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Tricky Hunters and Harvest Results

USSHornet

USSHornet

Well-Known Member
SH Member
Joined
Mar 25, 2018
Messages
336
Location
Kentucky
Looking at my destination sites and checking public harvest results for them to see how much pressure they are getting decided to hit a few parking locations to double check to see which I may want to avoid.

I am not seeing the parked trucks cars etc that would match the numbers of deer taken already on the public harvest results. Kinda confused sitting in my truck trying to decide if the pressure should dissuade me from hunting that site.

Well a guy drives up and he too is checking and going to scout for gun season later and I mention the harvest results and he said I don’t think those deer are being taken here on public. He said he had been checking pressure too snd I was the first guy he saw.

He told me (I know I am naive thinking people obey the law) he thinks guys are taking deer on private using modern gun still out of season and reporting them as public harvests. Which would explain why I am not seeing the pressure yet the public harvest numbers indicate a lot of pressure.

What do you think?


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This is the main reason I bow hunt Public land so hard. I've hunted 4 weekends on public so far, seen lots of deer and not one human being. I've hunted Fridays Saturdays and a couple Sundays. It's going to be a different story on sat/sun during muzzleloader and rifle, there will be a few other folks.

If possible finding a job where you work 4 tens is highly helpful for hunting Public land. Or use vacation days to hunt during week days.

Also just getting out during bow season is a big deal for not being around other hunters. In VA it also greatly increases your chances of getting a deer at all because during gun there's pretty much no doe days. So you can only shoot a buck. 95% of the deer on Public are does so I'd be pretty peeved to watch the one or two deer I see walk by without being able to shoot. Bow season on public is doe day everyday all season. If you get a shot on a deer take it.
 
USSHornet said:
Looking at my destination sites and checking public harvest results for them to see how much pressure they are getting decided to hit a few parking locations to double check to see which I may want to avoid.

I am not seeing the parked trucks cars etc that would match the numbers of deer taken already on the public harvest results. Kinda confused sitting in my truck trying to decide if the pressure should dissuade me from hunting that site.

Well a guy drives up and he too is checking and going to scout for gun season later and I mention the harvest results and he said I don’t think those deer are being taken here on public. He said he had been checking pressure too snd I was the first guy he saw.

He told me (I know I am naive thinking people obey the law) he thinks guys are taking deer on private using modern gun still out of season and reporting them as public harvests. Which would explain why I am not seeing the pressure yet the public harvest numbers indicate a lot of pressure.

What do you think?


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Click to expand...
What state is that for?
 
What state are you in? In VA I don't see a reason anyone would check in a deer shot on private on Public. Seasons are exactly the same in VA, only difference is there's no doe days or not doe days on private, you can shoot whatever you want on private.
 
Public land is not wanting for superstitious hunters who believe everyone who lives/hunts private land, especially neighboring to public they like, is doing something illegal or cheating in some way or hogging all the deer somehow. I used to hunt 100% public and that was always the narrative when I’d talk to other hunters about pressure or harvests on the tract, unless the guy or gal I was talking to was already a killer. I found myself believing this most of the time as well, there was just no way that someone could be a better hunter than I was and kill deer on this unkillable piece of public, so clearly there must be foul play afoot. Then I started meeting actual killers in the parking lot, and the narrative became “oh no, you can kill a mess of deer in there. Hunt often and use the pressure to make decisions.” Then you hunt private land yourself and you realize, it still ain’t a gimme to see and kill deer. It can be easier but also harder. Pressure still exists. High pressure too. It’s all relative.
It kinda sounds like the guy you met prescribes to the first theory in some fashion. Sounds more jealous than anything. Besides, what possible advantage, other than bragging rights, would there be to tagging a deer as public that was really taken on private? I’m not familiar with Kentucky regs but that seems obtuse. Maybe dudes just don’t hunt the days y’all do and that’s why you’re not seeing the pressure.
There absolutely CAN be foul play happening, but I’d be cautious about digging yourself down that hole too deeply.
 
elk yinzer said:
Also the old adage that 10% of the hunters kill 90% of the deer. I think it pretty well rings true with the situation you're describing. You might well see 30 trucks on a Saturday, 3 on a random Tuesday, and both days same amount of deer killed.
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Wow 10% that is awesome to think about because it means those 10% are flat out different they think different they scout different they hunt different…


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elk yinzer said:
I have no clue about your season structure incentivizations but anywhere I've hunted that makes zero sense.

I am definitely shifty about where I park though. A few times I've sensed I invited unwanted company by parking in certain spots. That's especially true with those hidden gems close to the road.
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I agree it makes no sense to me…because if you’re gonna cheat why do you need to lie about where you took it just don’t report it at all. But I am going to check to see if a deer processor or taxidermist HAS to confirm you reported your harvest to the state. If they do then it makes sense to me because I’m thinking a lot of folks take their deer for processing or if they want a mount..


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USSHornet said:
Wow 10% that is awesome to think about because it means those 10% are flat out different they think different they scout different they hunt different…


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Click to expand...


