What difference does it make if I hunt for 3 months with a rifle and only kill 1 buck, that is usually my limit, the 2nd will be an upgrade from 1st. Only killed 1 doe in the last 15 years of hunting. I truly believe that people are going to kill what they want to kill whether it be in 3 months or 3 weeks that number not gonna change, what will change will be quality of deer killed.

you are ONE person so you as an individual are not hurting a thing, but as a collective of thousands upon thousands of hunters is making a difference. With all the technology we have today deer are easier to kill. so there has be guardrails put in place somewhere and the 3 month rifle season is where I believe we need to start..is it a detriment to the resource

Does not opposing hunter contributions offset each other

Killing a deer with a modern compound bow or a crossbow isn't that much different. We can agree to disagree but I could kill a deer most any day I wanted with a bow. Bowhunters already are able to target bucks before the hunting pressure sets in. A lot of immature bucks are killed with a bow and chocked up to being a good bow kill. It all comes down to a hunter only being able to kill as big of a deer as is on there property.
Most will kill that buck regardless of age because of the time and $ invested in hunting.

P.s.- don't forget all the "bow hunters" that have a huge pile of corn 25-30 yards of their stand to bring in deer and distract them when coming to full draw. It's not that much more difficult.

I’ve Lost one deer ever hit with buckshot. That one was a bit too far. All the rest of them fell dead right where I shot them. But it if I’m able to see beyond buckshot range I have a rifle.

There was only one deer hit and not found while on a dog drive at our club this year out of thirty something killed. There were several lost by our resident stalk hunters using a rifle.

I quests there were no misses either? Every deer shot at was hit and killed?

No, I’ve missed plenty

Buckshot is deadly if used correctly.
Deer are wounded by all weapons.

So there was no chance of one that was “missed” possibly being hit with any pellets from the buckshot? If the answer is yes, please explain the determining factor that makes you know it was a clean miss please.

First off I’m calling bs about finding buckshot in 95 percent of deer you killed. That did not happen. Second. Very unlikely. I don’t shoot at them if they are too far. And within its range limitations. They go down quickly. But will still go look

As noted by the increasing number of “any trackers available in _______ county” filling up FB feeds

I remember years ago when dog hunting was very popular and how it was done. The talk was, just get bullet in him to break him down or slow him down. Before there was doe days.

These days I hear, just get a bullet in him and put a dog on him

Things kinda stay the same lol

Hunters dont need a reason that makes it ok to take a bad shot…..They will take the same bad shot dog or no dog.

This is correct. I and many others can kill the same amount of deer with less time, shortening the season would just cut down on hunting opportunities. IF there is truly a shortage in deer, the amount allowed to be killed would need to be lowered, not how long you have to do it.

There was probably a pile of deer killed on November 23rd and February 9th/10th. Guess what, if the season opened and/or closed on any other day there would have been a pile killed too.

I can promise you it happened and I wish I still had my pictures from back then. It was a surprise when one was killed that didn’t have buckshot or even bird shot under the hide. Like I said, we were the only 400ac that was surrounded by thousands of acres of dog clubs and they hunted a lot. Sometimes all 3 clubs would be running at the same time. It would sound like a dove shoot back then. I’m not calling you a lier like you did to me, I’m asking how do you know when a deer was a complete miss with buckshot when you are not witnessing every shot taken at a deer. Because there was no blood, how the deer reacted when the shot was fired or just going with the hunter said he missed?I’ve killed a few deer with buckshot and never really had a good blood trail. Luckily most died within sight. I’m wanting to know how you come to the conclusion that the deer was missed. No need for you to get offensive and be a total dick like most all the other dog hunters I’ve met. I would like to think you’re better then that.

Here's the answer Marsh. How many triggers were pulled during the season to kill those 30? A safe bet is that if they put 30 on the tailgate, there were probably somewhere in the neighborhood of 100-250 shots taken at running deer. Pure swag on my part, but probably fairly close based on what we used to do when we ran dogs back in the late 70s early 80's and if that is the case, Marsh, you're correct in saying that there are quite a few deer running around with a pellet or two in them from bad shots, long range shots, spraying and praying, brush deflections, etc, that were called misses. Like you said Marsh, unless the deer is knocked down, there is rarely much in the way of a blood trail to prove it was hit, unless you really get into one good. We ran a good buck all day one day. Dogs jumped him around 10 and if I had to guess, I'd say he was probably shot at 15-20+ times by no less than 6 or 8 standers. He messed up and came out right in someone's lap and finally killed him right before dark. When we skinned him, the buckshot was literally raining out on the floor of the skinning shed. He was bruised up from neck to rump on both sides and there was buckshot all over the place in the tallow, just underneath the hide from long shots taken after everyone already knew he'd been hit. First, every stander wants to get a shot and they will shoot until the gun is empty or until the deer goes out of sight, whichever happens first. Second, most dog hunters I have been around have the mentality that you cannot kill one if you do not shoot at him so it's a regular occurrence that a lot of marginal shots are taken, at distances and situations they should not be shot at with shotguns. Third, deer are tough animals and can take some serious punishment and keep going, hence, a lot of deer running around with buckshot in them.

While that may be true I’ve personally heard several say what I posted.

Don’t think I’m against using a dog to find deer that’s been shot
Just gotta be careful how it’s viewed, literally.

Dog hunting was new to me when we got our first place in Alabama. Had no idea it even existed. Landowner never told us about the large dog clubs all around the property. We got the lease in July of 2009. Worked all summer to have it ready for opening weekend. We were all in the stands with our kids and fired up. About 0730 I hear some dogs barking and getting closer. Next thing I see is a young buck bouncing through the briers. 2nd thing I see is a pack of dogs right behind him. By the time I realized what was going on they were heading across the road to the other side of our property. They ended running all through our property and on they went. Later that morning the county road next to the camp was like a nascar racing track. 4wd pickups hauling arse up and down that road like a fire was chasing them. Finally I walked to the road and stopped one guy and asked what was going on. That’s when he went to tell me they were chasing their deer dogs and asked us if we seen them, not to feed them or give them water. I asked why and he said they wouldn’t hunt, they’d run straight to the food. Well I’m not that dumb of a coonass and guess what was in the yard every weekend we were up there. I’d never seen anything like that.

How do I know if I hit a deer or not? I thought I answered that but I guess I was not clear enough. So I will break it down a bit. I cannot speak for every shot fired but I can be pretty sure of my own shots. First as soon as I shoot I already know where the shot went as anyone who has shot a lot should. Then there is the the reaction of the deer. If it stubbles or falls that is a clear indication of a hit. If a deer is running when it is shot it will usually fall when hit, in contrast to a deer that is standing still that will jump and take off running when hit. No reaction or speed up is a good indication of a miss. The next thing to look for is blood. There will usually be blood where a deer was hit. This can be followed to find a deer. If I am still unsure of a hit I will put a dog on it to see if it can be found. I’m shooting 3”00 15 pellet loads that shoot a tight pattern. If it is too far I will not shoot. Put that many balls In a deer there will be a clear indication of a hit. There are few places where I can shoot farther than 40 yards. If I am in one of those places I will have a rifle. Several people I hunt with only hunt with a rifle, I will use both. Hope this helps.