[Reyn]

Im wanting to get into deer hunting more. Ive always been limited to public land but an opening came up at some local land close to home. You have to fill out an application first and one of the questions is how many deer do you feel you need to harvest. There are no wrong anwsers but ive only killed one in my life. I think the quest is geared toward how many do you feel you need to harvest to be considered a good year. Im curious to how many others take in a season.

[JWarren]

For me, it depends on how much is left in the freezer.

My father and I coordinate our deer meat on a communal basis. Essentially, we figure out how many we need to restock from the last year and between us kill that many.

Usually between us, we kill 3 or 4. Some around here kill more, but I am not a sportsman. I am a hunter. :)


All the best~

John

[jamz]

So far, (3 seasons) my average is zero.

[Rembrandt]

When our (2) kids were at home we put 10-12 in the freezer annually and hunted 3-4 states. This past year I bought 5 tags, didn't fill any. Unless it's bigger than what's already hanging on the wall, they get another year to grow.

[Pumpkinheaver]

I don't need to kill any deer to make it a good year, just being outdoor with nature is great. Now I generally kill one or two a year to put in the freezer but if I didn't get one it would be no big deal.

[Steve H]

I would like to put one a year in the freezer along with a cow elk but here in Utah you have to be VERY LUCKY to get the tags. Just about all tags are done thru a drawing except archery and that season is during the warm part of the year.

[MCgunner]

I rarely take more'n a couple a season, but I haven't hunted every year. For several years I had a bird lease and was all into goose and dove hunting that and didn't do any deer hunting. My place has a lot of deer, though, and shooting one is just a matter of being there when they're moving. This year, I took two bucks during the rut.

I'd have to say, of the years I've deer hunted, my place or leases, I probably average about 1.5 per season. I'll take a spike or doe at least for meat. Not every year is a nice buck. I'm more into the meat. I got a pretty decent 8 point (for my place, anyway) this year along with a spike.

[ID_shooting]

We are only allowed one, so my answer is well, one :D

[uk roe hunter]

Hi guys,
I shoot mainly for my own sport and to put meat in the freezer, Last year I shot 6 roe bucks, 5 does and a muntjac doe.

we have a "problem" in some areas with Muntjac. in our really ancient woods they are causing real damage to the flora. They eat succulent plants like they are going out of fashion. I am a member of a deer management group and next year i will be allocated an area to cull.

Last year the ranger had a cull target of 400 muntjac to achieve, he shot 4 a morning quite regularly, he required help from a number of other stalkers.

On the ground that i shoot mostly i only shoot bucks and the season is from april to october. There currently are not enough deer on there to call for real management plans. so if i shoot bucks only the population is tuned for a steady growth in numbers, when they reach thier best density i will start culling does to prevent deer damage.

steve from the UK

[lycanthrope]

Usuallly two, but since the doe season was extended in PA the population has been drastically reduced in many areas.

Lately, I've passed up shooting any extras.

[kevin davis]

we are allowed 5 per season here in south texas, but i usually only get one. this year i got three, two bucks and one doe. given the opportunity, i would take all 5 each year and give a lot of the meat to a food bank.:cool:

[dakotasin]

4-7 for me.

[marksman13]

With the high populations we have in MS, I almost always get the legal limit of 7. Only killed 6 so far this year, but I still have a couple days of bow season left.

[Caimlas]

Man, some of your states have some incredible deer hunting limits! 7 deer?!

For me, it's a passable year if I get at least one, doe or buck. I hunt for meat, though the possibility of having a nice rack to brag about is also appealing. I'll take more if I can get 'em, but this year I didn't even get that one. I need to find some private land... :(

Here, it's lottery based per county, and you have to pay for each additional tag. I believe an individual can get as any as 3 tags per county, and each tag is specific - doe, buck, antlerless, any deer, etc. - it's pretty damn restrictive, really. Sucks when the land you're on is right on county border, and you see a deer 300 yards off in the wrong direction...

[TrapperReady]

Two would be about perfect for me. I'd have one made mostly into sausage, and the other I'd use for cuts and hamburger.

[BIGR]

If I harvest atleast two a year I feel like I have had a good year. For the last 3 or 4 years I could have got my limit (6) with ease, but I was being selective.

[deerslayer79]

usually I shoot between 6-8 My familiy eats deer so I keep about 4 in the freezer and the rest I give to some people in my neighborhood who are on a limited budget.

