I'm back home, well before the storms hit later this morning. I'd thought I'd answer some of the questions raised in this thread.
Why aren't we continuing to hunt? That is a good question. It has a bunch of answers to it.
Although we have unlimited antlerless tags, we do not have unlimited deer. We got to see what unlimited harvest did to the place, and it wasn't pretty. We had a neighbor a number of years back that cleaned us out, and the problem persisted for 2 years after he got evicted from his trailer. Once you perturb the resident doe groups, the deer just disappear for a while and don't come back.
Still, I'm not going to tell my guys to stop taking deer. This year, we've taken 6 deer-- 3 bucks. This is 1 more than the previous camp record. Folks are due out this weekend for another round. We're usually no more than 4 hunters on 200 acres. I filled two tags and probably counted coup on half a dozen more. If we all take 1-2 more doe, it'll be fine. The neighbors are all big on planting food plots. I like when they feed my deer. My one overarching management goal is to keep the doe groups happy. If they're happy, they bring in the bucks. If we nail too many doe, they shy away from our place.
Another reason is work. Normally I have a week's vacation left to spend on hunting. When I retire, I'll move down to camp with KYHillChick and hunt every day of season, but for now, I normally get in 9 days of a 16 day season. This year, I had an extra week of vacation available due to COVID. I came back early, because I was going to be the only one left at camp and I already had 2 tags filled.
Our venison consumption went down when KYHillChick got the cancer. She's now on a low-meat diet. That knocks at least a couple pounds a week off what we consume. We're also not watching NFL Football this season in protest. There was a sure 2-lbs a week of Cincinnati Chili that we're not eating.
Donations? Yes, I give venison to the folks at work. However, I'd much rather have those antlerless deer on the hoof making more deer. The numbers suggest that in order to have one mature buck on the property I need to be supporting about 15 doe. This year we had at least 2 really mature bucks with about the same number of doe. Part of the reason was a surplus of acorns, but a good part of it was that our resident doe feel comfortable around us. Any surplus deer get shot by the neighbors. My neighbor to the NW took 3 doe and 1 10 point buck within the first hour of season. I'd much rather he pay the processing and make the donations.
Third: I'm 62, and reaching the point where shooting doe just for the heck of it isn't my bag anymore. In fact, I rather dislike the process of doing the eenie-meenie-minie-moe thing on a herd looking to fill the freezer. When you have deer coming up and sticking their heads in your bedroom window, it just isn't the same. I do a lot of "Not-Hunting"-- going out fully kitted with a tag to burn and resolved not to take a deer.
Lastly: Why just limit yourself to 200 acres? Well, for one thing, I'm happy to be hunting on my own property and not dealing with the Orange Army. Second, being a heavy-hitting IT pro does not leave a whole lot of time for hunting junkets. KYHillChick and I haven't taken a real vacation in over a decade. The farm is 63 miles from home and I can go down there and unwind and still be on call at the plant. Last December was my first hunt away from the farm in 20 years; Folically Challenged went with me boar hunting in GA. I had a gas.
