A Disgrace!

[KyRidgeRunner]

Hey Guys

I just want to let everyone know something I have seen this year that makes me very sad[V]

I am a rabbit hunter and I run beagles all over the state and this year I can't believe the number of dead deer I have been finding. It's not unusual to run across 1 or 2 during the season but this year I have found a bunch (I found 3 at the Twin Eagles WMA last friday).

Hunters are shooting them and leaving them. I don't know if it is because of a lack of tracking skills, or perhaps the deer was too small to waste a tag on.

You guys that are doing this should be ashamed.

If you don't know how to track a wounded deer........Learn! There is some skill involved, but it's not brain surgery. Choose your shots well. You don't have to shoot the first one that comes along. If you don't have a decent shot or if it's not big enough to fill up your freezer....let it go. Another one will be along soon.

Sorry to rant like this folks, but what I have seen the last 3 or 4 weeks sickens me.

Thanks for listening

Teach your children to hunt
You won't have to hunt your children

[hunter777]

I don't know if you can just point your finger at hunters. I think most people that are on here are probobly pretty serious at what they do and most if not all here would not do that.
Where I live, the farmers have a free license to shoot to kill and they are not required to do anything with the deer. I also know that there are some farmers that kill 100 or more deer a year (a lot of the farmers will loose up to 80% of thier crop to deer). I don't like it myself but thats the way it is. Also don't forget that there are plenty of "kids" that will ride around and just for kicks take pot shots from the road or offroad from thier vehicles at deer on a drunken friday or saturday night.
I can't say there aren't hunters out thier doing this but, then again I can't say there are either.

http://www.hydrotoys.com/wavs/stickmen/trollbutt.gif

[Big58cal]

Again, not all of the blame lies on hunters. Blue tongue disease hit a lot of areas pretty hard this year. I've found 3 myself that hadn't been dead too long, before and early in the general gun season. That being said, there's reports from all over the state of deer being shot and only the backstrap and/or hams being taken. Now that is truely wasteful.

Just remember, just because you find a dead deer, you can't always blame it on hunters.

[RutNBuck]

Also just yesterday i found a deer with its head cut off lying about 25 yards off the roadway ...my first thought of course was poachers (i even called the officer to report it)
but after looking the deer over it appears it was hit by a car and they took the head..This being the cause eased my mind a little bit...
but i also agree that with the state's shoot em all (does) leaves a mind set that they want to get rid of many deer a poachers dream..
in past any time i would report something like this to officers i would be swarmed with them ....now they dont even come out to investigate such reports just say that they will make note of it....

"A wise indian once said,the more you move the less you will see,the less you move the more you will see"

" I live to hunt, but my wife says i may be hunting a place to live"

[N2MyWake]

There's a nice ear wide 7 pointer laying about 200 yards from my stand. Made me sick. I wouldn't have taken him but he would have been nice next year. I'll probably go cut the horns off to use as rattling antlers after the coyotes and buzzards are done.

Western Kentucky Boy

[Grant]

I was duck hunting last sunday morning. On the way out I noticed several dead deer laying in the ditch. With further investigation, I counted 15 deer in about a 200 yard stretch. They were piled on top of each other. Some look like they have been dressed, other looked as if they haven't. All had their head(that I saw) but some had had racks cut out. I don't know what the deal was there. I don't know if it was just alot of people dumping ground(it was a road leading to a boat ramp on the river, not populated) but it wasn't a pretty site.

[gregcincy]

speaking of deer doing crop damage Hunter777, I think its Kansas' Fish and Wildlife department that has a program that where they will screen for hunters that have fairly competent hunting skills, ie passed the hunter certifacation course, or had 10 plus years hunting experience or some other such criteria, and will then refer these hunters to landowners who are having problems with crop damage from deer, They then issue doe permits so that they can try to bring down the local populations of deer in problem areas. This is a voluntary program and only landowners who show interest in recieving help would get referals from their Wildlife department. Now I dont know what the rest of you think about this but i think this is a win win situation. Farmers get help in controlling their herd on their land, and hunters looking for places to hunt now have more access to private land. Seems to me this would be a great way for the KDFWR to increase revenue. As it stands now I think the KDFWR issues crop damage permits to farmers at no cost and then the farmer has to spend his time and money to hunt the deer himself. Why not use a voluntary referal system where by the department could sell these crop damage deer permits to these "Quilified Hunters" and maybe make some extra cash which could be used for habitat work or purchasing more public land or whatever. Just my two cents worth
Greg

[Wildcat]

You ever seen a farmer with a crop damange permit? He doesn't have to "hunt" the deer, he can shoot them in any way at anytime as long as he's on his land. That inclues from a truck and a spotlight too. If they give him a limited crop damange permit that limits the amount of deer he can take he can reach it in one evening.

