So you say deer is your number 1...

[Four Season Whitetail's]

So if deer are your number 1 thing to hunt then do tell what is the reason for that...It is pretty easy to kill a deer by walking into most woods. If you dont have them then a short drive would find ya some!  So what in a deer makes it so thrilling and exciting for you?

[landtracdeerhunter]

This aught to be good, LOL.

[Four Season Whitetail's]

This aught to be good, LOL.

Lol.  Pretty simple question really. Now if the truth is told will be the next thing!

[Five Seasons]

2 years ago i'd agree with you about how easy it is just to walk into the woods. Years of private land hunting has spoiled me. I challenge you to head to some of the public land and norther parts of the state and report back.

[growalot]

Well they aren't my #1..but what makes hunting them thrilling and exciting? The game of it all...the prepping..... My doing things on the land to see how many I can get to see. The deciding which of dozens and dozens of stands and blinds to choose to get them in close enough...whether I can trick their noses...when spotted still fool them into staying....figuring out the best times to move or not and once in a while being right....That's it in a nut shell

Edited July 29, 2015 by growalot

[monkeyman2269]

I can shoot the limit on public land just gotta find the deer by scouting that being said I usally let alot pass I hate long drags

[MACHINIST]

After thinking about it I really don't know.I love the meat,getting up early and trying to outwit a big buck,sharing a hunt with family and friends(both meat and the story,the thrill of the hunt and I also do love the kill itself.

[jjb4900]

it would be quicker for me to tell you what doesn't thrill me about deer hunting........the list of why I do it, and what I find exciting about it is too long.

[dbHunterNY]

#1 thing to hunt, yes a deer is it.  I get more food from it compared to other game in the area, and my family likes it.  they're here locally or within a drive to hunt.  I'm successful every year, but compared to other critters I wouldn't say their easy to hunt at all.  much of my extended family hunts deer to share memories with.  growing up, my dad took me along and only really hunted deer.  Deer I choose to shoot still get me excited with "buck fever".  fortunately I've figured out how to let it take hold after the shot.  my biggest buck I was deciding on whether to take it or not due to where I was.  my right knee started to shake from "buck fever" and that sealed its fate down in the canyon.  not sure what causes the buck fever though.... maybe all the working up to success but it not being a sure thing until the very end.

[monkeyman2269]

Bow hunting deer is my number one then ducks

[n.y.grandpa]

I do not hunt just to kill any deer. Killing a target deer or a personal best deer is not always so easy. Time spent in the woods is relaxing and theraputic so it has to be good for a person.

[Four Season Whitetail's]

Good answers but not to the question...What about the DEER makes you tick...What makes one deer different from any other. Would you let one walk to wait to kill another. They all pretty much look the same really. What are YOU looking for.  

Not why do you hunt. What does the deer have to have for you to kill it?

[jjb4900]

Good answers but not to the question...What about the DEER makes you tick...What makes one deer different from any other. Would you let one walk to wait to kill another. They all pretty much look the same really. What are YOU looking for.  

Not why do you hunt. What does the deer have to have for you to kill it?

the one with more meat on it...........

[Four Season Whitetail's]

2 years ago i'd agree with you about how easy it is just to walk into the woods. Years of private land hunting has spoiled me. I challenge you to head to some of the public land and norther parts of the state and report back.

If there is deer there a good hunter will find one.  I also added in the short drive just for this reply.

[steve863]

I'm an equal opportunity deer killer.  If I have a tag for it and I find one within range, it will get shot.  A bit more or less meat or horn makes absolutely NO difference.

 

 

 

[Four Season Whitetail's]

I'm an equal opportunity deer killer.  If I have a tag for it and I find one within range, it will get shot.  A bit more or less meat or horn makes absolutely NO difference.

Ahh..The truth...If its brown its down pretty much.  Thats fine, Your a meat hunter!  Next!!!!

[dbHunterNY]

age or I have to pick it within a particular age group, if one doesn't stand out as older. picking an older deer for the area and successfully doing what you must to legally take it is an accomplishment worth it all.  my two most prized trophies are my 2nd largest buck and a doe I shot in that order probably.  the doe was just older than any deer I know of ever taken in the area.  the buck i hunted the whole season along with everyone else.  patterned it.  missed it with a bow because of a twig.  it went into ghost mode.  i figured out where it was and then patterned a hot doe to get a chance at it.  most work I've ever put into taking a deer.  sure big antlers factor in a bit but age is the driving factor.  hell they don't even really get that big around here to get excited about.  honestly I think it's kind of silly we expect free range monsters yet we as a whole do the exact opposite you do to grow bigger bucks.  we are constantly weeding out the biggest bucks for a given age, the ones with the best antler genetics.  one group of hunters won't do anything to change it though I get it.  just think it's a pretty laughable concept.

