Bambi's on his/her own now

[Mosey]

This fawn and its mother have been hanging around for over a month. Last week it was just the fawn. I have a feeling that's bad news for the mother! This fawn needs to learn to be afraid of man though, I was within 50 yards of it and it just looked at me and didn't run.

[TimSullivan]

We have deer all over. This morning we had five in the front meadow and at dusk there were eight in the back by the woods. They got up to fifty feet from the house. This afternoon a ten point buck crossed the field we were working in and came within 100 feet of us. My wife and I had two Giant Schnauzers with us and had to grab one each. They were taking a nap in the shade of a parked tractor.

Bow season starts in two weeks and the herd needs to be trimmed

[pbenven]

The harsh reality up here is that a deer that age at this time of year usually don't make it through the winter. Typical pregnancy term for a deer is about 200 days. The mating season usually starts around mid November. That has the does giving birth around May or June.

I've seen quite a few late season fawns this year. I hypothesize that the conception of these fawns would not have taken place during a harsher season. Normally, only the dominant bucks would have had a chance at mating. My guess again is that since these fawns were sired by less than ideal bucks, not only will we have a population problem if the weather stays mild, but the quality of the deer in that population won't be as good.

[Pat]

I hear that! We are way overpopulated with deer and the population is not well ballanced. What hunting pressure there is concentrates on bucks with racks almost exclusively. There is a terrific need to cull females. The state has instituted special seasons etc for antlerless hunting but it isn't MACHO enough for the majority.

Pat

[Scott_IN_WVa]

You a deer hunter Pat?

[Pat]

Scott, You'd think I could say yes or no. I have hunted deer, I didn't swear off of it, but I haven't shot one lately. I am equipped to do it with shotgun, rifle, pistol, or bow but haven't lately. I'm surely not the kind of hunter who goes to "deer camp" with the boys to tell lies and drink. I don't like to be anywhere near public access hunting lands when anything is in season. I am a very safe hunter and have low tollerance for those who aren't.

I can recall one time when out with a buddy trying to get close enough to pronghorn to shoot one with a bow (never happened, it turned out to be a camping hiking trip where Mountain House dehydrated food was on the menu.) We saw some BOZO shoulder his weapon and bring it to bear on us. We hit the dirt and tried to be invisible, crawling behind some low bushes and rocks for cover. Seems some idiots use their 'scope in place of binocs and he was just looking us over. If we had been armed with rifles instead of recurves it might have been a far different ending. Too many times I've heard idiots talking about "sound shots" like as in, "I didn't see anything but we got a couple good "sound shots." This means they shot in the direction of a noise in the brush. I am only a small part indian and I often make noise when moving through the brush.

Except for safety considerations, other folks shooting deer (assuming a decently clean kill) doesn't bother me. My friends/neighbors to the south get a deer or two each every year. They just step outside and rest the rifle on the fence post and drop one. It isn't hunting (no search involved) just harvesting but then they don't mind the butchering job. I can do it but it isn't my favorite thing. I would rather go to the store and buy beef than butcher my own so dealing with deer is not high on my list.

BUT with all the talk about deer, maybe I'll have to drop one for sasuage, jerky, stew meat, and if I get a young tender DOE, a few steaks and rosts.

Pat (gota go gather some pecans)

[Scott_IN_WVa]

I can step out my back door and hunt or from the front porch if I want ,I have 93 acres of posted land,I would rather have a doe any day as far as the good meat....no drinking and hunting camps at my place,I agree with you about the safe hunting aspect etc.I am pretty careful/picky of the few I allow to hunt I do have a several antlers from several bucks I have taken.I like to spend time in the woods,I figure 2 weeks a year to hunt is not asking to much, since the rest of the year is pretty much work at the home place or at my job. I like to hunt for some antlers it makes it more of a challenge,but if after about 3 days and I do not get a buck or two,I will start harvesting does. I love deer meat/jerky/and we can a lot of our deer meat.

[Pat]

Scott, I actually prefer wing shooting to deer but not by a huge margin. UNfortunately in this part of the state the Bob White have declined tremendously. We hear them enoug to enjoy it but there are not nearly enough to sustain a harvest so I haven''t shot a single one. Likewise the bull frogs, I'd rather hear the last few than eat them.

