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Joined: 11 May 2005 Posts: 124 Location: Kansas City

What to do deer season has opened, do I strap on my bullet-proof vest and spray paint my dog hunter orange, or just stay home for the next month. Here in Missouri the various deer gun seasons run from Oct 9th to Dec 17th and it can be pretty scary to hang around public hunting ground this time of year. No surprise for many years small game hunting has been declining. I am lucky that a couple of conservation areas in my area are bow hunting and shotgun (birdshot) only. Not much game but at least my pup can run. I could go deer hunting on a friends 500 aces in the Ozarks but it lacks challenge. There are so many deer it's just pick one and kill it, last year I shot one with my 357 at less then 10 feet. The area I was going to this morning, before I realized what day it was, a deer hunter shot a little girls horse.

Member Joined: 08 Nov 2005 Posts: 3438 Location: Illinois

Deer are so thick around here as to be a major nusaince not only to crops but to automoblies as well.Too bad the state won't allow more doe harvest.Mabey even start a program where all the meat could be donated---this would give us some positive media,if they print it,and reduce the damage being done.

Member Joined: 27 Jun 2005 Posts: 1545 Location: Michigan

Michigan's gun season runs fro Nov 15 to the 30th. Bird season closes on the 14th and reopens Dec. 1st. If your not deer hunting, you really have no reason to be in the woods the last 2 weeks of Nov. Muzzle loaders and bow hunters can hunt in Dec. But they are generally not a problem.

Joined: 07 Nov 2006 Posts: 11 Location: Western MA

Here in Mass, deer season with a bow opens a day or two after pheasant opens, so naturally I don't bow hunt. Bow and pheasant seasons close on the same Saturday, and shotgun for deer opens the next Monday (no Sunday hunting). It works out okay for us.

Here in New England, I move from state to state to keep bird hunting and avoid deer hunters. I start the season in Vermont (they open first), then hunt New Hampshire and Maine. Once deer starts in the northern states, I hunt Massachusetts and RI. When deer starts in Mass, I head back up to Maine, NH, and Vermont as their (rifle and shotgun) deer seasons close. I do hunt birds during bow and muzzleloader seasons. The dogs (and I) wear orange vests during muzzleloader season just in case, though. Every once in a while, I'll add in a preserve hunt to stay clear of the deer hunters. Lots of variety makes it fun . . .

SFF has got it figured out. One of the best parts about living in KC was alternating KS, MO, Neb, and Iowa depending on deer season. And it didn't matter if I was on very private property-routinely ran into poaching deer hunters. Once had rounds zinnnggging over my head from some coyote hunters while 3 of us in blaze were standing in a snowy open field Mad