How Many Deer?

[BT]

I have found that My family can eat 1 deer each week but..... we don't.

Over the last few years 7 - 8 Deer & 2 - 3 Hogs has been enough .

[ruger7mmmag]

As I said in my original post, if they all end up being eaten, then I have no problem with that along if it's done in a way to benefit the herd as well. Just killing to kill? I have a problem with that bc as hunters, I believe we should hold ourselves to a higher standard so as to protect this valuable resource for our kids and our kid's kids. I didn't mean to offend anyone, but if I pulled the trigger on every deer I could've killed that was "legal", I'd have killed over 100 deer in my ten years instead of 30. But why kill them just to kill them? I'm confident in my abilities that if I take the shot, they're dead. End of story. I've never lost one. Now if someone is eating all of these things, then that's great and I apologize. I have a lot of respect for nature and the critters we hunt and killing them in mass numbers just for your personal joy of killin' makes someone more of a mercenary than a hunter in my opinion. Both enjoy their "trade" no doubt, but the two have very different reasons why they're doing what they're doing.

I don't want to start a ruckus on here bc we all need to stick together, but it just rubbed me the wrong way is all as it came across as wasteful.

[BT]

Well said

[Pete]

This one this season made 5. I know that seems low but I've only been bowhunting for 5 yrs. I traded one addiction (alcoholism) for another (archery). I put a doe in the freezer every year so far so I think I'm batting 1000.

[j1r11]

Ain't nothing wrong with 1 a year, i know guys who been bowhunting 10 yrs and only have 2 or 3.

[BT]

Me to!.....some that have never taken a deer and probably never will due to their inability to shoot or hunt and/or both

Doesn't make it any less enjoyable to the two persons I currently have in the back of my mind.

[j1r11]

Yup, my uncle still loves it even though he avg's 1 deer every 3 or 4 years

[ruger7mmmag]

Beats work!

[chester12]

admin said:

Well said

Well said, to a point in my mind. I don't want to start a fight either, but there is a huge difference in my mind and most of the ranchers that have a hog problem. I originally started to post this a while back and then did not.

I hope that all 700 hogs went to a good home also, but at the same time I do understand why they might not have.

A few things about hogs though.

First hogs are an introduced animal in North America. So they compete with native animals for food and space. Hogs are known to get fawns.

Most places that have a population of hogs such as Texas, they are not a game animal they are a nuiece animal to the land owners. I am trying to get permission to hunt a Sod Farm in my area that in a night or two, hogs can tear up a huge part of their fields. I believe that the guy has said that he has seen groups of 50-60 hogs out in the fields at one time. I have also heard from people that a lot of ranch owners if they find out that you passed on a shot on a hog they will not invite you back to hunt with them.

Each sow can up to a litter every 3 1/2 to 6 months, of 6-10 piglets. A sow can start to reproduce after they are 3 1/2 to 6 months old also.

So yes it might sound a little "mercenary" but to have any effect on the hog population you have to be a little "mercenary" about it. In Texas hogs can be take 24/7/365 by just about anyway that you can think of. Poison and explosives are about the only way that I know that you can't take them.

I hunted a ranch with CTO a while back that had 950 acres and they were guessing that they had over 500 hogs on the ranch at that point in time. I was the last truck to drive in and I still probably saw 50-60 hogs.