this makes me sad.

Here’s a story of a family/group that took 53 deer over the WI deer season.
LINK

Hey, it was in honor of his grandmother. How can you fault them for that.

Thats horrible!!!!

Well they aren’t moving if your sitting.

Like sitting on a couch

Drives um…… how would like to own some property next to them. Thirty guys walking right next to ya.

Well Hanging deer is one thing but putting on a show is another.

I am just really not sure what to say but I am glad i don’t hunt next to them.

They got it all figured out. Curious to see how they do next year.

Nothing like skinning 53 frozen deer, at least lets hope they are frozen. Man, that sounds like some real fun!! I wonder if they have any openings in that party?

Sorry for being sarcastic, just so many criticisms that come to mind.

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They got it all figured out. Curious to see how they do next year.

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That would be interesting to see a follow up article.

If you look at it, it did not say how big the property was and they did bag about 2 deer per hunter. Not to far out of whack, unless it was 80 acres.

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Drives um…… how would like to own some property next to them. Thirty guys walking right next to ya.

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Sounds like Danbury, WI…We got 3-4 groups that big up there that do nothing but push all day long.

That place is a public land hunters nightmare come gun season

I agree with Lip 100%. From what I have read on this website, nearly everybody condones harvesting two deer per year for themselves, which is exactly what these hunters did. I know of a group of 20 that routinely shoots 60-75 between bow and gun seasons. And from personal experience, not a scrap of that meat goes to waste. Their smoker is running until June every year….With that, hopefully the guys from augusta left more for next year though.

My brother’s in-laws do the same thing. Get about 30 guys and just drive all day long. Then they hang them from the racks of a kicker hay bale wagon or two. It’s quite a site! It’s not my method of choice, but they get plenty of deer and have a blast. I don’t see anything wrong with that.

Yes Jake I agree. Remember this is the media. You usually only get a one sided story aimed at pleasing or displeasing a certain group.. I ‘m not saying what they did was right, but think about it. Too many factors are unknown. This could have been in a EAB area. If I only Rifle hunted and did not have my EAB sticker and a doe walked by….. You can bet I’m putting her down. If 26 people do this and 26 does are down. Hard to argue with that. No one knows the population of that area or how big the farm was. Too many people jump to conclusions on stuff like this and that is exactly what the media wants you to do. Last time I heard there were quite a few deer in WI.

Just my $.02 until I hear more facts on this story.

The disrespect for gun hunters on this site makes me puke. I am so sick of the high and mighty attitude of many bow/muzzy hunters. Like Lip said–about 2 deer per hunter–how many of you shoot 2 deer a year. Granted if it is a small area they may have screwed next year’s hunt–but they can learn their lesson IF that is the case. If they would have each gone out and shot 2 deer with a bow most of you would be applauding them–but those cheater gun hunters don’t get any credit. Only sitting in a stand for days can produce a real hunt right? You can’t possible be hunting if you are doing drives to get your deer-GIVE ME A BREAK! I like this site a lot and have learned a lot from it but this crap is getting old fast.

–Whitey (A proud gun hunter)

i agree with the above post. We as hunters should be working together to keep our sport going on forever, not bad mouthing a group of hunters. To a lot of guys its not about big racks, its about the time spent in the woods with your fellow hunters. and like lip said 2 deer per person isnt even a big deal.

Right on Whitey!

I do not consider myself a gun hunter, but I like to gun hunt now and then, but your right. There are many ways to harvest deer. It just happens Rifle season is X many days long instead of the 4 months we bow hunters enjoy. It doesn’t mean if THOSE NASTY RIFLE HUNTERS (tongue in cheek) take deer legally they are bad people, no matter what method (stand, drives, etc) they use. Heck, I do deer drives with my bow just about every year. Why you ask? Tradition and enjoying a sport that is so individual and quiet 99% of the time and sharing that out loud with friends and family. If you have not done it you are missing out as it is a hoot. This method of hunting has been around since the Indians were here. To each their own and if it is legal, what is wrong with it?

I’m not saying it is a method I would use every day, but occasionally my parties do deer drives or I call them nudges. Is their some negative aspects from doing it? You bet, that is why we wait until the very end of the year until we drive all the deer and big bucks off our property that have came to seek refuge from other properties drives all year long.

The only problem I have is with people that make a judgment without knowing anything about the story. Harvesting 53 deer for 25 licensed hunters is certainly not an over harvest. When I bought my rifle license I got with it a buck tag, herd control tag, and antlerless tag. With my bow license I also got a buck tag and a herd control tag. Add that up and you will notice how many deer I could legally harvest. And yet with all these tags the overall harvest is likely down.

