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This seasons score

nybuckboy

By nybuckboy,
in Deer Hunting

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nybuckboy Enthusiast

nybuckboy

Posted
Posted

I would have to rank this season overall between bow season and gun season one of the worst in the past 20 years.  
 

I saw 4 decent and I saying decent as in nothing over a 120/8 on camera since late summer. Between my son and I we saw this 120 once each 2 days apart Nov 6&8 and never again. Saw a nice mahogany colored 110/8 on Nov 15 and again late gun on Dec 6 and my son saw him again last Thursday on neighbors so didn’t shoot.  Did take a doe last Sunday and son took doe yesterday.  
 

My most exciting day was TG morning where 2 smaller bucks were chasing different doe all around me for about 15 minutes  

On a scale of 1-10 about a 4.  Still enjoyed the hunting and it’s never really a bad season especially when you’re 67 yrs old. Never know how many ya got left. 

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G-Man Veteran

G-Man

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Was normal season , total take was 13 buck and 4 doe , still have 2 days left so it may go up. Everyone got deer that was out.  3 nice buck taken , rest scrubby, was glad to only have 4 doe taken as id like to build up population as new neighbors also take doe where old owner was buck only

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suburbanfarmer Veteran

suburbanfarmer

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1 hour ago, G-Man said:

Was normal season , total take was 13 buck and 4 doe , still have 2 days left so it may go up. Everyone got deer that was out.  3 nice buck taken , rest scrubby, was glad to only have 4 doe taken as id like to build up population as new neighbors also take doe where old owner was buck only

13 bucks :stop:or is that a typo?

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G-Man Veteran

G-Man

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2 minutes ago, suburbanfarmer said:

He would have been nicer next year.. ;)

The yearling scrubs are from neighboring lands and are pushed in here by their moms , they will always be smaller than their same year class 4 , 6, 8pts..  id rather see them shot to fill a doe tag than. A nice basket 6 or 8 pt. They will be a nice buck the next year, problem with ars in high take areas you highgrade a herd quickly... new study out that shows thes spike will alys remain 30% or more smaller than their same year class bucks. 

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G-Man Veteran

G-Man

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7 minutes ago, suburbanfarmer said:

Oh I totally understand your approach. But there is alternate study that shows spikes can grow to be 150" class deer also

https://www.realtree.com/deer-hunting/galleries/photo-gallery-from-buttons-to-booner

If you have 1000 acres or more private and in a co op. Yes that is possible if you have a 5.5 year old minimum. For harvest.  More than likely they will be scrubby 4.5 or 5.5 that young one will be allowed to kill out..  30% behind is a big amount. Especially if you let your top yearlings age and they are pushing 170 180 at same age as that 145 in spike turned into

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G-Man Veteran

G-Man

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1 minute ago, suburbanfarmer said:

Younger bucks taste better too, not rutty :) 

 Envious that you have such a healthy deer population

Lot of habitat work..  something is done every year to enhance and thicken woods. Dropping 140 trees in a 30 acre sanctuary ,and having another 158 taken out for timber on30 acres and all tops left to create more cover.  Not to mention 10k plus trees and shrubs planted for thermal cover and food over 27 years..

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BowmanMike Experienced

BowmanMike

Posted
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My season was great,i would give it a 9 out of 10. And that is only because i was very solitary about hunting this year,just went once with a buddy for a bow sit.

I saw the normal amount of deer during bow,shot a big bodied forkie. I think he was a 2.5 year old with bad genetics.

Then got my biggest buck so far on opening day of gun season. Then i didnt go out,oh,once briefly during gun season. Last week i still hunted after the fresh snow here on tuesday and got a doe. Done.

Bow season is my absolute favorite and i generally slack of during gun season anyway. I only went out three times but scored twice,the wife likes that.

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moog5050 Mentor

moog5050

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Posted (edited)

Harvested far fewer deer at my 2 spots than we normally do - about 1/2 of normal.   But I had no time/desire to shoot does this year and hunted less which meant others hunted less there too.  Still got out with friends and had fun.  3 good bucks and 2 doe.  I took two of the bucks and Duke scored on the third (that may have been my favorite hunt since we were targeting that buck specifically) - my friend killed the 2 doe Sat while I was home with COVID.  No complaints at all - well except @TreeGuy passing a shooter for whatever reason.   

Time to get out after some dogs hopefully.  Not for hunting reasons, but I am looking forward to putting 2020 in the rearview mirror!

