This seasons score

[Robhuntandfish]

13 minutes ago, Steuben Jerry said:

Weird season for me. Had to work crazy hours for almost all of archery season and finally got out near the end and took a doe with the xbow. Gun season came with Thanksgiving week off and I let everything walk, holding out for one of the decent ones. Work still crazy when I got back so I was very time limited (and exhausted from long days) for the rest of the season. Could've shot does almost every time I went out. Never even flipped the safety off. Had several 8 points in range during the regular season, but I let them all walk.

No regrets really, especially when I still had two deer in the freezer from last year. Wife never pulled the trigger either. Daughter tagged out with an 8 and a doe and that was about the most important thing this year. She asked me the other day why I didn't shoot a fairly decent 8 that I watched through the crosshairs for a half hour. Told her I didn't feel like killing him. Didn't really have another answer. I'm not necessarily a horn hunter, although everyone wants a big buck, right? Odd season for me, I guess I'll blame it on the 2020 blahs.

Sounds like some peaceful time sitting in the stand was more important than meat or horns.  Glad you got out some and congrats on your daughter's season.

[hunterdan44]

Well for my group of four , my two sons and my nephew (raised as my son) and myself 2020 was a good hunting season. I started off with a large Tom third day of fall turkey over 20 lbs 8” beard. My youngest shot his best buck a large 8 on Halloween morning. Great cause I was near him and helped with drag etc. About 9 days later I then harvested a nice 8 myself with the xbow. My oldest boy had been out many days with the bow solo as all our days rarely jive. He mentioned seeing coyotes in this stand below my fathers cabin. So first day in stand for me at 7:40 on Veterans Day I shot one at about 15 yards. Last day of archery my oldest shot a big busted up 7 pt . My nephew shot a 5 opening of gun also a broken rack . All in all a very good hunting season. In a very crappy year! Good luck to all and may 2021 be better . God Bless.


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[Larry]

Before giving my thoughts on my deer season I list for all to see my personal rules for hunting deer.

1 know the Reg’s I enjoy hunting so much I will not do anything to violate the law even by accident.

2 safety is always first!

3 respect the animal

4 have fun when it stops being fun it’s time to hang it up.

5 I won’t shoot a deer on the last day that I wouldn’t shot on the first day

6 I don’t chase antlers I’m past that I use body size on bucks if it looks like it weighs around 200lbs I’ll shoot.

This is how my season went. I saw deer every time I hunted and I hunted a lot. Every weekend in October and all of November and then every weekend till the end of gun season. I killed a nice 8pt on 24^th of Oct. with my bow. Then on Nov. 13^th I killed a big doe with my crossbow the first time I every hunted with it so I’ve gone to the Dark side. I won’t give up my bow I shoot it way to good. I let a lot of bucks walk during gun this is the only time I use antler size. I won’t shoot a 2^nd buck unless it’s bigger then the first. I did kill a doe on the last weekend of gun season with my 6mm Remington. This was one of my best seasons I hunted 9p only this year.

[Nomad]

Oddest year ever . 32 years of bow and one or two more of gun on this spot , it was never hard to take deer in either frankly . Opening day of bow I saw 6 bucks in the small bean field ( 14 acre ) after that day I didn’t see much more then 6 bucks total in all of bow and gun !
 

I had my chance in bow but blew it , my daughter could have had a nice buck in gun , but had technical difficulties with her gun..... I had it in my cross hairs as back up waiting for her shot , but it finally ran off, and my shot at it was off as it screamed across the field .

Took my buddy the first Monday and at 7:30 he shot a great buck ,his best , in what he called his greatest hunt ever .  Got 30# of that deer and 10# off his Elk so that’s good !
 

A young doe yielded me 31 more pounds off a drive last weekend of gun. I have never hunted so much, and so late in my life .

twice now in late season I’ve watched bucks 11 total come out into that little bean field between 1:30-3:00 hum........
 

Edited December 22, 2020 by Nomad

[G-Man]

2 hours ago, LET EM GROW said:

So you think there's no chance that this is a early born fawn, with good genetics, good nutrition and living in a very healthy habitat? Or what about a late born fawn buck that was just malnourished coming out if winter and straight into a drought all summer?

