How was your 2011 deer season

[Canadian Black Bears 23]

Our season is a very short one. Rifle from October 29th-December 3rd and bow from approximately September 20th-December 10th with a bag limit of 1 deer (buck) unless you get drawn for a doe then we are allowed only 1 of either sex. This year I was skunked and my name is hung on the skunk plaque of shame, Is anyone overseas joining me....lol

 

I have spoke to a few of you and read some really great posts but have not seen a tropic started on how your deer season went. I assume it is over now and would be interested in knowing when it starts back up again? If you have any pictures please post them & let's hear the story behind the stalking you did. Happy New Year everyone and looking forward to some great stories and pictures on this topic.

 

Cheers and safe hunting

 

Rob

[monynut 2]

Depending on where you are located and what species you have present the season can be open all year round, if your lucky to have muntjac then you have shooting all year as there is no season on these little criters, if you have roe at the moment we can take does untill the end of march than the bucks come in until the end of october then the does start again so effectivly no stop with them, with fallow, red and sika we have a close season for males from the end of april to the end of july and for females from the end of march to the end of october, cwd are closed from the end of march to the end of october, these seasons are for england and wales scotland does differ.

 

As for my season it was average, cull was down on last year finished the year with 44 deer, nothing exceptional to report antler quality was on the whole average but given the winter we had last year the deer was on the whole in very good condition with l mite add some very promissing young roe about, sorry no pics at the moment l will try and upload a couple when l have sorted some.

 

Be safe and good hunting

[Canadian Black Bears 23]

Depending on where you are located and what species you have present the season can be open all year round, if your lucky to have muntjac then you have shooting all year as there is no season on these little criters, if you have roe at the moment we can take does untill the end of march than the bucks come in until the end of october then the does start again so effectivly no stop with them, with fallow, red and sika we have a close season for males from the end of april to the end of july and for females from the end of march to the end of october, cwd are closed from the end of march to the end of october, these seasons are for england and wales scotland does differ.

 

As for my season it was average, cull was down on last year finished the year with 44 deer, nothing exceptional to report antler quality was on the whole average but given the winter we had last year the deer was on the whole in very good condition with l mite add some very promissing young roe about, sorry no pics at the moment l will try and upload a couple when l have sorted some.

 

Be safe and good hunting

 

You are in the promised land, open season year round with no limit in some areas . What do you do with 44 deer? Is there a program such as "Feed the Hungry" ? I know the species of deer there is a lot smaller than that in Nova Scotia as we just have whitetail where bucks will average 170 lbs and does will average 110 lbs, this is field dressed weight. With no limit on what you can get, who manages the herd or are there just that many deer that they are a nuisance. Wow, as long as you have a healthy herd and I can hunt 24-7 (24 hours, 7 days a week), will you adopt me so I can become a British citizen...hahahahahaha

 

Get the pics up asap please, just can't wait to see them

[mangy1983 51]

Can't hunt 24/7 mate, its against the law to hunt them in the dark. I think its one hour after dawn and one hour after dusk.

 

atb Callum

[monynut 2]

Depending on where you are located and what species you have present the season can be open all year round, if your lucky to have muntjac then you have shooting all year as there is no season on these little criters, if you have roe at the moment we can take does untill the end of march than the bucks come in until the end of october then the does start again so effectivly no stop with them, with fallow, red and sika we have a close season for males from the end of april to the end of july and for females from the end of march to the end of october, cwd are closed from the end of march to the end of october, these seasons are for england and wales scotland does differ.

 

As for my season it was average, cull was down on last year finished the year with 44 deer, nothing exceptional to report antler quality was on the whole average but given the winter we had last year the deer was on the whole in very good condition with l mite add some very promissing young roe about, sorry no pics at the moment l will try and upload a couple when l have sorted some.

 

Be safe and good hunting

 

You are in the promised land, open season year round with no limit in some areas . What do you do with 44 deer? Is there a program such as "Feed the Hungry" ? I know the species of deer there is a lot smaller than that in Nova Scotia as we just have whitetail where bucks will average 170 lbs and does will average 110 lbs, this is field dressed weight. With no limit on what you can get, who manages the herd or are there just that many deer that they are a nuisance. Wow, as long as you have a healthy herd and I can hunt 24-7 (24 hours, 7 days a week), will you adopt me so I can become a British citizen...hahahahahaha

 

Get the pics up asap please, just can't wait to see them

 

I dont know about the promised land, the population of deer has exploded over here over the last 10/15 yrs we dont have state controled land so you either own your own land, lease the stalking or have permission on private land to stalk, as for disposing of the beasts well the estates may have a few, or the surplus goes to the gamedealer after the freezers have been filled.

You are on the whole correct about the size of our deer, roe on average come in at around 35lb, muntjac a bit smaller, fallow are about the same as your w/tail our reds are considerably bigger with a good stag going in at 300lb +.

[Wullz 408]

We try and manage our own wee bits, try and keep an eye on the numbers of bucks and does....but we can be up against it with poachers.......my mate and myself limit it every year,based on the numbers we note during the year....we have several wee areas that wee look after. The farmers like us to keep the numbers of roes down....as the other poster mentioned, the numbers have exploded recently.......I have seen roe grazing right inside Glasgow on the banks of the [bANNED TEXT] motorway.....