[wolc123]

This is an easy one. The #1 reason I hunt deer is for the meat. I don't look for any "competition" and antlers do little for me but provide convenient "drag-handles", and reminders of past hunts. My favorite deer to kill are 2.5 year old bucks because they provide the best combination of quantity and quality of meat. Does slow me down when butchering due to all the extra fat that needs to be trimmed away, and do not taste any better than bucks in any given age class.

The last thing I want to do is challenge myself when killing deer, and I will always go for the most efficient, affordable, legal method available. The crossbow is the best thing to come along in years in that respect. I am very fortunate that my wife and kids like eating venison nearly as much as I do. Trips to the meat-market are rarely required thanks mostly to the liberal limits of deer and fish available here in recent years.

Each season I will hunt until I have sufficient quantity of meat in the freezer to last until the next year. I typically pass a few 1-1/2 year old bucks each season but no other deer get passes until available tags are expended (antlered and antlerless), or season ends.

I realize that every hunter has different reasons for hunting deer. I respect them all, but I don't like it when hunters try and limit what others do. That includes placing restrictions on the use of more effective weapons like crossbows, in-line ML's, or center-fire rifles. Regular bows, Side-lock ML's, and shotguns have all caused me problems in the past, and I am extremely thankful to see the regulatory tide in NY turning firmly toward the more effective weapons in all these classes (archery, ML, and gun). There is still a little work to be done there however, until we can get all of archery season open to the crossbow and a few more zones opened to the rifle.

[ants]

I just love the ease of the hunt!!!

[growalot]

Something unique...I love split brows...crazy wide racks...doe with those huge roman noses, ones that walk around looking like they are about to do a "snoopy dance"(noses straight up in the air scanning the trees)... Taking an injured deer over a big racked one..done that several times...I suppose coloration as well never a pure Albino but pieibald...a seriously dark deer or blonde

[Mr VJP]

FSW is looking for someone to say it's the big antlers that a deer hunter wants.

 

Every deer hunter hopes for a buck with a huge rack.  But a huge rack on a deer that has lived for many years in the wild, indicates a deer that was an exception among deer.  It had to be very wary, wise and even lucky, to grow that big in the wild.  Taking such a deer can indicate a great deal of skill on behalf of the hunter who killed it.  It could also be a case of pure luck on the hunter's part too.

 

Huge antlered bucks on commercial preserves are not of the same description.  Taking such a deer on a preserve requires a great deal of money, and not much else.

 

[dbHunterNY]

.......antlers do little for me but provide convenient "drag-handles".....

 

not to derail the thread but most people don't think it's easier to drag a buck by the hind legs.  nobody ever does it and always drags by the antlers.  i think you're lifting the heaviest part of the buck and trying to drag it on top of that. hind legs are long enough most don't even need to bend over while dragging.  you can do it however you want and I'm not saying it's wrong.  just think about it.

[MACHINIST]

Good answers but not to the question...What about the DEER makes you tick...What makes one deer different from any other. Would you let one walk to wait to kill another. They all pretty much look the same really. What are YOU looking for.  

Not why do you hunt. What does the deer have to have for you to kill it?

 

I understand now,really I have never tried to pick one out except one.She was a doe with one leg that was hit by a car and the whole crew of guys that hunted that area wanted to get her.We had watched her during bow and she had a real tough time getting around but we couldn't get close with our bows even when stalking her.She ended up getting shot after a week of deer though by a neighbor.I really just take a deer that excites me,it could be a small buck,doe or the next wallhanger.I have had a few deer that just because of the day or how I felt and thats all.

[Four Season Whitetail's]

FSW is looking for someone to say it's the big antlers that a deer hunter wants.

 

Every deer hunter hopes for a buck with a huge rack.  But a huge rack on a deer that has lived for many years in the wild, indicates a deer that was an exception among deer.  It had to be very wary, wise and even lucky, to grow that big in the wild.  Taking such a deer can indicate a great deal of skill on behalf of the hunter who killed it.  It could also be a case of pure luck on the hunter's part too.

 

Huge antlered bucks on commercial preserves are not of the same description.  Taking such a deer on a preserve requires a great deal of money, and not much else.

Figures it would be you to bring in high fence into a conversation!  FSW does not give a rats ass if you kill deer for big antlers or not. I myself like big antlers but i like to HUNT the baddest, Smartest SOB in the woods on his own turf.  That means you have to find him first. I have shot mature 4 points with bases as big as coke cans. He was a very smart deer and did not take him till late muzzle season!

 

Back to your rant on high fence i guess!!!!!

[Mr VJP]

Figures it would be you to bring in high fence into a conversation!  

 

With all due respect FSW, since you are in the business, your posts are the ones that bring it into the conversation.  It's impossible not to think of your business when you post anything involving deer, or deer hunting.

 

I was not ranting, just making an astute observation about the value of huge antlers on a deer that's been killed.