50/50 chance????

I just watched a doe drop a fawn and lick it clean. Cool to watch. Like seeing an unicorn. Wonder what the actual survival rate is to get to 3 or more years old?

I know your not supposed to mess with them but a few years back my dad had a friend drop one off because the mom got hit by a car. He fed it and played with it that thing was cool. It would follow him around like a puppy. When duck season opened he had to put it in the barn cause it would swim across the lake and try to get in the boat with him. I went out there a few weeks before deer opener and it would be sleeping on his orange clothes he had hung out that it would pull down. Guessing he walked right up to the neighbor in the woods in his blaze orange coat before he got shot at about 60lbs.

Randy Wieland wrote:

But I stood there thinking some greedy hunter will see this pic and start drooling with anxiety to shoot it this fall when it’s the size of my dog.

What’s the point of this comment?

Great pic, dumb question.

ClownColor wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Randy Wieland wrote:</div>
But I stood there thinking some greedy hunter will see this pic and start drooling with anxiety to shoot it this fall when it’s the size of my dog.

What’s the point of this comment?

Great pic, dumb question.

I believe that is what they call “sarcasm”

I believe that is what they call “sarcasm”

I doubt it…he’s not to happy with deer hunters lately.

ClownColor wrote:

I believe that is what they call “sarcasm”

I doubt it…he’s not to happy with deer hunters lately.

Who cares what you think ? To the OP, carry on.

big_g wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>ClownColor wrote:</div>

I believe that is what they call “sarcasm”

I doubt it…he’s not to happy with deer hunters lately.

Who cares what you think ? To the OP, carry on.

—did I get under your wrinkle old skin there Big_G LOL

no wrinkles here… do you feel alone ?

well i guess its better a human eat it then a coyote

ClownColor wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Randy Wieland wrote:</div>
But I stood there thinking some greedy hunter will see this pic and start drooling with anxiety to shoot it this fall when it’s the size of my dog.

What’s the point of this comment?

Great pic, dumb question.

Yep, after the last couple decade of blowing tens of thousands of dollars to enhance habitat, increase carrying capacity, selective harvest…..I have lost all faith in hunters around here. Not all hunters, just the greedy bassturds that hunt with the mentality of if it’s brown it’s down, leaving gut shot deer, lack of recovery efforts, using full metal jacket Bullets, leaving deer to waste, vandalism, trespassing, theft and more.

Ya, pretty pathetic to see something so cool and have my mind drawn immediately to the negative based on all the local ass wipes around here

i hear what you are saying Randy, and agree. we have a group of 3 cabins on the lake we are on that operate the same way. disqusting!!!!

for what its worth, i respect and truly enjoy reading your posts and opinions!!!!!!!

Randy Wieland wrote:

Ya, pretty pathetic to see something so cool and have my mind drawn immediately to the negative based on all the local ass wipes around here

Its really hard for me to fathom that kind of behavior in the hunting realm. I’ve seen some questionable actions during deer season but nothing even remotely close to what you’ve described recently. Its a shame. We as hunters and anglers should have an obligation to manage and conserve the resource, in addition to selectively harvesting, but it doesn’t take very many to give us all a bad rap and start to ruin things.

gimruis wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Randy Wieland wrote:</div>
Ya, pretty pathetic to see something so cool and have my mind drawn immediately to the negative based on all the local ass wipes around here

Its really hard for me to fathom that kind of behavior in the hunting realm. I’ve seen some questionable actions during deer season but nothing even remotely close to what you’ve described recently. Its a shame. We as hunters and anglers should have an obligation to manage and conserve the resource, in addition to selectively harvesting, but it doesn’t take very many to give us all a bad rap and start to ruin things.

Totally agree!

That said, This is a hunting/fishing forum. For someone to call out hunters like that just gets to me. “Drooling with anxiety” to shot a small doe? I doubt it. He knew exactly what he was posting. If PETA came on here posting this crap you’d be all over them…seriously, reread his post and disregard who wrote it…direct slam to hunters.

fyi…I also typically enjoy your posts-good info.

Yeah, Clown’s right, there are no ass wipe hunters. Kill the thread or possibly let him out of the basement.

One man’s opinion if you have to shoot this year fawn to make a little burger, you are pathetic. Seems like the trophy buck is what is desired by many…. shooting a button buck is just plain crazy.