[KyRidgeRunner]

Listen Fella's

I didn't mean to make anybody mad.....I was just upset at what I am seeing. I know that the vast majority of deer hunters don't do this sort of thing. I hunted deer for many years and alot of my buddies are deer hunters. Maybe that is why I get so #$%&8 off when I see it. It gives us all a bad name.

Teach your children to hunt
You won't have to hunt your children

[Grant]

It should bother you Ridge. I think alot of people are just out for the kill and don't want to mess with the cleaning part(my opinion).

The only think I don't like about the crop damage permit is that the farmer is suspose to leave the deer where it falls. I would much rather the farmer be allowed to keep the deer for himself or give it to someone who would take it.

[Wildcat]

Sorry Grant I can't agree. The crop damange permit allows farmers to take deer in ways and numbers we are not allowed to. That's too much of an advantage and boarders on poaching. The farmer applied for "Crop Damange" not a deer tag. To allow them to keep the deer or any part of the deer like his rack is giving him a license to poach. I do agree it's wasted but the law must be followed.

[squirrelgravy]

An actual "crop damage tag" allows the shooter to keep the deer (does only). If the landowner wants to shoot deer out of season, he can do so if he can prove damage is occuring and then he has to let the animal lay...Finn can correct me if I'm wrong?

[Grant]

Wildcat, I understand what your saying, but I hate that deer are killed because they take a toll on a farmers crop and are left for dead. I worked on a farm for many years and know the damage deer can have first hand. In my opinion, if farmers want to harvest animals out of season they should be restricted to does. That would be in their best intrest anyway(help control population). Their are alot of people that could benefit from the harvest of does by farmers if they were allowed to give the meat away.
Squirrel, I wasn't aware that they were allowed to do that, I hope that is the case. When I worked on the farm I was encouraged to shot and deer I saw out in his fields although I never did. From my encounters with the farmers here, they all cuss the deer, but only a few will ever harvest any, and if they do, they are deer hunters and wait for season to come in.

[Al_Barrs]

Last hunting season I shot a nice deer and we weren't able to find him after two days searching. Later I harvested a nice 8-point out of the same stand on the Chipola River. This one dropped within 50-yards of my stand. After loosing the first buck I made arrangements to buy a small purebred dog for bloodtrailing wounded game. So in late January, I drove a thousand miles one way to pick up a Jadgdettier puppy to train as a bloodtrailer. I used the 8-point blood and took her to our cabin in northern Michigan for this NOV 15-30 deer season. I shot a heavy 6-point the first morning of the season. He ran into a thick Tag Altar swamp. I harnessed up my Jagd and she took the blood trail at once. Within a few minutes she trailed up the buck that had ran about 200 yards.

Some states have bloodtrailing clubs where devoted deer hunters train, use and assist other hunters find wounded game. Sounds like KY need a Wounded Game Bloodtrailing Association.

I am considering a small old farm on the KY River in Henry County KY to make a hunting camp for my family. Anyone have experience with private hunting property in Henry County KY?

Al Barrs

[Feedman]

Al Barrs,
I lived in Henry Co for 2 1/2 years. Depending on the size of your farm will depend on the number of deer and unwanted hunters. Lots of hunters, poachers, trespassers on the KY river area of the county. It use to be that way when i lived there.

If you can read this, Thank a teacher. If you can read this in English, Thank a Soldier.

[GW810]

Guy's
The crop damage( Special Antlerless) tags are for antlerless (doe) deer ONLY and the landowner that issues them, or uses them, is to see that they are used according to the season that is open at that time. If it's archery season, the hunter has to use archery equipment. NO SPOTLIGHTING. The deer have to be taken by legal means. There is also a limit (5) as to how many deer each hunter is allowed to take with the damage tags. Thats not 5 deer per tag, it 1 deer per tag, no more than 5 tags issued per hunter. Some landowners aren't issued 5 tags for their entire farm. Hope this helps some.

[2hunt]

It's illegal to trail a wounded deer with a dog in KY. FYI

[hillbilly2163]

i hunt barren wma's and have seen 5-6 laying dead. saw one that had decomposed and had a 75 grain muzzy laying in the middle of the chest cavity. it was only 10 yards from a much used parking area. maybe it was a gut shot they decided to not take. i don't know. made me sick!

i have hunted 20 of my 40years and have never ever left a deer or anything else laying. like everyone else i have lost a few but only after many many hours of tracking and looking. that is how i was taught. no eat no kill.

[broadside]

I hear guys say "didn't see any blood, don't guess I hit him' thats where some of these deer come from. Inexperienced hunters and those who are disappointed and don't want to use their tag.

CAIN'T HAVE NOTHIN