2019 Deer check-in thread.

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Chasing these 2, actually a third not visible in pic. Z10. Was in woods behind this property fri eve, and land owner texted me this pic @6:00 and said “move closer to my house”.Wtf? I was prob 100yds in woods. Good news only 2 guys have permission, and I’m one of em. Aaaarrrgh!
 
Decided to climb up in the summit yesterday evening behing my house

Saw one lone big doe walk right under me. Let it stroll by at like pissing distance. Dont need any meat right now.
 
Decided to climb up in the summit yesterday evening behing my house

Saw one lone big doe walk right under me. Let it stroll by at like pissing distance. Dont need any meat right now.

I love the sustainability mindset! Never understood the "if it's brown it's down". Not knocking it. If it's legal, then play ball. Just not my cup of tea.
 
I love the sustainability mindset! Never understood the "if it's brown it's down". Not knocking it. If it's legal, then play ball. Just not my cup of tea.

Well. In my early years I was guilty of shooting more than I needed. I was immature and getting a kill was important. I never wasted those deer. I gave it away. But it left me wondering
why I should kill and do the work for someone else’s benefit.
Also if you let them go, two things, they will grow, and secondly, by letting a smaller buck or doe go by, sometimes MR Big follows right after. Also, by watching animals instead of shooting them right away, you learn little things about body movements, and interactions. Sometimes by watching the deer they will tell you another deer is coming without you even having to look.

Now, I could really care less, if the time and situation is right ill drop the hammer if I need the meat. One thing about not caring much. My bowhunting shot to kill ratio is nearly 100 percent as I have zero need to take an iffy shot. It’s usually a slam dunk at a relaxed animal with me being just as relaxed and ready.
 
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Early MZ season. At first glance thought buck was an eight, but just a healthy six. Saw him an seven does first day. Still waiting for big boy.
First day heavy frost and ice on puddles. Since then warm and sunny days and daylight activity down. Still seeing a few each evening
 
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Ive never taken a deer, so at this point i wont be picky. When the time comes ive taken a couple my mindset will likely change.
Ive been using antlerless tags for years to put meat in my freezer. For me it is definitely about the satisfaction of "providing". Between me and my boy and what we get during the season we dont buy beef all year.

You can't eat the antlers. And 80 pounds does are the best eating deer.
 
Ive never taken a deer, so at this point i wont be picky. When the time comes ive taken a couple my mindset will likely change.

Ive been using antlerless tags for years to put meat in my freezer. For me it is definitely about the satisfaction of "providing". Between me and my boy and what we get during the season we dont buy beef all year.

You can't eat the antlers. And 80 pounds does are the best eating deer.

I got my personal standards, but the most important thing is like what Whacko says, meat in the freezer. I got a doe tag, I'll take a doe, I get slightly picky about bucks but not very- I don't want to shoot a spike or button but I will if its getting late and my tag isn't going to get filled. We're finishing up the last of last year's buck right now, pretty much only have a few packages of burger left, haven't bought a piece of beef in a year and that has saved me a considerable bit in this tax hungry state.
 
When the critters are causing $3500 worth of damage, and you know once a vehicles body has been worked on they are never the same, I am taking what ever comes along. I have 2 doe permits for unit M and early season in N.H. also allows for does.
Bill

P.S. Anybody know of a good body shop in the Derry/Epping area.
 
Ive never taken a deer, so at this point i wont be picky. When the time comes ive taken a couple my mindset will likely change.

Nobody is asking you to be. Everyone hunts for different reasons. New hunters should shoot a few deer to get experience in tracking, etc

I can say I hunt for meat, but the cost of my gear, upgrades, gas, travel and licenses ( I hunt every weapon and different states). I can buy a years worth of sirloin steaks and tbones easily with that money.

Ive been backing off that in recent years but even multiple licenses cost me several hundred each year.

I hunt different states because the deer population in my area is low and im not adding to the misery by killing the only deer I see. In my out of state areas I will see over 50 deer in a weeks hunt. Maybe more. I can hunt my area of MA and ill see maybe one or two.

Then I really question my State game managers that actually give me a doe permit to snuff out even more of the population and make it lower....are they retarded?
 
Ive never taken a deer, so at this point i wont be picky. When the time comes ive taken a couple my mindset will likely change.