[Squirrel_Basher 17,100]

In the South of England the roe are very prolific mate .Here in Wiltshire we are very much in Gods own country where roe are concerned .The land i shoot over is bordered by vast amounts of unshot areas .I have nearly 40,000 acres of small farms and estates to wander over and my policy is very clear where the roe are concerned .if its in season and a safe shot then its mine but the numbers are replaced as fast as i can grass them ,most times with more .Everybody talks about management of roe in an area but i feel these people are very deluded as to what actually happens in the roes natural lifespan .Unless roe are fenced in ,a very rare occurance down South ,then the deer wander great distances over set farm boundaries ,how can anybody count numbers with that going on .A few does are tied to the ground all year but age of the deer and local cropping plays a big part in distribution .In an ideal world the farmer would cultivate nothing and leave the countryside as nature intended allowing the deer to lay claim to areas but this is never so here .In winter the roe gather in mixed sex groups around or near a food source ,be that a farmers crop or just good grazing .My annual cull is steep by some peoples standards but ive been doing about the same for 20 odd years so cant be doing much wrong .This last year i shot 148 deer all told with a few fallow ,munties and two sika .Its about time spent in the field im afraid and im sure given the chance, many more deer would be shot regardless of cull plans .

[glogin 87]

Our season is a very short one. Rifle from October 29th-December 3rd and bow from approximately September 20th-December 10th with a bag limit of 1 deer (buck) unless you get drawn for a doe then we are allowed only 1 of either sex.

 

That really sucks... I am sorry for you mate...

I could not live in a country like that...

 

ATB

Greg

[Malt 379]

You are in the promised land, open season year round with no limit in some areas . What do you do with 44 deer? Is there a program such as "Feed the Hungry" ? I know the species of deer there is a lot smaller than that in Nova Scotia as we just have whitetail where bucks will average 170 lbs and does will average 110 lbs, this is field dressed weight. With no limit on what you can get, who manages the herd or are there just that many deer that they are a nuisance. Wow, as long as you have a healthy herd and I can hunt 24-7 (24 hours, 7 days a week), will you adopt me so I can become a British citizen...hahahahahaha

 

Get the pics up asap please, just can't wait to see them

 

The difference here is that we have no apex predators to naturally control the deer population so we need to have human intervention to control numbers and to maintain a healthy population. With no control there isn't enough food to go around and populations become at risk of starving to death as well as moving into agricultural areas and becoming pests.

[Canadian Black Bears 23]

Thanks for all the replies, it sure helps me understand why you have to take (I believe the word I am looking for is "cull"?) so many roes. With no natural predator and if the does are having 1-2 fawns a year, the numbers will add up pretty quick. I didn't realize they were all so small 35 lbs isn't much and if a person is feeding a big family I say go at it..hahahaha ; however, 144, what does a person do with that many , hopefully, there are enough needy families for the meat to go to.

 

Great thread here and thanks again for helping your neighbor overseas understand things a little better

[shootlodge 146]

We only do whats needed, as they are a joy to see. Covering a reasonably large acreage, We culed 60+ last year of various breeds due to age or well being of the heards.

[Richie10 345]

We try and manage our own wee bits, try and keep an eye on the numbers of bucks and does....but we can be up against it with poachers.......my mate and myself limit it every year,based on the numbers we note during the year....we have several wee areas that wee look after. The farmers like us to keep the numbers of roes down....as the other poster mentioned, the numbers have exploded recently.......I have seen roe grazing right inside Glasgow on the banks of the [bANNED TEXT] motorway.....

 

So on one hand you are saying the numbers have exploded on the other you saying they are everywhere, so stalking and poaching are only effecting numbers on regional areas when in fact there are no effect on the overall Roe population?

[Born Hunter 17,773]

Is the average weight of a Roe 35lbs?!!! Perhaps the ones I have come by have just been 'well fed'.... My dog weighs 50lbs and is shorter and of lighter build than the average Roe round here. Any input from lads that have taken them in numbers?

 

I must admit I have never weighed one. I just find that figure staggering......

[skycat 6,173]

From the few I've seen (I admit I don't do roe as there aren't very many in my area) there can be an enormous variation in size: the big does can make a 26" 55lb lurcher look tiny, whilst the smaller ones seem not a lot bigger than a big muntjak. Obviously age plays a part, but its the same with the Chinese: they seem to vary a lot in size and weight as well. the roe I've seen out on the fens are huge compared to the ones I've seen photos of in the south of England.

[Canadian Black Bears 23]

Is the average weight of a Roe 35lbs?!!! Perhaps the ones I have come by have just been 'well fed'.... My dog weighs 50lbs and is shorter and of lighter build than the average Roe round here. Any input from lads that have taken them in numbers?

 

I must admit I have never weighed one. I just find that figure staggering......

 

Interesting, are you saying 35 lbs is too low that roes are bigger than this? In trying to understand comparable sizes with our whitetails, do roes run an average of 50 lbs field dressed?