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whats your magic number


longislandhunter12
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About 40 years ago, when I could still remember how many deer and how many turkeys I had killed, I started keeping track on my desk calender at work.. Not that I was into numbers that much, but I just thought that it would be cool to be an old fart and know how many critters I had killed..

Well, I have been retired for a few years and and I have stopped keeping track in the last few years..

Last I can remember, I had killed about 120 turkeys and about 120 deer...Bucks and does were about 50/50...

Now as far as out of state game goes, the numbers are much smaller and I can remember them. I have shot 13 caribou, 4 feral hogs, 2 moose, 2 elk, 2 pronghorns and one mule deer.

Edited by Pygmy
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I have hunted with my bow sence 14 and am now 26 have yet to get one....had shots but not connected....i shot my first deer with shotgun at 17 and quit counting....but I am going for my 4th straight 8 point if I connect this year....and all but 2 deer have been taken with my dad and uncle in the woods with me...can't beat that.....about 4 or 5 years till my son will come out for deer...but here's today's harvest bc he had a blue (really good) day at school he's 4 in pre_k post-4901-14111724981493_thumb.jpg

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I don't know the exact number but a good close guess would be 50 deer about 5 or 6 bucks. I hunt alone so no memories with friends or family but I do enjoy my time outdoors and have a blast. All but 2 with bow and arrow, my first two were gun and never used it again.

Edited by nycredneck
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I've hunted since 1970 and taken more deer than I can remember.  I don't keep count of them.  

 

But I do remember every deer I didn't take, especially the big ones, whether it was missed, too elusive, or spared for some personal reason.

 

That number is about 1/4 of the deer I did bag.

 

You learn very little from each deer you are successful taking.  You learn a ton from the ones you were unsuccessful taking.

 

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I used to keep track of this when I was younger, but at some point I felt like if I knew the actual # it would sound like I was bragging when I talked about it so I stopped.

I know for a fact it's well over 50, but it may be closer to 75 or 100 by now. I just don't know or care anymore.

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I have killed enough deer that I no longer have to get one to make my season fun. I started out like most with shooting the first buck I saw, and I never had a problem shooting does whether it was with the old party permits, or the newer DMP's.

 

I shot a lot of deer, and a few of them were nice ones because I had good teachers, and good land to hunt. I will say that I had a lot of fun hunting this way. One year I shot a small crotch horn and watched a beauty of a buck come through while I was gutting him. I just had a thought of, "Why did I shoot this little buck when I have shot tons of them?"

 

So, for the last 12 years I have targeted bigger bucks, first by horns, and finally by age. I will be the first to admit, when I switched to age, it got a lot harder and I have eaten my buck tag twice in the last 7 years. Guess what, I still have a ball doing it. Hell, last year I let a couple of youngsters fill my doe tags, and I still had fun.

 

All I can say is to relax. Don't fall into expectations or goals that you are not ready to accept. Keep it fun whether it is hunting on your own, or with friends.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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My father keeps a journal of who hunted on our property,when where on the property,what they saw,what they killed,where it was killed,weapon used,what day it was and the weather and time of day of sighting or kill. He has done this sense he started hunting, alot of info there. At the end of every year he writes down a tally of how many and what each hunter got. We were just going through some old books last week. They use to be a good source of info as to where and when was the best times to get deer. Not so much the last ten years or so as the deer pop has gone way down over the years.

Any how I started bow hunting when I was 14 and gave it up when I was 22. That was 9 seasons with a bow and I killed 8 bucks and one doe with bow in that time. Started hunting with gun when was 16 and still going. That is 29 seasons with a gun. That is 29 Bucks and 84 doe during that time frame. That makes 37 bucks and 85 doe for a total of 122. Hope to make that 125 or 127 this season.

I would have just as much of a good time if that number was 0. I do not like the thought of buying a tag and not getting meat in the freezer but i love being in the woods. The number of deer I have seen and just watched is way up there. I like filling the freezer but at times have just as much of a good time just watching. That is getting harder to do with lower deer numbers in my area if I pass on a good deer I might not see another all season and eating a tag and not meat is not acceptable. That is like going to the butcher paying him for steaks and then leaving them there. I pay for tag to get meat I can sit in woods and watch for free.

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6 NY bucks

1 WY buck mule deer

1 WY buck antelope

1 Alberta Canada male coyote

1 Arizona male Mt Lion

2 Arizona Gray fox (1 male 1 female)

1 Minnesota male Bobcat

1 British Columbia male Canada Lynx

1 Pennsylvania male Porcupine

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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I've killed 72 deer. Since I was 16 I've kept a log book with every deer I've shot in it. I also write down the time, date, weather conditions, and location. It's fun to go back and read through it.

 

Good on ya. I think I've done about the same but don't remember 1/2 of them.

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