Rooting for the deer? Or hunter?

Founder · Oct 6, 2017

So, obviously we all root for ourselves over the deer we pursue. And we probably root for our friends and family too. But, when it comes to a total stranger, do you truly wish them luck, or are you wishing good luck for the deer they're pursuing?
How about if they're hunting the same buck you are? Or even just in the same area?

Brian Latturner
MonsterMuleys.com
LIKE MonsterMuleys.com
on Facebook!

elkassassin · Oct 6, 2017

Good Luck To All!

But Pounding PISSCUTTERS Ain't Helping the Herd!

The JACKASS that was up on the Ballies Illegally with His F'N Side By Side,Well I'll Wish Him Luck as Well but it Ain't Good Luck!

Back Me Off to 1,700 Yards,650 is a Little Close & I'm Not Comfortable with it!

A GUT SHOT at 1,700 Yards will Still Make Some Good BRAGGIN Rights so I Can Say I At Least Hit Him!

JakeSwensen · Oct 6, 2017

>So, obviously we all root for
>ourselves over the deer we
>pursue. And we probably root
>for our friends and family
>too. But, when it comes
>to a total stranger, do
>you truly wish them luck,
>or are you wishing good
>luck for the deer they're
>pursuing?
>How about if they're hunting the
>same buck you are? Or
>even just in the same
>area?
>
>Brian Latturner
>MonsterMuleys.com
>LIKE MonsterMuleys.com
>on Facebook!

I'm happy for other people once they are successful. If myself and other hunters are hunting the same buck of course I'm hoping to be the guy who kills him.
I also like to see the young bucks with potential make it through the hunts. So I guess when it comes to young deer, I guess I'm rooting for them over a stranger.

[font face="verdana" color="green"]
Jake Swensen

eelgrass · Oct 6, 2017

I don't ever wish anybody bad luck but obviously not good luck either if we're hunting the same area. Hope that helps.

ifgator · Oct 6, 2017

Man that's a tough one.
If it's a kid and he's excited then that's obvious.
If it's a guy that sights in his gun at 25 yards with headlights the night before the hunt then not so much. They tend to be wounders and don't care enough about the animal to practice his shooting skills to increase likelihood of a good clean kill.
If it's 2 guys that do it the right way then game on until one is successful and then it's congrats.

elkassassin · Oct 6, 2017

Ain't Far Off & Somebody better start Rootin for the Deer Herd!

Back Me Off to 1,700 Yards,650 is a Little Close & I'm Not Comfortable with it!

A GUT SHOT at 1,700 Yards will Still Make Some Good BRAGGIN Rights so I Can Say I At Least Hit Him!

fullthrottle · Oct 6, 2017

Always rooting for the deer! They need all the help they can get. Love the thrill of the chase... although scoring is fun too. Would be lying if I said when I hear distant shots I'm not thinking in the back of my mind, run!!

kickerbuck · Oct 7, 2017

After this winter I am totally in the deers corner. I think that is evident with all my recent post of pics of living bucks. I keep saying I hope he makes it!!! I'm so tired of seeing little forks and I mean little, getting shot in units that take 6 years to draw in Oregon. I wish hunters didn't have to justify their tag by shooting a little buck just so they can post it on facebook and say they got one.

With that said a hunter who works and hunts hard, deserves whatever deer they get so congrats them.

RUN DEER RUN!!!!!!

Ant · Oct 7, 2017

They say Haters gonna hate. But I am not one of those. Best of luck to all of you hunters if we share the same hunting area I will even lend you a hand if you get one. Had a nice gentlemen and his family give my buddy and I a ride after I took a nice buck in Utah last year and we lost radio contact with our party on where we came out of the canyon. I can tell you I appreciated him, and look forward to helping someone else if they need it. Could never be mad at someone who put the time and effort in to harvest a deer. If they are in a canyon near me. I know they are earning it. Cause I am putting in my work.

elks96 · Oct 7, 2017

I always wish others good luck just never as good as my luck?

wstrntines · Oct 7, 2017

I always like seeing others successful. If we're hunting the same animal I hope I get lucky enough to tag out. Sometimes I do root for the deer though. I will admit I'm envious of guys that get to spend more time huntin than I do. I guess it's just human nature because I'd love to spend more time not that I spend little time in the hills. I do get to spend alot of time. I just wish I could spend weeks on the mtn.

littlebighorn · Oct 8, 2017

A few years back my son and I were deer hunting (general season) and we had found a decent 3 point buck hidden about 400 yards off the road. We decided to let him live another year and we were backing out when a guy and his teenage daughter pulled up in a jeep. She looked young enough we could only assume that this girl had never killed a deer before, so we told them about the buck and then lead them back down the trail. From a distance we watched her take her first deer. The joy she and her dad exhibited after the shot was priceless and she immediately pulled out her phone and called her mom and her friends.

