# 2017 Hunting



## BWfarms (Aug 3, 2015)

Since Hay Season is done for the Northern Hemisphere (for the most part), there's always other seasons to enjoy and I want to see yours. I'll start off.

I played my cards right. I saw does traveling at the edge of hardwoods and pasture. I moved 200 yards east and downwind to another stand. I eventually saw 9 antlerless deer total from 2 groups, no bucks. All came from the northwest and headed south of me. Took a break, did chores. I went back out for an afternoon hunt. Wind changed and came from the South. I headed south 400 yards to hunt the edge of a pine thicket. I walked into a stand across open pasture and perched myself in a stand I rarely hunt out of. Then the action started at about 5:00. 4 does came directly in front of me from the west and proceeded to jump the fence into the pasture. They spotted my entrance trail and were not spooked but were more alert. They move west and I started to see more deer. I was eventually able to locate them all and saw they were all the same 9 deer. As I sat there I kept my eyes peeled for more. Out of the east from behind me came the buck moving with interest for the does. As he crossed my entrance trail I was turning to him. Couldn't shoot on the first attempt because a large limb was interfering so I panned over the first branch. Both eyes open looking through the scope, counted his cadence and squeezed the trigger. Then boom and 10 deer went running in all directions. I never took my eyes off of him. I did not use any scent blocker and there are zero bait piles on my farm. I'm proof that quality deer can be harvested without gimmicks.


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## paoutdoorsman (Apr 23, 2016)

Congrats BW!


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## IHCman (Aug 27, 2011)

Nice job!


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## BWfarms (Aug 3, 2015)

Thanks guys. My mother in law was here, without her I wouldn't have been able to capitalize on hunting most of the day. I took it to the taxidermist and the mother in law was none to pleased. She said I had enough mounts and something about I must sit on a pot of gold. She might want to shut up  I don't buy $600 purses. I have fond memories of my mounts and they bring me great joy when I look at them everyday. Last time my wallet brought me joy was when I got it as a Christmas present. Not sure how spending $600 on something to put your now vacated money in brings one joy but okay. As I know, to each is their own.

Come on guys fill this post up with your harvest. Pheasants, Waterfowl, Deer, Varmints. I enjoy reading about your experiences and enjoy pictures.


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

Gr son Beau.


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

Gr son Brody.


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## BWfarms (Aug 3, 2015)

I had forgotten about the slug gun rule in SWMN.


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

BWfarms said:


> I had forgotten about the slug gun rule in SWMN.


You can use a pistol now over a certain caliber also during slug season.There is also a muzzleloader season that is going on now after the slug season.


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## BWfarms (Aug 3, 2015)

swmnhay said:


> You can use a pistol now over a certain caliber also during slug season.There is also a muzzleloader season that is going on now after the slug season.


Makes you wonder about SD sometimes lol. I asked if I could use a crossbow for turkey hunting, GF&P said NO but I can use a rifle. I was like WTF?!?

Went out last night and a year and a half old 6 Pointer walked by right underneath my stand. Boy I hope he makes it to next season, he has a ton of potential.


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## CowboyRam (Dec 13, 2015)

BWfarms said:


> Makes you wonder about SD sometimes lol. I asked if I could use a crossbow for turkey hunting, GF&P said NO but I can use a rifle. I was like WTF?!?
> 
> Went out last night and a year and a half old 6 Pointer walked by right underneath my stand. Boy I hope he makes it to next season, he has a ton of potential.


When I was living in Colorado I wanted to get a crossbow, but could not use it during bow season because it had a trigger mechanism. Although I could have used it during rifle season. I felt why should I use a crossbow when I could use a rifle; besides spending all that time sneaking up on a dear, and then have some road hunter with a rifle shoot it on me just did not make sense.


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## Uphayman (Oct 31, 2014)

Just wrapped up my 2017 hunt.......literally. After watching spikes the first couple days ........ it was time. Afternoon 3 my freezer buck came out , hot on a doe trail. Not the biggest certainly, but filled the bill. The hand loaded 95 gr. SST Hornady in .243 was spot on at 275 yards. He took off but ran out of gas at 75 yards.
Shooting out of an elevated stand built out of lumber sawn from farm timber,mounted on the frame of an old (1960) chisel plow and well casing legs........some satisfaction started to set in. The crops they eat, produce the deer ,and ultimately feed my family. Skinning, boneing out, packaging filets, grinding the rest, making breakfast and Italian sausage, more packaging.........life is good.


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## BWfarms (Aug 3, 2015)

CowboyRam, I've hunted a lot of places and game laws vary widely. I have a crossbow (legal in NC or else I wouldn't own one) but I honestly prefer my compound.

Uphayman, single tag? I'm fortunate I have always hunted liberal seasons and tags. I've always had 6-8 tags and at least 4-5 were eligible for bucks.


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## BWfarms (Aug 3, 2015)

Another one, this time it was 160 yards. 9 (almost 10) Pointer.
















The buck I got last week had rare upper canines, taxidermist called me about it yesterday.


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## IHCman (Aug 27, 2011)

Rifle season closed here on Sunday. Tag soup for me. Didn't get much time to hunt and hadn't found a big enough buck worth pursuing. Freezer is full of beef and have another cow at that butcher now so don't really need anymore meat. Landowner tag so its good for the muzzleloader and bow season so maybe I'll take a doe later on.


