What is big game hunting like in your area?

J

jasmith85

New member
What I am meaning by this question is what are the chances of you filling your tags by the end of the season? I ask this because here in my part of Tennessee if you don't have at least one buck by the end of the season you are having pretty awful luck and if you don't at least get a doe you've failed in some way. At the same time, I know a guy that moved here from Oregon and he told me that it wasn't that surprising in the part of the state he lived in to go a couple years without ever filling a single big game tag of any species. That is just mind-blowing to me. So, how is hunting in your area?
 
In Northern California if you hunt deer in areas that you are pretty much guaranteed to draw a tag for, success rates hover right around 10-15%. My oldest son killed his first buck year before last, his forth year of hunting. Our biggest problem here, in my opinion, is the buck to doe ratio. Typically we'll see 30-50 doe's/small spikes (not legal to shoot here) for every legal buck.
 
On private property it is more like grocery shopping than hunting. Pick one out and pull the trigger. In the Northern part or GA antler size is not huge. Farther south in the agricultural areas they grow some big ones.

Public land hunting is tough. If you get out and work hard most years it is possible to get one, but not always. This year was a total bust for me. I had a chance to hunt a few days in October before the rut started but some health concerns with family members has forced me to stay home since then. Maybe next year.
 
I'm most familiar with Utah's success rates. Success rates vary, but....
Elk hunters average 8% to 13% success across the state (roughly one tag filled every 9 years). Some units are terrible (1-3% success), while some units are almost guaranteed (90-98% success). It's not really surprising. Hunting Elk is a lot more work than hunting Deer. So, you get a lot of aspirational deer hunters that buy an Elk tag, only to give up after an uneventful opening weekend and never hunt Elk again ("it's too hard" :rolleyes:).
Deer hunters average 30% success.
Antelope hunters average 60%+ success, but there aren't many tags issued.

Antlerless hunts have better success rates than the antlered hunts above; but there aren't many Antlerless Deer tags given out, and there are very few Antlerless Pronghorn tags issued (less than about a dozen in the whole state, in most years).
 
Ohio is pretty good, I've killed a buck every year since 98' and countless doe in between.

That being said, I'm a firm believer that 10% of the hunters kill 80% of the deer. Many go years without killing anything for one reason or another.
 
If you are in the flat farming regions of Ohio you have pretty goot odds. I have taken at least one deer a year for the last 3 years hunting in central Ohio. The biggest challenge is getting access to land to hunt and getting the deer in the right spot. My current spot is only 50 acres and bordered by lots of 5 acre lots where I don't have permission. I routinely see deer that are just across a property line making them off limits. Pretty much the whole county is divided this way so you have to pick your shots.

If you get down into the hills of southern ohio the number of deer per square mile seems to shrink significantly. Its mostly hardwood forests with smaller patches of farm ground so the deer are harder to find and usually smaller (on average, there are still monsters hiding out there)from what I have seen.
 
Like most states public land is a little tougher to hunt then private. I hunted Wayne National Forest for almost 30 years. I took my fair share of deer during that time. Did I take one every year, no I didn't. I would say my average was one every three years. You also have to take into consideration that there are some years that you pass up deer for one reason or another. For instance I have no problem shoot a doe, but I do have a size limit on them. I also started hunting with a pistol about 15 years ago. That means I select my shots very carefully and pass up a few opportunities.

These days I hunt on private land. It is about 100 acres in the Central Ohio area. My odds have improved and the bucks are bigger. Then again I am not sharing the area with thousands of hunters and I don't have to find that perfect spot in a 250 thousand acres area.

Jim
 
As for the 200 acers I hunt, I've harvested on average 1-1/2 bucks for the last eigt years. About 6-8 people hunt the land, Myself and one other fellow
harvest most of the deer.

Florida is a different kind of hunting,, We don't bait but the 1000 + acers next to us do. Most of the deer I harvested was eating corn.

The deer are alot smaller, I let little bucks walk, While the club around us don't. They shoot anything leagal

The woods are a sortment of pines, pounds (Cypress) & a few oaks.
I've seen deer walk right by two other hunters, they never saw em.
Takes a little skill to hunt here not mutch ; )
Y/D
 
Deer (mule) I get about 80% of the years. Many times in the first day. It seems like if you dont get them opening day your chances are pretty slim.

Elk is a lot more scares. I have hunted many times but only gotten 3. All 3 where before the wolves came to Idaho. I have not gotten an elk since then.

I wish there where Elk when I hunt deer (my back yard) Our elk hunting is done in the Lolo hunting area of Idaho. It is one of the hardest hit areas of Idaho by wolves.
 