While they celebrated we quietly got in our truck and slipped away. I can't imagine doing anything different. That day we initially rooted for the deer, but ultimately rooted for the young huntress.

elkassassin · Oct 8, 2017

Hey LittleBig!

Me & My Son have done the same thing even after deciding the PISSCUTTER Buck should live on!

>A few years back my son
>and I were deer hunting
>(general season) and we had
>found a decent 3 point
>buck hidden about 400 yards
>off the road. We
>decided to let him live
>another year and we were
>backing out when a guy
>and his teenage daughter pulled
>up in a jeep.
>She looked young enough we
>could only assume that this
>girl had never killed a
>deer before, so we told
>them about the buck and
>then lead them back down
>the trail. From a
>distance we watched her take
>her first deer. The
>joy she and her dad
>exhibited after the shot was
>priceless and she immediately pulled
>out her phone and called
>her mom and her friends.
>
>
>While they celebrated we quietly got
>in our truck and slipped
>away. I can't imagine
>doing anything different. That
>day we initially rooted for
>the deer, but ultimately rooted
>for the young huntress.

Back Me Off to 1,700 Yards,650 is a Little Close & I'm Not Comfortable with it!

A GUT SHOT at 1,700 Yards will Still Make Some Good BRAGGIN Rights so I Can Say I At Least Hit Him!

OchocoKid · Oct 8, 2017

Deer.

In most areas of most states we shouldn't even be hunting them.

Wasn't the hunters role supposed to be for management of the herd for the optimum health of the resource?

Who can honestly say the deer numbers are out of hand and we need to bring them down ? not anywhere I've hunted in the last ten years that's for damn sure.

Stay Thirsty My Friends

Neverdrawn · Oct 9, 2017

I root for the deer about 10 Months out of the year. The other two go to my kids, wife, cousins, friends and others who pay for a tag to help maintain habitat and other things that benefit the herd.

wstrntines · Oct 9, 2017

Post #13 stupidest thing I've read all day. Considering the source I'm not surprised. The guy is on a hunting site preaching we don't need to hunt deer. Oregon folks are a special breed LMFAO.

OchocoKid · Oct 9, 2017

The stupidest things I hear all day is whatever you say wstrnwhines.

If deer numbers are below the objective, which they are in many areas of many states, what is the biological justification for hunting deer that season ?

How many hunters can honestly say where they hunt there are simply just too many deer ? or the resource is being wasted by old age die off ? and of course there are places hunting makes sense that goes without saying.

If good numbers of mature bucks again were your goal like it is mine, you'd get what I'm saying. and it's people like you that are the reason I'll probably never see it again.

Stay Thirsty My Friends

kickerbuck · Oct 10, 2017

So founder where are you on this? And what do you think of hunters shooting little tiny bucks just to fill a tag, so they can say they got one?

elkfromabove · Oct 10, 2017

This appears to be nothing more than a thread about trophy buck deer hunting versus hunter opportunity, and, as long as we continue to talk about hunting bucks, I side with opportunity and root for the hunters, including strangers.

If herd "health" to you means overall deer population, killing bucks, no matter the size of the antlers, doesn't affect the overall herd population one iota, 'cause bucks don't give birth to fawns. If herd "health" means a biologically sound buck to doe ratio, then we've already reached or exceeded the objectives on all the units in Utah and need to kill more bucks in the 25 general units that are over objective. But if herd "health" means a high ratio of trophy bucks that are easier to hunt then I guess this thread is right on target, but the trouble comes when none of us can agree on what a trophy is nor how many there should be in any given area and in either case, opportunity suffers.

wstrntines · Oct 10, 2017

LAST EDITED ON Oct-10-17 AT 12:18PM (MST)[p]Ocho hunt tougher country if you want to kill big deer. I do every year me and my friends consistently kill solid to big deer. With plenty of opportunities at slammers and we do it with bows. We also consistently kill elk with our bows year in and out. And people shoot little bucks on this unit as well. Yeah last winter is going to have some effect on western big game it'll really show in a few years. But the nice thing about next year is alot of solid bucks are going to get the pass during hunting season and have a chance at surviving. Which means the carryover could produce some dandies for next year depending on winter. As for the winter I can only hope it's not as devastating as last year. Your a moron and not a hunter. And if you don't want to hunt deer don't apply one less problem in point creep if you don't apply. Don't chastise guys who do like to hunt and eat good meat. I didn't draw a deer tag this year that's one less deer that was gonna get killed because I'd kill one this year as well if I had a tag.

