Earn A Buck!

[Limbs and Sticks]

I watched a man yesterday shoot 3 does in less than a minute, the herd has to be lowered ,on this farm it's nothing to see 50, 60 deer at one time, I use to do this for a few different farmer's, really got tired of killing and couldn't do anything with the meat to me a waste, but to the farmer it's money I don't think earn a buck would work around here.


Wes

[crazyfarmer]

I wouldn't mind if VA went to a program like that, however we have a 3 buck limit so I would like to see a program where you can kill a buck first, then have to take a doe before your second and 3rd buck. My luck, bullwinkle would step out on opening day and I wouldn't be a ble to shoot.

Rich

I'd love to see it because im sick of locals shooting 4 and 6pt 12inch wide stuff but passing 14 doe before they shoot. Note, its a free country and everyone has their hunting rights. But its about 20 doe to every buck here

I'd rather eat a doe then a tough little buck. But some are obessed with knife handle racks here

if it happens, it happens and I see it in the future for us unless some start shooting doe, espically in the late season. I's just like Mike P, I want the biggest one out there. But I also take quite a few doe later in the year also. You can be a trophy hunter throughout the season but you can also manage doe

[frisky]

Bstout, if I read it right , the CWD areas are EAB, the rest of state is Not
EAB! Am I correct? Personaly I don't like EAB.

[Big58cal]

I wouldn't care for it in KY, and other than that, it wouldn't work anyway, just as was previously mentioned. One of the main reasons that I've got a problem with it is that it's just one more thing the government is telling us we can and can't do. Also, what if you take a kid out hunting and Bullwinkle walks in front of him at first light? Are you going to tell the kid that he/she can't shoot the deer because they haven't shot a doe yet?

The county I hunt in here in KY used to be a Zone 1 county, which means that you can take an UNLIMITED number of antlerless deer. That's all fine and dandy in the areas that need it but not in all of them. 2 years ago, I hunted more than I had hunted in several years. Our early muzzleloading season I didn't see a deer at all over 2 days of hunting! Now mind you, this was a Zone 1 county where you could kill and unlimited number of does because they were overpopulated.............. Yeah, right! Opening morning of gun season, I had a small 4 pt come by my, so I dropped the hammer on him. I didn't care about the rack, I wanted MEAT! I hunted the rest of the season, alternating places and saw a grand total of 2 more deer, another buck and 1 doe. My brother came in from the military on leave and hunted 10 days straight and didn't see a deer 1. Tell me again that my county is overpopulated and I need to shoot more does!!!!!

I like to fill my freezer, but I also like to at least SEE some deer from time to time. Last year we got moved to a Zone 2, which meant 4 deer max. I hunted the 2 day early muzzleloading season and saw 5 small bucks and no does, with me not shooting anything. I hunted the first weekend of our gun season and took my little boy along (his first deer hunting trip). We sat all weekend and didn't see any deer at all. I went back again during our late muzzleloading season in Dec. Again, I sat from daylight to dark in the woods and didn't see any deer at all.

Now, given the fact that I hunt for enjoyment and to put some meat in the freezer, someone is going to try to tell me that I need to kill a doe before I can kill a buck? I don't think so! When in the last 2 years I've seen a total of 8 deer and only 1 was a doe, does anyone actually think that I'm going to take the only deer out of the woods that can actually make more? Granted, I realize that there's more does around than what I'm seeing, but still........... To me, that's a pretty screwed up sex ratio, only it's the other way around.

[mikej]

sounds like a great idea for management purposes, here we can only take one deer so it wouldn't make a difference

[mikej]

I would like to see that in Ohio also, or maybe go a doe only season for a year.
Just think of what that would do for the herd. If for one year no one could shot a buck only Does.

i think an objection from mikep is soon to follow

[DuckHunt]

I wouldn't mind if VA went to a program like that, however we have a 3 buck limit so I would like to see a program where you can kill a buck first, then have to take a doe before your second and 3rd buck. My luck, bullwinkle would step out on opening day and I wouldn't be a ble to shoot.

Rich,
That is exactly the case in the county I hunt in Virginia (Loudoun). We can kill three buck, but we have to take a doe before the second and third bucks. I really like the rule.

We also have an early antlerless only season for most of September so it makes it easy to fill your doe tags before October. It does stink when Mr. Big walks up during the doe season. It happened to my son last year, except it was three Mr Bigs (for him).

DuckHunt

[Woody Williams]

Indiana tries to control the herd through X amount of antlerless permits and it is done by county.That is the smallest area that they can logistically break it down to. As big58cal attested to in his particular area there can be very few deer. But 5 miles down the road there can be an over abundance of deer- in the same county.

Controlling deer numbers by townships within the counties would be impossible to do with the present dollasr the DNR has.

My county is a 4 limt on the bonus tags. My area can withstand that but there are portions of my county that probably cant.

In Indiana IF one had access to deer hutning properties in each county they could legally kill close to 400 deer, but only one buck.

Our deer biologist said in a meetuing the other day that only 17% of the Indiana deer hunters kill two or more deer in a given year. So Indiana is basially unlimited antlerless and we still cant keep a handle on a growing herd.

Maybe, it is time for crossbows in Indiana.



.

[chadermaran]

I seen this past spring that the land owners in part of wisconsin got together and told the dnr that they would shut down there land to the snowmobiles if they didnt lift the earn a buck this year. The landowners said that if they couldnt go out on there farms and see any deer something was definately wrong. The dnr was real quick to change there tune as to the deer herd and did away with the earn a buck in those units. I hunt northern wisconsin and from what i have seen in the past few years is the deer herd just isnt there. The dnr keep giving away all the doe tags and people just keep shooting them. I have no problem with shooting a doe, but the amount of tags given out I think was way too many. I was real glad this year to see they are hardly giving any out in the northern units.

[Bobber54]

I hunt NE wisconsin and had Earn a buck every season, since it's existance. We can prequalify for the next year, by shooting an antlerless deer, this year. I am prequlified for this year, but I believe the EAB is eliminated for this season. I'm retired, so I get to hunt nearly everyday. We also have a T zone hunt, for antlerless deer, with firearms also, for a week early and late season.
I have noticed that if you are required to shoot a doe, before a buck, do it on opening weekend, near where they chow. Shoot two, so your prequalified for next year. Once the old doe's know the pressure is on, they go nocturnal and so does the family group. I don't hunt bucks in doe area's, until late October. I see lots of deer, because I hunt different than the rest of the group. If your method doesn't work, try one the others aren't using
Bob

[sumner4991]

Duckhunt . . .I didn't realize Virginia had EAB for some counties . . .thanks for bringing that to our attention. Here's how it reads, pretty cool . . .

"At least one antlerless deer must be taken on private lands in Bedford, Fairfax, Fauquier, Franklin, Loudoun, Patrick, Prince William, or Roanoke counties before the second antlered deer of the license year may be taken on private lands in any of these counties. Furthermore, at least two antlerless deer must have been taken on private lands in Bedford, Fairfax, Fauquier, Franklin, Loudoun, Patrick, or Prince William counties before the third antlered deer of the license year may be taken on private lands in any of these counties."

Of course, the rules are only as good as the hunters that follow them. I like the fact that you can take the first buck before having to change your hunting style if you are after the big bucks. I usually have two deer down before I even check for horns.