A friend sent me this story on email it's been around for a while but I still laugh every time I read it. I've been told it's an Urban Legend. If you know the author please share his name, I'd like to give him credit for this fantastic story. And remember don't try this at home, I don't think it's legal anyway. I had this idea that I could rope a deer, put it in a stall, feed it up on corn for a couple of weeks, then kill it and eat it. The first step in this adventure was getting a deer. I figured that, since they congregate at my cattle feeder and do not seem to have much fear of me when we are there (a bold one will sometimes come right up and sniff at the bags of feed while I am in the back of the truck not 4 feet away), it should not be difficult to rope one, get up to it and toss a bag over its head (to calm it down) then hog tie it and transport it home. I filled the cattle feeder then hid down at the end with my rope. The cattle, having seen the roping thing before, stayed well back. They were not having any of it. After about 20 minutes, my deer showed up-- 3 of them. I picked out a likely looking one, stepped out from the end of the feeder, and threw my rope. The deer just stood there and stared at me. I wrapped the rope around my waist and twisted the end so I would have a good hold.The deer still just stood and stared at me, but you could tell it was mildly concerned about the whole rope situation. I took a step towards it. It took a step away. I put a little tension on the rope - and then received an education. The first thing that I learned is that, while a deer may just stand there looking at you funny while you rope it, they are spurred to action when you start pulling on that rope. That deer EXPLODED. The second thing I learned is that pound for pound, a deer is a LOT stronger than a cow or a colt. A cow or a colt in that weight range I could fight down with a rope and with some dignity. A deer - No Chance! That thing ran and bucked and twisted and pulled. There was no controlling it and certainly no getting close to it. As it jerked me off my feet and started dragging me across the ground, it occurred to me that having a deer on a rope was not nearly as good an idea as I had originally imagined. The only upside is that they do not have as much stamina as many other animals.A brief 10 minutes later, it was tired and not nearly as quick to jerk me off my feet and drag me when I managed to get up. It took me a few minutes to realize this since the blood flowing out of the big gash in my head had mostly blinded me. At that point, I had lost my taste for corn-fed venison. I just wanted to get that devil creature off the end of that rope. I figured if I just let it go with the rope hanging around its neck, it would likely die slow and painfully somewhere. At the time, there was no love at all between that deer and me. At that moment, I hated the thing, and I would venture a guess that the feeling was mutual. Despite the gash in my head and the several large knots where I had cleverly arrested the deer's momentum by bracing my head against various large rocks as it dragged me across the ground, I could still think clearly enough to recognize that there was a small chance that I shared some tiny amount of responsibility for the situation we were in. I didn't want the deer to have to suffer a slow death, so I managed to get it lined back up in between my truck and the feeder a little trap I had set before hand...kind of like a squeeze chute. I got it to back in there and I started moving up so I could get my rope back. Did you know that deer bite? They do! I never in a million years would have thought that a deer would bite somebody, so I was very surprised when I reached up there to grab that rope and the deer grabbed hold of my wrist. Now, when a deer bites you, it is not like being bit by a horse where they just bite you and slide off to then let go.A deer bites you and shakes its head--almost like a pit bull. They bite HARD and it hurts.The proper thing to do when a deer bites you is probably to freeze and draw back slowly. I tried screaming and shaking instead. My method was ineffective. It seems like the deer was biting and shaking for several minutes, but it was likely only several seconds. I, being smarter than a deer (though you may be questioning that claim by now), tricked it. While I kept it busy tearing the tendons out of my right arm, I reached up with my left hand and pulled that rope loose. That was when I got my final lesson in deer behavior for the day. Deer will strike at you with their front feet. They rear right up on their back feet and strike right about head and shoulder level, and their hooves are surprisingly sharp... I learned a long time ago that, when an animal -like a horse --strikes at you with their hooves and you can't get away easily, the best thing to do is try to make a loud noise and make an aggressive move towards the animal. This will usually cause them to back down a bit so you can escape. This was not a horse. This was a deer. So obviously, such trickery would not work. In the course of a millisecond, I devised a different strategy. I screamed like a woman and tried to turn and run. The reason I had always been told NOT to try to turn and run from a horse that paws at you is that there is a good chance that it will hit you in the back of the head. Deer may not be so different from horses after all, besides being twice as strong and 3 times as evil, because the second I turned to run, it hit me right in the back of the head and knocked me down.Now, when a deer paws at you and knocks you down, it does not immediately leave I suspect it does not recognize that the danger has passed. What they do instead is paw your back and jump up and down on you while you are lying there crying like a little girl and covering your head. I finally managed to crawl under the truck and the deer went away. So now I know why when people go deer hunting they bring a rifle with a scope. Sort of even the odds!! All these events are true so help me God.... An Anonymous Educated Farmer

