How about an Eastern US hunting issue?

[geetar]

Bringing in your friends and family to kill 23 deer off a 20 acre parcel is the Eastern version of spot burning and ruining an area.

 

[Gellar]

Do deer identify as more then 1 name? What if Seeth names him floppy, and the 800 acre man names him titan and the 20 acre man names the same deer meat stix? Will the deer be confused?

 

[NoWiser]

example of this. Most current onX satelite image:
View attachment 396121

just three years ago, I've circled in purple some wetland areas that are now gone due to tilling that went in near or at those locations:
View attachment 396126

It’s crazy what is allowed. There are basically no wetlands left around here on private property. Everything has been drained. Now the farmers are going back and putting tile grids in to ensure absolutely no water is allowed to recharge our aquifers and to make sure as many nutrients as possible make it into our rivers and lakes. In the meantime, the state is dumping chemicals into the lakes to try to keep the algae blooms at bay. Every year I think it can’t get worse. Then, a week after harvest is done, the tiling machines are back out in full force.

 

[Mallardsx2]

I'll take a shot at it. Looking at a 1 square mile section on onX, I have put a dot on every "tower gun stand" I could find. This is near where I live but not very close (15 miles away). This is an area with almost all owners enrolled in QDM and the deer density is extremely high. 5 different landowners would be hunting this square mile. I would bet that at any given moment before hunting season begins there are at least 75-100 living in this square mile. Karl F Bruins on the north end is a 20 acre section for size comparison. Of note there are also 7 houses on this square mile section. Another fun fact - Victor Mueller is selling. 465 acres, asking 3.3 million.
View attachment 396118

Pffff…..hold my beer bro.

My lease is the yellow boundary. Welcome to my yearly nightmare. Everyone wonders why I go on two out of state trips a year.
Its a success story that ANY deer even survive the 3 MONTH rifle season where I hunt.

 

[seeth07]

Pffff…..hold my beer bro.

My lease is the yellow boundary. Welcome to my yearly nightmare. Everyone wonders why I go on two out of state trips a year.
Its a success story that ANY deer even survive the 3 MONTH rifle season where I hunt.


View attachment 396165

They survive because I think most people are generally respectful and pretty good at deer management on private. The general herd can afford a few bad apples laying waste to every deer they see. Most though are only taking what they need for their freezers and than only excess being high quality mature bucks

 

[seeth07]

It’s crazy what is allowed. There are basically no wetlands left around here on private property. Everything has been drained. Now the farmers are going back and putting tile grids in to ensure absolutely no water is allowed to recharge our aquifers and to make sure as many nutrients as possible make it into our rivers and lakes. In the meantime, the state is dumping chemicals into the lakes to try to keep the algae blooms at bay. Every year I think it can’t get worse. Then, a week after harvest is done, the tiling machines are back out in full force.

Yup same here. Tilling season started this week here. If I were to ever go criminal, my list of crimes would be all in efforts destroying tilling equipment.

Development is obviously the worst habitat destroyer. Number two is easily tilling.

 

[Johnny Bravo]

Pffff…..hold my beer bro.

My lease is the yellow boundary. Welcome to my yearly nightmare. Everyone wonders why I go on two out of state trips a year.
Its a success story that ANY deer even survive the 3 MONTH rifle season where I hunt.


View attachment 396165

I don't know how you know all of those locations, but I like the idiots camp...lol

 

[Mallardsx2]

They survive because I think most people are generally respectful and pretty good at deer management on private. The general herd can afford a few bad apples laying waste to every deer they see. Most though are only taking what they need for their freezers and than only excess being high quality mature bucks

The real reason I posted that picture is because I feel our situation is very similar.

IMHO the deer survive in my area because WE provide them a safe haven during the season and only shoot bucks. If we shot a lot of does, I truly believe that the population would collapse for years and the coyotes would hold the deer population under water in that area for a long time. The surrounding clubs have shot the place to pieces with their "If you see a doe, kill a doe" and their "We have too many does" mentality. I cant hardly blame them. Most of them are from the city and they don't know any better. They are blindly following and implementing policy based on what someone has parroted on youtube or at a deer management seminar (which are tailored towards 2 guys hunting a 500 acre big buck managed farm in Iowa.....Not 75 guys hunting a 2500 acre area..)

This year we didn't kill a single deer off of our lease. Based on our inventory, we are still "rebounding" from the covid deer extermination free-for-all.

In summary, every area is different. However, by not shooting does (or at least limiting the harvest), you can make a difference. I know its a hard pill to swallow when your letting deer walk and they get blasted when they cross the property line. I get it. And I am not saying not to shoot a doe here and there. There is a right and a wrong time to shoot white-tailed does for sure. Just don't join the "if you cant beat them, join them".... That solves nothing. Treat your property as its own ecosystem the best you can and manage it to a level of deer that you think is right.