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Vermont Hunters Can Take 3 Deer

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[sn_lhy]

good luck seeing three deer.

sean

[Ca_Vermonster]

My father is headed out for some pre-archery scouting today. The farmer said there are deer EVERYWHERE....

I only have 3 days to hunt in November, so I hope it's a good opening weekend....

[BruceBruce1959]

[Annie Oakley]

Keep doing your homework Sean, and you will have success. Watch and learn is the key,,, Sometimes you may have to walk away, for the sake of the prey... Do whats right

[sn_lhy]

ever year i kill deer in CT MA. I can count on one hand the number of deer i have see in VT. I have see a lot of wild pigs but no deer. when you look at the deer harvest number this hold up my view. the number of deer killed by cars and deer hunter are going down. this tells me that there are a lot less deer in this state.
if you are having better luck them me well good luck.
sean

[Annie Oakley]

Don't no where your hunting in Vt, to say you haven't seen deer. There are plenty of deer, you don't see big bucks often, but we have deer. As I am writing this, there are more than 4 deer in the pasture at the apple trees. Still a little to dark out to see just what they are. The big buck, is a rare sight, and I have learned my lesson well, you say nothing. In a small town, word spreads like wild fire, and before you know it, you are flooded with hunters all trying to be the "one". Which ends up being a dangerous situation, or leads to an illegal practice. As I have stated previously, I have great respect for bow hunters, I don't see any BS with them, as I do rifle and youth day. Unlike Ma, and Ct., we have alot of forest land, where they can yard up, and stay, instead of coming to a town's edge, Seek and you shall find, they're there. Vermont deer are just smarter. (joke)

[Adam Rich]

[VT Surf-N-Turf]

I see at least one deer here almost every day. Yesterday I saw six. Did you say wild pigs?!!! I've also lived here 12 years and I've never even heard of a wild pig in Vermont!

[Adam Rich]

opening day
6:51 am spike horn at my tree stand 15 yards.
4:30 pm Triplet fawns 8 feet from the ground blind.
6:25 pm 11 deer, one spike 110 yards from the ground blind.

In addition to that, the canada geese did a fly by just after shooting light.

Did I mention the turkeys?

[BruceBruce1959]

When I hear people say they don't see deer in Vermont, I would place big bets that the comment is most likely coming from tourists or guys that think they are hunters.
Many non resident hunters come to Vermont thinking they will bag a big Woods Buck BUT the problem is, they just dont know how to hunt a Big woods Bucks.
A Seasoned Vermont hunter doesn't get on stand and hope Deer come running in begging to be harvested, The following text defines the word hunt.

HUNT:
1. to chase or search for (game or other wild animals) for the purpose of catching or killing.
2. to pursue with force, hostility, etc., in order to capture (often fol. by down): They hunted him down and hanged him.
3. to search for; seek; endeavor to obtain or find (often fol. by up or out): to hunt up the most promising candidates for the position.
4. to search (a place) thoroughly.
5. to scour (an area) in pursuit of game.
6. to use or direct (a horse, hound, etc.) in chasing game.
7. an act or practice of hunting game or other wild animals.
8. a search; a seeking or endeavor to find.
9. a pursuit.
10. a group of persons associated for the purpose of hunting; an association of hunters.

I've never seen Hunt defined as, sit in a treestand or blind and wait!

If a person "Hunts" Vermont they will see deer.

[Jay F]

I used to Hunt near SugarBush. We stopped going due to decreasing deer population. We were in Roxbury on tracy hill. When we first started going used to see deer every day, even during Turkey season. Last few times nothing, no kills or even sightings. Not sure what happened. I may go back this year and see if anything has improved.

[savage99]

I have been hunting the firearms seasons for deer in Vermont since 1951. I got my first buck in VT in 1955 and bought a 'camp' there in 1964 which I still own.

The 'camp' is in the hills of Southern VT. The deer population in that area dropped in the 1980's and has not recovered. I think that the primary reason for that is the abandoned farms that sparked the great deer population increase after the war have now grown in and become mature forests with far less food.

Back in the 50's and 60's it was not that difficult to see at least a spike horn if you really got out there and worked at it. Now the law reads that spike horns are no longer even legal and the buck has to be a fork horn!

We will go through the motions there the first weekend but then do our venison gathering in CT where there are far more deer if you can get permission on private land.

I thought that VT's buck season always opened on the second Saturday in Nov?

Now it reads Nov. 15?

[Ca_Vermonster]

[savage99]

Thanks for refreshing my memory on how the VT buck rifle season is scheduled.

My camp is in the hills near Stratton.

Long ago I saw a mountain lion when hunting just to the east of Bennington.

I had my sporterized P17 30-06 and it was not far away walking on the other side of a stone wall. When it got to a very large maple it split off using the tree for cover. That was way back around 1955 and they were not protected then.

I was just a kid and slow on the reaction and I never fired a shot.

We used to hunt the farms to the north of Manchester and did well but we lost permission there.