Well, its the end of the season for me here in South GA....Hunted the final weekend and drew a blank, it was unseasonably warm with a full moon, so that didnt help much at all.  Thats ok though, over all it was an incredible season!! So with that being said, onto 2015 and for the next few months it will be getting things in order around the house, and then start to hit some of the outdoor shows in our area.  What does everyone have planned for the off season?? Im going to be really looking at managing the property I have access to and figuring out the travel patterns and all that fun stuff.  Thats the stuff that makes it fun honestly, watching the deer grow--especially the new fawns! Come this summer, I will be working on learning the ins and outs of inshore fishing and promoting the website as much as I can! I look forward to the coming year with all the new products coming out its crazy!! Twisted Timber has just released their new tree stands, will allow us tree hangers to climb and hang stands on just about any tree that is out there!! Go check them out....www.twistedtimbertreestands.com its gonna be a great year for us here at SeeMeHunt!!    

Well finlly quit raining for a bit, got a chance t go sit Saturday morning for a bit, wasnt much happening, but did see 2 does, no shot opportunity  but got a chance to get out between bad weather.  Its supposex to quit raining this evening, so I may go sit for a little tommorrow morning...hopefully they will be on their feet.  Just want to put one more in the freezer before te season end.  We are headed back to where I shot the buck the beginning of December so if I dont get a chance this week, this weekend I might be able to connect! If not thats ok, its been a great season! Anyone still hunting??

My 2014 Season started off pretty slow, however it turned out to be pretty darn good! Dec 1 found me in Dawson GA, a beautiful place about 30 minutes east of Albany Ga.  Beautiful morning, temps were perfect and the rut was on....at 820 the biggest deer I have ever killed showed up, one shot at 93 yards, put him down for good! He wasnt a massive 140" 8 point but he may as well have been! The best part of the whole thing was that the rifle I shot him with was my Grandfathers....come to find out after talking with my Dad that he had never shot at or killed a deer with it....its been over 30 years that the rifle had never been used to kill one! Then to top it off, my wife wants to start going with me to hunt! Im super excited for next season already! Overall, my season was super! Its not done yet, have about 30 days left in our season down here, so Im going to try to put at least one more in the freezer!!! Here is the picture of my deer-The blood you see on the towards his hip is where the bullet exited.....He was quartering pretty hard, and I was up 22 feet in a tree when I shot him!  

Playground Buck by Mia Anstine It's been a fun weekend. LG and I were pretty busy, but it seemed everywhere we went there were mule deer. She practiced volleyball with a friend at our local park, and these deer didn't even give she or her friend a second look. Check out this "playground buck". Do you think he was going [...] Read more of this post

Bow hunting for deer opens in New York Southern Zone By Grandview Outdoors 10/2/2012   A regulation change adopted by the Department of Environmental Conservation moved the opening date of archery season.   ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Bow hunting for deer in New York's Southern Zone is open, two weeks earlier than in the past. A regulation change adopted by the Department of Environmental Conservation moved the opening date of archery season to Oct. 1 in the Southern Zone. Another rule change allows youth age 14 to 15 to carry firearms or crossbows. The state's first youth deer firearms hunt is next weekend, the three-day Columbus Day weekend. The special hunt is part of the state's efforts to encourage more young people to take up hunting. Junior hunters, age 14 and 15, with a big game license will be eligible to shoot one deer of either sex when accompanied by a licensed adult. The hunt is taking place in both the Northern and Southern zones.

