Would i be over hunting?

[TrapperJ]

I think your decision and actions here really depend on what your expectations are for hunting this location in the future. If you were a serious hunter in regards to the population and sustaining a high quality herd (buck to doe ratio and maturity) your current action should be gathering up all of the neighbors that likely share the same herd of deer and coming to agreements on what an appropriate harvest is. Hiring a biologist even to help determine what the year harvest should look like especially this day in age where they can come out with a thermal drone and effectively count the entire herd in near perfect accuracy.

If I dare and I mean even dare to go ask any of the neighbors to get together on a plan for the deer then that very night there would be over 50 spotlights also like 1 or 2 miles from where im hunting a neighbor sets up a huge camp with atleast 30 or more hunters and they turn the place into a war zone im just waiting for them to bring a howitzer in. Also im not sure who my biologist is or even who my forester is

 

[Wind Gypsy]

Oh yeah I aint on it much other then here this fall about September I might come in and cut a few dead trees down for firewood and I also plan maybe around first of October to just scout the place and then around shedding season I walk through and thats it

I meant that hunting a bunch of days and all the stomping around that comes with trailing, gutting, and dragging out 4 deer from a 26 acre parcel leaves a human presence in the area that mature deer tend to avoid in daylight unless it’s that way everywhere else adjacent too.

 

[Nick87]

I think I would worry more about the amount of time I spent on the 26 acres than I would the number of deer.

Was gonna say the same. Pressure is everything imo.

 

[TrapperJ]

I meant that hunting a bunch of days and all the stomping around that comes with trailing, gutting, and dragging out 4 deer from a 26 acre parcel leaves a human presence in the area that mature deer tend to avoid in daylight unless it’s that way everywhere else adjacent too.

I know i made a big mistake last year by leaving the guts on both deers but I just hoped that the coyotes would clean it up quickly and then i got think we'll if a deer dies naturally and lays in the woods then you know what do the other deer do but it bothered me for a good month afterwards and like 4 days later I broke down and went back with a bag to get them and they were gone so

 

[MTGomer]

Montana FWP R7 says send it

 

[Mallardsx2]

Just do what everyone does on small properties. Hunt it hard and keep shooting deer until you run out of tags. Then bitch about the lack of deer.

Thats seems to be commonplace in Georgia for most guys.

 

[TrapperJ]

Just do what everyone does on small properties. Hunt it hard and keep shooting deer until you run out of tags. Then bitch about the lack of deer.

Thats seems to be commonplace in Georgia for most guys.

Alright got it so dress head to toe in bottom land then go make small YouTube videos about this n that and then go wild and shoot everything that walks

 

[Mallardsx2]

Alright got it so dress head to toe in bottom land then go make small YouTube videos about this n that and then go wild and shoot everything that walks

Yes. Your on the right track!

 

[Wind Gypsy]

I know i made a big mistake last year by leaving the guts on both deers but I just hoped that the coyotes would clean it up quickly and then i got think we'll if a deer dies naturally and lays in the woods then you know what do the other deer do but it bothered me for a good month afterwards and like 4 days later I broke down and went back with a bag to get them and they were gone so

You dont seem to be pickin up what we're laying down. It's not the deer or guts, its your human scent that gets left all over the landscape from walking around, sitting in a stand, searching for and dragging deer, etc. Deer can tell you've been there after you're gone and downwind of where you are they know you are there as well without seeing you. Yes, deer will still use the property but at a significantly reduced rate during daytime hours and especially mature bucks.

A guy can strategically hunt the edges of a small property with wind blowing their scent off it into low deer traffic areas without boogering it up too much. But if you dump multiple deer in the heart of it and stomp around in there a bunch locating, gutting, retrieving deer, you are going to deter deer from using it.

 

[TrapperJ]

You dont seem to be pickin up what we're laying down. It's not the deer or guts, its your human scent that gets left all over the landscape from walking around, sitting in a stand, searching for and dragging deer, etc. Deer can tell you've been there after you're gone and downwind of where you are they know you are there as well without seeing you. Yes, deer will still use the property but at a significantly reduced rate during daytime hours and especially mature bucks.

A guy can strategically hunt the edges of a small property with wind blowing their scent off it into low deer traffic areas without boogering it up too much. But if you dump multiple deer in the heart of it and stomp around in there a bunch locating, gutting, retrieving deer, you are going to deter deer from using it.

Im trying to pick it up lol. I knew my scent would be bad or something I had to watch for so when I went doe hunting I had one specific path and one specific tree I also made sure I only hunted on days that the wind would be in my favor. Now when it was buck season i made a mistake of hunting in like 20mph wind and all that and I was all over the place and I had some does making the noise they make when you spook them but I never seen them so. And I honestly believe I don't have many mature buck's around but I may idk cause I dont use cams nor do I use stands I find it more of a challenge and more funner to not use those items.

 

[TrapperJ]

Yes. Your on the right track!

Alright ill head out tomorrow buy a bunch of stuff then get some big brand to sponsor me

 

[TrapperJ]

That doesn’t sound like overhunting at all, especially if the property connects with other land and deer move through regularly. Just keep an eye on the herd numbers each season and you’ll be fine.

Alright thanks it means alot. Any tips on keeping a eye on the herd? I dont use cameras

 

[WVHUNTER99]

Overhunting if you are worried about bucks staying on the 26 acres. But overall 3 does will do nothing to the total deer population

 

[TrapperJ]

Overhunting if you are worried about bucks staying on the 26 acres. But overall 3 does will do nothing to the total deer population

Well i must have did something cause during the 3 day doe season i didnt see nothing which the property hasn't been touched since last year so maybe it was something on my part