The good ol days

Just thought I’d see where this thread goes. Post your stories from the ‘good ol days’, if you have any.

I’m kind of bumming out right now, as I found out the properties that we’ve hunted in SE Wi (Walworth Co) are pretty much gone. At our height, in the late 80’s, we had around 8 prime farms/marshes to hunt. We’ve taken our share of trophy deer out of here, and missed more than our share (LOL). Over the course of the last 15 years, farmers have died off, and properties have been converted to subdivisions, or (gasp) sold off to some wealthy people south of the WI border. Typically, they don’t want anyone hunting on the land now, so we are at a crossroads in my deer hunting career. To make things worse, one landowner just denied us hunting rights this year, because of the change to allowing rifles (ridiculous rule) down here. He is of the opinion that liability issues will start to crop up, and he just would prefer not to have to deal with any impending issues. Perfectly within his rights, but still sad to see this happen.

The irony of this is herd control. I live in an irradication zone. It is too bad that 7 out of 10 properties around here have no hunting currently. What do you think happens to any deer on those 3 huntable properties after opening morning? How do you go about eliminating a herd that is largely safe and un-huntable now?
Should the DNR approach landowners, and work out some deal to allow limited hunting? Are sharpshooters the answer (NO!). I’m just at a loss right now. This area produces a large number of trophy deer, and right now, they are sitting on a piece of land that will never have a hunter on it!

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It is too bad that 7 out of 10 properties around here have no hunting currently. What do you think happens to any deer on those 3 huntable properties after opening morning? How do you go about eliminating a herd that is largely safe and un-huntable now?

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Why doesn’t it get hunted? I’m always looking for hunting land, as I’m sure many people are….Do the landowners just not allow it?

Quote:

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It is too bad that 7 out of 10 properties around here have no hunting currently. What do you think happens to any deer on those 3 huntable properties after opening morning? How do you go about eliminating a herd that is largely safe and un-huntable now?

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Why doesn’t it get hunted? I’m always looking for hunting land, as I’m sure many people are….Do the landowners just not allow it?

Slop

That is exactly what happens at our area. One neighbor likes to see deer and doesn’t care for her neighbors. After the first shot is fired, the deer know exactly were they won’t be shot at and head there. It is getting harder and harder to find good land to hunt unless you are a land owner. We actually hunt the approaches to this free hunt zone and fill up each year.

Slop

That is exactly what happens at our area. One neighbor likes to see deer and doesn’t care for her neighbors. After the first shot is fired, the deer know exactly were they won’t be shot at and head there. It is getting harder and harder to find good land to hunt unless you are a land owner. We actually hunt the approaches to this free hunt zone and fill up each year.

That happend to us on my hunting spot this year. The farmer does not live on the farm. His Daughter and Son In-Law live there. The owner found out that some people were letting their friends come and hunt with them (the two guys that own the cattle on the farm). So the owner told his Son In-Law to take care of it. So last year they cut the number of hunters in half but still let the cattle farmers on. We also had to sign all these rules and also a waver. Some of the rules were: we could not go in any earlier then 30 min before sunrise (we spooked 5 good bucks walking in) We also had to park in a designated area (not a problem because that is were I always parked) We also were only alowed to hunt from October 1st-the end of November.

By the end of the season I was frustrated because I can only hunt mornings during the week. But then they told us that they were going to let us hunt the whole season the next year . He also made a comment about how a couple people did not follow the rules of were to park and when to enter the property (again the cattle farmers)

So this year we went to talk to the son in-law and he told us that they had talked with their attorny. He then told us it was to much of a liabillity to let us hunt their land . He informed us that they were only allowing 2 people to hunt this year and you guessed it, its the cattle farmers.

It was a great spot that we had hunted for 12 years and all of a sudden they changed their minds about hunting . This farm produced 8 pope and young bucks in the 12 years we hunted. We also saw many Boone and Crocket bucks during the rut. the farm butted up with a prarie park that was no hunting so the huge bucks spent all day out there.

Now I have a new spot that is closer to my house but a big buck will be about 110″ or so. It is

Jeremy

That happend to us on my hunting spot this year. The farmer does not live on the farm. His Daughter and Son In-Law live there. The owner found out that some people were letting their friends come and hunt with them (the two guys that own the cattle on the farm). So the owner told his Son In-Law to take care of it. So last year they cut the number of hunters in half but still let the cattle farmers on. We also had to sign all these rules and also a waver. Some of the rules were: we could not go in any earlier then 30 min before sunrise (we spooked 5 good bucks walking in) We also had to park in a designated area (not a problem because that is were I always parked) We also were only alowed to hunt from October 1st-the end of November.

By the end of the season I was frustrated because I can only hunt mornings during the week. But then they told us that they were going to let us hunt the whole season the next year . He also made a comment about how a couple people did not follow the rules of were to park and when to enter the property (again the cattle farmers)

So this year we went to talk to the son in-law and he told us that they had talked with their attorny. He then told us it was to much of a liabillity to let us hunt their land . He informed us that they were only allowing 2 people to hunt this year and you guessed it, its the cattle farmers.

It was a great spot that we had hunted for 12 years and all of a sudden they changed their minds about hunting . This farm produced 8 pope and young bucks in the 12 years we hunted. We also saw many Boone and Crocket bucks during the rut. the farm butted up with a prarie park that was no hunting so the huge bucks spent all day out there.

