Who says VA does not have big deer.
Virginia
Thought I would post this picture I got on my trail cam last week. Proves there are some big deer in VA. The question is do they ever walk around during the day. I hope so because this dude is on the hit list.
Yea, I've always known ,just never needed corn , apples and a trail cam to figure that out. Well, to answer your question with a question,how is feeding them at night going to make them move in the day?
I never heard anyone say it.
Thats a nice 12.
Game farm?
Thats a buck I would gladly take if I saw it while hunting in the VA NF.
Wonder how old he is?
Bowsage, DAH - Glad you told me feeding them at night doesn't help daytime movement. I have been wasting so much time and effort.
On a less sarcastic note - I have 7 or 8 properties I hunt. I don't have enough money to buy an army of game cameras that have a fast enough trigger speed to go off just sitting on a trail. Hence the food. If you have a better way to figure out what is on each property let me know because I sure don't. These properties are for the most part very small with no fields. No opportunity for long distance glassing. I also have x number of days to hunt. I also am pretty selective on what type of bucks I shoot so to know what is on a property helps in regards to time spent at each one. I am not an exclusive trophy hunter but have shot a few nice bucks and know how special it is. I shot 10 deer last year. Two bucks and eight does. No it is not a game farm and yes I am fully aware the VDGIF regs do not allow feeding deer after August. Bottom line - For me it is easier to hang in there on a long treestand sit when I know a deer of this caliber is at least in the area. #1 rule for hunting big deer. There has to be big deer where you are hunting.
Sorry my post went over your head, VaH, I've never found it necessary to use a camera to learn about deer. There are countless nice deer killed without the use of cameras. Knowing a nice deer is in your area does not make it easier to bag him, sure you might sit there longer if you believe he is around.Your rule for #1 deer does not match my experience. I have 5 bucks on the wall, all of them seen once.
thats an impressive free range whitetail buck, for any State. . . Virginia has got em.... but not everywhere... I know a few places within 50 miles of my desk were that ole boy "could be"
;-)
vahunter,
That is an immature deer, and needs one more season for maximum antlers.
Just fax me permission to hunt and tresspass on that property, and the coordinates of that trail cam, and I will make sure no hunter, no bobcat, no bear, no coyote, or no cat-a-mount gets him during deer season.
;^)
Of course I need permission to hunt, to be able to shoot the other 4 legged critters trying to eat him.
;^)
Trust me.
;^)
867-5309.
Tony
Bowsage, I do agree with your statement about countless nice deer killed without the use of cameras. My best deer is one of those. Never saw it before.
I also agree knowing a big deer is in the area does not necessarily make him easier to bag. In fact it can be a detriment if you do not handle it right. You might over hunt the property or in an effort to gather information on the buck you blow out the property. We all know big deer will not take any pressure. (my experience anyway)But for me knowing that deer is on the property adds a positive element to my hunting experience even if I never see him other than in the picture.
I will stand by my #1 rule though. In order to kill big deer "there has to be big deer where you are hunting" I did not say you had to know there were big deer but they have to be there. Obviously the 5 bucks on your wall were there even though you did not know it.
Fuzzy, you are right "Virginia has got em.... but not everywhere" I've been hunting in VA for 17 years and I can count on one hand the number of times I have even seen a deer like this let alone had an opportunity to take him. Believe it or not the picture was taken right in the middle of my 57 acres where I live. Who would have thought it.
If you hunt east of the Blue Ridge, any County, you can find similar and larger bucks.Visit local taxidermist and attend Big Game Shows, Eastern or Western Regionals etc.
" Rules" ain't gonna help you much because you're relying on sighting the buck first.
vahunter....I am bettin you are somewhere in "the Western Piedmont" or else on a Limestone Section of "the Valley and Ridge" .....small properties can and DO make hog bucks, if they have FEED and COVER in close proximity...... and sufficient calcium and necessary trace minerals in the soils
congrats on havin that guy close to try for....
now go gettim! :-)
vahunter,
Look into the Photo.
You are getting sleepy . . . sleepy . . . very sleepy.
OK, after the next time you drink water, you will fax 867-5309 with the permission slips and trail camera coordinates.
Tonyo6302
It's almost workingggggggggggggggggg but not quite.
Just as an illustration of how hard it is going to be to kill this deer. Here is another photo. Check the dates. It was nine days between the first and second pictures. The second picture was in a batch of 565 pictures. One picture of this deer. The thing is almost a ghost.
