Deer Hunting (how is everyone doing so far?)

I have taken 2 doe so far, but no Mr Big yet.
Maybe this colder weather here in western Pa will get them moving more. I am seeing a ridiculous amount of deer this year. It is the most I have seen in 50 years of hunting them.
They are everywhere.

I haven't had to shoot at any hunters yet this season, but it's still early. :>)

Allan

(quoted from post at 08:05:06 10/12/12) I haven't had to shoot at any hunters yet this season, but it's still early. :&gt

Allan

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I will be out near Brule in Nov. I will be sure to stay away from your place.LOL

Allan, that is good.

They're all around, this place is a haven by virtue of habitat, our overgrown and now wooded fields, I have come to the realization, that we're really not hunters, but snipers LOL ! The one interesting thing is how you see signs of larger bucks and never see those, on occasion maybe when rut is at its peak, to get one of those, you need to be more like a hunter. Its almost a given to fill your tags and put meat in the freezer, you just have to go out and do the work. There was a time though, hardly any deer, no fence needed around your garden, saw my first one on this property in 1981.

Havent pulled the trigger yet. But ive taken 2 ! one ran into the door of my pickup ( broke its neck ) and the other ate the front bumper. The place I work has 65 acres of state owned property and the deer are everywhere. they just stare at you in the middle of the road. I installed an train horn that wakes em up in the mornings. havent had any problems since.

My wife got one with her van about two weeks ago(northern MN)... They are moving all over the place like rats now. Should be a good firearms season this year when it opens. SHON

Haven't seen a live one in over a month. EHD got'em. Found 2 more dead in the last field of corn that I picked.

I have not been out to even try yet. Most years I wait till we have had a couple of good frosts before I go out.

Bow season has been in for a month now. Our early smokestick season opens next Thursday for a week and a half. That's when I'll get out for a while. I've seen a few does taken so far, but no B&C contenders, yet. Plus, they're still loaded with ticks, yet. I did go past a bean field the other day that had a dozen heads sticking up watching me go down the road...

Very big EHD die off going on pretty much all over the state now. Going to call off the hunting. GFP just announced you can turn in license and get a cash refund.

What is EHD? Thanks

I have not got close enough to shoot at one yet....end of Oct and First 2 weeks of Nov. is when I will be putting in some overtime...

This hunter is both glad and sad....glad he got a genuine dandy and sad that his season is now over!



Shot in WI in September of this year.

Tim

Disease spread when deer herd gets to big. Mother nature thinning it out. Over population from so many hunters reserving land and restricting it from others to hunt, so they can get the big bad boy. They do not shoot does. You end up with so many does reproducing and over population. Anybody that hunts my land must take a doe (and must be processed. not shot and left) before a buck can be shot.

We are in a deer management unit and early rifle season opens tomorrow morning, our regular rifle season isn't until December. I'll be out in the morning.

My 14 year old granddaughter went out over the Columbus three day Junior hunt here in NY. First hunt first day (it was pouring down rain) and she got a big doe. Dressed out at 130 pounds. I didn't get any pictures because it was so warm they had it cut up and in the freezer before I got over there.

I have a small herd of mule deer with a huge buck(big rack) in the field in front of my house for the last week
I enjoy seeing him alive more than seeing him dead.
I hope he makes it trough the season :wink:
As long as he stays on my property he'll be safe.

30 point buck taken by bow hunter in Fond du Lac
County Sunday. Dressed out at 225 lbs. 27 pointer taken in my county. Also by bow.

I dont hunt,but we have a piece of woods on the property in PA,the neighbor hunts it,tonight he gave me some meat,all vacuum packed and froze,he got one so far
(The pictures not so good)

(quoted from post at 10:03:28 10/12/12) What is EHD? Thanks

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WWW... "Description

Epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD) is an acute, infectious, often fatal viral disease of some wild ruminants. This malady, characterized by extensive hemorrhages, has been responsible for significant epizootics in deer in the northern United States and southern Canada.

A similar hemorrhagic disease called bluetongue also occurs throughout the U.S. and Canada. The two diseases are antigenically different.

Distribution

Since 1890, deer die-offs from diseases which might have been EHD have occurred in various parts of North America. These early die-offs were variously diagnosed as blackleg, blacktongue, bluetongue, mycotic stomatitis or hemorrhagic septicemia or they were undetermined. The causative agents were never confirmed. A review of the case histories, signs and lesions, seasonal occurrence, and lack of a bacterial agent suggests that they might have been EHD.

The first occurrence and subsequent identification of EHD occurred in 1955 when several hundred white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) succumbed in both New Jersey and in Michigan. It was considered a new disease of deer and the name `epizootic hemorrhagic disease' was suggested to describe its main clinical and pathological features.

