Are you happy with the bucks in your area?

[BJE80]

Are you happy with the quality, quantity and age class of the bucks in your hunting area? What if anything have you done to try and improve that situation?

If you are not happy, why do you hunt there? Are you planning on changing properties? Are you trying to make it better? Do you like the challange?

If you are happy, did you fall into hunting that property (i.e. your family's land) or did you look hard until you found a good public piece of property or did you take some private land and through hard work made it into a property you are happy with?

I’m really curious how many people are truthfully happy with the land they hunt and what path the ones that are happy took to get there. No right or wrong answers.

[Stanley]

This day and age there are more hunters than there is good land to hunt. I applaud those that acquired hunting property by the sweat of their brow. I have said this many times it doesn't take much to inherit land. When you acquire your land by working and sacrificing then you have something. No knock on those that did inherit property (wish I would have). When you acquire property the hard way you tend to be pretty satisfied with the animals that exist there. No mater what the quality of bucks your hunting ground holds there are always better places with bigger bucks. As for me I'm pretty content on the properties I hunt.

[Schultzy]

Very good questions BJ!!

Are you happy with the quality, quantity and age class of the bucks in your hunting area? What if anything have you done to try and improve that situation?

The last 3 years yes I've been more happy but prior to that I've been very frustrated at times with the very low mature buck numbers. I've done everything I can to Increase the mature buck numbers. I will not shoot a young buck period and won't hesitate to take a doe come late season. My gun hunting neighbors dictate how good my season will be the following year. Also If there's a late corn harvest that's a huge plus knowing more bucks will survive thus more older bucks the next few years.

If you are not happy, why do you hunt there? Are you planning on changing properties? Are you trying to make it better? Do you like the challenge?

I've been trying to locate new properties to hunt. I also understand It Is what It Is with how everyone shoots young bucks around my area. Hopefully a few of them will come to realize that one can shoot great bucks with just holding off on the young ones for only a couple years. It don't take much but most think It takes forever to get bucks around with age.

If you are happy, did you fall into hunting that property (i.e. your family's land) or did you look hard until you found a good public piece of property or did you take some private land and through hard work made it into a property you are happy with?

My dads land. I treat It like mine. My brother and I share the woods hunting. He owns the ag land.

[Bucky]

Took me almost 10yrs of searching and jockeying to get onto the properites that I'm currently hunting. I'm content but I continue to search for new stuff. Out of state is fun just to see different country and meet new people... it is an adventure!

The other benefit of continual upgrading... is you know what to look for on new properites to have a good idea of whether or not it will house older class bucks... cover (hills, swamp, marsh, CRP), water, human intrusion, size/acres, food etc... then you can determine your access pts/topography and have a pretty good idea of whether or not it is going to give you a legit shot at killing a mature deer.

[headgear]

Are you happy with the quality, quantity and age class of the bucks in your hunting area? What if anything have you done to try and improve that situation?

No I can't say that I am happy with my situation but I will say I make the most of it. 100% public land so I am at the mercy of pretty much every other hunter out there. Some guys I hunt with pass small bucks but most don't so we just kind of go with the flow, some years we do well, many other years not so much. Good bucks are out there to be had but often it's a numbers game, I need a decent population to work with so enough bucks slip through the cracks and I have some older deer to hunt.

If you are not happy, why do you hunt there? Are you planning on changing properties? Are you trying to make it better? Do you like the challange?

I mostly hunt where I do be cause of tradition and because its where I live. I do enjoy the challenge and do everything in my power to make it better. I think I totalled it up one time I have like 8000 acres scouted out pretty well and another 10-15K on the back burner so there is no shortage of land out there for the taking, you just can't really mange anything other than the way you hunt. Maybe some day I will go on an out of state hunt but with a young family at home that just isn't possible.

If you are happy, did you fall into hunting that property (i.e. your family's land) or did you look hard until you found a good public piece of property or did you take some private land and through hard work made it into a property you are happy with?

I do have several public land honey holes that are great buck hide outs so in some ways I am very happy have the locations I have. I'm just not happy with the overall buck numbers and age structure. My state could be so much more than it is.

[jlh42581]

I hunt 100% public.

Locally on average there might be 2 I am after I would consider killing. I have ate tag soup at home now three years strait on buck tags that I couldve filled on deer people for the area would kill in a second.

I do things to enhance public, the problem is, its not exclusive for me and I cant control what anyone does.

Ive really expanded my horizon in the last year. I have more new places than I can possibly hunt this season with time constraints. Initially I planned one trip to OH for the rut. I just called yesterday and booked the cabin for opening weekend also. That should tell you how optimistic I am at home for a big deer. Its 5.5 hours one way.

[dan]

Are you happy with the quality, quantity and age class of the bucks in your hunting area?

As long as I am healthy, and capable of hunting, and have deer to chase I will be "happy"
I am not competing with anybody, and only wish to please me.