Edited by moog5050
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chrisw Mentor

chrisw

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Well as I'm sure for many it was a messed up year for me. I got laid off in late July, plant had awful financials so we all got kicked. I had all of archery season off, filled my buck tag the first night, completely unexpectedly. Which was awesome but also a bit sad as I could literally hunt every day. I killed a doe on the 7th, then got pretty unmotivated and focused on some fishing, chores, being lazy etc... Applied to some jobs as it seemed that getting called back wasn't looking promising after months off (they were trying to secure additional investor capital). Got lucky in November and got hired into a lead manufacturing position with the prospect of taking a supervisor position when one became available. Really close to home so that was cool. I missed the first 10 days of gun season for an out of state family visit then started my orientation 2 days after I returned. I only got out about 4 times with gun, I've only seen one deer in those 4 hunts, a small buck I passed up on a drive because I wasn't positive if there was a driver not far behind the buck or not. Bad timing was the name of the game for me in those few hunts, I'd hunt all morning in one spot and come home and get a picture of a nice buck or does after I left, or chose a different stand only to get pictures from a neighboring stand. So all in all I did not hunt much at all between my new job and family obligations. Our lease did not have as much big buck activity as the previous year, not sure why? I would've killed a great wide 9pt the first week of November had I not already killed my opener buck, as he came by my stand 4 mornings in a row.
I'm hoping that my year is turning around as of today, I had a meeting this morning before I left work and was offered a supervisor position, for an additional $25k a year. So hopefully all of the bad luck on losing my job was a blessing in disguise after all. Here's to hoping that next year is more stable and I can get back in the woods and water like usual. I'm buying a nice boat in the spring also, hopefully everyone else can find some light at the end of the tunnel of 2020 as I have. Some great deer taken again by you guys as usual, we'll do it all again next year, God willing!

Sent from my moto g(6) using Tapatalk

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Don_C Collaborator

Don_C

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It would be difficult for me not to say I had a great season, but as happy and grateful that I am for the two beautiful bucks I took, I was alone while doing it. Both of my boys had pivotal years in their careers and new father responsibilities that took priority and both were virtually unable to hunt, but a few days each. I am so proud and excited for them, but it was a bit sad being out there, for the most part, alone. In fact, the 15 minutes when Tacks stopped by the lease to pick up ammo he has absolutely no use for was the social highlight of my season! Do you want your beer back!! Lol!

 

I did see a lot of deer during bow season, mostly young bucks that provided shot opportunities nearly every sit. The endless stream of trail cam pics of 5 shooters on the property kept me coming back and the excitement high. I had no interest in shooting does, which was all I saw for the first two weeks of rifle, and not very many, but I was confident in the stand location and ultimately rewarded with one of those does finally being dogged by a big buck in December. Even better was my wife of 33 years being as excited as I about putting TWO new mounts on the wall this year!

 

All in all a great season accented by a stiff reminder of how important doing all of this with the ones we care about really is.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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The_Real_TCIII Grand Master

The_Real_TCIII

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It would be difficult for me not to say I had a great season, but as happy and grateful that I am for the two beautiful bucks I took, I was alone while doing it. Both of my boys had pivotal years in their careers and new father responsibilities that took priority and both were virtually unable to hunt, but a few days each. I am so proud and excited for them, but it was a bit sad being out there, for the most part, alone. In fact, the 15 minutes when Tacks stopped by the lease to pick up ammo he has absolutely no use for was the social highlight of my season! Do you want your beer back!! Lol!
 
I did see a lot of deer during bow season, mostly young bucks that provided shot opportunities nearly every sit. The endless stream of trail cam pics of 5 shooters on the property kept me coming back and the excitement high. I had no interest in shooting does, which was all I saw for the first two weeks of rifle, and not very many, but I was confident in the stand location and ultimately rewarded with one of those does finally being dogged by a big buck in December. Even better was my wife of 33 years being as excited as I about putting TWO new mounts on the wall this year!
 
All in all a great season accented by a stiff reminder of how important doing all of this with the ones we care about really is.
 
 
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Why didn't you say something, I'd have hunted there the entire season


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
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LET EM GROW Experienced

LET EM GROW

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23 hours ago, G-Man said:

14 bucks now sub legal spike fell this am.. 99164.thumb.jpeg.51ab4d3a0a0b78317b568e09a18b99c4.jpeg

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? 

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Steuben Jerry Proficient

Steuben Jerry

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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.

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