But the thought that he should be shot at a young age, being completely unaware of his genetic potential due to his 1.5" spikes, I don't agree..  I've been told by a biologist a Button can most certainly grow an inch or so spike if born early enough and genetically inclined as well as living in prime habitat..  

You're probably way smarter than me at this but as far as managing bucks, I don't think bucks should be shot at 1.5yrs old regardless.. There's plenty others around obviously that are breeding your does.. 

Just what I gather.. Maybe i'm wrong? 

In a pretty ballanced herd there are not many early.or late born, a short intense rut is common here . Body weights usually tell but you have to remember 1.5 year olds are pushed out by their mothers, i run 26 cameras and have a very good handle on what is born resident here vs transients.  I even have a few doe that can be identified by markings or deformities  one will be 6 next year. She produces many fawns and most have white  stocking feet.  

When you have 1.5 year olds that are 6 plus points and people want meat id rather have them pass the branched yearlings and adult doe (everyone here had doe tag this year) vs a sublegal spike.  The article on spikes in bowhunter and the newest study in texas show them consistantly behind the curve their whole life. 

My personal belief is more of a slot limit approach to buck harvest. It works for us and everyone is happy there is no way to keep 15 plus mature bucks on a property unless its huge in acreage. So either 1 or maybe 2 people would kill a buck a year vs 10  getiing antlered buck.  Simply a matter of hunter satisfaction. I do not promote trophy management but prefer what i call herd management.  This year we cut back doe and to fill hunters need for meat focused on sublegal bucks.  Ill. See what cameras show after season and next spring fawn recruitment and make a decision on what we need to do to keep hunter satisfaction high and allow larger doe harvest or  buck .

This has to be done in allowance of allocated doe tags..  we use to try and take 10 doe a year to keep population stable. But land ownership changes meant more doe were taken off surrounding properties ( keeping track of neighbors takes helps manage ours better) ,so we cut back on doe and look to take transient small buck if meat is needed. Have several shooters still roaming and the broken beam buck is alive and well so far and he will be slammer next year if he survives the winter.

[mlammerhirt]

This was the most time I have spent in the woods in years. As many of you know and have seen from my posts I have 4 and 6 year old boys and have truly soaked in every moment of covid laced 2020 with them. Being home alot I have been able to get to the woods for the last few hours and with next to nothing else to do we have made it a point to be outside a ton.

Although alot of hunters measure success in inches of bone.... this season was by far my least successful seeing mature shooters.
Even though there were plenty of shooters on cam and a buck was taken off the lease in the high 130's(#2 shooter on the property) I have to say this was the best season of my life. Both my boys were with me the Sunday of opening weekend that we harvested a doe. They were there for it all....and to be honest it was a really crappy first time experience when it came to recovery. We shot the doe right near the end of legal time and of course she didn't flop right over and took off like a bat out of hell through the vineyard we hunt. Well after backing out and getting flashlights and an extra set of eyes we went back out in the cold crappy rain and began the track. These guys were dialed in from the get go and my buddy and I weren't giving up without them finding this deer. Well low and behold an hour and a half later we found her piled up in the grapes...stiff as a board. She went on a death run after the shot and the rain really killed the blood trail but these boys never gave up. Wish I would of had a proper setup to process cause I know they would have been in for it all!

Don c I know exactly what you mean when you talk about measuring success with being around others....I rarely hunt solo and will take my noisey, snack eating, question asking boys with me everytime even if it doesn't mean seeing a single deer. The success in this sport to me is measured in many ways....and I couldn't have been a more successful man this season!

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[Moho81]

For me it's tough to describe this season. I'd like to say it was bad but looking back at it was it really all that bad?

The bow season could have flipped a complete 180 if I didn't mess up twice. Once on a doe when I miss judged distance and once on a nice buck when I wasn't ready for him but I should have been as I had plenty of time(I'm still beating myself up over that one). Deer sightings per sit where down this year but I did see a few big bucks on there feet in person just to far out of reach. Then there was the opening weekend of bow when I went out with a youth and we where surrounded in deer and he took a little buck, his first buck with the bow.

Gun season came and I took a small doe opening day just before sunset only the second deer I saw that day pulling a dark to dark sit. Sunday of opening day's weather sucked but my daughter came out with me and we enjoyed our time together in our new enclosed and heated tower never laying eyes on a deer the entire day. Thanksgiving produced the 2nd largest buck I've ever taken and once again my daughter was out hunting with me in the tower so that made it extra special and the second year in a row with a thanksgiving day buck with her. Little did I know that after that buck I would only see one more deer the entire season. 

