YOUR Buck?

[TheLBLman]

Good Perspective.

https://deerassociation.com/4-lesso...tter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=12-15-2022
Also note how much more "massive" this buck became from his age of 4 1/2 to 5 1/2.

Regardless who ultimately "tagged" him, much credit should go any hunters who gave this buck a pass when
he was 2 1/2, and 3 1/2, and 4 1/2.

 

[Ski]

That's the only way to see it, IMO. We do our best to cultivate, prune, and care for the tree. But ultimately the fruit can be picked by anybody who happens by it.

 

[backyardtndeer]

No sir, no deer is YOUR deer until you have it on the ground.

As much as I hate it, the bucks I target are often killed on neighboring properties. Most frustrating part is that the only neighboring owners that i talk with won't even tell you if they kill a good buck. One will flat out lie, that one I know feeds corn. I could probably be happy for him if he was honest and didn't cheat.

 

[deerhunter10]

No sir, no deer is YOUR deer until you have it on the ground.

As much as I hate it, the bucks I target are often killed on neighboring properties. Most frustrating part is that the only neighboring owners that i talk with won't even tell you if they kill a good buck. One will flat out lie, that one I know feeds corn. I could probably be happy for him if he was honest and didn't cheat.

It is in no way my deer never have or never will claim one that is on trail cameras that's crazy to me. I also do not cheat in anyway at all. But I do not tell my neighbors what I have killed or what deer we have on cameras. Don't hardly tell anyone except close friends and family. I have had properties leased out from under me that were some of the best dirt I've ever been on mainly because they knew what we were killing and what we were seeing. I have no doubt the majority would be thrilled and I am so thrilled when someone is successful. But sadly for me it just took a few bad apples for me not to post here, social media and don't hardly send a text out will just show people here and there.

 

[Ski]

No sir, no deer is YOUR deer until you have it on the ground.

As much as I hate it, the bucks I target are often killed on neighboring properties. Most frustrating part is that the only neighboring owners that i talk with won't even tell you if they kill a good buck. One will flat out lie, that one I know feeds corn. I could probably be happy for him if he was honest and didn't cheat.

Yeah I'm usually tickled pink for somebody who gets one of "my" bucks. I'm so vested in them that I'm happy to know the end of the story even if it's not me tagging it. Even though I don't always get the one I want and certainly don't get them all, I do get a disproportionate number of them.

That said, I'm not sure how I'd feel about having a situation like you described. It would be hard to be happy for a guy like that, although I'd probably still appreciate knowing.

 

[megalomaniac]

I'm always happy for my neighbors when they kill a 4.5yo or older.

But the flip side is I'm still sick inside when they kill a 130in 3.5yo, cut off his horns, and throw them in a pile.

But that's on my TN farms where we manage specifically for age structure and we have multiple 4.5yos available to kill every year. On other places I hunt, there may only be one single 4.5yo per 1000 acres. No reason to hold out for a mature buck, as you may only have one of those once every 4 or 5 years on small properties.

 

[megalomaniac]

Good Perspective.

https://deerassociation.com/4-lesso...tter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=12-15-2022
Also note how much more "massive" this buck became from his age of 4 1/2 to 5 1/2.

Regardless who ultimately "tagged" him, much credit should go any hunters who gave this buck a pass when
he was 2 1/2, and 3 1/2, and 4 1/2.

According to the article, his big jump in antler size was from 3.5 to 4.5... which is also common on my farms. He was killed as a 4.5yo, not a 5.5yo.

But definitely, some deer don't make the eye popping jump until the 4.5yo to 5.5yo seasons.

 

[backyardtndeer]

It is in no way my deer never have or never will claim one that is on trail cameras that's crazy to me. I also do not cheat in anyway at all. But I do not tell my neighbors what I have killed or what deer we have on cameras. Don't hardly tell anyone except close friends and family. I have had properties leased out from under me that were some of the best dirt I've ever been on mainly because they knew what we were killing and what we were seeing. I have no doubt the majority would be thrilled and I am so thrilled when someone is successful. But sadly for me it just took a few bad apples for me not to post here, social media and don't hardly send a text out will just show people here and there.