['Card]

I know I'm done when I have to brace my shoulder against the freezer door to get it to close. :cool:

Nah, I guess I've never really thought about it. I've had seasons when I only took one and felt like I had a great year. Other times I've taken as many as 7, and ended up giving about half the venison away to non-hunting friends.

I suppose the number of kills isn't really my personal measure of success - which is probably a good thing. I routinely hunt in three different states, so between bow seasons, rifle seasons, doe seasons, etc. - I could probably legally take 10 or 12 each year by the time I filled all my tags.

[bclark1]

1.5
I'd take more if I had the time to butcher myself, but processing gets pricey.

[spooney]

Generally I take one, my brother takes one, and my sister takes one. We meter that out between our parents and us. I really don't want to cut up anymore than that.

[Kimber1911_06238]

usually two a year....three if i see a big buck after the first two.

[Kimber1911_06238]

forgot to mention...ct season limits:
Archery- 2 either sex and 2 antlerless
shotgun-1 either sex
muzzleloader-1 either sex
private land firearms-1 either sex
landowner-1 either sex and one antlerless

and i think i'm leaving something out...

[Reyn]

Here you can take a buck and a doe every day if you were lucky. Season is from mid Nov til Jan 31.

[scout26]

2-4 per year. I get 4 tags each year: 2 archery and 2 firearm. Mrs. Scout prefers that I shoot does because "they taste better." :rolleyes: So, if it's (decent size, no vealison) brown, it's down, gotta fill the freezer, and I haven't seen any good recipes for antlers.

Only got 2 (both decent bucks) this year.

It generally works out this way:

1.5 - 2 deer (depending on their size) for the freezer (Like 'Card, when I can't close the freezer door, the rest gets passed out to family and friends.)
.5 - 1.5 (again depends on size) for giving to (non-hunting) family and friends
1 deer gets donated to feeding the homeless. (Unfortunately it's an all or none proposition, otherwise I'd give 10-20 lbs from each deer.)



Illinois limits you to two antlered (Either Sex tags only ) deer per year, but you can get as many tags (Anterless only) as are available. Firearms tags are through a statewide lottery, but Archery Tags can be purchased over the counter at most Wal-Mart, Sporting Goods, and Hardware stores. If you got the tags you can take as many does as your heart desires. Just don't take more then 2 bucks in a year.

bclark1,
1.5
I'd take more if I had the time to butcher myself, but processing gets pricey.
I'd sure like to learn how you harvest half a deer. :confused: ;)

[1911 guy]

The wife won't eat a regular diet of venison, so one is enough to supplement the store bought meat.

[Kingcreek]

average 3-5 per year. Fat corn-fed deer here. Archery season Oct 1st to mid Jan. no more than 2 antlered but unlimited antlerless deer.
This year killed 5. largest an 11pt buck field dressed 210pound, 2 mature does at 150-160 pounds, 185 pound 9pt, and a fat tender yearling.
I do all my own butchering and processing, smoking, etc. Also put ducks, pheasants, and occaisionally out-of-state elk or antelope in my 2 freezers.
I can't remeber what the meat section of the supermarket looks like.

[gbran]

One.

[Desk Jockey]

Limit is one, if you can draw a license. Elk licenses are easier to get than deer tags.

[Sharps Shooter]

As ID shooting already said, we're only allowed one per season here in Idaho. When our kids were still at home, my wife and I would each try to put a venison in the freezer and occationally, one of our two daughters would put one in there as well. These days, one venison a year between the wife and I is plenty. Both of our deer seasons end when either of us gets one down. Don't get me wrong - we love meat. But we sometimes get an elk too. And we buy beef, pork, chicken and turkey at the grocery store. Heck, I even gag down some store bought salmon once in a while because I heard it's good for a person.

[birdv]

The is an old man out in East Texas that gets all of his grandkids tags.

His grandkids do not hunt. He has alot of grandkids. He uses all the tags and then some.

[Atticus]

I usually kill one for meat...and then look for a big guy...so usually one.

[K.L.O.sako]

Kentucky allows 4 in this zone(1 buck 3 does ) but once i get one of each the freezers full and i'm on to something else.:)

[Blackfork]

We are a one-buck county so I can shoot one buck here and usually do. This year I watched the herd all year- and all year last year, with two deercams on my property and decided to pass. There were some nice bucks but nothing bigger than I already had.