Now I have a new spot that is closer to my house but a big buck will be about 110″ or so. It is

Jeremy

Yep,

I hunt the south metro……..Every year I loose more and more land to hunt on………. and it is a battle every year dealing with tresspassers and poachers, that I’m actually starting to loose interest in deer hunting…….

Tooooo many screwballs from the metro area picking up a gun, and buying a deer license and shooting at anything that moves.

This year is the last year of my hunting the metro area. Then dad retires and I’m off to up north or giving it all up and spending a week on P4…….

Yep,

I hunt the south metro……..Every year I loose more and more land to hunt on………. and it is a battle every year dealing with tresspassers and poachers, that I’m actually starting to loose interest in deer hunting…….

Tooooo many screwballs from the metro area picking up a gun, and buying a deer license and shooting at anything that moves.

This year is the last year of my hunting the metro area. Then dad retires and I’m off to up north or giving it all up and spending a week on P4…….

I am constantly looking for my own land to buy so this does not become a problem, but land in my area (west of Rochester) is running about $4,950/acre so I will need a few years of savings to get even close.

In the good old days, I had the run of my neighborhood growing up, and that is a lot of land for a farm kid. It seems like every year now, I loose land as the small farmers sell off land to the “big Guys”. I have talked with a few of them, but it is just not the same as it used to be. More knocking on doors and talking to people whom I don’t know, which is even harder. Don’t get me wrong, I still ask permission, but don’t get it very often from people who don’t know me, my dad, or how I hunt.

I firmly believe that it is coming to a “pay to play” philosophy, and you need to own it to hunt it.

Good luck to all the responsible hunters out there that do ask permission, park where told to, clean up after themselves, etc. To the rest of them

I am constantly looking for my own land to buy so this does not become a problem, but land in my area (west of Rochester) is running about $4,950/acre so I will need a few years of savings to get even close.

In the good old days, I had the run of my neighborhood growing up, and that is a lot of land for a farm kid. It seems like every year now, I loose land as the small farmers sell off land to the “big Guys”. I have talked with a few of them, but it is just not the same as it used to be. More knocking on doors and talking to people whom I don’t know, which is even harder. Don’t get me wrong, I still ask permission, but don’t get it very often from people who don’t know me, my dad, or how I hunt.

I firmly believe that it is coming to a “pay to play” philosophy, and you need to own it to hunt it.

Good luck to all the responsible hunters out there that do ask permission, park where told to, clean up after themselves, etc. To the rest of them

I hate to see what you guys are going through, it must be tough to loose a good hunting spot. Beings im from iowa which is one of the lesser populated states theres no immediate danger for hunting here. There are alot of public hunting acres here that almost all hold deer in good numbers besides the farmers who keep thier land open to thin the deer out, hope this never stops but its hard to tell what the future holds. Living not more than two hours from southern iowa where hardly anyone lives and thier all kin down there and most of them hunt anyway it will be a very long time befor the opportunity to hunt deer gets tighter. I sympathise with you guys. Things have changed very little over the years here and theres so much corn damage in some areas that its going to be awhile befor the farmers close thier gates to deer hunters, especially bowhunters. Thats another idea, ask to bowhunt because of the low impact then when the farmer sees your ok and of good standing then ask to gun hunt to help them thin the deer, it would work with some farmers especially where livestocks involved. Ya the good old days

I hate to see what you guys are going through, it must be tough to loose a good hunting spot. Beings im from iowa which is one of the lesser populated states theres no immediate danger for hunting here. There are alot of public hunting acres here that almost all hold deer in good numbers besides the farmers who keep thier land open to thin the deer out, hope this never stops but its hard to tell what the future holds. Living not more than two hours from southern iowa where hardly anyone lives and thier all kin down there and most of them hunt anyway it will be a very long time befor the opportunity to hunt deer gets tighter. I sympathise with you guys. Things have changed very little over the years here and theres so much corn damage in some areas that its going to be awhile befor the farmers close thier gates to deer hunters, especially bowhunters. Thats another idea, ask to bowhunt because of the low impact then when the farmer sees your ok and of good standing then ask to gun hunt to help them thin the deer, it would work with some farmers especially where livestocks involved. Ya the good old days

Dan, you said there is a lot of public hunting in Iowa? Iowa has the least amount of public hunting ground of any state. It’s starting to get bad down here to guys, I’m not sure what the sollution is. Luckily I grew up in NE Iowa, and still have good ties up there, but we’ve even lost ground up that way.

Dan, you said there is a lot of public hunting in Iowa? Iowa has the least amount of public hunting ground of any state. It’s starting to get bad down here to guys, I’m not sure what the sollution is. Luckily I grew up in NE Iowa, and still have good ties up there, but we’ve even lost ground up that way.

Regardless of where you hunt this upcoming season, I wish all you the best. As another poster said, it is going to become a rich man’s game in the not-so-distant future. There will be an entire generation of people who will most likely not be able to experience something as wonderful as the deer season. I hope to god this never happens, but I’m not real hopeful right now.

Be safe, and enjoy it!

Regardless of where you hunt this upcoming season, I wish all you the best. As another poster said, it is going to become a rich man’s game in the not-so-distant future. There will be an entire generation of people who will most likely not be able to experience something as wonderful as the deer season. I hope to god this never happens, but I’m not real hopeful right now.

Be safe, and enjoy it!