I had one, the boy that owned the farm behind me, that he would ask if we were killing anything decent and he would ask to see pics. I was honest with him the first few years. Whenever I asked him, he would say oh I just shot a coyote. We would hear them shoot fairly often, never once did he share what deer they were killing. He recently sold the place and I have yet to meet the new owner.

Yeah I'm usually tickled pink for somebody who gets one of "my" bucks. I'm so vested in them that I'm happy to know the end of the story even if it's not me tagging it. Even though I don't always get the one I want and certainly don't get them all, I do get a disproportionate number of them.

That said, I'm not sure how I'd feel about having a situation like you described. It would be hard to be happy for a guy like that, although I'd probably still appreciate knowing.

That one is not originally from around here. A Chicago transplant that had the nerve when he bought the place to ask me if I was ok with him putting a feeder on my property. He was running all over our farm before we moved onto the property. Needless to say we didn't really get along too well early on, but I do talk with him and try to be neighborly.

Only way I could see a deer being your deer would be if you had a high fence operation and you bought the deer or it was born on your operation. That is a bit different scenario though and I would liken it too being like my cows.

 

[Ski]

Only way I could see a deer being your deer would be if you had a high fence operation and you bought the deer or it was born on your operation. That is a bit different scenario though and I would liken it too being like my cows.

Eh I really think the "my deer" issue is a mountain made of an ant hill. It's miscontruing context. I've never met anybody who actually believes a deer belongs to them just because it uses their property. When people say "my buck" it's like a football fan referring to a team he follows as "my team". He is neither owner nor member of the team, has no authority whatsoever, but its still "my team".

Same thing with bucks. When I'm describing the bucks I'm following, the ones frequenting my hunting grounds, I refer to them as "my bucks". I don't own or have any authority over them. I have no delusions of it. But I still call them "my bucks". IMO it's such a simple, petty thing for folks to get hung up on.

 

[deerhunter10]

Eh I really think the "my deer" issue is a mountain made of an ant hill. It's miscontruing context. I've never met anybody who actually believes a deer belongs to them just because it uses their property. When people say "my buck" it's like a football fan referring to a team he follows as "my team". He is neither owner nor member of the team, has no authority whatsoever, but its still "my team".

Same thing with bucks. When I'm describing the bucks I'm following, the ones frequenting my hunting grounds, I refer to them as "my bucks". I don't own or have any authority over them. I have no delusions of it. But I still call them "my bucks". IMO it's such a simple, petty thing for folks to get hung up on.

Very good explanation.

 

[BSK]

In the 20+ years I've been running full-season photo-censuses, I don't think I've ever found a buck I believe lived only my property. All of the bucks using my place also use all the surrounding properties. And when a neighbor gets one, good for them!

The only time I was a bit peeved was when the top buck in the area got killed on a neighbor's property under questionable circumstances (not killed by the neighbor but by someone working on his property). Buck scored a hair under 150.

 

[Ski]

The only time I was a bit peeved was when the top buck in the area got killed on a neighbor's property under questionable circumstances (not killed by the neighbor but by someone working on his property). Buck scored a hair under 150.

No permission? Something similar happened last year on a farm I hunt. A logger who was thinning a couple tree lines shot a buck without permission, then didn't retrieve it because it ran across the river. Mind you the river is bedrock bottom and only ankle deep. Farmer was pretty angry. It wasn't a 150 incher, though.

 

[Chiflyguy]

I share pics with my landowner who doesn't hunt, a buddy down the road, and another guy behind me up the mountain.
The two guys that hunt and I get the same deers on camera.
Just trying to help a neighbor out.
We don't claim deers.

 

[Chiflyguy]

I had one, the boy that owned the farm behind me, that he would ask if we were killing anything decent and he would ask to see pics. I was honest with him the first few years. Whenever I asked him, he would say oh I just shot a coyote. We would hear them shoot fairly often, never once did he share what deer they were killing. He recently sold the place and I have yet to meet the new owner.

