Although I had seen the lottery results online, I forgot about getting a buck tag until mine came in the mail late this week.

Deer have always been a target of opportunity for me - critters to be ignored if they get in the way of me or someone in the party filling their elk tag. That I don't think they taste as good as elk or antelope, although they make passably good jerky.

Anyone else feel that way?

Nope, I prefer to focus on deer, but it's a lot easier to get decent elk licenses so they get plenty of attention too. However, most of my out of state hunts are for deer (except Wyoming antelope). Only rarely go out of state for elk.

To me, deer are just long legged rats. We have too many around the home place.

For several years I have drawn a Bonnie Res., Doe, ML, tag, just to put some good corn fed whitetail in the freezer.

In the past when deer tags were OTC,I always had one in my pocket and if the opportunity arose, riding in or out of my hunting area,I would kill one, but I never went in search of one often.

This year, I wanted to burn up some points and have the opportunity to hunt some land along the Republican river that hasn't been hunted for several years, so I drew a late season buck tag out east in that area.

The only reason I had accumulated these points was I didn't know where to go.

Mule deer are my favorite game to both hunt and eat.. I only hunt elk, because they are close, and fair freezer fillers.. My next favorite game would probably be whitetails.. As for antelope they make outstanding jerky.. That is the use we have put them to for 40+ years...
As for elk I feel towards them like Saddle does the deer, only they would just be bigger rats.. I kill a couple more and I am finished with them.. But I'll go for mulies as long as I am able.

With my hip my elk hunting days are probably drawing to a close. Been thinking that for since 2009, though, and at this rate hope to have another 5-10 left.

I feel about antelope as you do about deer -- they are our family's favorite meat and I plan to hunt them as long as I am able. Sure are easy to pack out, too.

Last fall our online pal Snubbie came to Idaho for a llama pack trip for mulies. He shot a nice young 4x4. He couldn't take the meat home so he left it with me. I've eaten a lot mulies in my life but never one like that one. It was like 75 lb of tenderloin. The entire corpse was literally that tender. The tenderloins themselves were so tender you had to duct tape them while cooking so they wouldn't fall apart.

Me too, I could really care less about elk unless I have a really good tag..I do like to have one for eating tho, so if i dont draw a good tag i'll shoot one in colorado while deer hunting, every other year or so.or buy an otc spike tag here at home, or like last year an OTC idaho archery tag, I got a nice 6pt on that hunt.Archery hunting Idaho rutting elk could get addictive because they let archers hunt units OTC with a bow, that would take you years to draw a rifle tag in.

When i say shoot one while deer hunting, I mean it literally, i've never found killing just any legal bull a challenge in any colorado OTC unit i've hunted.

To be fair, if i hunted them for trophy size on mediocre tags like i do mule deer, i suppose it would be just as hard to punch the tag..But whacking a legal bull dont seem to be too hard if you aint lazy.

CH, is that what you meant to say? That elk are a target of opportunity? I thought you were a pretty die-hard elk hunter...

Guy

At 65, I'm the youngest of my hunting group. A few years ago we knew our elk hunting days were numbered because of the difficulties of packing the meat. I made the decision to get some pack animals of some kind and ended up with llamas. They've worked out great and have added a good 5 years to our elk hunting careers.
In '12, they brought out 3 deer and an elk. The elk was the closest to the road but was a 2000' drop off the side of a mountain. My boys handled it like they were hiking through a pasture.

Let's see... Last night I wrote I've been hunting elk for 302 years. We know that isn't right. 32 is the un-typo'd number.

Then I wrote 'Elk have always been...' when I meant to write 'Deer have always been...'. And I wasn't even drinking!

Must be the keyboard...


BTW, I corrected my post. Thanks for pointing it out.

I missed the 302 year reference!

Professional hunter to support the Lewis & Clark Expedition is in your resume too?

Best of luck this season. Deer. Elk. Whatever!

Regards, Guy

Guy -

No, they had someone else for that.


BTW, did you know Lewis got shot in the butt by one of the crew while hunting elk on an island? Maybe they should have hired me!


Best of luck to you and your son this year.

Thanks. I hope we'll fill the freezer!

And yes, I read the account of Lewis getting shot while hunting! Seems he had an uncomfortable time healing up...

He spent quite a few days on his belly in a canoe. I expect that was just like a featherbed.

Unless I had a really good tag, my interest in elk these days would be for the meat,so any good eating elk will do.

I would rather hunt a big, mature mule deer buck. I think they are smarter and harder to kill.

I would hope ANY hunter doesn't view any wildlife species really as a "rat"...

What about Kangarats? Many a barrel has been shot out on them and there are more than any time in history with water tanks, crops, and no natural predators.

Obviously you don't live in an area where deer have become habituated to humans and eat everything around the home, make driving after dark dangerous, and you have to make a lot of noise before you go out on your front yard at night because the deer are bedded down there and will run you over when they jump up.

Obviously you don't know me or anything about me or anything about where I have or have not lived! I used to be a wildlife manager in an area with over 100 deer per square mile; I used to issue hundreds of deer damage permits; I used to have to fence my garden to keep deer and other critters out; My wife and I and other friends and family members have hit deer with out vehicles and had to pay our insurance deductibles; I never said that deer are never a problem and cannot, at times, be a nuisance in areas.

Funny, hunters are the first ones to complain when the "game department" wants to 'shoot off all the deer' and 'they don't know what I know cuz THEY'RE not out there like I am' and 'those idiots don't know how many deer there are' (but I do...cuz I'm a....plumber, or truck driver, or carpenter, or lawyer, or salesman!). Saddlesore, I enjoy most of the input you provide to this forum. You have a lot of experience with horses, with hunting, etc. You have also been one to bash wildlife managers on the forum...

Deer AND elk are valuable wildlife resources that can and should be managed so they DONT become social problems. They're not worthless "rats" that should be treated like vermin...

Rats get trapped, poisoned, shot and otherwise exterminated when they become a problem. Very unlike deer who are only shot when they become a problem, like the "hundreds" of deer presumably shot and killed with permits you've issued ...

It seems whitetail meat is the most palatable to the wife. I believe a trophy class mule deer is harder to harvest according to the experts; but a large six point bull coming into a cow call blowing snot on your boots makes for a rather exciting time.

Really? Deer are only shot when they become a problem? Anyway, even deer shot on damage permits had to be utilized for food - it was/is illegal to just shoot them and let them lay...still a valued resource.

Only shot when they become a problem.

http://www.rfdtv.com/story/25457913...preventing-deer-crop-damage#.U7BWJrEvyQJ

Naw...they're shot every year during hunting season even in areas where they are not a "problem". Part of management to keep them from being a "problem" (to us). Michigan DNR and Farm Bureau....been there, done that...

Keep the "only shot when they become a problem" in context. I was comparing how they are treated to vermin, rats in particular.

We've shot, drowned, poisoned and clubbed rats, prairie dogs, moles, gophers, dogs, cats and other pests. The "only" was in reference to these various means of dealing with them.

I suspect some problem deer may get trapped but the vast majority are shot. I don't know of any that have been poisoned, drowned, or clubbed to death.

My comment had nothing to do with hunting deer, when they are clearly shot as well, or population management by the states through the use of normal hunting licenses/carcass tags/whatever.