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I was once a full time Connecticut bow hunter and kind of dominated with the volume of kills, up to about 36 a year. Plus all the deer I amateur-guided others also It was a service to landowners for the priveledge of permission. I wrote a Bowhunter Magazine article on the topic. Then I was bi-coastal for 15 years and was in CT maybe 20% of the time and hunted much less, worked a lot more. So many of properties I was used to being permitted upon were not attended by me much so I understood that when they were approached by hunters asking for permission, they either said yes or asked me first and I ALWAYS agreed, the more the merrier.

Now I am back nearly full time. When I asked recently for continuing permission on a property I have hunted since the 90s she said she should check with the other guys. They said no. Then it happened again. I know a few hunters who are very confrontational regarding other hunters as if it's kind of a competition. It's an ugly way t be. It's contrary to the unwritten code of hunters. We should support each other and for sure, not talk sh%# about each other in person and on websites.

You had some great properties during the Luke hay days and piled em up. I hope you get a few properties back for this season. Hunters and fishermen are very protective of “their spot” and I don’t always agree with being that way. Sure, some spots are special and need to stay guarded but most could be shared too. Good luck Rob!

There were abundant deer back then. And the numbers have dropped dramatically. Did I say Dramatically :)

Having a piece of private now is like your personal piece of heaven. There just aren’t enough deer to go around. Especially nice mature ones.

Blood said it perfectly. Times have changed. I would never let someone else hunt my spot unless they are a close friend and share the same hunting goals and values as I do. Killing 36 deer a year is not and never was what I ever aspired to. I lived and hunted through those same times as you Rob and I never came across a landowner that was looking to eradicate the deer to that extreme. After a season or two with me around and some in-depth conversations about conservation, carrying capacity, predation and how it all connects to affect the ecosystem, they start to understand time and moderation is the correct approach.

To be honest Rob after reading your post I can’t tell if your intention was to brag or complain, but either way I hope you don’t end up hunting any where near me. I’m not trying to say I’m better than you or anything like that but that type of attitude toward hunting is exactly why we went through the down period of the last 10 years. JMHO

when your hunting small properties its hard to share , and there is probably some one next door already.

Oh, God Longbeard. Those days and that hunter are long gone. I had nearly endless energy for hunting back then. The reason I killed so many and helped others that used my stands was because the only favor that landowners wanted was the deer reduced. I probably ran about 30 tree stands back then. many were specifically set as traditional equipment stands where the shots were lower, and the stands more brushed in for a hunting with Recurves and Longbow. I guided friends and acquaintances, some from this website to their first deer. That was very enriching. In the Midwest, some hunters help farmers bale mhay, or mend fences as a favor for hunting privileges. The Richie Riches around here don’t need any favors except for the deer removed. I’m seeing quite a few deer this year and it’s pretty close to as overpopulated as it ever was. For my own eating needs. I only really need one deer a year nowadays. I have a friend who gives the meat to the needy and I’ll kill him a deer now and then, but I doubt I’ll ever kill more than 3 in a season at the most going forward. Last year I killed one. A couple of years ago I killed an elk, which eat so much better for the rest of the year I hunted deer, but never let an arrow go since I had so much meat. I killed a doe yesterday and just gutting it and getting it to the truck took about everything I had in me. I gave that whole deer away to someone who wanted to meat. I still have some in the freezer from last year. So don’t worry about me a hunting near you. Ha ha. My hunting partner kills more often than I do so we get enough to make the landowners minimally happy. I will take the big buck when he comes by which is not often, otherwise I am after the Alpha doe in the group. I have found that once she’s gone the remaining deer disperse a little bit and the landowner perceives a reduction in numbers. I am neither proud or ashamed of the way I used to hunt or the way I hunt now. The best benefit of my past is the experience of shot selection and tracking. I do enjoy when a friend calls with the story of the deer they hit, and how they should follow it up, because I almost always have direct experience of a similar case or two or three. That is another thing I find more fulfilling than killing yet another deer myself.