Gosh, neither you or Mike D. will trust me to babysit your deer.
Don't make me get the flying monkeys!
Sheesh !
;^)
Thanks for sharing the photos.
Tony
Vahunter, great deer! Tony, :)
bowsage, SHUT UP ! Your annoying !
Hello there goat.... the truth will set you free but first you get pissed off!
The funny thing is that right after (within a few minutes) I posted my last comment on this thread I went to a site and saw two bucks crossing a creek (at around ten A.M.)
The one in front rivalled "vahunter's" deer in mass and spread. (limestone valley of SW Virginia) :-)
Picture of a decent deer I got last year from one of my clubs property here in NOVA. As you can see this guy only likes to stop by property when the bars let out. He was spotted the year before twice, chasing does during the pre-rut, and my buddy saw him on the first day of the doe only season standing broadside at 20 yards eatting from a crapapple for about 20 minutes, knowing full well he was out of season. This was the only time he was spotted in 2010. Hopefully he turns into an early bird this year.
BRohm...good luck, they don't get that big by hanging around in the open in daylight, in November :-)
Rub line on my drive way showed and in two nights was torn plum up. Only pic I got and never saw him again but he sure killed some pines and cedars through December.
Auto insurance lobbyists? That's a new one.
Bandi, theres been talk that Virginia Farm Beaureau and maybe a couple other large insurers have been presuuring Virginia DGIF for more liberal seasons and bag limits on deer, since the early 90's. I have no personal knowlege of this, but have heard it repeated many times.
No personal knowledge of it? How about Senate Bill 868 that was introduced last session.. Sponsored by my senator with help from VA Farm Bureau.. Look back through the thread titled Senate Bill 868 about 80 threads ago.. Thankfully it was tabled after getting national attention from the NRA, SCI, USSSA and others..
OWK Exactly. I have no personal knowlege of that bill.
But, utilizing your reference, I will look it up, and acquire such knowlege. :-)
OK.... read it.... now I have personal knowlege :-)
Friends farm Prince George co. 2 years ago. Never saw them after August '09.
Yogi, they emigrated to Illinois on August 24th, 2009 ';-)
Here is another one from a couple of years ago. I was fortunate enough to see him during the season.
Every state has honey holes.Some have more than others Great Va deer.Good luck
This will probably make some people mad but I wouldn't care if VA went to earn a buck where you had to shoot a doe before shooting any buck period. The system we have now isn't too bad. I read a few years back about some management things Minnesota was doing that seemed to be really working for them. They were really educating hunters and I believe they implemented a 15" or 16" inside spread minimum rather than a 4pts on one side minimum. I think VA has plenty of what it takes to grow big deer if they get the chance.
Seems like that during bow season, in my neighborhood at least, it's d*** hard to get a shot at a doe. I can walk within 20 feet of them when carrying my fishing rod down to the pond but put a bow in my hand, they run like heck. I'm not much on UFO's, Bigfoot or cougars in Virginia but I swear they can pick up on your ESP "predator vibe." I've even tried wearing blue jeans and bright colors to look like a fisherman. They also either avoid the tree stands or check out the trees when coming through. The bucks on the other hand, kind of bumble through.
I don't have that problem at all Bandicooter. Last year I went hunting in the morning on my club's land and saw nothing. Went in my backyard to shoot some at targets and I had a young 6 point chase a doe right behind my target haha. Couldn't shoot either since I live in Reston. They did just pass a law that home owners can bow hunt on their property. To my dismay these deer were running just 20 yards from what would be considered my yard haha. But this also occurred before they passed the law, otherwise I would have had to let one go regardless.
Not sure of teh numbers to date but several years ago Va was listed in the top five states with Deer Colisions. I read something back then regarding the insurance folks pushing for more kills. Between the liberal bag limits and running them with hounds it is tuff for a deer to make it the 5 or so years it takes to mature here in Va. No question, Va has the makings of some monsters..
Yeah I think you're right jfish, actually last year or the year before VA may have been listed as #1 in deer/car colissions. The problem is the hunters need to take it upon themselves to manage properly. We should be using the liberal bag limits to our advantage. I live & hunt in Fairfax county and also hunt Loudon so I can shoot 6 deer on my tag, 3 bucks & 3 does or 1 buck 5 does or whatever combo. People in that situation should be looking to take 3 mature bucks if they're going to do that, and make sure the 3 does are taken or take 1 buck and take out 5 does. That lowers the population and still can give the bucks a chance to grow.