Where I hunt I've only been skunked 3-4 times in 46 years. I also own the parcel of land I and my son hunt. Here's how I went about it. I got a hold of a County Plat Book looked up the land parcel I was interested in. I then contacted its owner and asked if he was thinking of or willing to sell it. I live in MN and the land owner lived in Oklahoma and as told he never visited or seen the land he owned. He originally bought it 10 years before thru a MN Land Broker (realtor) Anyway. Having land I/we can do things to enhance our hunting chances. Growing grass's and feeding nutrients & grains the deer and other game need to stay healthy year round helps. I guess since my son and I take every Fall. We also put some of our time, talent, and resources back into helping the deer every year. Seems to be working out. I know my neighbors are tickled we do since my property isn't fenced. Anyhow.

What is big game hunting like in your area? >Pretty darn good!!
 
I stopped to pay at a booth coming out of a hospital parking lot recently and was wearing a camo shirt. The old gal that was collecting money asked me if I had killed my deer yet, and proceeded to tell me about a big one her daughter got. That is how it is in this part of the country....people hunt. I think hunting season gets some people out of their hospital beds on opening morning.
I have been getting 3 to 5 whitetails yearly anymore but I normally only keep 2 as I have some older neighbors that can't hunt anymore and I supply them.
After deer season there are always hogs out there too!!
 
The limit here is 6 per person, and the season runs from mid September to Jan 1.
Many years I've had my limit before Thanksgiving.
 
Originally posted by Kimber84:


That being said, I'm a firm believer that 10% of the hunters kill 80% of the deer.
Click to expand...

I'll take that a tad farther for us here in Wisconsin. In Wisconsin, success ratio for deer hunters runs 20-25%. That generally means 1 outta 5 hunters gets a deer or the average deer hunter gets a deer every 4 or 5 years. But in Wisconsin, 80% of the deer live on 10% of the hunt-able land. 80% of that is private, accessible to only about 10% of the hunters. So those with good areas to hunt, with limited access, get deer every year. Regardless of skill. Those without a good area to hunt or hunt public land may go decades between success. Regardless of skill. Some areas in the state have limitless antlerless tags. Some have very few if any available and are sold out online within 5 minutes of being up for sale. This means if you are picky about your buck and not quick on the draw for antlerless permits, and hunt those areas, your odds of being successful will be limited. Years ago, when access to private land was easy and folks weren't domesticating deer under the premise of "quality" deer management, it was the skilled hunters that came home with a deer every year. Nowadays on many parcels of private land it is more of a shoot than a hunt. Then there are your priorities. Last few years I have passed on bucks that would have been dead and in the back of my truck already. Prefer eatin' does and letting the boys shoot the horns. Used to be in areas where I could shoot more than one, I would and between the kids, the wife and me, we'd eat them all. Now, one fat doe gives the two of us all the meat we need, plus jerky for the grandkids. While my success ratio has declined along with my desire over the years, the quality of my hunts has not diminished.
 
I live in central PA. Unfortunately I do not have private property to hunt on.
While earlier in the year(right before archery season) have seen some really nice deer, on the state game lands where I hunt, during season, it looks like a pumpkin patch!!!
That and the etiquette of other hunters REALLY leaves much to desire!!!
 
it's hit or miss out here. some years I fill my tags some tags I fill nothing. I bagged every animal I hunted this year.

my wolf and couger tags often go unfilled but I never actually hunt for those, they just come in my sportsmans package and if I ever see one I'll fill it.
 
I hunt the bigger wooded patches in both PA and WV. When there is a poor acorn crop it can be darn hard to find a deer. The deer get in big herds and head off the mountains into farm areas(Where they get into trouble) and areas with housing developments(Shrubbery). There are always the "Homebodies" that refuse to leave the mountain, but they are few and far between in a bad feed year. Yes, it is easy to go a few years without getting a deer. I guess the amount of time you have to go hunting is a big factor too.
 
I primarily hunt on a Military installation and until this year filled both tags yearly. Ate both of my tags this year due to a huge reduction in the deer herd. We are suffering the worst drought on record and it has affected the deer and pig population tremendously. I haven't killed a hog in a year and we've killed as many as 25 in a year in the past. I won't shoot a hog until we get some rain just to keep the pressure off of 'em.
 
Deer hunting has always been very successful in CT for me. Not everyone tags out, but I can't remember talking to someone who has put the time in and not gotten atleast a doe. With more and more bear sightings in the area im hoping to have a season for them here within the next ten years.
 
Where I live in Texas we can feed. Opening morning you can limit out shooting from your window or front door opening morning if you want. We can kill 2 does during now season which I have stands 50 yards and 120 yards from house. You can also limit out any day you want. I usually will sit for a couple days and just like watching them. For me its not about killing so much, its more about the memories and experiences. We have until I think the 4 th of this month. I will still sit in my stands for another 2-3 months just watching. I will take all the hogs, coyotes, foxes that come along.
 
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