90A Controlled Hunt

[huntitall]

That's alot of action! We saw 14 deer on Monday, we got 4, and one was a 8 pointer i was lucky enough to drop with one shot (but he was standing still). We saw 8 Tuesday in a different area, and got 1. 4 tags left for our group and should be able to fill them before the weekend. Talked to some buddies that have been hunting this week too and they have been seeing the same numbers. Defiantly alot of deer in 90b this year!

[LondonDave]

Many different points of few on this, actually I'm kind of glad this post came up. I was talking to a good friend and hunter of over 50 years experience today about a large doe that I took yesterday with a muzzleloader. I hit her through both lungs at 50 yards and there was no blood trail for about 60 yards after and she piled up not far from there. We were talking about the difference between muzzleloader and rifle hunting -I do both. But feel that a muzzle loader makes you a better hunter because you only have one shot, there is no room for mistakes. I personally will not shot at a running deer with a muzzle loader or any single shot firearm. There is too much of a chance of wounding an animal. But that is just my opinion. If you have two or three rounds to fire that certainly increases your odds of hitting a vital spot on a running animal compared to one. But to each his own.

I agree. To me hunting with a muzzle loader is more like hunting with a bow than a gun. A little more reach but not a lot, especially if you're not using a scope.

I hunt the second black powder week. Normally we have a group of 8 to 10 guys and typically we are dogging bushes which usually means shooting at running or at least moving deer. This year the majority of our group couldn't make it for various reasons so we hunted mainly out of tree stands. I was mostly in a stand in the woods where 50 yards would be about the maximum shot I could take. I hunted exactly the same as I would with my crossbow and loved it. It was nice to know that if I had a deer walk into an open lane with a little bit longer shot I would have that extra reach over the crossbow to take it.

Anyway this post isn't really about black powder vs. shotgun vs. archery. I think people started to get a little off topic when the OP talked about shooting does and fawns. Clearly there is a large deer population in his area, possibly too many. If anyone was really concerned about preserving the deer population then start a campaign to have 10 foot fences built all along the roadways to keep them in the fields and bushes. Just as many or more deer get killed by vehicles on a daily basis then by hunters....Trust me I know.

[fishing1]

Good going on the hunt, to each there own, sometimes people have no option on how they hunt. I personally do not prefer to hunt that way, but have in the past. I find that deer shot with guns do not bleed right away , but that bow shot deer almost always bleed right on the spot they were shot. Just my observation.

[dutchhunter]

Good going on the hunt, to each there own, sometimes people have no option on how they hunt. I personally do not prefer to hunt that way, but have in the past. I find that deer shot with guns do not bleed right away , but that bow shot deer almost always bleed right on the spot they were shot. Just my observation.

that is just funny I have gutted 7 deer this week aready and thy are all shot with slugs you can not get anymore blood outside the animal on the ground and inside when you open them up the chest is always full of blood ,how can thy not bleed when thy have a slug hole in them haha .Dutch

[Farmer G]

that is just funny I have gutted 7 deer this week aready and thy are all shot with slugs you can not get anymore blood outside the animal on the ground and inside when you open them up the chest is always full of blood ,how can thy not bleed when thy have a slug hole in them haha .Dutch

I have seen seen deer with slugs pass through the boiler room and no blood at all.. Bow shot deer as well with the same results. Each occurrence is different. Why does everyone think they are right. Furthermore, the hunt was legal. Either way, congrats on the hunt.

[jarret]

what size are most of you guys hunting gangs and bushes seems like an awful lot of guys in small areas i prefer still hunting

[dutchhunter]

we hunt with 6 to 10 guys and gals and the wood lots are small 5 to 100 acres but the problem is the farm country deer like to bust out across the open fields and not run fence lines so it takes a lot of guys to cut them off .if you have two or three guys dogging that leaves 5 or 6 guys to get around the whole wood lot and try and cut the deer of in shotgun range 100 yards or a lot less if we can help it ,that leaves a lot of room for the deer to escape Dutch

[Fox]

Good hunt, very honest, but you can see why I did not post any details.

We have one guy who commented on how many deer the big gang gets (they tag out with 18-22 guys every year). He stated that they are the reason that deer populations go down. I really beg to differ, this guy averages 1.5 deer a year, for the past 5 years at least. He has a larger impact per person than the large gang in the area. He hunts from Oct 1st through Dec 31st and has 2 additional tags on top of his original. These guys in the gang hunt less than 6 days a year, they shoot their deer and that is that, less pressure in the bush before and after they are done and the deer are left alone to feed more due to a lower population after that week, there is less competition for food when there is less food.

Good on you for your hunt and your honesty.

[fisherking]

This is NOT hunting. Enjoy the girls and babies.

[Hunter John]

^^^^^^^^ nice