What if anything have you done to try and improve that situation?

Scouting new public properties constantly. I have also taken steps to make thew hunting better on the small private property I hunt with a friend. I have put in food plots, and plan to do some plantings and cuttings to enhance the bedding. As well as getting together with the other hunter/landowner and agreeing upon a manaGMENT plan. That plan included stopping drives, not shooting does ( low deer numbers) and only hunting the property a certain amount of time.

If you are not happy, why do you hunt there? Are you planning on changing properties? Are you trying to make it better? Do you like the challange?

I don't know about being "unhappy"... But, I always strive for better spots. I also keep scouting whether I have enough property or not. The more we look at buck bedrooms, and decipher where and how they live on differing properties, the more we understand how they move where we do hunt them. It also never hurts to have more options, or to know an area in case something huge shows up there.
I was just thinking the other day how many times I have heard people say they only bought my marsh DVD, or only the hill country DVD, because they only hunt hills, or only hunt marsh...
Its all relative though in reality. There is a little bit of big woods in every farm, and a little bit of hill country in every swamp... The more you learn about the "big picture" the better hunter you will be3 where ever you go.

If you are happy, did you fall into hunting that property (i.e. your family's land) or did you look hard until you found a good public piece of property or did you take some private land and through hard work made it into a property you are happy with?

iM ALWAYS HAPPY
I have lost great properties, and gained new ones... I never miss a beat... You gotta take what life throws at you. You can have a glass 1/2 full, or 1/2 empty. That choice id yours.
I take the 1/2 full glass every time. It does look like the same glass of 1/2 empty, but it comes with a better and more positive attitude. I have seen a lot of people who have hunted the same property with permission for years suddenly loose permission and most get mad at the landowner who suddenly has a reason for them not to hunt there. Maybe he has a grandson that wants to hunt now, maybe somebody offered him a bunch of money for a lease. Either way, the hunter should not be mad, rather be happy for the time he had and thank the man for the time... There are deer everywhere. As long as your healthy and can get out and chase them, you should be happy.
As for me, I am hunting some heavy pressured public that scares most hard core guys away. The challenges don't scare me, they just make me work harder towards the goals I have. And when I am successful, the success tastes all that much better.

I’m really curious how many people are truthfully happy with the land they hunt and what path the ones that are happy took to get there. No right or wrong answers.

What ever path God lays down in front of me!

[Southern Man]

Are you happy with the quality, quantity and age class of the bucks in your hunting area? What if anything have you done to try and improve that situation?

There's no unhappy to it. As long as I can chase em I'm happy. But who wouldn't want better quality, quantity, and older bucks runnin around their woods?

If you are not happy, why do you hunt there? Are you planning on changing properties? Are you trying to make it better? Do you like the challange?

Still happy but am changin properties. For the last several years I've leased a property. It's a great place to hunt and holds better bucks than anywhere else I hunt. I've killed some nice bucks there but it's made me lazy and I've seen myself fall into a rut. Last fall I got to thinkin about how I use to hunt 20 years ago and how I hunt now on leased land. Big difference. I blame "The Beast" for that I use to be quite mobile, huntin several different properties, and killin deer. So, I thought about tryin to change some of my habits and branch out a bit. I had nothin to lose coz I always had the lease to fall back on. Well, the landowner sold the property about a month ago and now I'm forced into a different plan of huntin. I've been puttin a plan together and makin some equipment adjustments. It's gonna be a chore for man in his mid 50's but I'm actually lookin forward to it. And besides, I can still chase whitetails, so I'm still happy.

If you are happy, did you fall into hunting that property (i.e. your family's land) or did you look hard until you found a good public piece of property or did you take some private land and through hard work made it into a property you are happy with?

The land I leased was hard to come by. Land is just not that available here, especially for leasing. It was a stroke of luck that I found it. I'll miss it.
Most of my new huntin ground will be public. The public ground here is mostly catered to duck huntin.... swamps. But I do have available 90,000 acres of hill country and I plan on spending alot of time there.

I’m really curious how many people are truthfully happy with the land they hunt and what path the ones that are happy took to get there. No right or wrong answers.

Overall I'm happy just to be out there. If someone is unhappy huntin, why hunt? Findin good spots takes alot of work for most people, if they even look for em. But I believe if you put in the effort, you can find them. Several hunters on here are livin proof of that.

[Mike.E]

I used to be extremely happy with the quality, quantity and age class haha BUT... since they started hunting an unhunted 700+ acre cedar swamp/buckthorn/great deer territory, everything has gone to the dogs.

We used to see 10+_ 4year old bucks a night summer filming, and since, they've disappeared (due to being all shot) When we used to shed antler hunt, we didn't know which trail to take bc they were all so hammered!, no we have to take what ever trail is there, if there even is a trail..

