2017-18 Bambi wacking thread

This might be useful/interesting to some.
https://www.vcalc.com/wiki/Blog/How-much-meat-is-on-my-deer

The does are dumb and stupid. I scouted and walked up on multiple deer, maybe close to a dozen, with in 40 yards easily after lunch. bumped them out of my daughters feeder and 15 minutes later on the way back they were in there again. Walked up on a doe eating acorns. She was so interested in that meal she let me watch her eat. Probably going to be a busy day Thursday.

Archeryrob said:

The does are dumb and stupid. I scouted and walked up on multiple deer, maybe close to a dozen, with in 40 yards easily after lunch. bumped them out of my daughters feeder and 15 minutes later on the way back they were in there again. Walked up on a doe eating acorns. She was so interested in that meal she let me watch her eat. Probably going to be a busy day Thursday.

Click to expand...

I wish/hope. In the off season I seem to run in to a lot of herds in Patuxent that are mildly skittish, but rarely seem to take off for the park boundaries. Easy shots. During the ML early and later seasons it is usually singletons as they’ve broken up for the rut and tend to be much more skittish and likely to just run for the hills if bumped rather than trot off 30-50 yards and try to figure out what that thing was it saw/smelled.

I still have high hopes though. First year with a stand and third year hunting the park. So I feel like I have a better idea of routes through, feeding areas, etc.

Of course subject to other hunters screwing all of that up.

Had beautiful morning in the stand yesterday. The chill in the air was fanatastic. Saw two small bucks and four does between 7:10 and 9:00 am. Only doe that came in range was very small so I passed. Really wanted to go back out today but decided to let things calm down until I can get out with my ML...

EDIT: What is the size of a backyard where one can hunt deer with a bow? 5 acres? 10 acres?
Some of my friends have several acres, but I can't figure out how much is enough to shoot the deer.
Thanks.

gunismyfriend said:

EDIT: What is the size of a backyard where one can hunt deer with a bow? 5 acres? 10 acres?
Some of my friends have several acres, but I can't figure out how much is enough to shoot the deer.
Thanks.

Click to expand...

I hunted my parents' back yard in Olney for years. Killed a lot of deer there. 3.5 acres including the house and front yard.

gunismyfriend said:

EDIT: What is the size of a backyard where one can hunt deer with a bow? 5 acres? 10 acres?
Some of my friends have several acres, but I can't figure out how much is enough to shoot the deer.
Thanks.

Click to expand...

It is the distance to houses and if you have or can not get permission from neighbors to hunt. Some counties are 50yards, others 150yards for archery.
Legally by DNR, you have to have permission from neighbor to set foot on property to retrieve a kill.

Talk to your neighbors, If they don't have a problem, then have at them.

j_h_smith said:

Talk to your neighbors, If they don't have a problem, then have at them.

Click to expand...

Legally you need written permission to hunt if a building/tent is occupied. Technically if you knew for a fact a neighbor wasn’t home you could hunt within 150yds if it (50 in a few counties if using a bow as noted above). You must have permission to cross a property line to retrieve (or hunt for that matter). If something goes down across the property line you can call DNR and they will retrieve it for you (DNR doesn’t need a warrant or anything like that. You kill it, it is legally your property. Until then it is property of the state).

You can legally go to the dwelling and ask permission to retrieve a downed game animal without it being considered trespassing. Of course probably some owners are going to have a problem with that and you are back to calling DNR.

If hunting a small property my suggestion would be talk to the owners prior to hunting so you know where you stand on retrieval, or hunting within the safety zone, etc. if not friends, get written permission, NOT verbal. Heck, they might be fine with you hunting their property too.

As in in general, if the neighbors aren’t kosher with stuff, figure you are talking 20 acres as a good minimum to keep hassle down, but figuring only 4-6 acres of it near the center is really huntable. You might not have safety zone violations, even if it is a 150yd zone for the more restrictive counties, until near the property line, but you are almost certainly going to have times deer run on you. So if the neighbors aren’t okay with you setting foot on their property, you are stuck trespassing or calling DNR and probably making the friendly Neighbor situation worse.

So it depends on the neighbors. Friendly, you might be able to archery hunt a 2 or 3 acre property from a stand with the right land. Hostile neighbors and a large safety zone it might take 20 or 30 acres depending on the exact property line layout and where buildings are, and even then only a tiny piece might be huntable.

If you are looking to BUY a property for hunting, my suggestion is don’t buy anything less than 40 acres. At that size, you can almost be guaranteed to hunt half the property and possibly all of it with good neighbors. Though something that backs to a park that is huntable a smaller property would likely be fine. Of course then you might be more likely to have to deal with trespassers yourself.

I forgot to add, a neighbor I knew or just met I’d want writtten permission from. A neighbor I was friends with, verbal would be just fine. I’ve had neighbors I knew turn out be to thieves (not like burglars, but like we’re steaming firewood from me occasionally. Like did, ask and I would have given you some), or gossips, backstabbers, whatever. I haven’t had a neighbor I was friends with turn out to be not who I thought they were. I don’t need to find out the former decides they have a problem with it and calls the police/DNR and it is a he said/he said issue and a possible big fine and a loss of my hunting license. Not worried about a friend doing that to me.

outrider58 said:

I hunted my parents' back yard in Olney for years. Killed a lot of deer there. 3.5 acres including the house and front yard.

Click to expand...

Thanks.

Melnic said:

It is the distance to houses and if you have or can not get permission from neighbors to hunt. Some counties are 50yards, others 150yards for archery.

Click to expand...

Thanks.

j_h_smith said:

Talk to your neighbors, If they don't have a problem, then have at them.

Click to expand...

Thanks.

lazarus said:

As in in general, if the neighbors aren’t kosher with stuff, figure you are talking 20 acres as a good minimum to keep hassle down, but figuring only 4-6 acres of it near the center is really huntable.

Click to expand...

Much thanks.

Wow, that is a lot of information, and the right kind of info. Seriously, thanks a lot.
Now I know what to look for when talking to property owners.

Also you can bait on private property IIRC

wilcam47 said:

Also you can bait on private property IIRC

Click to expand...

I mean you can ‘bate on public property too if you are discrete about it.

Oh...we aren’t taking about the same thing, are we?

First day of muzzle stuffer season is finally here.

Along with some cool air and clear skies.

Best of luck to everyone today.

iH8DemLibz said:

First day of muzzle stuffer season is finally here.

Along with some cool air and clear skies.

Best of luck to everyone today.

Click to expand...

Just sited my muzzle loader in last night

Good luck to everyone.

Best of luck to everyone. I will be heading out after work today and hoping to score a nice one! Finally been seeing the deer moving with these cold mornings.

Stuck up in PA for a class for work.. Will be out tomorrow and Sat. Good luck everyone.

I will not make it for Early ML this year, but I hope to get out Monday for my first bow hunt of the year. Good luck to all you smoke pole hunters and bow hunters alike.

Why can’t it be ****ing Turkey season? Had a big hen walk up 30yds from my stand and hang out for a bit. Right now I can hear two turkeys cutting their way over towards my stand, just out of sight.

A few shots in the woods, but no deer that I have seen. Just turkeys and REALLY pissed squirrels (I think I am in one of their trees)

What is the penalty for hunting 150 yards from an occupied dwelling? Is it a fine or misdemeanor? Loss of hunting privileges?

Are the FMJ rifle ammunition still banned for deer hunting?
I can't find such info on the current Hunting Guide, but did find it in the 2007 thread.
Thanks.
EDIT: This is to settle an argument between 2 new hunters. I personally would not use a rifle to hunt deer. A crossbow is my starting point.