That one is not originally from around here. A Chicago transplant that had the nerve when he bought the place to ask me if I was ok with him putting a feeder on my property. He was running all over our farm before we moved onto the property. Needless to say we didn't really get along too well early on, but I do talk with him and try to be neighborly.

Only way I could see a deer being your deer would be if you had a high fence operation and you bought the deer or it was born on your operation. That is a bit different scenario though and I would liken it too being like my cows.

Give the guy from Chicago a smack.
80% chance he's a Democrat

 

[Snake]

Deer are not owned by anyone but if he's on my property at that point of time I see him he's my deer actually he's trespassing ☺ and I shoot trespassers

 

[deer hunter 21]

I'm probably guilty of saying the neighbor got the buck I been after but I've never considered any deer mine.

 

[Ski]

I share pics with my landowner who doesn't hunt, a buddy down the road, and another guy behind me up the mountain.
The two guys that hunt and I get the same deers on camera.
Just trying to help a neighbor out.
We don't claim deers.

I almost always share pics with owners on my permission properties. One old farmer hunts a few times per season. He used to be an avid hunter and loves seeing buck pics. I show him my kills too.

Another farmer won't even let me drag a deer. He loves coming to load them in the tractor bucket and hauling them out for me.

A younger farmer on my biggest permission farm has a young son he takes hunting from time to time. I not only show them pics but tell them where, how often, and when and where I think they'd have good opportunity to get a shot at a buck they want.

It's their properties. I'm not paying them or leasing the land. The only reason I'm there is by their good graces and generosity. There's no way I'd purposely withhold pictures or kills from them. They love seeing the wildlife using their land and I love showing it to them.

 

[BSK]

No permission? Something similar happened last year on a farm I hunt. A logger who was thinning a couple tree lines shot a buck without permission, then didn't retrieve it because it ran across the river. Mind you the river is bedrock bottom and only ankle deep. Farmer was pretty angry. It wasn't a 150 incher, though.

Logger supposedly shot the buck as it ran through his log-loading deck in the middle of the day. Don't buy it for a second.

 

[Ski]

Logger supposedly shot the buck as it ran through his log-loading deck in the middle of the day. Don't buy it for a second.

That's uncanny. Same exact lie this logger told. I wonder how often that happens?

 

[Maude]

This is a tough issue that I struggle with personally. Obviously, if someone shoots a deer on property they don't have permission to hunt, it's a legitimate issue. But, what I struggle with is when folks with permission, or you neighbor, kills a nice buck you have grown and passed on maybe multiple occasions. I've prayed and prayed to get over this jealousy but it is still tough. I know that this jealousy will cause hard feelings and if not dealt with, you can self-destruct. Low fence, the deer is not yours, but do what you can to make the deer all he can be. You cannot control others.

 

[BSK]

That's uncanny. Same exact lie this logger told. I wonder how often that happens?

The below buck runs through the loading deck while you're running the cutter/loader and you shoot him from the cab? Perhaps, but color me skeptical...

 

[backyardtndeer]

The below buck runs through the loading deck while you're running the cutter/loader and you shoot him from the cab? Perhaps, but color me skeptical...

If the logger didn't have permission, isn't that the same as poaching? If so, perhaps the game warden should have been notified to maybe keep the logger from doing the same thing to other landowners....

 

[BSK]

If the logger didn't have permission, isn't that the same as poaching? If so, perhaps the game warden should have been notified to maybe keep the logger from doing the same thing to other landowners....

No idea if he had permission or not...

 

[Ski]

This is a tough issue that I struggle with personally. Obviously, if someone shoots a deer on property they don't have permission to hunt, it's a legitimate issue. But, what I struggle with is when folks with permission, or you neighbor, kills a nice buck you have grown and passed on maybe multiple occasions. I've prayed and prayed to get over this jealousy but it is still tough. I know that this jealousy will cause hard feelings and if not dealt with, you can self-destruct. Low fence, the deer is not yours, but do what you can to make the deer all he can be. You cannot control others.

I feel your frustration. I wish I had some consolation for you but I don't. All I can chock it up to is that it's just part of the price you got to pay to have good hunting on your own dirt.