I spent probably the most time I have ever spent in the woods in a year. During bow I was out 76 hours and Gun I was out 49 hours for a total of 125 hours in the woods. I also spent a lot more time just up at camp from early September through the hunting season.

So while I feel like the season wasn't that great how can I really complain about getting out in the woods hanging out with friends and family and taking a couple of deer as well? The answer is I really can't and I'm sure a lot of people would have switched season with me and been super happy about it.  

[Arcade Hunter]

Had a very good bow season, Saw a few nice bucks and brought one home with me.  I saw deer almost every outing during bow and missed an opportunity on a big doe in november.

Gun season was pretty bad... not many deer sightings with gun in hand even though this season I burned four weeks of vacation.  Gave a nice doe a hair cut  last day of SZ rifle.  Thankful for the meat I have in the freezer and the help I had  getting him out of there.

Kelly was amazing and supportive ... she said last night that she will have to get used to me being around again

Time to get to that honey do list!   But wait!!!  Squirrel hunting time! 

Edited December 23, 2020 by Arcade Hunter

[johnplav]

22 hours ago, G-Man said:

In a pretty ballanced herd there are not many early.or late born, a short intense rut is common here . Body weights usually tell but you have to remember 1.5 year olds are pushed out by their mothers, i run 26 cameras and have a very good handle on what is born resident here vs transients.  I even have a few doe that can be identified by markings or deformities  one will be 6 next year. She produces many fawns and most have white  stocking feet.  

When you have 1.5 year olds that are 6 plus points and people want meat id rather have them pass the branched yearlings and adult doe (everyone here had doe tag this year) vs a sublegal spike.  The article on spikes in bowhunter and the newest study in texas show them consistantly behind the curve their whole life. 

My personal belief is more of a slot limit approach to buck harvest. It works for us and everyone is happy there is no way to keep 15 plus mature bucks on a property unless its huge in acreage. So either 1 or maybe 2 people would kill a buck a year vs 10  getiing antlered buck.  Simply a matter of hunter satisfaction. I do not promote trophy management but prefer what i call herd management.  This year we cut back doe and to fill hunters need for meat focused on sublegal bucks.  Ill. See what cameras show after season and next spring fawn recruitment and make a decision on what we need to do to keep hunter satisfaction high and allow larger doe harvest or  buck .

This has to be done in allowance of allocated doe tags..  we use to try and take 10 doe a year to keep population stable. But land ownership changes meant more doe were taken off surrounding properties ( keeping track of neighbors takes helps manage ours better) ,so we cut back on doe and look to take transient small buck if meat is needed. Have several shooters still roaming and the broken beam buck is alive and well so far and he will be slammer next year if he survives the winter.

Very interesting.  It's great to see what you do to your property, and the way you let others enjoy it.  Well done! 

[The_Real_TCIII]

I had a riot this bow season, I saw deer nearly every sit including two bucks that would be easily my biggest...after I tagged a 2.5 seven pointer (did I learn a lesson from this, probably not lol). Got some great video. I got an older buck with the gun albeit busted off and two does including one with the Hawken. I saw deer right up to the end. The weather was damned near ideal the entire way too. 

[Robhuntandfish]

I guess the score for me would be :

120 keeper walleyes give/take

120 panfish give/take

a couple trout

2 does 

1 buck, 6 point. 

=

Full freezer and a good season. 

 

[greensider]

My best season I have been deer hunting for 40 years put two bucks at taxidermist and tagged out early with five in the freezer saw tons of bucks 

[Tughill Tamer]

One of my best years. I was able to take a nice doe with my Bow which was only my 3rd Bowkill. I also was able to take one of my best Bucks which is currently at the taxidermist. I Followed that up with a unihorn that I was able to give to my brother in law.

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[Swamp_bucks]

A little below average sighting wise.  I usually see more during bow however I didnt go out much after i took my buck on 10/30.  I had a bunch of close encounters early bow passed a couple bucks opening week.  Screwed up on a doe.    Gun sucked but that's pretty usual for me.  Did have some positives saw my first piebald while on stand, my nephew getting his first deer ever , my brothers first bow kill ever also killed my biggest bow buck.