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## BWfarms (Aug 3, 2015)

Rifle goes until January 1. I'm tagged out buck wise in the central region. I can still harvest 2 more bucks in the eastern region or I can fill 4 antlerless tags statewide.


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

BWfarms said:


> Rifle goes until January 1. I'm tagged out buck wise in the central region. I can still harvest 2 more bucks in the eastern region or I can fill 4 antlerless tags statewide.


sounds like you are over run with deer.1 deer here per person.Youth can shoot a doe.Yhey let out a few doe tags this yr,none last yr but you still can only shoot 1 deer just can shoot buck or doe.DNR is defiantly trying to increase deer herd claiming its down.i say BS there is more deer around then I've ever seen mostly does.Starting to see some crop damage on edges of corn fields on some farms.Roads have plenty of dead deer this fall.


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

Purty sure we can harvest 11 this year, haven't looked real closely......our deer population is over a million now, when I was a child it was a real anomaly to see a deer. A stocking effort was undertaken in the late 60's and early 70's, it was very successful. I'm sure insurance companies wish we had less.....


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## BWfarms (Aug 3, 2015)

Cy, a guy I worked with in SD (he's from Luverne) used to hunt your area and would complain the numbers were higher than tags allowed but he could go across border in Iowa and harvest more.

Dawg, I looked it up 12 total with no more than 2 antlered with one antlered deer having at least 4 points on one side measuring an inch for each point.

They estimate NC has over a million. I'm willing to bet that it's more because I have counted as many as 20 deer a square mile. Numbers spiraled out of control into the 90s, ever since hunters and vehicles are barely keeping up. They opened Sunday to Archery a few years ago then followed that up with Gun except between 9:30-12:30 and 500 yards from a church or house. Hunters need written permission and only on private land with 2 counties not allowing Sunday Gun hunting. Urban Archery is allowed depending on which municipality. A regular license has 6 deer, 2-4 antlered depending on region with option to buy 2 additional antlerless tags for $10, as many as you want but can't be used on game lands.


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## glasswrongsize (Sep 15, 2015)

I know it's no longer 2017, but figured "why let a good thread go to waste?"

Tree rats are cutting Hickory nuts now. Went out for a bit tonight and smoke a couple of friers.


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

Never seen that stock before....nice. 
We had to have a tree rat killin' here about 5 months ago, took out 12 in two days....when the pecan trees haven't put on leaves they're easy pickin's. I hate em, they cost me money when they become too plentiful, have to thin em out...


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

And I don't know why, but your pic is the first one I've been able to expand in weeks....jumped right up 
Crazy....still not one ad, can't chat, most times can't expand photos ....but life is good with the first one


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## glasswrongsize (Sep 15, 2015)

somedevildawg said:


> Never seen that stock before....nice.


The gun (and stock) wasn't really built for brush-busting, but life is tooo short to have guns that just sit behind protected glass. It's an Anshcutz Mach 2 target rifle. If I miss, it's my fault. That lil bullet is a screamer and is pretty quiet. I also like the fact that the lil bullet explodes if I were to miss...if it hits a leaf, the bullet is done for. It won't shoot thru BOTH sides of a cardboard box; when it hits the first side of the box, the bullet comes apart and looks like #12 shot in the other side of the box....for the most part.


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

glasswrongsize said:


> The gun (and stock) wasn't really built for brush-busting, but life is tooo short to have guns that just sit behind protected glass. It's an Anshcutz Mach 2 target rifle. If I miss, it's my fault. That lil bullet is a screamer and is pretty quiet. I also like the fact that the lil bullet explodes if I were to miss...if it hits a leaf, the bullet is done for. It won't shoot thru BOTH sides of a cardboard box; when it hits the first side of the box, the bullet comes apart and looks like #12 shot in the other side of the box....for the most part.


Somewhat like a glaser safety slug I guess, what caliber?


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## IHCman (Aug 27, 2011)

.17


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## BWfarms (Aug 3, 2015)

Can't let Glass have all the fun, my 'squirrel' is bigger


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## paoutdoorsman (Apr 23, 2016)

Is that the Savage 93 BW? How do you like it?


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## BWfarms (Aug 3, 2015)

paoutdoorsman said:


> Is that the Savage 93 BW? How do you like it?


Yes, 22 Mag and 16.5" barrel. Fun and handy little gun that I bought for the size and I thought the Gator Camo was cool. Compact size fits perfectly in tractor and quick to get out without hitting everything. I matched this one with 30 grain polymers. It didn't like the soft Winchester hollow points.

It's my favorite varmint gun, to say the least I like it.


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## Hayjosh (Mar 24, 2016)

Well I have a chipmunk problem. Is this overkill guys?

I've had a horrendous woodchuck problem this year. So far we've shot three and I've killed one with a shovel.


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## IH 1586 (Oct 16, 2014)

BWfarms said:


> IMG_8439.JPG
> 
> Can't let Glass have all the fun, my 'squirrel' is bigger


But did you eat your "squirrel"?


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## BWfarms (Aug 3, 2015)

IH 1586 said:


> But did you eat your "squirrel"?


Gave it to my welfare recipients.


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