I worked my butt off and made lots of sacrifices throughout my life to put myself in a position of having dirt to call my own. When I got it, it was barren wide open woods. You could hunt days on end & never see the first deer. Through an investment of time, planning, intensive labor, and more money than I'd care tell my wife about, it's finally a place I can enjoy hunting because I see deer. Sometimes by God's grace I even tag a big buck. That's the overall return on investment. But it's not a straight climbing graph line. It zigzags up & down with wins and failures. I've had to see an awful lot of bucks grow up on camera only to be killed by somebody else, many before they had a chance to express their potential. Even the buck I killed this year had been shot at least twice by other hunters elsewhere, even though I'd been watching him enjoy my plots & bedding cover for years. Sure I felt invested in that buck but like so many others, if he were killed elsewhere then it would have been a loss. But I don't dwell on the moments. I focus on the trends, and have learned that in order to tag some of these bucks myself, I've got to accept that I'm going to lose some along the way to my neighbors.

Looking at it through that lens keeps my feet securely planted in the dirt of reality. That makes it hard to get too upset when bucks get taken by other hunters. I can't get jealous because I'm getting what I wanted, too, which is a property that produces big bucks for me to hunt. Just know that everything you do to benefit your land & enhance the hunting also by proxy enhances all of the surrounding properties possibly for miles. A little habitat work can have a big ripple effect. Your plots & browse & forbs & mast trees & security cover may very well have nurtured that huge buck the guy two farms away killed. He wouldn't have killed a big buck had you not created the environment for one to grow. Yet you get no thanks, no credit. He owes you nothing. That's just the harsh reality of it. It's easier to be happy for him than to be jealous.

 

[Ski]

The below buck runs through the loading deck while you're running the cutter/loader and you shoot him from the cab? Perhaps, but color me skeptical...

Anything is possible, but yeah I'd be skeptical. Whether he had permission or not makes all the difference in the world. If he did then while still frustrating, it's hard to be too upset. If he didn't have permission I'd be boiling.

The logger in my situation did not have permission. There was an unpleasant exchange and a job shortened, but no warden was called. I would have urged the farmer to do so but he felt he'd already handled it well enough, so I respected his decision and dropped it. I can't stand poachers. They rank right up there with liars & thieves.

 

[Snake]

This is a type of catch 22 . Don't you think others hunting near your hunting ground feel exactly the same way you do ? I'll answer yes they do . It's human nature to feel this way but in all reality when we think this way we are dead wrong !! I have never even begun to think these deer I have on camera my deer I actually think the opposite that they are coming from adjoining property .

 

[Falconi]

I can't stand poachers. They rank right up there with liars & thieves.

Pretty much the embodiment of poaching.

 

[Ski]

I have never even begun to think these deer I have on camera my deer I actually think the opposite that they are coming from adjoining property .

Even if a deer was born and grown on your property, only to be shot first time stepping off of it, it wasn't your deer. Deer roam everywhere. They're always coming from another property. All we can do is encourage them to spend a disproportionate amount of their lives on our property by providing the things a deer needs & wants. And while I'm not convinced we can help their antlers grow bigger, I do sincerely believe we can increase their odds of surviving into older age class by not only attracting them to spend time on, but also keeping them safe while on our property.

 

[muddyboots]

I've had several deer I was hunting killed by others. I have no problem with that. What irks me is passing a buck and someone shooting it just to throw the horns in a pile. I cannot get over that.

 

[BSK]

This is a type of catch 22 . Don't you think others hunting near your hunting ground feel exactly the same way you do ? I'll answer yes they do . It's human nature to feel this way but in all reality when we think this way we are dead wrong !! I have never even begun to think these deer I have on camera my deer I actually think the opposite that they are coming from adjoining property .

Considering the vast majority of bucks I have to hunt spend their summers in the neighbors' big ag fields, these are certainly not my bucks! If he's a hunter, imagine how the farmer next door feels, feeding these bucks all summer, just to have them move up onto a neighbor's place (mine) during deer season!