I agree this high and mighty attitude is sickening. Before anyone even knows the entire story they are criminalizing the guy that was on the news. Does anyone happen to know the area around Augusta? It is surrounded by a little over 100 thousand acres of county land. I suppose it is indeed possible to find 53 deer in that much land isn’t it? Would it be any different feeling to some of you if these guys all hunted on their own and harvested two deer?

This was on our local news here in Eau Claire, and my fiance’s dad talked to one of the hunters in the group earlier in the season. The group hunts mostly public land, they go from spot to spot and do drives, nothing wrong with that as far as I am concerned.

thats not really that bad. 53 deer for 25 hunters. how many of you shot 2 deer this year?

It’s is however very disappointing is scount an area, hang a stand only to have a bunch of drivers walking and talking everywhere at 7am! That is why I no longer hunt during the gun season. I will never be able to afford my own land so that is the best option I have.

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Well they aren’t moving if your sitting.

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No kiddin, whadda friggin tool

I would say congrats to those hunters for having a great season! They are well within there rights to hunt how they want as long as laws were followed and as far as the # of deer! guess we can shoot 5 per man here in Minnesota! sounds like they were conservative to me! If walking is there method of choice well have at it!

before anything else is said I would like to say ya I’m a trophy hunter! but you know what I’m so sick of people pushing for all these new laws to manage for trophy bucks! Its about the most selfish thing and anti hunting thing you could do! Most of these guys are in there 30’s and 40’s shot a hundred small bucks over the years and now want to take that opportunity away from other hunters! If you want to shoot a spike buck! If that’s what made your season HEY DO IT! you shouldnt be looked down upon for doing so!

This kinda gets my blood boiling just like when trouts unlimited got the stream by my old place banned for live bait! now I cant take my kids down to the river that runs threw my property to soak a worm and catch suckers,bass or what have you just cuz there are trout in the waters and a bunch of greedy monkeybutts had to take that opportunity away from me and my kids! makes you want to kick some one in the head!

any way back to the deer hunting! my opinion on all this is this! The more you guys look down on people for hunting the way they do even though they are well within there right and following the laws, the more hunter recruitment we will lose we will lose hunters that have hunted for years and eventually we will lose hunting! this trophy mentality and thinking we have a right to tell the next guy what they should shoot is going to be the downfall of hunting! Oh by the way most of the guys that push for this are looking for the easy way to get a big buck! Guess what there’s not a easy way you got to put in the time and hope for the best!

If you cant do that go to a game ranch!

I hope i haven’t offended anyone but i needed to vent a bit!

Good hunting and good fishing to you all!

and remember we need to stick together as outdoors men ands women Lets keep the tradition going, not take it away!

TheguN

Agreed 100% TheguN!

I guess I would tend to disagree with you guys thinking this isn’t so bad… maybe it’s because I had a pretty awful gun season and I think the herd is in bad shape. It is because I think it is in bad shape that I feel this is an over-harvest.

Just my .02

Alot of us had an aweful gun season…myself included…hopefully I can change that this upcoming weekend with the muzzleloader. However isn’t the solution for over-harvest found in regulation and doesn’t that responsibility fall on the regulators? If these guys were within their rights to go 53 for 25 more power to them. I am not saying that I would take part in a group such as this as I kind of enjoy my time in the stand being a ‘part’ on nature, but who am I to say they can’t if they are within the law. Just my 2 cents…not meaning to stir the pot or offend anyone.

Cheers!

How many people that shot a buck in an EAB unit first shot a doe? How many deer did that total per hunter? As devils advocate I’d also have to ask how many hunters in an EAB chose only to shoot the doe and stop because they were concerned for the actual population?

The herd is in poor shape? I’ve heard that so many times it has become but an also ran statement. Look at the harvest numbers for the last couple decades and compare that to the annual complaint of “not enough deer” that we hear every year no matter what. The complaint doesn’t match the harvest.

For those of you that think this is an over harvest I urge you to search out and read the ideas of a highly respected biologist Dr. Grant Woods. I suspect this guy knows more than any of us arm chair quarterbacks.

The private land I hunt on is not a mile away from the 100,000 THOUSAND plus acres that these guys hunt. Our party of 5 hunters harvested 8 deer this rifle season, more than any season in the past. Our small group also saw more deer per day than any recent season in memory. What does it mean? Heck if I know but I do know we are not where near out of deer and I have at least two tags myself I can fill yet.