In Fauquier we have a more server problem.Years of buck to doe ratios out of wack.Now add the growing #'s of yotes and bears,the new borns are taken a HUGE hit.We are loosing a big # of the 51% buck fawns to the predators.More and more I see mature does w/out fawns.Then add too many buck tags per hunter!
This is one i've been getting some pics of this year. He is in prince george....hope to see him up close soon.
Stickin, That buck is a stud. He showed up just a little after dark. Hopefully he moves his schedule up a couple of hours and you get a shot at him.
Big 8 with the Nasty 9 in the back.
Another view of the Nasty 9. I know where he stays but he is street wise. We are a dog hunting club, so he's had alot of pressure on him.
Speaking of deer/car collisions . . .
Friend of mine shot this one, last week, with a shotgun. 11 point main frame...23 1/2" inside spread...13" g3 on right and 12 1/2" on left...shot it right behind our hunt club.
I green scored him at 173 4/8" bc.
Holy Crackers!!!!!!!!!! That's a big buck!! What county is your hunt club?
Thats an incredible buck!
Our club has around 5000 acres in Prince George and Sussex. We have some big ones around and i've been talking them into letting some little ones go. Here's one more pic of him.
Sounds like you have got a good thing a going! I wish more people in the SW part of the state would take up that practice.
I have hunted in AR, OK, WA, WY, and VA. Northern VA, particularly at Ft. Belvoir was right up there with the best hunts I have had. There are some bog ones in there.
I've seen more images of big deer killed this year in VA than I have seen in the last 25. A guy at work allowed his friends fathers friend hunt his mum's place on November 11th near Front Royal. What does he shoot, a hog monster 34 point non typical with green score of 210!
Live and hunt in henry co. Shot this buck nov. 22 got this pick off of a game cam. A few days later. I guess I was a little remiss in checking my cams but it is nice to have a before pic. To go with the after ones.
stickandstring- I've noticed the same thing, lots of big deer taken this year. I hunt just outside of front royal and was fortunate to get a 13pt that scored right at 160" and know of 3 other bucks over 150" taken by friends of mine. Here's a picture of my buck.
Stopped by my small Amherst County deer lease today after attempting some duck hunting further up the road. Found this on my camera. The only big deer I ever see are either as an offical Buckmasters scorer or in deer contests. I never see them on the hoof. Guess I won't be duck hunting until January, now. He crossed a mowed field at midday to get to the camera.
I've seen more big deer killed this year than any other time in my hunting career. That first week in November was unbelievable in South Central VA.
The above was a friend of mine in Pocohontas State Forest in Chesterfield. 24 3/4 spread 13 points.
This was from Powhatan.
My first one in Powhatan.
Last one. I shamefully admit, this one was a smokepole.
had this big boy walk through behind my house in Reston, Va yesterday. Reston, by the way, is a "Wildlife Sanctuary"
had this big boy walk through behind my house in Reston, Va yesterday. Reston, by the way, is a "Wildlife Sanctuary"
Killed my two biggest VA Bucks this year. We have got some good ones.
Jeff Howard killed this near Culpeper, I think. 15 points and scores over 200 Virginia system.
That Culpeper buck looks alot like the one Vahunter has pics of at the top of the thread
At first glance, but the one on top looks like the G-2 forks on his right antler.
In regards to the Culpepper buck looking like the one I posted you are right is does look like it but looks are deceiving, unless my deer traveled over 100 miles since Nov 5. We saw him that day. 250 yds away and he still looked big. Can't way until next year.
Buck on the right is from Stickin's post in August. Prince George County.
Too bad about the brow tine. Both are great deer.
A friend of mine shot the brow tine off with his muzzleloader, on his farm, next to my club. I think he gave it to the boy who shot him. I'm going to make him a dvd with all the pics of him. Had him at 20 yards during bow season.....sooooo close. I guess that's why i love bow hunting so much.
Damn holly bushes. Did you come to full draw stickin?
Holly bushes is exactly right. He came in on the windy and rainy evening, like a ghost. If he would have taken two more steps, he would have been broadside, in the wide open. He turned and walked back to my right, thats when i saw who it was. Then he stood at 35 yards for 3 or 4 minutes but there were a few small branches in the way. He walked back from where he came and a doe walked up from where he was looking...he was scent checking her. He never gave me an open shot and i never even pulled the z-7 back. I geuss i can't kill them all but he would have been sweet.