In order to 'manage deer' on this huge chunk of land, they have youth hunts, handicap hunts, tzone and 10 bowhunters allowed in (they donated the most $$ to the place, or they are on the board that makes the decisions who gets to hunt there) In order for bowhunters to be able to hunt there the next year if they shoot a buck, they must harvest 5 antlerless, per person. This started in 2008. In 2007 opening morning, i had 9 shooters come within 15yards of me, i took a solid 140" ten pointer. Since that year we are lucky to see 1 shooter a year, and we try to hunt it smart too, but we also share the property with others we do not know, so you gotta deal with it, or lease, which all land is that we want to hunt.

This devastated what took 20 years to build up to, now its all gone.

I hunt here becasue its my home and i can't leave quite yet, though i will and can't wait to get away from this mess.

Sorry for my rant, but i think about this all the time now.

[Bucky]

I used to be extremely happy with the quality, quantity and age class haha BUT... since they started hunting an unhunted 700+ acre cedar swamp/buckthorn/great deer territory, everything has gone to the dogs.

We used to see 10+_ 4year old bucks a night summer filming, and since, they've disappeared (due to being all shot) When we used to shed antler hunt, we didn't know which trail to take bc they were all so hammered!, no we have to take what ever trail is there, if there even is a trail..
In order to 'manage deer' on this huge chunk of land, they have youth hunts, handicap hunts, tzone and 10 bowhunters allowed in (they donated the most $$ to the place, or they are on the board that makes the decisions who gets to hunt there) In order for bowhunters to be able to hunt there the next year if they shoot a buck, they must
harvest 5 antlerless, per person. This started in 2008. In 2007 opening morning, i had 9 shooters come within 15yards of me, i took a solid 140" ten pointer. Since that year we are lucky to see 1 shooter a year, and we try to hunt it smart too, but we also share the property with others we do not know, so you gotta deal with it, or lease, which
all land is that we want to hunt.

This devastated what took 20 years to build up to, now its all gone.
i hunt here becasue its my home and i can't leave quite yet, though i will and can't wait to get away from this mess.



Sorry for my rant, but i think about this all the time now.

Mike, you should help a youth or handicap hunter hunt that 700 acre cedar swamp... It might change your perspective... There are still decent #s of good bucks in there as well... If u are talking about the same cedar swamp... You don't live on the West side of it by chance? I talked to a landowner once about permission to shed hunt and they told me the neighbor kid walked for sheds and he had found a bunch of good ones over the years. I live East of it about 10 miles...

[ Post made via iPad ]

[Edcyclopedia]

Yes - I really have no choice or time to figure otherwise...
Just haven't figured them out yet like some of the heavy weights on here - but know they are here!

[Dewey]

I am pretty happy with the amount of good bucks around here. There are definately less mature bucks than there were 3-4 years ago but I still manage to get on a few good ones every year, just takes much more scouting and hard work to find them.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[moondoondude]

Are you happy with the quality, quantity and age class of the bucks in your hunting area? What if anything have you done to try and improve that situation?

If you are not happy, why do you hunt there? Are you planning on changing properties? Are you trying to make it better? Do you like the challange?

If you are happy, did you fall into hunting that property (i.e. your family's land) or did you look hard until you found a good public piece of property or did you take some private land and through hard work made it into a property you are happy with?

I’m really curious how many people are truthfully happy with the land they hunt and what path the ones that are happy took to get there. No right or wrong answers.

Quantity : happy with bucks, too many does.

Quality/Age structure: Would/could be much better if deer densities were kept under control and deer would get some age. I see a ton of 5+ year old 110-120 inch deer and the age structure is way out of whack because everyone piles up the yearling bucks when they run around wild. Maryland is in the top 3 worst states (along with Michigan and PA) for harvesting of yearling bucks. Over 60% of antlered bucks harvested here are 1.5 years old. That's not including button bucks.

To improve these areas: I shoot one, maybe two bucks a year - and usually between 10-20 does. The bucks are never under 4 years old, rarely under 5 actually, unless I kill an injured buck that in my opinion will not make it through the year. I pass quite a few injured bucks every year if I think that they will make it to the following year.

I am always looking for new property with healthier herds and bigger deer, but have some property that I hunt year after year. I have put a ton of work into these properties, and I have put a ton of work into gaining these properties and keeping permission there. I try just about every year to pick up new property. I have made/manipulated many of these properties into what they are today.

[gjs4]

Happy is relative...i hunt for the challenge..but despise hunting NY. I hunt here because i love to hunt and live here. NY state is totally corrupt, all about the dolllars and has little enforcement and even less competency as a managment organization.

Just learning to make the most of what i have..and i am even spoiled with a family farm all to myself. Unless you hunted here; i doubt youd understand

[whitetail007]

im very happy with the bucks in my area. sometimes i have to bust my hump to get on them but thats part of the fun. heck, if all i seen was spikes and out walks a fork id be happy with that.