I certainly believe deer herds diminished and the old neighborly landowners are either gone or sold out- new wave generation moving in and don’t understand value of hunting or just Anti’s -

Other hunters tend to spoil my hunt. I've had them oblivious to my location and keep an eye on them to avoid being shot. I use to think hunters have ethics but the majority have changed my thinking.

I agree with WildBill. I remember 2 properties that were ruined by another hunter. I was the first one hunting the properties and ended up leaving them. The other hunters were complete idiots. It wasn’t worth the aggravation.

Dr. Deer,

How did you find the time to shoot 36 deer in a season? Were you retired? Between the scouting, hunting and processing that would be incredibly time consuming.

I'm struggling to find a CT private spot as well. I thought it would be easier than SENY, but it's not so far.

For hunting purposes, SENY = WEST CT.

When you hear hunters refer to private land owned by someone else, who signed a permission slip for them, as “my property” or “my spot” you start to understand the problem.

It’s supply and demand.

I was one if the guys who connected dozens of bow hunters with private landowners and Town properties in Redding. We took hundreds of deer. The goal was to reduce the numbers NOT eliminate deer.

Then some assholes got involved. If you were on here then you saw it play out. Now we have what we have.

I guess I don’t really share well, so I buy my own land and invite who I want.

Ace it happed in a lot of towns!

Hey Doc, why do you refer to those who are fortunate to own private land as Richie Rich’s. I assume that’s a dig? What if the private landowner was brought up broke, worked his a$$ off and now fortunate to own their own land? Ya sound bitter. With that attitude & bravado of killing 30 plus deer a year which is hard to believe, why would any private land owner extend you an invite for you to hunt. Nobody in life owes you anything. You should know this.

Toonces, because what Rob “Dr Deer aka Dr Death” did was not hunting it was extermination plain and simple. He would get permission for property x,y, z and drive the neighborhood in civilain clothes, until he saw deer in a yard or close to a yd he had permission from. He would then park in property z if the deer were currently at x and wait behind the house. If it was a doe and 2 younger ones he’d shoot the biggest doe, wait for it to drop and then wait for the 2 young ones to come back looking for mom and then whack them too. I will vouch that he spared most young bucks and harvested mature ones but man he was brutal on does and young deer. and single handedly wiped out some areas.

Dave 100%

Silver- To quote Aaron Rodgers, "I don't even know who you are, Dude". Sounds like you got up on the wrong side of the bed. Resent much? I guess I should check the back seat before driving around next time. Next time you see me around town call out to me: Im Silverado!

Rob you know exactly who I am…. And you know exactly how you hunted, dont play dumb. I guess the west coast life caused you to have amnesia…… as for resent thats funny, I have never ever had the urge to mercilessly kill every deer in the woods that I saw. Do I have the opportunity, probably more than most and I practice restraint. I know, that there are other guys hunting around me and respect that. Why should I kill 20 when the others get none. Never did I kill more than 1-2 per year at a single spot. you were merciless, borderline sociopath with what you did to tokeneke, you wiped that area out for years. Most of us hunting around here were happy to see you leave this coast and move to California. Glad to hear that your hunting ethics have changed… however proof is how they say in the pudding. Actions speak louder than words. This state should have done away with replacement and earn a buck tags years ago, to help with guys that had restraint problems. We are no where near the hayday we used to be in the late 90’s and early 2000’s of 45-50dpsm we are down in the 12-20 range. Which is a more that sustainable number for our area.

This is crazy! I’m out roughly 50 times a year on state land and am lucky to see a deer maybe 3 out of those 50 hunts. I usually end up getting about one shot on a deer each year so I have to make it count. The most I’ve taken in a season is one doe and one buck. 36 deer in a season is insanity. I haven’t killed half that number in my whole life! Oh and by the way if anyone wants to sign a slip for me or invite me to your honey hole I’ll gladly oblige.

