My concern is the area where I live. Between mine, my family, and neighbors there is probably 1500 acres here that is basically not hunted. Sure, there is going to be poaching but I believe we have reduced it to a minimum. The deer numbers have dropped drastically to a critical point. So not shooting deer to get those numbers up is not an option. Not sure what to do. This is why I blame coyotes so heavily.
Agree with you. I own a small patch of property up in Fayette (300 acres of thinned pines) that is basically un-hunted until the last two weeks of January and that's only by myself and I only hunt for bone up there, no does. Ain't no pressure there and still there ain't a whole lot of deer. There are some deer and I saw at least one on nearly every visit last year, but nothing like what Matt and others are describing what they see on their sits. One thing the property does have a huge amount of is coyotes. And there are hunting clubs that border the property that may have suspect harvest rules (but according to the "rules" outlined in this thread this outlying pressure caused by the clubs should make the deer flock to my place since it is essentially a sanctuary 90% of hunting season). Makes you go hmmm.