We are overrun by deer, way overpopulated. State pro hunters have started thinning the herds. Better late than never. We have a bit over 160 acres, a quarter section +. My neighbor to the south has a quarter and the guy across the section line west has a half. The neighbor at the end of the 1 mile dead end section farther south has between a quarter and a half. Within this, roughly 1 1/2 square mile area, there is a resident herd that is under harvested but has fairly restricted access being bordered on the south by the South Canadian river and on the north by the 4 resident owners. I'm told that the deer around here typically roam about 1000 acre range. With the river to contain them we see them going south and bouncing back. Very few hunt these holdings except the owners and that pleases me since it reduces the number of idiots to contend with.

I wish it were otherwise but folkks for the most part don't seem to respect private property any more that they are careful with their shooting, fires, and trash. I wild love to give folks access to fish but it gets out of control real fast so I have about 3 small groups that I let fish because they are extremely concientious and would let someone deer hunt IF I went with them and AFTER I observed their safety motivation at a sighting in ceremony.

We have oodles of turkey too. The neighbor's son to the south stays on the place in a camping trailer a lot of the time and sits on the step and feeds the "WILD" turkey. They gather in a semi circle about 6-8 ft from him and he tosses them corn. Needless to say harvesting a turkey is not a giant chalenge for him.

Patrick

[Scott_IN_WVa]

We use to have a lot of quail here,but we had some bad winters in 1977/1978 and 1979 that put an end to the quail (I assume that finished them off)I have a fair amount of grouse on my place and a friend of mine use to bring his bird dogs down,they had collars on them that would start to make a noise when the dog was on a point and became motionless,then you would know the dog was pointing.It was fun and very interesting to see the dogs hunt the birds.
Where I am at, the trespassers are not much of a problem,I posted the heck out of my land and I caught up with a couple and told them they better be leaving soon,needless to say the word got around,I do not mind someone knocking on my door and asking to hunt,but go sneaking around that "pulls my chain".I do not mind coon hunters running across my ground after dark,that is getting to be a thing of the past(coon hunting)I like to help that tradition stay alive and I love to hear the dogs at bay. I would let some people come and squirrel hunt too if they want to have a place to bring there children to teach them to hunt,that is another tradition on the decline...kids do not hunt as much as they use too,at least not around here.

[Pat]

Scott, Not only are kids not taught proper gun handling/respect they are often made to believe in school and through other influences that hunting is BAD and WRONG. Some of our so called educators also preach a strong anti-fishing message as well. Fishing is declining among the young also.

Actually kill and eat the characters out of a Disney movie??? How horrid!!! Until or unless the person preaching against killing and eating animals is a vegetarian, they are being hypocritical. I don't have a quarrel with vegetarians unless they are too evangelical. Life feeds on life, it is nature's way. My ancestors didn't struggle for millions of years to get to the top of the food chain so I could eat the wiley tofu beast (apology to cartoonist Gary Larsen).

Coon hunting is the reason that I am restricted in the types of legal traps I can set for beaver. I am essentially ambivalent about coon hunt tresspass. At least it is virtually only the coon and or the dogs. I never quite got the nack for ID'ing all the dogs and their activities by listening to the dogs but I enjoyed getting to stay up late with the grownups around a campfire.

One of the guys I let fish my place brings his 6 yr old grandson who my mom taught to bait his own hook. He caught his first fish behind my mom's house. Previously his grand dad would hook the fish and let him reel it in. He was as proud as if he had hit the winning run in the world series when he baited his own hook and unassisted, caught his first fish.

Oklahoma law relieves the land owner from liability in the case of fishing and hunting with owner's permission in a NOT FOR HIRE situation. If you don't charge, it is at your own rish for the visitor. In california and other so called more modern civilized states I'd be totally afraid to let anyone on a property like this for fear of lawsuits if little Johny got a splinter much less scratched a knee running from a water moccasin.

I settled for posting the property with store bought signs but wanted to put up signs with a bit more character. Stuff like: Caution, severe tire damage! My rifle your tire. That and other creative flights of fancy would have been more fun but nothing as provocative as: Trespassers will be shot and the survivors prosecuted. I have seen that but it is too unfriendly for me.

Patrick