I will Back Dave -Silverado up on this one 100% , I am ( or was on Dairen police list & another town in lower FF county to hunt deer if a landowner came in PD to get rid of deer) 100% certified Bow hunter for control hunts. There was a few of us got spots this way , I went to meetings in Darien to listen to homeowners and Biologist to support the hunt. I had been asked and got more than a dozen spots in Darien that I guess Dr, Deer use to have a few of these before he moved away .I think it may be on here in the talks a few years ago on Bow site. I have talked to some of those homeowners as the spot were so small you couldn't ethically hunt. You had to sit on their porch or wave 10 yards from their house , it was joke. I passed one more than 10 spots as you could not put a tree stand or blind and be more than 20 yards from their kitchen THERE WAS NO WOODS ( maybe a patch of woods as you watch them put their kids on the bus) , I took one spot an 8arc in tokeneke and they told me Rob AKA Dr. deer use hunt there , & he would get out of his vehicle and stalk around the house shoot 1-2 then go to the neighbors and do that same ! They watched him all the time , they didn’t care they thought that how they hunted or got rid of the problem. Then i get 2 more spots and the landowners said the exact same thing Rob never went in the woods he went in their back yards ( because if you count 50 ft by 50 ft bush woods then he went in the “woods” to retrieve) he just walked and or parked or shot out of his truck . Rob 100% shot 20-30 or more deer a year but 99% were never out of a blind or tree or you would call hunted . The landowners use to watch him , and they were happy because he removed the deer . Listen I never meet Rob , but more than 2-3 told the exact same stories. Hey God bless Rob Dr Deer he did what was asked of him , but please don’t call him a hunter or portray he was a “hunter “ , a killer yes sir. I hate posers or this post like guys won’t let him back on his old spots – Rob you can have all those spots back if you are back , I got out of Darien long ago but there are some new homeowners, and the deer are not plentifully anymore . They stopped that hunt in Darien long ago. But tell the truth what and how you did it Darien , because there are a lot more of us know what you did and your Vermont buddies. Just be honest. If you are now hunter and changed go find new spots knock on doors and GL

"Dominated in kills" If you're a bow hunter with ethics you don't dominate in kills much less shoot 36 deer a year and use that kind of language to brag about it. Conservationists are bow hunters. Not killers. I wouldn't want you on any of my properties with the ethics you hold. To each their own.

WOW, I'm glad posts of this kind of carnage in the name of "control" are kept to a minimum on Bowsite. You have to be a certain breed of cat to post that sort of thing no less do it. Doesn't make for enjoyable reading IMO and ,in actuality, is a turn-off.

Swamp = well put 100% = Conservationists are bow hunters. Not Killers

https://youtu.be/upKtoIxXoig?si=hbtg39QKnWY1XRsX

I will start by saying I have never killed more than 3 deer in a single season and these days with only my wife and I at home I won’t kill more than one. Dr. Deer if you didn’t see this beat down coming you need to spend more time reading threads on Bowsite and less time bragging about the past. However I do have to say that apparently everything he did back then was legal and most likely he was doing what the landowners wanted. I hunted Fairfield county back in those days and the deer herd was way over the top. I saw herds as big as 35 deer. The herd needed to be reduced. It is to bad that we seem to want to impose our personnel standards on everyone else. Whether it’s crossbows, baiting, killing does or young bucks or the number of kills do what’s right for you and don’t worry about what anybody else as long as they stay legal. If you don’t like the laws work to get them changed. You don’t have to like it but the hostility is over the top. A few things that maybe we should consider: 1. If it was that easy to kill the deer, a bunch probably needed to be killed. Maybe not by just one person. 2. He was doing what his property owners wanted. (I had landowners tell me kill them all I want them gone. I didn’t hunt there since I wasn’t going to do that and they wouldn’t be happy). 3. A few years ago sharpshooters were brought in because some people thought that hunters weren’t getting the job done. Dr . Deer apparently did his part and that of a few others. 4. Accusation of shooting out of a vehicle which would be illegal should not be taken lightly. Unless you saw it happen I wouldn’t say it. Besides it seems nearly impossible unless you were standing in the bed of your truck. 5. Dr. Deer says that is all in the past and he doesn’t intend to hunt that way any more. I hope that his wack‘em and stack ‘em mentality is in the past. It doesn’t put hunters in a good light. As others have said that type of killing (if what is described above is how it was done) although it fits the strict definition of hunting it really didn’t require much skill and is not a great accomplishment to brag about. Just my 2 cents and probably not the main stream thought.

