Mostly due to population density, about half of MD is shotgun only. Interestingly, due to the loss of most natural predators and a decline in the number of hunters, MD's deer population has exploded and studies suggest there are more deer in the state now than during the colonial period.
There is a shitload of public land here in Minnesota. In the southern half of the state, it gets pretty crowded. Up north in the Superior National Forest, you can hunt for weeks and never see another person. My deer season was mixed. I shot at 2 different deer (one on Friday and one on Saturday). Hit one of them in the leg or front shoulder. It ran across a freshly frozen river and onto someone else's property. Long story short, when shooting slugs out of a rifled slug barrel, the brand and bullet weight of the slug make a HUGE difference. Hornady SST slugs can suck my balls.
They're everywhere down there. Locals call them wood rats. Which is why when I go down to hunt in Maryland next week (Talbot county) I can tag 10 doe and two bucks--per method of hunting. Since I'm also bringing my bow with me and bought a bow stamp, I can bag two dozen deer. That said, I'll be happy bagging one, and thrilled with anything beyond that so I can donate to some shelters and soup kitchens back up here in CT.
Processor just called. I "had" (read: get) to pick more ways to use the meat because apparently my deer weighed in at "looks like north of 125, 135 de-boned." In hindsight, I wish I had them weigh the guy before they gutted him just to see what the number was. I knew he was a big dude, just didn't expect him to be that big. The bill is gonna be a good chuck of change. And it'll be worth it.
Yeah I waited too long to start using all the two deer I got last year. I wanted to make dishes with my garden bounty that didn't come in toward the end of July. Im using 2-3 pounds a week and am incorporating it in everything.
Was in Rule Texas this week and it was pretty good, will post a report next week when I get caught up
Huh... honestly, I have no idea what to think about that. I have no problem with the general idea of letting people get access to wild venison through hunters, but my inner skeptic is worried about the fucktards that will ruin it for everyone else by exploiting it and pushing what are reasonable boundaries. I also have to think it would potentially increase poaching, because if you have limits, but you can make money off of venison, then you'd be predisposed to not use up your tags until you really had to, or at all... just slaughter a herd and reap the financial benefits. I'm thinking it's a reasonable idea for reasonable people, but unreasonable people will ruin it.
The article kind of suggest only allowing tags for this in urban areas and by more "professional" meat processing hunters. I could see it working. You couldn't repeal the Lacey Act outright and not see some wild free for all that would decimate deer populations. If they instituted a tag limit in Urban areas, say only 1000 of 2000 deer tags from Urban hunts can be butchered and sold. Only granting the finite amount to people who can actually process the deer properly. You'd limit it enough not to have some back woods hicks ruin it for everyone. It'd definitely get more people out in the urban deer units for hunting. We have so many deer in Ohio Im not even sure there is an upper limit on does you can take in a year and I know for sure deer taken in the urban deer units don't count towards the your regular yearly bag limit (which last I checked was one buck and 9 does). The other thing the article doesn't discuss and what Ive always heard is the huge barrier is the FDA testing required severely limits the ability to make deer hunting profitable bringing meat to market. Deer are classified as wild and, again I've heard not fully aware of the legalities, but this makes processing them, even to legitimate deer farming outfit insanely expensive as EVERY single animal would need to be tested for the gamut of disease. Domesticated animals to my understanding since they are classified as such only need to be tested every x number of head. Testing making the whole process much less profitable.
Ah, South Dakota. In contrast, Buck and I just walked public land in southern Minnesota for three mornings to kick up one lonely rooster. But it was still fun and good to get out, and there is something special about just having your dog, a gun, and a massive field to hunt all to yourself.
Nice buck. Sad he had to die in the middle of a nose bleed though. I guess that made it easier to see him?
Shot with my .357 Timberwolf. Probably 50 yards. There were three bucks out and they were fighting a little (first time Ive seen bucks locking horns). Im pretty sure he was the biggest but he was the one that got the closest. Im not sure if I want to get him fully mounted or not. Shit is expensive and won't look nearly as impressive as my dad's 19 pointer on the wall. Also, I was surprised I fucking hit him as bad as I was shaking. Here I thought I was Cool Hand Luke. Also, I know someone here asked about picking out a bow. Im thinking about getting one on the cheap after the season is over. I don't even know where to start outside knowing you have to measure your arm length. I figure it'd be easier picking up a year or two old bow with some of the standard bells and whistles than buying new for my first bow.
You can pick up a bow that is a year or two old for close to half the price of new. But i am sure i have said it before shoot a bunch of different bows first they are all have a slightly different feel to them and you may not like the one you buy if you but before shooting.
Amazing what a .223 hollow point can do. This fucker woke me up (dogs were barking at him), and I shot him through the fence about 15 ft away. (Second shot, on his belly, was to make sure he wouldn't run away; armadildos are known for running even with kill shots, so I had to follow up.)
This one was shot with a 30-06 using 165 grain ballistic tips. They are some destructive little bastards. Had holes all over the place. Spoiler