How Many Have You Killed?

[TN Larry]

I killed my first in 1992 which was a 1.5 yr old 5 pt. I was mad at them for several years and killed several deer for unit A. I'm not as mad at them as I used to be and let the kids shoot the does any more. I have all of my paper tags and used to know the exact amount as I kept a running tally. I could go back and count them up……actually been meaning to. I know it's over 100. Probably somewhere around 120…….I don't remember all of the does, but I can still tell you very detailed stories of all bucks from small ones back in the day to some a lot bigger. My goal now every year is to kill at least one mature buck and have been able to accomplish that most years. This year could possibly be in jeopardy as I am looking at a possible hip surgery that is definitely gonna hamper my ability to hunt this year.

My son who will be 15 this month is mad at them now. He's killed 32 thus far and think I've been looking down the gun barrel on 28 of them.

 

[JCDEERMAN]

I don't honestly know how many I've killed. I remember the first like it was yesterday. And every big buck I've been fortunate enough to take I remember crystal clear.

Right there with you. All the bucks are crystal-clear. The does and buttons, I'd have to really dig in. I have a picture-perfect memory, so if I had a map of every property I've killed deer at, I'd be able to tell you. But I don't have that kind of time LOL

 

[JCDEERMAN]

Elk, I've killed 4. 3 bulls and 1 cow. 1 with a rifle and 3 with a bow. How many have I hit or missed, probably 10

 

[tree_ghost]

Right there with you. All the bucks are crystal-clear. The does and buttons, I'd have to really dig in. I have a picture-perfect memory, so if I had a map of every property I've killed deer at, I'd be able to tell you. But I don't have that kind of time LOL

I know what you mean! It's funny though when I move through the woods and get to an area I've killed one it all comes flooding back, even the does and little ones

 

[fairchaser]

I bet if you took a poll, most hunters would fall into the category of 50-100 deer over their lifetime of hunting. They would also say they killed anything and everything at first and gradually got more selective. Toward the end of their career, they might kill one every few years! Then they woukd take their kids and grandkids hunting and repeat the process. If you added up the hours afield over a lifetime pursuing deer, it would be quite significant. There for a few years, I kept up with the hours in a tree and was surprised that it was that high. Somewhere around 60-80 hours in the tree on 20-30 hunts. It just shows we aren't just out there for the kill.

 

[Snake]

New item by Stephen Price

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This was one weekend with my grandson both limited out that weekend . Brought back many piled up on my truck and trailer many times during my hey day as God has blessed me well hunting deer . No monsters but quite a few decent bucks through out the years. Used to try get several people deer doing double figures many years but got to be a job more than enjoyment . Probably killed around a couple hundred I guess . Lost my best two leases in middle Tennessee so now only hunt around home and will be fortunate to kill one or so now . Father time creeps up on us all so enjoy your time afield while it's not a chore just to go hunting . Thanks be to the Lord always .

Would like to add this though : knowing DA ' s count being 53 counties is a great accomplishment I have had the opportunity to kill deer in about 20 of Tennesse's counties and two in Georgia @ Fort Benning . I've been invited to go on some hunts out of state but just couldn't at the time and to be honest really didn't want to go . Also only about 8 deer has been killed I'm my home county (little selective) and a total of only 40 in eastern part of the state so most of my kills have come from middle Tennessee. Although much better now you guys hunting in middle and the western part of the state have much more opportunities than the guys in the eastern part . There are some areas in eastern TN. that carry a good herd though now . If any hunter wants to know the difficulty of hunting and killing a deer travel to the mountains of east Tennessee with that said I have heard of a select few that do it rather consistently , to these I tip my hat to !!!!

 

[Double-D-Team]

Wow, never given it much thought. I couldn't give a number. I will say I've thanked the good Lord above for each one. I've hunted deer since 1973 and have been blessed each season. I still look forward to the next chance and when I quite getting excited about deer hunting I'll quite. Best of luck this season to everyone and be safe. SHOOT BY SIGHT WALK BY FAITH...

