joke