Its going to be a rough day on the Deer around here tomorrow

[ThomWV]

The Deer Season that counts starts tomorrow morning just before daybreak. There are a number of different "Deer Seasons" ranging from bow-doe to black-powder-only for god only knows what along with some special bear and boar regulations too of course, but the big one starts tomorrow.

I don't hunt myself mostly because I'm lazy, don't much care for the gore of cleaning game, and never tasted any venison that I thought was much past just edible - and I've consented to try it just about every way it could possibly be cooked. It all tastes like all shoes to me. Anyway a lot of guys hunt and good for them. I can understand the compulsion to put fifty pounds of meat in the freezer for a dollar's worth of bullets coming from a gun you've owned for years.

The weather will favor the hunters tomorrow as it hasn't around here in years. All the leaves are off the trees and the deer are already eating the green-brier which means they are out and moving; easily seen. It was raining a few days ago so the leaves are still moist, meaning hunter entering the woods before dawn will be silent. The winds will be still and scent's will hover rather than warn as well. There are a lot of deer this year too.

Guns have been firing all day. Its a good idea to sight your gun in before the big day. You can never tell what might have fallen on a rifle stored away in a closet for the last year; they get knocked out of wack - scopes are bad that way. Some guns never get sighted in at all but that's OK because most hunter's can't shoot for shit anyway; marvels of modern optics makes up for most of it.

You wouldn't believe how much money some folks will spend on this "sport". Camo and scents, climbing tree-stands that simply astound, guns and ammo in every conceivable caliber and mix of shell casing designs and it all costs money - lots of money. Names like Winchester, Remington, and Browning do not come cheap.

I believe an In-state hunting license costs about $35. I don't buy one because if I were to decide to go kill something I'd do it on my own property and no license is required for that - as far as I know. Anyway the state is getting its cut so that's just how that is. A couple of years ago they tried to make it legal to hunt on Sundays here. That got voted down. Thank a benevolent lord for small favors I guess.

4-Wheelers have been running up and down the road all day. These are the Yahoos who come out of the woodwork once a year. I put up a sign on the logging road that leads into the back side of our property. The sign is painted on plywood. It says "You Are Trespassing. Get The Hell Off My Property Now". The lettering is in black on a white background. I painted some scrap 1x3 stuff blaze orange and used it for boarder - you can read the thing from 100 feet away. It seems to work so far.

Some hunters will be killed tomorrow. They will be shot by their fellows. I have nothing to say about that other than I do not wish for their deaths any more than I do the deaths of the deer.

This is such a big deal here that school will be closed for the entire week. Of course Thanksgiving falls in there but even if it didn't the little tots would be deprived of such education as the State of West Virginia provides for that period. Does that make deer meat the new-age antibrainfood? Speaking of Thanksgiving in this context, that is the day the real idiots come out. You just wouldn't believe it. People from places where guns are rarely seen will drive all night to try to kill an animal they may or may not eat using a fire arm they very well may never have fired before and a good number of them will be more than just a little bit drunk as they do it.

A lot of deer are going to die tomorrow. Some few of them will do some needy people some good but for the most part it will be more to build some Yahoo's ego. Dam shame.

[rfranklin]

1. Real men hunt with a homemade bow and stone arrows...

Using a gun is for girls.

[Pavulon]

4. You walk to work and take you grain to the mill?

no, then you use tools. Arrows kill, rifle fire is a much faster death.

[Itchinjim]

5. I prefer a Buick

[The Doctor.]

19. ...

:rofl: :rofl: :spray:

[XemaSab]

23. That's not particularly humane

An instant death beats a death hours later any day of the week.

[luvspeas]

2. the gunfire freaks me out bad...

it's an annual thing in Wisconsin for many years now, where the animal right s activists strap fake hunters onto the hoods of their cars and drive around town. you'd be amazed how much better something like that can make you feel.

[Pavulon]

3. You do need a license on your property, and sunday is just religion

intruding into our lives from the state. They would ban fishing if they could enforce it. Sunday you should be n church worshipping, nut hunting. That is how it works in NC.

Deer are plentiful and tasty. As for bad behavior I see it on the lake fishing by people in ski boats or jet skis. Assholes are everywhere. A few morons do not represent everyone who hunts.

As for shooting there are many people who do take their hunting seriously and practice to be able to hit a target cleanly. I do not like looking for a shot deer so accurate shooting is good for both parties.

As for negligent shooting, there is no excuse, however I do value human live more than a 4 legged critter that kills plenty of people by jumping in front of cars.

[OnceUponTimeOnTheNet]

7. My boy spent two weeks before season siting in his rifle.

All his friends did. He got his buck, and I'm happy about it.

