Disgusted!

Hadn't heard too many shots around this weekend, so decided it might be time to sit one of my stands any see if the buck I missed earlier might wander by. Recurve in hand, I went to my stand for the afternoon Saturday, rain and all. No shots?!? WRONG! The farm that adjoins the one I hunt had an army driving the swamp just down the hill from my stand--I can see the fence line in the swamp from my stand now that the leaves are gone. I've had as many as 10 young deer under my stand at one time--button bucks, small does, etc., and have let them all go to grow up some. Well, I don't have to worry about too many deer for the late bow season! It sounded like war broke out, and I was sitting in the middle of it! I got down, put on my orange vest, and left quickly. There may have been a selective hunter or two on the firing line, but I seriously doubt it. Even the farm owner commented about all the shots ringing out until after dark from the driving. I'll go back during the week to pull my stand.

I love traditional bowhunters. Most are sane, courteous, respect the animals they hunt, and don't just keep killing because they can. The whole thing made me sick. Now that I've vented, I feel better. Thank y'all for listening.

God bless, Arch.

[Steve]

Probably sounded like you were in the middle of a civil war battle huh? :)

[bishs]

Yea Gary, I can relate! I grew up in Chesaning Michigan, the area is flat farmland with small woodlots. The corn is the best protection the deer have from "deer drives". We have about 10 deer a mile, and when the corn is all out, its not real pretty. There are a lot of good sportsman in the area, but it only takes a few to spoil it. This is when the doe permits take a lot of button bucks.
Take Care Scott

[Bassman-III]

It gets bad when sportman become meat hunter.

Let them grow then hit them with the bow...

[Recurve]

A button buck is a fawn. Anyone should be able to tell a fawn over a doe. If you don't leave the little guys a chance to grow, you won't see any racks later on. Personally, I wouldn't shoot a spike or a fork either. I don't have a problem with taking a mature doe to keep the herd healthy. I had a chance to shoot a nice 6pt. while sitting on a log after scouting some area not too far from my stand. He walked by broadside not 20 yds out and never saw me even pausing to look the other way. I passed. Hard to do sometimes but I already had taken a nice doe on Columbus day so there was already meat in the freezer. If I had shot him I wouldn't have seen the big buck that came down the hill about 40 yards to my right and followed the 6pt. into the swamp. Patience paid off and I shot a nice nine pointer a couple of weeks later. Plus I got to spend that much more time in the woods. To me that's hunting and something the drivers miss out on. Too bad for them cause they can't learn much about their animals that way.