bullskin · Oct 10, 2017

I root for both. The best buck is one that has seen a few seasons and has the instincts or experience to survive. That is the one that I will chase all season long and take pride in my success if it happens. If not, then I am still happy just to know that I had my chance and he bested me. On the other hand, he does nobody any good if he dies of old age on the mountain, and so I like to see these on the ground, no matter who gets it done. In a perfect world, there would be a lot more of them!

dirtygrass · Oct 10, 2017

The DOW gives nearly 1000 buck tags in the unit I hunt with a high success rate, the unit is overrun by lions and coyotes. The place is a slaughter during season, most of the deer shot are young. Our group get tags every year, but we only shoot 5 year or older deer, or better than 170". We fill our tags pretty much every year. My son shot his first deer there 12 years ago, there were 100 deer in the valley, half of which were bucks. I spent most of the three rifle seasons in there last year, up until the late season I had only seen 34 total deer.

I root for the deer, maybe selfish but..If people quit shooting the little ones this unit would be unbelievable.

mmwb · Oct 10, 2017

LAST EDITED ON Oct-10-17 AT 02:27PM (MST)[p]I'm pretty neutral on it. I know some hunters who put a lot of time and effort into it and always root for them, as I do for kids. Still, its nice to see the deer that made it through. A lot of those, I suppose, we never see or know about.

Yes, numbers of trophy bucks and overall herd health have little to do with each other. Hunting restrictions for herd heath would focus on overall numbers (determining whether doe hunts should be allowed) or buck/doe ratios (determining restrictions on antlered deer harvest).

I admire true trophy hunters who have the skill and dedication to do what they do. I just wonder at the ones who think we need restrictions so less bucks are killed so there will be more older ones. Still willing to go thin out the mature ones themselves, if they can get a tag. The fact is, a lot of bucks will never be 'trophy' material. I've killed a couple of really old bucks and some mature, but not so old. A couple of them had great genetics for antler growth. The rest weren't ever going to make B&C.

Joe2Kool · Oct 10, 2017

Hmmm. I think you have confused this PETA website with another PETA website. This one is for People Eating Tasty Animals!

Joe2Kool · Oct 10, 2017

>A few years back my son
>and I were deer hunting
>(general season) and we had
>found a decent 3 point
>buck hidden about 400 yards
>off the road. We
>decided to let him live
>another year and we were
>backing out when a guy
>and his teenage daughter pulled
>up in a jeep.
>She looked young enough we
>could only assume that this
>girl had never killed a
>deer before, so we told
>them about the buck and
>then lead them back down
>the trail. From a
>distance we watched her take
>her first deer. The
>joy she and her dad
>exhibited after the shot was
>priceless and she immediately pulled
>out her phone and called
>her mom and her friends.
>
>
>While they celebrated we quietly got
>in our truck and slipped
>away. I can't imagine
>doing anything different. That
>day we initially rooted for
>the deer, but ultimately rooted
>for the young huntress.

In general, if I've scouted a nice deer or area, I want to shoot him! I'll share specifics with my hunting buddies because I know they're not going to move in on me. Or if I'm not there, I want them to go get him!

For most others, I'll share generalities, such as "saw a nice one over that direction during archery season." However, in situations like above, I'm definitely sharing all the info I have! It's more important for me to help new hunters, especially young ones, than it is for me to kill a deer.

2lumpy · Oct 10, 2017

Over the years I've scared dozens, if not hundreds of young deer and elk away from a road, to try to keep them from getting shot. Some older ones as well but not as inclinded to spook an older animal as I am a younger one.

On numerous ocassions, when the sithation is to my liking I''ve directed and lead strangers to younger deer and elk. Never regrated it, to the constranation to some of my friends.

Each circumstance is different.

I have a soft heart for youth hunters or first time hunters, at the same time, I would do just what Tog said, I would outlaw hunting deer or elk, of all ages and genders if a unit was not at or very nearly at carrying capacity, including youth, seniors, disabled, mutants, aliens, cougars, bear, and song dogs.

I think I generally cheer for the deer, but not everytime. I'd kill a Henrys or Pauns buck everytime.

DC

OchocoKid · Oct 10, 2017

States laws vary, but most have objective levels. why have any deer hunting if numbers are below objectives? or at the very least put out minimal tags with point restrictions if you must.

An argument can be made that without hunting you will have a buck to doe ratio that's not optimum for reproduction. ONLY if the deer numbers exceed the carrying capacity of the range is this NOT a bogus argument. and if the numbers exceed the carrying capacity then your objective numbers are wrong.