Plus it's fun to watch them on the cams.

The neighbors across the creek let some guys from DFW come in and they shot two young and foolish bucks with a lot of potential. One was a nice squared up eight point and his friend who was hanging around with him was a little six point. The eight was 2 1/2 years old and the other 1 1/2. The big bucks weren't letting them breed and they were wandering around together. They shouldn't have been taken for two more years at least, but that's the way it goes. I bumped into one of the bigger bucks and shot him when I got excited. He's a very nice 10-point 120 point buck but I should have held off.

I have a friend who owns a 1200 acre MLD-permit property up near Clarksville, Texas. He has permits this year for 30 does and 10 bucks. So far we have shot nine total and the extended permit season goes until the end of Feb. Last Sunday I shot a doe with a K31 and Swiss ammo. That was the 4th deer overall I have shot this year. Buck with a Ruger 7X57 on my property. Doe with Garand. Another doe and a hog with an Argentine 1909 Mauser Carbine. Now this doe with a K31. There were 10 or more deer in sight when I shot the doe Sunday afternoon at 5:00.

Hope to shoot at least four more does using two more vintage military firearms this year. The K31 is going back, a Type 44 Jap carbine and a Swedish Mauser M38. Of course there is the 1903A3 and P17, plus M1 Carbine, 1891 Argentine Cav Mauser, 1895 Chilean and SKS. That ought to make the year. I want one more doe and I have four more placed if I can take them. Hard to handle more than two a trip. My brother will probably go up and shoot one more as well. Hope to go after the pigs in their home wallow as well with Garand.

[NRA4LIFE]

5-6 for me the last few years. Depends on where I hunt. I've hunted MT and MO 3 of the last 4 years and shot 15 in that span. In MO, where my land is, you can shoot as many does as you want. We generally have to stop ourselves when we get to 5 or 6 between the 3 of us depending on available freezer space.

[uk roe hunter]

Guys,
I was under the impression that america was TEAMING WITH GAME. Why do you shoot so few? surely there are huge tracts of land with no people on it?

Steve

[bowfin]

2-3 a year for the last 25 years.

[redneck2]

I was under the impression that america was TEAMING WITH GAME. Why do you shoot so few? surely there are huge tracts of land with no people on it?

There are areas in the western states that have open land. In most of area east of the Mississippi River, there is significant human population. Hunting pressure is such that it's getting rather difficult in some areas to find a place to hunt. Most public areas are hunted pretty heavily, at least around here.

I live in a somewhat rural area of Northern Indiana about 90 miles east of Chicago. There are a few large farms, but a lot of land has been chopped into 5-20 acre building tracts.

If every hunter shot 5-10 deer in this area, the population would be wiped out in a few years.

[stolivar]

I usually get between 7-10 deer per year. I give away most of them to poor folk that ask me to get them one. In MO you can kill as many as you have doe tags for in most counties.

I know one dude that killed 50 does and donated everyone to the poor.




steve;)

[ReadyontheRight]

Average = .185

A "good year"? One when I got to spend a good deal of time in the woods walking around with a rifle in my hand.:) Not enough of those lately.

[Texas Colt]

Here in Central Texas I usually get 2-4 per year. 5 is the limit. It's just my wife and I for most of the year (my son visits during the summer) so 3 will usually get us through until the next season opens.

I am very blessed to have a wife who will prepare and eat venison. She also prepares the wild hog meat I bring home. Gotta loves those redneck girls :D

[Jrsmith]

1-2, I just don't have freezer space for anymore, let alone the time and inclination to butcher them. But I'd take more if I ran into a big buck or two, heck I'm just coming off a many-years-long drought.

Man, some of your states have some incredible deer hunting limits! 7 deer?!

Ha! Up here in Wisconsin they can't get hunters to kill enough deer, in our (non CWD) zone extra doe tags were $2 a pop, unlimited. In the other zones they were free. Problem I have seen here is that most hunters I know won't take more deer than they can eat, no matter how many the DNR wants killed, we are all conservationists at heart or something.

Personally I just enjoy being out in nature. Something about watching the sun rise over a valley when its about 10 degrees outside. Cold mornings are just so... peaceful.

[Picknlittle]

In my county in Tennessee I can take three does a day and three bucks in the season.

With a Sportsman liscence there are no additional tags. There are also quota hunts in some areas.