Jerry you nailed my thoughts exact.

You have a good handle on it, Jerry.

You have a good handle on it, Jerry.

Yup Jerry you can spin it anyway you want to and yes I hunted in Fairfield County (still do), and yes I’m sure what the good Dr was doing was legal. But the fact remains that it’s guys like Dr Deer was and is way out of bounds/over the top, whatever you want to call it. As I mentioned earlier I too had land owners tell me to “clean them out” or “kill them all”. I didn’t even come close to the numbers he put up and I never lost a property because of it. And as far as sharpshooter being brought in, I recall that they were all on hired to kill on non-huntable properties, like town parks that were never going to be hunted by the average Joe bow hunter. So, I don’t believe your argument of us not doing our job, holds any water. And lastly I’ll say to those guys that always argue that we are all hunters and should present a united front against the world, we’ll there is also something to be said about a community that police it’s own and calls out bad actors when something is not right! JMO

Longboard I respect your opinion. I just don’t care to police anybody else and I don’t like being policed if I am not breaking the rules. If those deer killed by the sharpshooters were unhuntable why was there such a big fuss about it.

Come on Jerry. You know the answer to that question. And if we don’t police our own then we all go down. What Rob and his guys did was not illegal but it wasn’t sensible either. There’s always more than one way to skin a cat and I’m not saying my way is correct for everyone but his way was certainly more harmful for us than helpful. IMO

There’s a Management piece here that’s getting overlooked, I think.

First off — @Shawn - you can’t begin to compare legally huntable public land with Private Property in the PETA zone. That’s like comparing the hunting of cows on high-country BLM land vs a feed lot.

And when deer are so numerous as to be killed as easily as has been described above, the right thing to do from a “Conservationist” standpoint is to kill as many of them as possible, as quickly as possible, which is just what Dr. Deer did.

And FWIW, if it makes you feel more Sportsmanlike to dress up in camo and put on makeup and shoot down from a tree stand from the back edge of the property instead of standing on the balcony in a golf shirt and flip-flops and setting down your Arnie Palmer to shoot a deer standing in exactly the same place, eating the same landscaping, then do it your way. Landowners were desperate for relief and he was willing to provide it.

The whole reason that the state authorized the use of bait was to facilitate a massive herd reduction by creating a means of getting the deer off of properties where no hunting was permitted and onto properties where they could be killed. I have no issue with guys who want to let bucks grow, but kill some does or find somebody you trust to do it and leave the bucks for you to kill in your own sweet time.

Population reduction is The Thing down here. Doesn’t matter how iit gets done. The State guys will let us know when we’re There.

I still don’t know why there aren’t separate tags for Public vs Private now that more deer are killed with bows than firearms, but there oughttabe….

I was sore and stiff from gutting and dragging a single doe the other day. I might kill 2 or so more this year. Meat for myself and a few land owners who want some. There are enough deer around here for a hunter to kill a dozen or more, as I have passed on that many already this season. But "saving hunting" by showing that hunters can actually affect the deer population is no longer my mission. Hunters and hunting is dying a slow death and I accept that now.

https://books.google.com/books?id=mJaMTRWklpIC&pg=PA62&lpg=PA62&dq=scott+bestul+field+and+stream+rob.lucas&source=bl&ots=TuDTeH0Bv3&sig=ACfU3U2-nE7sOlbL6MeeaHCt5g8LZHvHAg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjkwu2vnM2BAxWhtokEHcaRAGI4ChDoAXoECBEQAg#v=onepage&q=scott%20bestul%20field%20and%20stream%20rob.lucas&f=false

Any way you present it, it's the "dark side" of legal and necessary. I know if it bothers me I'm free to ignore it and I shall. Perhaps I should be grateful that there are people willing to control deer population for overall herd health. I just can't handle knowing about the tally when all's said and done. Not an indictment of any one. Just the way I am.

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