Predation is a major factor where most herds are below objective. so if you kill a buck a lion would have killed then the lion has to find another deer to kill, maybe a bred doe. that's good ? basic common sense says that more deer of any sex are better than dead deer when you're short on deer. up to the point of exceeding range capacity.

In most cases tag numbers are set by game department budget requirements not biology. let's just be honest about that for starters. from there if you have the ability to reason you can draw your on conclusions.

Stay Thirsty My Friends

trophymuley · Oct 10, 2017

LAST EDITED ON Oct-10-17 AT 07:11PM (MST)[p]If it's a deer with potential that I may chase in the future, GO DEER GO! If someone puts in the time for a specific deer I'm rooting for and they get him, ALWAYS do what you can to make that person feel like a superhero. No reason to take away from their special moment regardless of who your rooting for. I've had a few in the 180s to high 190s over the years I was hoping would get bigger that were outsmarted before their prime. Those were the biggest deer some of those guys had ever shot.
A small 2 year old 4 point may have the same significance as a 200 inch trophy to the hunter who just shot a 140 buck that's the biggest deer he's shot. We see pictures of them all the time. Small bucks that people are so proud to post. Better to be supportive than condescending. Root for the deer, but still be excited, respectful and supportive to the hunter when they score. There?s always a new year with other bucks to chase.

2lumpy · Oct 10, 2017

LAST EDITED ON Oct-10-17 AT 08:18PM (MST)[p]Deer, are the linch pin to all big game hunting in the lower 48.

Nothing in the big game hunting world works efficently if the deer herd is not operating at carrying capacity.

When deer are pumping fawns that aveage 110/120 fawns per 100 does and survival rates exceed 75/80% and your base herd numbers are in balance with its forage, you can safely carry and feed more predators, sell more tags, kill more females, kilk more yearlying, winter over more bucks. Everything begins to work like a well oiled machine. When the linch pin species drops below critical mass, everything goes to sh!t and unless you throw all the brakes on and FORCE the herd back to capacity it continues to be never ending mess.

If Togs hay field goes to sh!t, for whatever reason, he stops using it until he has FORCED that field back into full capacity, he doesn't keep diddling with it for years, hoping the weather will change and fix it, by itself.

It ain't magic, it's applied science.

DC

BrowningRage · Oct 11, 2017

I've only ever been happy for people I've seen harvest deer. Usually I even approach them and take their photos or talk with them even. Of course, some guys aren't all that friendly. LOL

"Therefore, wo be unto him that is at ease in Zion!" 2 Ne. 28: 24

elkfromabove · Oct 13, 2017

LAST EDITED ON Oct-13-17 AT 10:11AM (MST)[p]>LAST EDITED ON Oct-10-17
>AT 08:18?PM (MST)
>
>Deer, are the linch pin to
>all big game hunting in
>the lower 48.
>
>Nothing in the big game hunting
>world works efficently if the
>deer herd is not operating
>at carrying capacity.
>
>When deer are pumping fawns that
>aveage 110/120 fawns per 100
>does and survival rates exceed
>75/80% and your base herd
>numbers are in balance with
>its forage, you can safely
>carry and feed more predators,
>sell more tags, kill more
>females, kilk more yearlying, winter
>over more bucks. Everything
>begins to work like a
>well oiled machine. When
>the linch pin species drops
>below critical mass, everything goes
>to sh!t and unless you
>throw all the brakes on
>and FORCE the herd back
>to capacity it continues to
>be never ending mess.
>
>If Togs hay field goes to
>sh!t, for whatever reason, he
>stops using it until he
>has FORCED that field back
>into full capacity, he doesn't
>keep diddling with it for
>years, hoping the weather will
>change and fix it, by
>itself.
>
>It ain't magic, it's applied science.
>
>
>DC

So, in Utah, the following 8 deer units would still be open 'cause they are the only ones that are above current population objectives (Of course, the DWR could always increase the population objectives as they have done in the past, in which case, the open list would be even shorter.): Beaver, (Chalk Creek/E.Cyn/Morg./Summit), Kamas, Mt Dutton, Oquirrh/Stansbury, Panguitch Lake, Pine Valley and Zion. Tog's gonna hafta shut down all the rest, including the LE and Premium LE units until he can FORCE those wild animals on a unit by unit basis to reproduce properly and survive to maturity.

Let's hope it doesn't take too long 'cause those 180,000 (approx.) deer tag applicants vying for 28,700 available general season buck tags aren't likely to be too happy about their odds.

Now, I'm curious to know specifically how Tog's gonna FORCE those deer to increase their numbers regardless of or in spite of the weather. Please enlighten us.