These threads just tick me off. Some just fail to recognize the culture of the hunt here.

[vadawg]

13. +1 ive already got my two freezers full of venison, so im not going to hunting for deer

also got my turkey bagged for thanksgiving, probuably will accompany my buddy as he does though to help dress and bring the kill back.

[Sal Minella]

9. The deer are not trying to kill the drivers of the cars.

The deer are simply trying to save their own lives.

The jumping-in-front-of-the-predator behavior works if the threatening predator is a bear or a wolf. The predator is startled into immobility for a second or two, giving the deer a head start in escaping.

The behavior is counterproductive for the deer confronting a predator that weighs thousands of pounds and doesn't understand it's supposed to be startled into a dead stop. I wonder if deer will someday evolve a behavior of crossing behind cars.

Given druthers, I'd rather be killed by either arrow or bullet rather than starve to death over the winter.

[Sal Minella]

10. dupe

[the other one]

6. Great read. Well done.

[KT2000]

8. It has been awful around here

4 wheel trucks cruising my neighborhood, guys klooking through binoculars at the deer in my and my neighbor's yard. Had to chase one guy off who was just getting out of his truck to take out some deer lounging in my neighbor's yard.
Gunshots all day.
The females and yearlings are terrorized now - they are skittish, walking in slow motion. Our large stag is gone.

Yahoos is right - they shoot deer that are in open fields, vacant lots and in neighborhoods.
Sometimes they leave their intact dead deer in plastic bags in the cemetary - what is that about?

They make me sick.

[Mojorabbit]

11. My husband bow hunts

and already got his buck and a couple of wild pigs. I have made a gazillion lbs of sausage from italian to breakfast and some chorizo to boot. I have pancetta curing and canadian bacon as well. My freezer is full and that is a good thing. He is an accurate shot both with gun and bow and I appreciate the full freezer. He takes his hunting seriously and hunts with respect for the animal.

[ThomWV]

14. Actually I sort of fibbed. I do still hunt, just a little ...

I can not give up my 20-gage side-by-side and I dearly love Ruff Grouse. Its not much and none is ever frozen, maybe a little time in the 'frige because I've got to get 2 to make dinner for us and my knees don't let me hunt them like I used to. This will probably be my last year.

[panader0]

12. I'm in construction

most of my co-workers hunt. They have to buy the permit, a gun, take a week off from work (as most good areas are far). Then there's gas, food, beer, tents etc. Usually they can bag a deer. Then, there's the cleaning, or paying some butcher to clean. Some will have the rack or head mounted. The cost of all of this is very high. High enough to buy a freezer and stock it with a half beef and be able to eat meat with taste. I too have never eaten venison that tasted as good as beef.

[GMA]

15. Great post!

A couple of weeks ago one of our grand daughters--just 2 years old--followed a herd of deer through the field in front of our house, across the road, and into our neighbor's field. She only stopped when my husband finally got within 30 ft of her, as she was trying to decide whether to keep running after the deer, or go see the neighbor's horses.

I love those deer, even as they trample our lawn. It's easy for me, since I hate venison.

The coyotes, on the other hand...

[FarCenter]

16. Put out your salt block

[AwakeAtLast]

17. And they'll be running all over and out onto the roads

so some people will be killed when they hit one with their car.

[livetohike]

18. The first Monday after Thanksgiving is deer season here and

we are going into Pgh. for the day. My dogs and I can't handle all of the gun shot noise.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

20. Thanks to an initiative, there are few if any deer in California

Which means I have to go out of state to hunt them...oh well, I'll settle for chuckar.

[Vattel]

21. I respect the animals I kill.

And I think they appreciate the respect I have for them. Yes I eat meat. Nature designed me to eat meat, providing me with big, pointy teeth (although I am seeing an orthodontist about that next week). I hunt for my food, which is the way of nature. I also occasionally scavenge in dumpsters, which is more of an acquired taste. Besides, I use every part of the animal I kill: the flesh for food, the hide for clothing, the sex organs for practical jokes. Granted, I have 63 coat-racks made out of antlers, but I have a big trailer. Hunting is an age-old tradition. The Indians hunted long before European settlers hunted them. And Indians regard animals as their brothers and sisters. Personally, I wouldn't eat my sister, but then I'm not an Indian, am I? My point is that you city-folk don't understand that hunting is a way of life out here (South Orange County). Yes, hunting entails killing, and killing entails death, but death is a part of life, usually the last part. So hunting is really a celebration of life and the hunter, though often misunderstood, simply wants to celebrate life with a few beers, a gun, and a terrified animal.

[Kaleva]

22. Favorite deer hunting songs

The 30 point buck
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Utt_XgcWv8

The 2nd week of deer camp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kb9yhhflmvY&feature=related