Whatever floats your boat bro. You don't have to justify anything to me, or defend yourself. I've been doing this for a bit, so yea I can get on some deer. But if you're new, success is hard to come by. Take what you can do legally. Especially during gun season when the army hits the woods and the deer lockdown in the most remote, thick, wet parts of the woods to get away from being driven all day long.
 
I passed on a doe that had her fawn with her yesterday (11/16). I thought that was kind of strange, that they were still together this time of year. I would have thought a buck would have beenn dogging her at this point and separating her from her fawn.

None of this is really noteworthy.. But what is noteworthy is that on the WMA I was on yesterday in Rochester, someone was gun hunting. Right at dusk, I hear a single gunshot, not too far from my stand. I didn't "see" the hunter actually make the shot. I stayed in my stand until dark which was only about 10 minutes later. At that point, I could see his flashlight/headlamp about 100ish yards to the north, and I could hear him crashing through the woods. His light was shining behind him (opposite his direction of travel) and he was obviously dragging something.

Not sure what I should/could have done about it. I couldn't see it if was actually a deer. Coyote is open so I gave him the benefit of the doubt. But a coyote weighs 35 pounds for a good-sized one. Not the kind of animal that requires dragging like that. Try as I may I can't come to any other conclusion other than that this guy shot a deer.

My vehicle was the only one in the WMA parking lot. But there are multiple access points so the guy could have come in from anywhere really. Lots of homes abut it too. He could have just walked in.
 
I passed on a doe that had her fawn with her yesterday (11/16). I thought that was kind of strange, that they were still together this time of year. I would have thought a buck would have beenn dogging her at this point and separating her from her fawn.

None of this is really noteworthy.. But what is noteworthy is that on the WMA I was on yesterday in Rochester, someone was gun hunting. Right at dusk, I hear a single gunshot, not too far from my stand. I didn't "see" the hunter actually make the shot. I stayed in my stand until dark which was only about 10 minutes later. At that point, I could see his flashlight/headlamp about 100ish yards to the north, and I could hear him crashing through the woods. His light was shining behind him (opposite his direction of travel) and he was obviously dragging something.

Not sure what I should/could have done about it. I couldn't see it if was actually a deer. Coyote is open so I gave him the benefit of the doubt. But a coyote weighs 35 pounds for a good-sized one. Not the kind of animal that requires dragging like that. Try as I may I can't come to any other conclusion other than that this guy shot a deer.

My vehicle was the only one in the WMA parking lot. But there are multiple access points so the guy could have come in from anywhere really. Lots of homes abut it too. He could have just walked in.
That is very strange.
 
I passed on a doe that had her fawn with her yesterday (11/16). I thought that was kind of strange, that they were still together this time of year. I would have thought a buck would have beenn dogging her at this point and separating her from her fawn.

None of this is really noteworthy.. But what is noteworthy is that on the WMA I was on yesterday in Rochester, someone was gun hunting. Right at dusk, I hear a single gunshot, not too far from my stand. I didn't "see" the hunter actually make the shot. I stayed in my stand until dark which was only about 10 minutes later. At that point, I could see his flashlight/headlamp about 100ish yards to the north, and I could hear him crashing through the woods. His light was shining behind him (opposite his direction of travel) and he was obviously dragging something.

Not sure what I should/could have done about it. I couldn't see it if was actually a deer. Coyote is open so I gave him the benefit of the doubt. But a coyote weighs 35 pounds for a good-sized one. Not the kind of animal that requires dragging like that. Try as I may I can't come to any other conclusion other than that this guy shot a deer.

My vehicle was the only one in the WMA parking lot. But there are multiple access points so the guy could have come in from anywhere really. Lots of homes abut it too. He could have just walked in.
It’s possible this hunter was dragging a bear but most likely it was a deer. If you didn’t see then the benefit is right to be given but if you were an EPO then you certainly would be cutting him off for some “interrogation”.
 
You beat me to that one.

In pre bans defense..... That is a recent addition. Bear used to be western zones only.
Correct and I am not in a position to claim any experience on the matter. I do know that last year black bears were claimed to be in excess of 5,000 bears and as little as 25 bears were taken so they increased the zones. Hence the reason I was out there post haste!
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