Deer Harvest Numbers - Why The Pattern?

[Mike Belt]

I'm retired now so I hunt any and every day season is open. With the exception of about 3 weeks I did the same when I worked. Having said that, I'm fortunate enough to have a lot of land to hunt. I hunt "PRIME TIME" stands and when not, I hunt other stands. Because I have a lot of land I'm able to do this and hunt so often. After prime time I may continue to hunt my "prime time" stands. I figure that late into the season I have nothing to lose.

 

[Crosshairy]

I balance my hunting pressure between several public land spots and the private land (85 acres) on which I share access with others.

The private land is not "respected" enough, and gets over-hunted to the point that I've noticed a significant drop-off in deer sightings.

Last season was the first year in 7 years that I didn't kill a deer off of it. Instead, I killed 3 deer on 3 different public land hunts (1 bow, 2 muzzleloader) and missed a 4th due to equipment failure.

So the morale of my story is that, if you are in a decent deer hunting county with a tiny tract of private land, save it for instances where you have zero travel time or want to hunt it at the peak of the rut. Spread your attention across other places instead.

It's fun to scout land and find new spots. Pack a lunch, get to the back of a place, and drag one out. You might not want to do it with every single deer, but it's pretty rewarding.

 

[BSK]

Crosshairy,

From your post above, it sounds like some of your public land spots are fairly productive. Do you find you have to work very hard to find "good" spots on public land, or do you believe good public areas are more common than most hunters think?

 

[Crosshairy]

Crosshairy,

From your post above, it sounds like some of your public land spots are fairly productive. Do you find you have to work very hard to find "good" spots on public land, or do you believe good public areas are more common than most hunters think?

I'm a meat hunter 90% of the time, so "productive" for me just means that deer are present.

Of the three I killed, one was a doe from the President's Island antlerless hunt, which is a bit of an anomaly when compiling statistics.

My personal opinion is that, for people with "meat" standards, there are good public land options throughout much of the state. The two locations that I killed deer on, however, probably required 30+ hours of Internet research to locate. My criteria is that I don't want to see another vehicle wherever it is that I park, and so far I've been successful at keeping it that way.

The downside to my hunting spots are that they are small enough area of quality habitat that they really can't sustain additional pressure. In other words, I can offer generic words of encouragement, but I can't even give people a hint about where I'm hunting without potentially ruining the spots. They are out there, you just have to be resourceful and willing to walk a bit!

My spots are special to me because deer sighting frequency is high. The reason for that is a high concentration of habitat that holds deer even in high hunting pressure scenarios (thickets, mostly). I hunt the ugly land that people overlook, and I kill deer there on a somewhat regular basis. If you know what to look for, it is more available than people realize.

 

[BSK]

Thanks Crosshairy. Interesting info.

 

[woodsman87]

I got about 190-200 acres of private land to hunt, but it gets pressured by not only me, but the guy that hunts with me on it and neighboring property. As of me and friend, It is both of our lands combined, we just let each other hunt on each others land. But I hunt with him and pull for him if you know what I mean. It is the neighbors that do the pressuring. Hunting everyday, shooting everything they see, and so forth, but neighbors do not bow hunt. I probably ruin my spots during bow season some, but I am afraid if I don't hunt them when I can, when muzzle or gun season opens the neighbors would have done shot everything up.

I do not want to get bashed for this, and I am not complaining or whining. There is nothing I can do about somebody else hunting the way that they want to hunt within their boundraies. It is just frustrating. I have killed several deer, and some decent bucks but I am to the point now where I don't much feel like shooting a buck unless I am going to mount it. Maybe I should lower my standards, maybe I should start small game hunting, I don't know. Maybe I should dish out some gas money and start hunting public land or my far away private spot.

 

[BSK]

I do not want to get bashed for this, and I am not complaining or whining. There is nothing I can do about somebody else hunting the way that they want to hunt within their boundraies. It is just frustrating.

Yes, the effect neighbors hunting tactics have on your land can be frustrating. Hopefully, you can find a way to take advantage of what they are doing (finding a way to play their hunting pressure to your advantage).

I have killed several deer, and some decent bucks but I am to the point now where I don't much feel like shooting a buck unless I am going to mount it. Maybe I should lower my standards, maybe I should start small game hunting, I don't know. Maybe I should dish out some gas money and start hunting public land or my far away private spot.

I'll be the first to admit I do a lot of "trophy hunter" bashing. However, it is not the trophy hunting I'm bashing. Every hunter should decide for themselves what they want to kill and why. If a hunter only wants to shoot "mountable" bucks, good for them and good luck with that endeavor. My problem with some trophy hunters is their demand that everyone else should have the same harvest standards they do (and their real reason for demanding that is so that they personally will be more successful--more younger bucks passed) and their belief that only hunters with the same standards as themselves are "worthy" hunters.

 

[102]

BSK wrote:

I'll be the first to admit I do a lot of "trophy hunter" bashing. However, it is not the trophy hunting I'm bashing. Every hunter should decide for themselves what they want to kill and why. If a hunter only wants to shoot "mountable" bucks, good for them and good luck with that endeavor. My problem with some trophy hunters is their demand that everyone else should have the same harvest standards they do (and their real reason for demanding that is so that they personally will be more successful--more younger bucks passed) and their belief that only hunters with the same standards as themselves are "worthy" hunters.

One of the best post you ever made Bryan!

 

[JeepKuntry]

Middle/West TN has more farming habitat. Better soil, better food source. I would imagine alot of middle TN counties, especially the closest counties in Unit L, have alot of east TN folks on leases there.