50% is as good a number as any. If it was northern WI/MN that number would be optimistic.

I really couldn’t care much less about trophy hunting for myself. I appreciate those who do, because it does take discipline. Generally a reasonable amount of very selective harvest goes into it.

For myself, I enjoy seeing the entire spectrum and how the puzzle goes together. Incredible how smart a 8 year old doe is. Amazing how they can identify the most minor detail out of place. Or watching does to teach fawns to be Leary of humans and ag equipment. How young bucks spar early and yet step out of the may of a mature buck. Or how a herd of does respond when a big mature buck steps into a field at 500 yrds away.

Rack size means almost nothing. Only a small percentage of “mature” bucks will ever naturally grow a 180”+ rack. Most of the 6 and 7 year old bucks I’ve taken are 150 or less. The reward is the big picture. Last 6 years I’ve hosted for the youth hunt. What an experience to watch a 9 to 14 year old kid watch so much. Crazy how much a kid can learn by observation and having a perfect environment to do so.

So yes I have a major attitude problem with people. We all can have a landscape at near max carrying capacity with an abundance of opportunities to see their amazing behavior. But not until certain people get off their sense of entitlement and greed!

As for calling out hunters that are pathetic greedy ass wipes, hell yes. I do it and don’t think twice. They are the ones depriving our resources from achieving a much better potential

catmando wrote:

One man’s opinion if you have to shoot this year fawn to make a little burger, you are pathetic. Seems like the trophy buck is what is desired by many…. shooting a button buck is just plain crazy.

I prefer to harvest an anterless deer for the vension. They simply taste better than the bucks that are often in rut. There’s no better eating than a small antlerless corn fed deer. I’ve had some pretty foul tasting venison before and there was one common aspect amongst all of it: they were all bucks. I filled my tag last season with the second biggest buck I’ve ever gotten but I refused to eat it because I knew it was going to be a leathery old piece of meat. I arranged ahead of time to donate it however and the individual who picked it up was thrilled to have it. He even bought me a case of beer for it.

Luckily I hunt in a zone where there’s an abundance of bonus anterless tags so I can fill that one for the freezer, and then wait the rest of the season for a large buck.

I believe what Randy is referring to is the behavior and lack of sportsmanship in the specific area of Wisconsin that he hunts because I remember him posting about it last fall.

Interesting question now that it is paired down quite a bit. I think it’s fair to say there’s a pretty significant difference across the hunting range south to north. In my area in Aitkin Co, MN the question isn’t age or carrying capacity but one simplified to hunting opportunities and however you define that. I’ve watched a number of bucks on trail cameras over the years that have reached age 3 and or 4 that simply disappear never to be seen again. A 140 class deer is lifetime rare. It wouldn’t surprise if most of the deer in that area never make it beyond age 5 (doe or buck). Most of the deer seem to be in the 1-3 yr old range. I think wolves, bears, coyotes, hunter harvest & greater potential for severe winters changes the math. I’ve told myself you better enjoy the hunt and take whatever opportunities that come along.

That’s really special to see something like that. I’ve stopped caring what other people use their deer tags for unless it’s on my land. It’s really none of my business. We have the highest deer density in WI and I’m lucky that I get to see at least one 4-5yo buck every year. It’s why I moved here in 2002. I’ve never had a bad tasting deer from Waupaca County. I haven’t shot a doe in about 15yrs and my wife and I take a full year to eat two bucks if we both get one. Since I’m not the sole owner of our deer land (my father in law and wife’s cousin are partners) the taking of does off our 80 is discouraged except for first timers and kids. This was the only way to prevent some of the past partners from shooting 2-3 does every opening weekend. We were glad when they asked to be bought out. When my father in law passes, her cousin and I agree we need to take some does every year. It’s common to have 12-20 does and yearlings around the cabin most evenings munching on the lawn. To my father in law, they’re buck lures to be protected. The problem with that is there are so many of them, a mature buck barely needs to move out of his home range to breed.

tegg wrote:

Interesting question now that it is paired down quite a bit. I think it’s fair to say there’s a pretty significant difference across the hunting range south to north. In my area in Aitkin Co, MN the question isn’t age or carrying capacity but one simplified to hunting opportunities and however you define that. I’ve watched a number of bucks on trail cameras over the years that have reached age 3 and or 4 that simply disappear never to be seen again. A 140 class deer is lifetime rare. It wouldn’t surprise if most of the deer in that area never make it beyond age 5 (doe or buck). Most of the deer seem to be in the 1-3 yr old range. I think wolves, bears, coyotes, hunter harvest & greater potential for severe winters changes the math. I’ve told myself you better enjoy the hunt and take whatever opportunities that come along.

hunting up in Itasca county since about 1973 I concur with this!!

catmando wrote:

One man’s opinion if you have to shoot this year fawn to make a little burger, you are pathetic. Seems like the trophy buck is what is desired by many…. shooting a button buck is just plain crazy.