Since these initial confirmed outbreaks of EHD, documented epizootics have occurred in white-tailed deer in South Dakota, North Dakota, Wyoming and Alberta, Canada. Suspected EHD outbreaks have occurred in Missouri, Washington, Nebraska, Iowa and British Columbia. South Dakota, Missouri and Nebraska have experienced periodic outbreaks of EHD and the disease might be considered enzootic in these areas.

Since the initial 1955 outbreak, this malady has occurred primarily among white-tailed deer, although occasionally mule deer (O. hemionus) and pronghorn antelope (Antilocapra americana) have succumbed.

Additional die-offs attributed to EHD occurred in Michigan in white-tailed deer in 1974, 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2010. The 1974 die-off occurred in several counties and resulted in approximately 100 deer dying. The 2006 die-off occurred in the south western portion of the state in Allegan County and involved 50-75 animals. In 2008, the die-off occurred in the south eastern portion of the state in Oakland and Macomb counties and involved 150-200 deer. In 2009, the die-off took place in the southwestern/southcentral portion of the state in Livingston County and involved 300-450 deer. In 2010, the die-off occurred in the southwestern portion of the state in Allegan, Berrien, Cass, Ottawa, St Joseph and Van Buren Counties with an estimated mortality of 1,025 deer. In 2011, the die-off occurred in the southwestern portion of the state again in Cass and St. Joseph Counties with an estimated mortality of 300 deer.

Transmission and Development

The mode of transmission of EHD in nature is via a Culicoides biting fly or midge. Culicoides variipennis is the most commonly incriminated vector in North America. A common observation in outbreaks involving large numbers of deer - as in Michigan, New Jersey and Alberta - is that they are single epizootics which do not recur. Die-offs involving small numbers of deer - as experienced in South Dakota and Nebraska - occur almost annually, and the disease appears to be enzootic in these areas. All documented outbreaks of EHD have occurred during late summer and early fall (August-October) and have ceased abruptly with the onset of frost.

Experimentally, the disease can be transmitted to susceptible deer by the inoculation of virus-laden material from infected deer by subcutaneous, intramuscular, intravenous or oral routes.

Clinical Signs

Clinical signs of EHD and bluetongue are very similar.

White-tailed deer develop signs of illness about 7 days after exposure. A constant characteristic of the disease is its sudden onset. Deer initially lose their appetite and fear of man, grow progressively weaker, often salivate excessively, develop a rapid pulse and respiration rate, and fever (affected animals frequent bodies of water to lie in to reduce their body temperature) and finally become unconscious. Hemorrhage and lack of oxygen in the blood results in a blue appearance of the oral mucosa, hence the name 'bluetongue'. Eight to 36 hours following the onset of observable signs, deer pass into a shock-like state, become prostrate and die.

Pathology

The gross and histological lesions of EHD have been characterized by, as its name implies, extensive hemorrhage. The hemorrhages range from pinpoint to massive in size, and involve different tissues and organs in individual animals. No organs appear to be exempt from hemorrhage, with the most regularly involved being the heart, liver, spleen, kidney, lung and intestinal tract. Extensive hemorrhaging is the result of interference with the blood-clotting mechanism together with degeneration of blood vessel walls.

Generalized edema and increased pericardial fluid are consistently found in EHD. These changes also reflect the widespread interference with normal blood circulation.

The virus can be recovered from a variety of tissues of animals which have succumbed to EHD. These include blood, liver, spleen, kidney, lung, heart and muscle.

Diagnosis

A combination of case history, characteristic signs and lesions, and the isolation of the virus is necessary for a diagnosis of EHD. Useful aids in obtaining a diagnosis are the epizootic nature of the disease, its seasonal occurrence, and its spectacular hemorrhagic lesions. Because of the similarity of its symptoms to other diseases, such as bluetongue and malignant catarrhal fever, the isolation and identification of the virus is essential.

Methods to be used for virus isolation are: (1) inoculation of cell cultures; (2) inoculation of susceptible sheep or deer combined with serologic monitoring; and (3) intravenous inoculation of embryonating chicken eggs.

Treatment and Control

There is no known effective treatment or control of EHD. Theoretically, an oral nnalert could be developed for administration through a supplementary winter feeding program, but this is presently impossible, impractical and unwarranted.

Significance

Because of its very high mortality rate, EHD can have a significant effect upon the deer population in a given area, reducing numbers drastically. Hemorrhagic disease can be transmitted to other wild ruminants. The EHD virus can infect domestic animals but rarely causes disease.

In all probability the virus does not infect humans.

I'm also in SW PA. Lots of deer. No big bucks. TONS of deer. I like it. Hope the rut pushes some of the bucks to me.

College kid down the road from me took this new world record buck on the first morning of bow season. It gross scored 283" with 50 points. You can see a write up on it in an upcoming issue of Field and Stream Magazine. It is going to be the new world record non typical buck taken with a bow in velvet.