The question has been asked but not answered. Who here that is “sad” that these guys “slobbed” the area of deer harvested two deer this year? Think bow hunting, rifle hunting, and muzzle loader hunting. If the deer population is indeed too low (It isn’t!) are you a better person for shooting one deer than these guys are for taking two legally? Or does it just make some feel better to have something to blame an unsuccessful season on?

I personally do not care for drives however these guys were within the law and I do not have a problem with 25 guys taking 53 deer IMO that is not an over harvest. I also can not fault a guy who takes who takes a young buck as long as he is within the law, I do not like it but I can not fault him either. It is just too bad that these guys had to take out 15 average bucks out of the herd, with a little more work I am sure they could have bagged 15 more does and let the young bucks walk. It seems to me that this group enjoys shooting deer any deer more than anything else so why not hold out for does? Again I am not slamming these guys for there actions I just do not understand it.

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If the deer population is indeed too low (It isn’t!)

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I’m not trying to start an argument here; but the numbers just came in for the state and the zone where I hunt is down 30% JUST from last year.

I guess this thread has kind-of strayed from it’s original intent, and you guys have made me realize that they are by no way breaking the law… which is good. I guess the method and mass just doesn’t seem sporting in any sense.

I just think that so many people see this as a unethical because 53 deer were taken in 9 days, rather than 53 deer taken in 3-4 months. I don’t see anything wrong w/ it, it’s not my land that will be a “dead zone” next year as far as deer sightings This year, between myself, and 5 other guys (all archery), we have taken 15 deer since september…now does that come as big of a shock to the rest of you considering we each average 3 deer?? of course not because it was over a span of months not days!! I think thats what we are getting caught up in. Just be lucky you dont have to hunt next to those guys for years to come

I have no problem with these hunters shooting 53 deer assuming they did not break any laws by doing so. In fact, I know 3 farmers that killed over 100 does last year on their land. Now granted, they own a lot of acres but the deer population had exploded in their area and the doe to buck ratio was 20:1. None of the deer were wasted and many of them were donated to the food shelves. These same three farmers practice strict QDM and harvest many trophy class bucks each year. If you didn’t know the whole story, many hunters would say that’s greedy killing so many deer and complain about it. When in fact, these farmers are doing their part practicing QDM by balancing the herd population (and QDM is not all about creating trophy bucks).

The reason I point this out is you can’t judge these hunters until you walk in their shoes. Not all people hunt the same and they never will. Driving deer to other hunters is a legal method. Shooting small bucks is also legal. Just because you don’t do it, doesn’t mean someone else shouldn’t. Or just because you trophy hunt doesn’t mean everyone else should too. Or vice versa… just because you are a meat hunter, you shouldn’t turn around and condone trophy hunters and tell them “you can’t eat horns”. We all hunt for different reasons and none is more important than another. It’s critical as hunters that we understand this and show compassion for one another.

The only concern that I have with this hunting group, is the all the dead deer hanging in the same tree piled on top of one another. To me that’s kind of disrespectful to the game.

While I would hate to hunt near these guys, I have no problem with what they did. It just happened that they were a family and collectively harvested that many deer. Pick a spot in some of the better parts of the state where you have 25 guys scattered around a given area and I’m sure you will find close to the same harvest numbers. While I would never drive public hunting land for safety reasons as well as screwing up other hunters, I do enjoy a well executed deer drive with just a few people.

Like a lot have already posted, I don’t see the problem with this. I shoot and eat 3-5 deer every year alone. Clone myself 24 times, and the numbers are much higher. My daughter normally gets another 2-3. Still we are out of meat by april every year!!

If they are hunting 100’s of thousands of acres. How bad can they really have hurt the population. There has to be a heck of a lot more than that in there.

Al the talk of how the population is down makes me chuckle as well. Every time I hear of this I think of all the guys that never go more than 100yds from the road to hunt. Not to mention all the ones that drop a pile of corn that far in and sit on it all season long. Don’t get your feathers ruffled right away. I know this is not how every one hunts. Still we all know how many do hunt this way. No scouting, just show up in an area walk 50 yds off the road drop corn and expect to shoot a deer. Don’t see any and the there is no deer. Go figure.

For the rest of us that get out of the truck, put the time and miles on in scouting. We will find plenty of deer.

JMO,

Stvee