Minnesota Shotgun Zone going to Rifle

[Bonasababy]

Seems you didn't get that reaction. I'd venture to guess that most "bowhunters" are also firearm hunters and are just generalists take whatever opportunity that is given to them. I and near all of my friends that bow hunt hunt with guns as well. Lots of people love the opportunity to hunt without all the pressure/competition and that's just human nature but my primary gripe with the season structure is it hammers the age class.



Nothing about 3 years in particular, that just seems to be a rough age that many deer dont make it to in some areas. When mature bucks are basically non-existent on some landscapes it takes something away from the experience. Deer are easy to kill, especially with a rifle in the rut. If shooting a clueless rutted up 1.5 - 2.5 YO bucks in a sit or two is what deer hunting means to people I've got no bone to pick with that, I'm happy for them. The same could still be accomplished with a more favorable season structure like it is in neighboring states that have better deer hunting. I just remember waking up as a kid before hunting opener not knowing what might walk in front of you and dreaming about some awesome buck showing up. Now (and I blame cams/technology for this to a degree) there is no wonder about something special that might show up because that something special flat out doesn't exist in some places. If it was special it got whacked as a 1 or 2 YO. It takes some of the wild experience out of it when it's clear that the odds are so tilted against the deer that there is not any hint of natural age distribution.

It's like fishing a walleye lake where you can catch limits without much trouble but they never get over 15". Sure you can have fun and take a good meal but the whole experience and outlook would be better if there was a chance of tying into a big fish every now and then.

The big change cams brought to those I know and myself was knowledge of what is out there that we never saw before. And with that knowledge many pass up younger bucks knowing something nicer is out there.
This guy for example...


Showed up before and during gun and MZ seasons on heavily hunted public land. No one ever saw him. I passed up several slightly smaller bucks hoping hed show up that I would have gladly taken before cameras showed me what was out there.

IF he made it past wolves and the easy winter he should be pretty nice this fall.

There are some brown its down hunters still but as the average hunter age has grown older fewer of those.

 

[Bonasababy]

clearly they have better genetics to pass on once they reach 3 years of age! /s


That's an argument I've heard far too many times.

Yep, how genetics actually function is not well understood by many.