[bowfin]

uk roe hunter,

I have killed more than the average some years, but time to butcher and wrap the deer meat, plus freezer space to keep it is a limiting factor for me.

Just curious, how do you handle the deer once it is down? Who gets it, who processes it, where does it end up?

[JD_LION]

I buy a Combo license Gun/Bow and at least one antlerless tag.

I kill at least two doe's personally a year on my properties in Michigan for the meat.

I only kill the "Big Boys" anymore (I know:barf:.) so if I haven't filled the tags by the end of front-stuffer season I'll kill another doe.

In 2005 we killed 16 does on one piece of property in Mid-Michigan most were donated to the Michigan Sportsmen Against Hunger program.

The laws in 2005 were you could buy one Private Land Antlerless Tag a day until the quota was filled. They changed the law this year to a limit of three antlerless tags per year.

[mcwjr13]

My advice is to consider how many deer will you and your family / friends consume per year. While I will not go into the population control issue here the landowner is probably considering this as to how many deer he can allow to be shot per season for his managment program if he has one be responsible and only kill what you intend to consume while I do not disuade people from trophy huntng that is their right. I do try to encourage people to donate meat that will not be used to a program such as "Hunters for the Hungry". Good luck have fun and be safe!

[uk roe hunter]

Bowfin,
I do the gralloch straight away and normally take the head and feet off. from then on it all depends.

some i eat and put in my freezer.
I have a constant demand for venison from friends or family.

If it is shot on some land (i start on this ground this summer), we have to manage muntjac quite heavily, I have to put it through a central lardering system. from here it is sold onto butchers.

steve

[GooseGestapo]

UK Hunter;
The reason for the "low" count is that the guys that hang out on the computer aren't out hunting.....

I'm a little different......
This year it was 13.
1- with .300RemUltMag
1- with .243wcf
1- .35Remington
3- .45/70 (personally cast bullets, 2-340gr, 1-405gr)
3- 7mm08
4- .30/30wcf
(OOP'S- it was 14, forgot the one I took with the .22-250 !!!).
(dosen't count those taken by individuals accompanying me I was guiding)
Two were antlered bucks, one a 4x-spike, 140lbs, other 5x4, 170lbs.
Does went avg of 110lbs, several yearlings were taken and went 60-75lbs.

I keep what I can use, donate or give to relatives, friends, aquaintainces, landowners where I hunt (cull to cut down on shrubry/agricultural damage).

I hunt two states. GA has a 12 deer+ limit (+ if you are drawn on a special hunt on WMA or State Park). All 12 can be shot the same day!!! If you please.
In Alabama in central-east counties, the Limit is two per day, not more than one Antlered per day (two does permitted).

Last year it was 10, year before 12, year before that 7- (still worked that desk-job..in office), ect.......
In the mid '80's, I was doing some assisting on depredation control/research and was taking 20-30 or more.


The last day of the season, I saw 9, took one. So, for me, deer hunting is more like some's "bird" or Rabbit hunting.

I think I hunted four times this year I didn't see a deer.

As a retired Conservation Officer and a Wildlife Biologist by training, I have an "edge" on most for obtaining a place to hunt, and knowledge of when and how.


But, now deer season is over, and time to grab the .22 and "thin" the squirrels.
BTW; had a better than average waterfowl season too.

[trickyasafox]

i was a casual hunter in my early youth, but now am getting more involved. i got 3 this year and was extremely pleased.

getting additional tags isn't a gurantee with the lottery structure for doe tags by me.

if i got 2 per year consistantly i'd be happy. 3 is nice, because it allows me to give meat to family that can't hunt anymore or to help out friends who need some meat:o

i'd like to get involved in FHFH but i don't know much about the organization. hopefully next year i'll be able to help out with some youth hunts.

[Blackfork]

Used my Japanese Type 44 and shot a doe at 90 yards using Hornady 140 grain ammo. She went about 60 yards and fell in the woods. Nice deer. The rifle shoots point of aim at 100 yards with pyramid open sights. Fourth doe and fifth deer of the season, though I have guided folks to many more.
Got a few more to go. Might go back to the K31 or ahead to the M38 Swede. Season closes the 28th.

[Mr Weebles]

I harvest between 2 and 4 per year on an annual trip to NC.

Then I head back to NH and harvest 0. In fact, I've stopped calling it "hunting" up here and now just call it "taking my rifle for a nice stroll in the woods."

It's less frustrating that way.