Lets be a little careful here. Not everyone who hunts is all about shooting a big buck and not everyone who shoots less than a trophy buck is pathetic or crazy. As long as a hunter hunts in a ethical manor and utilizes what he harvested and enjoys the sport, I don’t care what they shoot and neither should anyone else. Lets not forget that to a first time hunter or an elderly hunter maybe hunting one last time, simply harvesting a deer may be enjoyable to them.

fishthumper wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>catmando wrote:</div>
One man’s opinion if you have to shoot this year fawn to make a little burger, you are pathetic. Seems like the trophy buck is what is desired by many…. shooting a button buck is just plain crazy.

Lets be a little careful here. Not everyone who hunts is all about shooting a big buck and not everyone who shoots less than a trophy buck is pathetic or crazy. As long as a hunter hunts in a ethical manor and utilizes what he harvested and enjoys the sport, I don’t care what they shoot and neither should anyone else. Lets not forget that to a first time hunter or an elderly hunter maybe hunting one last time, simply harvesting a deer may be enjoyable to them.

I couldn’t agree more. Let’s not forget that the once a year deer hunter and newbies can’t size up an animal like a seasoned hunter, either. My first deer was a nubbin buck taken with a shotgun in southern IL and it never occurred to me that it wasn’t a doe until I tagged it. Fast forward 6yrs when I moved to central WI and the first deer I shot with my bow, which was only my 2nd deer ever, was also a nubbin buck. I’d have gutted whoever gave me crap about it at the same time as the deer but everyone knew it was special to me and congratulated me. Yeah, it took me five deerless seasons of nothing on public land in IL before I moved north.

fishthumper wrote:

Lets be a little careful here. Not everyone who hunts is all about shooting a big buck and not everyone who shoots less than a trophy buck is pathetic or crazy. As long as a hunter hunts in a ethical manor and utilizes what he harvested and enjoys the sport, I don’t care what they shoot and neither should anyone else.

I don’t disagree with this. However, I often hear a lot of complaining that there aren’t enough big bucks around and they are often the same hunters who fall a spike or fork on opening day. It is even people from my own hunting party! Deer management is about harvesting antlerless deer and large bucks. Constantly removing small bucks does not accomplish that.

I can’t speak for others and I don’t. Does need to be taken, bucks, and a somewhat balance range of age. My negative attitude is strictly to the local problem – which I believe extends to a much larger range. I don’t have 1000’s of acres to manage a deer herd on. It’s a shared resource. Key word is shared. I’m just so fed up with people that fill their 4 tags, spouses 4 tags, fill their kids’ tags and so on. Is that really sharing? Hell no, pure greed. I can see a larger harvest when the population needs it. But when we are at a reasonable population density for the local landscape is it a necessity to shoot so many. Or shoot at so many that you don’t even know what or how many you shot??? Btw- same people around here that bitch the most about not seeing deer

Not into the hunting conversation at all…. But very cool photos and experience seeing it born. I live in a pretty residential area and consider it a treat to see and just observe deer here, or anywhere I’m at.

Thanks for sharing the photos

There are slob hunters everywhere. Those that will shoot at movement, a patch of hide and worry about what it is if they find it ? We had a group of 3 hunters, back when our area was Intensive harvest, 5 deer per. That group of 3, took 15 deer out of the woods them years. Was that legal, yes, but I can only imagine how many they hit and did not find in the swamps.

Strange that today I stumbled upon this amazing little fella while morel hunting on our deer hunting property. I don’t believe in coincidences, so thanks Randy. Even though we have a ton of deer around it was my first close encounter with such a young one. I went to the other end of our property to look for more morels and had a doe that was clearly trying to draw me away from where I was looking so I figured 18 shrooms was a good enough score and called it a day.