MD deer population exploding?

Half-cocked · Jun 20, 2017

Wait, you mean to tell me that the DOZENS of college-aged vegans who've been implanting birth control in the deer population hasn't made an impact on the tens of millions of deer spread across this country!?

I am SHOCKED! SHOCKED, I TELL YOU!!!

danb · Jun 20, 2017

kmb said:
Neighbor found a fawn head in his yard the other day. Thought that was weird considering the only real predators are fox. Had another fawn in my yard flipping out bc lawn guys were there. Not sure how the mom puts them in there as this is the 2nd year I've had a fawn in my back yard. Tried to catch it but no luck. It eventually made its way out the side gate. Seen a lot more out and about during the day in the heat than I expect. This part of MoCo has a huge # of deer bc you can't hunt anywhere and no one will let me cull in their 'hood or semi-private area. I've also seen a lot on the roads in the last week on my drive from my house to 495S.

also coyotes!

danb · Jun 20, 2017

I am seeing about the same as last year, but the ones I do see are rather skinny. Except, I did see one massive doe in the backyard that was pretty obviously in milk. A whole lot of milk.

The velvet bucks I have seen are developing very nicely. Already a few shooters, and velvet is not even off.

d33rhunt3r · Jun 20, 2017

I am seeing a lot of doe and yearlings. This is the first year in a long long time I have not seen any spotted fawns. My house is on 15 acres, plus we have the farm and every year without fail we see the fawns out with their mothers. It's actually been concerning me that I haven't been seeing the fawns.

I'm in Moco right next to Patuxent reservoir.

EDIT: Did see a very healthy female red fox, and her pups last week though. There's a den out on the edge of the woods behind the house that's been there for years

mtb · Jun 20, 2017

I've seen and almost run over/into 2 or 3 fawns in as many days. That's 2 or 3 more than I saw all of last year.

Inigoes · Jun 20, 2017

mtb said:
I've seen and almost run over/into 2 or 3 fawns in as many days. That's 2 or 3 more than I saw all of last year.

Sounds like you were hunting in the wrong spot

mtb · Jun 20, 2017

Well, my property is wooded, and they like to use part of my property for whatever it is they do when they aren't trying to kill me on my motorcycle... I saw plenty of deer but no fawns.

Vile Shadow · Jun 20, 2017

mtb said:
Well, my property is wooded, and they like to use part of my property for whatever it is they do when they aren't trying to kill me on my motorcycle... I saw plenty of deer but no fawns.

I wacked one on my bike in Loch Raven 'bout 9 years ago. I said the population was takin' off then.

2nd=Good+Substantial · Jun 20, 2017

K31 said:
Did he give the movie contract to Johnny Fontaine?

He did if knows what's good for him. At least clean up would be easier.

foxtrapper · Jun 28, 2017

I too also wish all these buttloads of deer would show themselves when I am hunting. But nooooo they all come out at night. This at my land in Cecil. New spot due to stand theft, and not one a pile of deer were going to, so needs some work to attract them better. Probably 2 dozen back I there on a regular basis.

DNR needs to allow night hunting for crop damage permitees. I'd save up and get that thermal scope lol. Yes I have a farm where the owner would probably add me to the list if I asked real nice. I know when he invited me to hunt shotgun season 2 seasons ago he said to shoot any I can. But as usual, no damned deer ever showed themselves during hunting time. They leave their tracks all over the damn place every night though.

Let's hope all the bambi huggers get lyme disease, then maybe they will start screaming en mass to have bow hunters in their "Mc Mansion Pointe" developments. And DNR opens night hunting for crop damage.

d33rhunt3r · Jun 28, 2017

mtb said:
Well, my property is wooded, and they like to use part of my property for whatever it is they do when they aren't trying to kill me on my motorcycle... I saw plenty of deer but no fawns.

Almost snorted my water, THANKS! :lol2:

Archeryrob · Jun 28, 2017

We don't have any trouble seeing deer, but we also walk the farm all year. Deer aren't real smart, but when they start getting shot at and one area has new human scent on it, they avoid it. If you deer all go nocturnal at hunting season it is because they are not conditioned to people and people show up.

My neighbors, I hunted it and built a ground blind on the east side. The wind always came from the South and West, so the deer never scented I was there and we killed deer all season. Next year they want to hunt the South west side. They cross the trail at hunting season and no one has been walking there all year. Deer start going around the property instead of crossing. They tell me they don't know why.

Other things I have done and you can do. Put a hook up 6' up on the tree at your stand or in your ground blind. July August and so you work in an old shirt. You take it off and hang it on the hook. switched shirts weekly with a fresh, sticky shirt and wash the old one. The deer freak at first, but your smell becomes a normal part of the environment to them and they learn they can be in that area around it without getting hurt. They are afraid of dogs but quickly learn a fenced or chain dog only had a limited range and ignore it outside that range.

I remember when my daughter first started bow hunting she told me you need to have face paint or the deer WILL spook. She read that online, so its Gospel. I sat in a buddy stand with her and we saw a spike coming. I stood up, leaned over the stand and pie faced him with bug eyes. He looked at me, didn't see movement and went back to eating and browsing and walked off. I told her, he saw me, but I didn't move, so he didn't know what I was and then didn't perceive it to be a threat. Now, if I could get her to stop texting and moving her fingers I could get her to see more deer and the deer would not figure where the stands are so easily.

Archeryrob · Jun 28, 2017

The problem we have out here with growing deer populations is the "old Boy" mentality. They will not listen to QDM and say you can only kill bucks. They will kill fork horns and skip shooting does. They talk about how they don't see good bucks. :rolleyes:

I try and reason with them that they are killing half the potentially good bucks young and the big boys aren't leaving the thickets when you don't kill does and enough A$$ comes to them without looking for it, so they don't move much.

It's not rocket science, but they seem to make irrational reasons to make it seem that way.

mtb · Jun 28, 2017

d33rhunt3r said:
Almost snorted my water, THANKS!

Glad I could help!

Erno86 · Jun 28, 2017

The auto insurance industry wants to exterminate Maryland's deer herd.

ohen cepel · Jun 28, 2017

Gee, maybe the morons will allow Sunday hunting in HoCo now. Who am I kidding, seems the horse people have rights to MY land on Sunday here.

Doco Overboard · Jun 28, 2017

Somebody hit one on a MC right down the road from the house the other day. They're so thick just up the road you can hardly drive at dusk. Once the scouting starts they'll all be gone. Same thing every year. Try to head down 313 after about 10:00 and you cant count them all. All the way from 404 to Federalsburg. Not seeing very many sika north of 50 though yet.

Melnic · Jun 29, 2017

ohen cepel said:
Gee, maybe the morons will allow Sunday hunting in HoCo now. Who am I kidding, seems the horse people have rights to MY land on Sunday here.

I saw some post somewhere in a horse forum that they opposed Sunday archery because it would be the beginning of the end.

Squaregrouper · Jul 2, 2017

After yesterday's thunderstorms I had 5 bucks in my back yard at once. I live inside 695.

Doco Overboard · Jul 2, 2017

squaregrouper said:
After yesterday's thunderstorms I had 5 bucks in my back yard at once. I live inside 695.

No wonder those guys were sneaking in on you last year!

MD deer population exploding?

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