 

[david k.]

I Started deer hunting in about 1976 and my "guesstimate" for total whitetail deer would be in the neighborhood of 120-130 and if I add elk, mule deer and antelope probably 140 +/ total

 

[Kirk]

First deer in 1984. Second and third deer in 1992. Then the game was on. I have a journal I record all the kills in so I am fairly accurate on numbers. Might have missed entering a couple of entries over the years but not many. The last entry two years ago was 102.

I hit a point about 15 years ago I just enjoyed being outdoors and let a bunch of deer walk. The buck has to be special in some way for me to kill it.

 

[30-06 type of guy]

Killed my first one back in 2008. Last time I checked the TWRA site I was around 50.

 

[philsanchez76]

Late bloomer here. Started hunting 3 years ago. This will be my 4th season. I hunt public mostly and just checked my TWRA harvest page. 26 deer total.

 

[Kelljp]

Killed #1 in 1974.
Took awhile to get #2, there just weren't many deer in E. TN in those days.
We had to go to Middle TN to hunt usually, which was an all day/multiple day affair.

I can't remember all of them, there have been so many does, spikes, and small racks back in the 80's and early 90's.
Definitely close to 200 total, all states I've hunted.
I've slowed down greatly over that last 5-10 years.

No one today understands how hard it was in East TN in the early 70s when I started. Now I see 7 or 8 on my driveway travel most every day. I guess my 50 year total is around 100. Still don't have one mounted.

 

[Plateau Hunter]

Don't have exact record…wish I had kept record/journal…first was in about 1966…somewhere around 200…getting old and losing some of the fire…didn't kill a single one last year…all with a rifle…no real monster bucks…several super 8's…

 

[bobbuck]

Late bloomer here. Started hunting 3 years ago. This will be my 4th season. I hunt public mostly and just checked my TWRA harvest page. 26 deer total.

Wow! That is an impressive start.

 

[philsanchez76]

Wow! That is an impressive start.

Thx ive got one of those obsessive personalities that must go all in on something. I average 50 sits in the woods per year, so no real wizardry going on. I just love being out there a lot.

 

[Big Gun]

I don't have any idea and honestly don't really care to try and keep count.

 

[tree_ghost]

Late bloomer here. Started hunting 3 years ago. This will be my 4th season. I hunt public mostly and just checked my TWRA harvest page. 26 deer total.

That is impressive sir!

 

[hoghunter65]

No one today understands how hard it was in East TN in the early 70s when I started. Now I see 7 or 8 on my driveway travel most every day. I guess my 50 year total is around 100. Still don't have one mounted.

I understand completely, back in the early 70's I think I read where the deer kill was around 5000 statewide, I know I had an 11 year dry spell where I didn't kill a deer, I can remember several years I never even seen one.

 

[Rainman]

First deer (around a 120" 9 point) in 1985 when I was 10 and I was addicted from that point. Like most, the last 10 years or so, I've been very selective and usually kill a couple of does to eat and only a buck if it's unique or going on the wall. After my first year, I hunted with bow, muzzleloader and gun and I was a straight up deer slayer. We had a large, highly overpopulated farm that we couldn't kill enough deer off of. We applied for every quota hunt there was and very seldom didn't get drawn for them all. One year I killed 17 and most years was in double digits. I hate to think about how many 18 month old bucks I killed. Makes me sick at my stomach now to even think of it. We probably had 20 families that we donated deer to every year (this was well before Hunters for the Hungry and others). So all of that to say somewhere over the 300 mark. I wish I could go back and let 95% of those bucks walk.

 

[bobbuck]

Thx ive got one of those obsessive personalities that must go all in on something. I average 50 sits in the woods per year, so no real wizardry going on. I just love being out there a lot.

Well that means you are killing something about every 5 sits! Trust me that is impressive. I went 5 years not killing a deer when I first started. I was hunting all 3 seasons just about every weekend.