All pattern recognition meat computers are not created equal!

Go visit the piled high thread. 20k members, and a dozen are tagged for having killed 100 deer…
 
elevatorman said:
What state are you in? In VA I don't see a reason anyone would check in a deer shot on private on Public. Seasons are exactly the same in VA, only difference is there's no doe days or not doe days on private, you can shoot whatever you want on private.
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Kentucky. Seasons are not in sync here so I could definitely see a guy wanting to use a gun in Oct here when gun season starts in mid Nov.


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DelaWhere_Arrow said:
Public land is not wanting for superstitious hunters who believe everyone who lives/hunts private land, especially neighboring to public they like, is doing something illegal or cheating in some way or hogging all the deer somehow. I used to hunt 100% public and that was always the narrative when I’d talk to other hunters about pressure or harvests on the tract, unless the guy or gal I was talking to was already a killer. I found myself believing this most of the time as well, there was just no way that someone could be a better hunter than I was and kill deer on this unkillable piece of public, so clearly there must be foul play afoot. Then I started meeting actual killers in the parking lot, and the narrative became “oh no, you can kill a mess of deer in there. Hunt often and use the pressure to make decisions.” Then you hunt private land yourself and you realize, it still ain’t a gimme to see and kill deer. It can be easier but also harder. Pressure still exists. High pressure too. It’s all relative.
It kinda sounds like the guy you met prescribes to the first theory in some fashion. Sounds more jealous than anything. Besides, what possible advantage, other than bragging rights, would there be to tagging a deer as public that was really taken on private? I’m not familiar with Kentucky regs but that seems obtuse. Maybe dudes just don’t hunt the days y’all do and that’s why you’re not seeing the pressure.
There absolutely CAN be foul play happening, but I’d be cautious about digging yourself down that hole too deeply.
Click to expand...

On his behalf and mine too..we were really trying to understand the higher harvest numbers but not seeing the parking lot traffic. My only conclusion was that I’m not there when those guys were there that harvested those deer. Until he offered another theory that he says he knows happens elsewhere. But for me, if they are gonna cheat why report the harvest at all unless…the deer processor needs to confirm it was reported or the taxidermist…


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USSHornet said:
I agree it makes no sense to me…because if you’re gonna cheat why do you need to lie about where you took it just don’t report it at all. But I am going to check to see if a deer processor or taxidermist HAS to confirm you reported your harvest to the state. If they do then it makes sense to me because I’m thinking a lot of folks take their deer for processing or if they want a mount..


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Click to expand...
I take my deer to a taxidermist who butchers, one stop drop. In Ohio and in Delaware, same deal: have to give processor(s) of any kind the confirmation number from the state listed on your harvest report, and/or a physical copy of the tag attached to the deer until it reaches their possession. Then they have to keep records for the state, and in DE they even attached my # to all the packaging. Ohio is a little more lenient in allowing an electronic copy, which may have changed in DE since I last hunted there. My butcher even writes her own tag with tape and attaches it to all deer that come through, regardless if they’re already physically tagged or not. That was what the three butchers I used in DE did too. Covered their own butts. No deer comes in or out without confirmation.
 
USSHornet said:
On his behalf and mine too..we were really trying to understand the higher harvest numbers but not seeing the parking lot traffic. My only conclusion was that I’m not there when those guys were there that harvested those deer. Until he offered another theory that he says he knows happens elsewhere. But for me, if they are gonna cheat why report the harvest at all unless…the deer processor needs to confirm it was reported or the taxidermist…


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Click to expand...
Right. And I wasn’t implying you were a sour public land hunter like I tended to encounter, just that it can take over your mindset in place of more rational vibes. I like what you said about 10% of those killers really being wired differently; those are the types of dudes I started to encounter when I shifted my own perspective and approach to hunting.
 
DelaWhere_Arrow said:
I take my deer to a taxidermist who butchers, one stop drop. In Ohio and in Delaware, same deal: have to give processor(s) of any kind the confirmation number from the state listed on your harvest report, and/or a physical copy of the tag attached to the deer until it reaches their possession. Then they have to keep records for the state, and in DE they even attached my # to all the packaging. Ohio is a little more lenient in allowing an electronic copy, which may have changed in DE since I last hunted there. My butcher even writes her own tag with tape and attaches it to all deer that come through, regardless if they’re already physically tagged or not. That was what the three butchers I used in DE did too. Covered their own butts. No deer comes in or out without confirmation.
Click to expand...

See now I get it…I could understand a guy using a gun here in Oct ahead of actual gun season and claiming it was taken on public as archery …I guess…hell I dunno…lol


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DelaWhere_Arrow said:
Right. And I wasn’t implying you were a sour public land hunter like I tended to encounter, just that it can take over your mindset in place of more rational vibes. I like what you said about 10% of those killers really being wired differently; those are the types of dudes I started to encounter when I shifted my own perspective and approach to hunting.
Click to expand...

Absolutely …it will not deter my actual hunting ..it just made me curious


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