Anybody else pretty much give up deer hunting?

[CrustyRusty]

Couldn't say it better myself...it's definitely more social than anything else now

I know this is a turkey hunting forum and there are lots of diehards on here that also hunt other game,but has anybody else pretty much given up deer hunting?I used to really love to deer hunt,but turkeys have taken the top spot for me in say the last 5-6 years.I still enjoy deer hunting,but more as a social aspect and a way to just be in GODs great outdoors,more as a spectator than a participant.Really dont care if I shoot one or not.Deer hunting just doesnt do what chasin birds does!

[VA_Birdhunter]

I gave up deer hunting in 2003 and haven't looked back.  I chose the birds....grouse and turkey.  Those are my passions when it comes to hunting and the outdoors.  I've raised and hunted english setters for years now and haven't missed a spring turkey season THANK YOU LORD since I started turkey hunting at 9 yrs old.

God Bless

[ohiostrutter]

I'm pretty close to giving up deer hunting unless the odnr will listen to the hunters and not insurance companies and the farm bureau numbers have been dropping every year in my part of ohio I just bought a german shorthair pointer and got hooked on bird hunting its a blast nothing compares to chasing long beards

[RutnNStrutn]

Turkey hunting is far and away my favorite sport! With that said, I still enjoy hunting for deer, ducks, small game and predators. Any day in the woods is just a bonus for me. Besides, I love filling my freezer with meat from the game I harvest, which is mostly deer. So, while it is boring compared to turkey hunting, I still enjoy deer hunting, and will likely never give it up.

Bucks like this also keep me in the woods in the fall!!!

[tapiot]

I know this is a turkey hunting forum and there are lots of diehards on here that also hunt other game,but has anybody else pretty much given up deer hunting?I used to really love to deer hunt,but turkeys have taken the top spot for me in say the last 5-6 years.I still enjoy deer hunting,but more as a social aspect and a way to just be in GODs great outdoors,more as a spectator than a participant.Really dont care if I shoot one or not.Deer hunting just doesnt do what chasin birds does!

Have to do something while waiting for Turkey season to come again..

Tim T.

[catdaddy]

I like to deer hunt for several reasons. It gives me something to do in the fall. I like the experience of being outside in the early morning and late evenings in the midst of nature and all of Gods woodland creatures. Also, being at deer camp with my close friends is an memory making experience I look forward to each year. We cook manly meals, have our chosen cocktails in the evening and can act in ways we never could around the women folk. 

I try hard to kill a deer mind you, but in some ways it is anticlimatic. Not to sound arrogant, but at this stage in my life , I have killed many trophy deer, as a result, I have become very selective. I let a wide 8 point and a somewhat spinely 10 walk this year and did not regret it. I did enjoy killing a coyote one day, see a bald eagle, watch two small bucks fight almost under my stand and enjoy God's tapestry across the sky at sunrise as a front moved in. I'll continue this annual ritual as long as the good lord allows me the health and opportunity to do so.

[lohaus]

I used to be much more into shotgun for deer (shotgun only in our area).  Then I started bow hunting and enjoyed that much more.  Less people, saw way more deer, woods are quieter.  I got burned out on turkey hunting.  Then, when I missed this spring, my buddy was upset at me.  That kind of turned me off even more.  So my list is 1. bowhunting deer, 2.  Rifle out west deer, 3. Shotgun at home for deer, 4. Turkey.

[J Hook Max]

 Gave it up years ago. An old woman whose property I used to turkey hunt on , told me that deer were only good for car wrecks and hard feelings. I couldn't agree more , athough I do like eating them.

[budtripp]

Never!!!! I love turkey hunting and consider it my main passion, but I also could not imagine a life without bow hunting Midwestern whitetails. Especially during the rut. I just wish it hadn't become quite so commercialized and competitive in the last decade.

[kevin2]

I didn't give up hunting this 13 pointer we saw 2 times in Oct. Once at 7 yards, my son couldn't draw the bow back, spooking him once, only to freeze & let the deer calm down, only to draw back and spook him. Once in a life time chance I imagine. Saw him the very next day, but he didn't step into my shooting lane, just skirting me at 50 yards (dead with a gun both days!)

I will say this, passing on all the small bucks I did inside 20 yards feels great at the time, but now that the freezer is empty, it is a bit hollow feeling NO matter the argument! About half of the guys hunting the 1000 acres I am on are practicing QDM, but the others, well, they haven't signed on. Hard to pass knowing that some fellas will likely dust em, no matter the size.

[tapiot]

Deer hunting sis a good guise for scouting turkey.

[flintlock]

I love to be outside too much to give it up although I certainly have changed over the years with going to traditional blackpowder and enjoying a bowhunt from the ground.

It is now more of a hunt and maybe a kill the WAY I want to do it than a notch or a trophy just for the size if the animal.

Good luck in Gods great outdoors!
Wess

[jakesdad]

Wess I agree,its a good excuse to get outside!I dont knock on doors for deer hunting anymore,just stick to our family 60 acres.If I get one good;if I dont,well lets just say I dont lose any sleep.

I hunt blackpowder only also,and bought a recurve last summer to maybe give a try this fall.I really used to enjoy it,but the way its pimped out and commercialized anymore can barely even stomach to watch it on TV.

[ncturkey]

I am a passionate turkey hunter but I do love other types of hunting too. I deer hunt every year. But my heart is really with my turkey hunting. But I enjoyed my deer hunting this year. I also got to take a nice hog this year too. I love all hunting and fishing.

[Eric Gregg]

I remember when I couldn't wait for opening of deer season. I have hunted with bow and rifle religiously for the past 24 years but for some reason I have lost the fire for it.
I have started bow hunting hogs on WMA's to try to curb the problem with them, but nothing compares to turkey hunting!
In MS we have to deer hunt now to cut the population down. We are over run with them.