Letters To The Editor March 2005

You Can’t Shoot A Sunrise

Dear GON,

In response to Mr. Gowan’s letter to the editor, I would just like to say that I understand and respect Mr. Gowan’s opinion of his past deer season. But I must say that I disagree that we should not rate our season on how many deer we see or harvest. I, like Mr. Gowan, like seeing the sunrises and sunsets, I like hanging out at the deer camp and the fellowship with the guys and gals, and I got a kick out of seeing a 7-year old take his first deer this year. But, let’s not fool ourselves.

The main reason most of us deer hunt is to see and harvest deer. We don’t spend that many hours preparing food plots, repairing stands, cleaning roads, clearing trails, etc, etc, to just sit there and see a pretty sunrise.

If Georgia’s deer seasons continue as it did this year, Mr. Gowan will have plenty of time to reflect by himself because there won’t be any deer hunters. I think the evidence is already there. Hunting clubs are already losing members.

John Peebles, Thomson

Deer Just Don’t Disappear

Dear GON,

I think we should not be too quick to make judgements on the deer population in Georgia or in any other state based on one year of hunting. I have seen this type of season before where it seems like all of the deer are gone.  There can be a number of reasons that we don’t see many deer in a particular year. I have been hunting deer for over 30 years in Georgia and Alabama, and one factor that I have found in the number of deer sightings is the acorn crop. This year we had a bumper crop of acorns, and some trees dropped so many you could almost roller skate on them. When this happens, the deer don’t have to move around to get their required nourishment. We had the best food plots this year that we have ever had, and the deer just didn’t come to them. We had to finally bush-hog them to get fresh growth started in December.

We have six people in our club, and we hunt about 800 acres, and it was the same everywhere we went, no deer moving during the day. They were laid up with a belly full of acorns. The deer we killed were full of acorns and browse that was near them. So let’s wait another year when the woods aren’t so full of acorns before we make our final judgement about the deer population in our hunting area.

Larry Arnold, Kennesaw

The Worst Deer Season Ever

Dear GON

We have had 750 acres of land leased for about 30 years. We usually kill about 35 deer a year, but this year we only killed about 10 deer. For myself, hunting for the last 40 years, this is the first year that I have not seen any turkey or a live deer in the woods.

We had the best acorn crop and rye fields that we have ever had, but still no deer. We need to go back to five does a year. I think that 10 does is too much. I also think the season should start three weeks later and run three weeks longer because most deer are killed in the first few weeks when food plots are fresh and the acorns are on the ground.

As for what I think about muzzleloaders with a scope. I think it’s no different than a crossbow with a power scope. Besides, it makes no difference either way if there are no deer to hunt.

Norman Morgan, Jacksonville, Fla.

Fishing With Pros Was Good

Dear GON,

I read with great interest the “Fishing With The Pros” article. I, too, will get to fish with the pros during the  Clarks Hill tournament, March 3-5. It has been a dream of mine. I was real sick several years ago, and my daughter suggested I make a list of 50 things I wanted to do before I die. Fishing with the pros is No. 2 on the list.

Thanks to Mr. Altman’s journal, I  have had several questions answered before leaving for my dream trip. Like Mr. Altman, I fish for spots on Allatoona and was wondering how that experience would carry over. My goal is to not get in the pro’s way, but I want to catch at least one fish.

Lou Costello, Mableton

Limits Don’t Matter

Dear GON,

I understand the issues and anxieties of many deer hunters due to the rising deer limits, regardless of how the numbers are arrived at or who makes the recommendations. It is we deer hunters and the hunting clubs we belong to that actually decide how many deer will be harvested. The limit can be 117. The regulations do not mandate that we pull the trigger 117 times. At least for now, we as individuals make that decision.

Jerry G. Thomas, Albany

Deer Management Plan Is A Joke

Dear GON,

I have been a licensed hunter in Georgia for around 30 years, and it seems to me that the DNR has listened to everybody else in the state instead of the hunters. If anyone of you would go out in the woods, you would be able to see that the deer numbers are way down. I hunted at least 25 days in Wilkes County this year and saw four deer. It’s my worst season in a while.

Instead of raising the limit on does, I think you should cut the limit and take away half of the doe days. As far as the rest of the Deer Management Plan, I think you should help small-game hunters with more access, buy more land, be able to hunt State Parks,  leave the dog hunters alone to hunt the way they have been for years, no hunting exotics in pens or in Georgia and don’t allow baiting of any form for deer or hogs.

Steven Gallops, Covington              

Stop Dumping Deer

Dear GON,

 I am an avid outdoorsman. I love everything and anything about the outdoors. I try to stick with all of the game and fishing laws and the values of an outdoorsman.

During this deer season, I saw something on two occasions that made me sick. I saw a headless deer carcass that had been thrown in a ditch on a dirt road. To me, that’s not being very ethical when there are non-hunters who love venison.

I wish everyone would think about the future generations of outdoorsmen and remember that we are all guest in God’s woods and God’s lakes and rivers. My wish is that everyone would respect that.

Philip Gambrell, Swainsboro