Draw results posted for MULE DEER Colorado – 2012 by Mia Anstine Wolf Creek Outfitters, Inc. Hey you all! Colorado 2012 draw results are posted for MULE DEER. Head over and see if you were successful. Let us know so we can firm up your spot!!!http://wildlife.state.co.us/Hunting/BigGame/DrawResultsAndPrefPoints/Pages/DrawResults_PreferencePoints.aspxMule Deer - Colorado Wolf Creek Outfitters, Inc., WCO, offers private land Mule Deer hunts in Southwest Colorado. The five day [...] Read more of this post

North Dakota’s deer archery season opens Friday, Sept. 2 at noon, and bowhunters are reminded that additional concurrent season antlerless deer gun licenses can be used with a bow during the archery season in the designated hunting unit. Bowhunters must follow all regulations of the managing agency when using tree stands on public hunting areas, including displaying the owner’s name, address and telephone number on tree stands left unattended on North Dakota Game and Fish Department wildlife management areas. The Game and Fish Department annually receives inquiries from bowhunters regarding tree stands that are stolen, moved or tampered with. Tree stands are private property and theft constitutes a criminal violation that should be reported to the local sheriff's department. Bowhunters are also reminded that hunting big game over bait is prohibited on both public and private land in deer unit 3F2. The archery season is open through Jan. 8, 2012. Hunters should refer to the 2011 deer hunting guide for season information and regulations.

Wildlife officials are proposing a special hunting weekend for teenagers, an earlier start to the bow hunting season and a ban on killing young bucks in some regions under a new plan that will guide deer management in the state. ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Wildlife officials are proposing a special hunting weekend for teenagers, an earlier start to the bow hunting season and a ban on killing young bucks in some regions under a new plan that will guide deer management in the state for the next five years. The head of the Department of Environmental Conservation's Bureau of Wildlife, Gordon Batcheller, says the draft Deer Management Plan was written after his agency held 20 public meetings around the state and surveyed hunters for their opinions on proposals. "We've had a deer management program for decades,'' Batcheller said. "But this is the first time we've had a document explaining the deer management plan in a single document in a comprehensive way.'' There's a stable population of about a million white-tailed deer in New York state, Batcheller said. Last year, about 230,000 were killed by hunters and 60,000 to 80,000 were killed on highways, he said. "Deer have a large impact on the landscape and society,'' Batcheller said Thursday. "In areas where they're overabundant they have an adverse effect on the ecosystem. They can completely eliminate the reproduction of trees by eating all the young saplings in a forest plot.'' Hunting is the most effective way to manage the deer population, Batcheller said. But the number of hunters has been declining, and the average age of hunters has been rising. As one way to recruit more young people into deer hunting, the plan proposes setting aside a weekend in early October for 14- to 16-year-old hunters mentored by experienced adults. That plan has some detractors. Chuck Parker, a retiree from northern New York who hunts in the Tug Hill region, said the big game youth hunting license is a great idea but a special youth weekend is unnecessary and would cut into field time for small game and waterfowl hunters because landowners commonly deny them access during the deer season. Parker, who is first vice president of the New York State Conservation Council, also opposes the DEC's proposal to open the bow hunting season in the southern zone on Oct. 1 rather than the current opening in mid-October. "Generally, bow hunters already enjoy a high-quality hunting time to be in the woods,'' said Parker, who's from Mexico, in Oswego County. "Giving them additional time will only lessen the opportunity of success for those that hunt during the regular gun season.'' Most controversial is the proposed mandatory ban on shooting young, spike-antlered bucks in a region in southeastern New York. Batcheller said there's "a growing interest'' in antler restrictions among many deer hunters. "It's a new way of managing the deer herd to create a more balanced sex ratio by leaving more bucks on the landscape,'' he said. "Advocates believe that the natural behaviors of deer are more pronounced when the age and sex ratios are more balanced. It also makes for larger deer and better hunting.'' New York has imposed antler restrictions in one area on an experimental basis, and the plan calls for expanding that area to get a better picture of the impact. Parker opposes mandatory restrictions, saying they'll reduce the chance for success for hunters who have limited time to hunt. Five resolutions supporting antler restrictions were soundly defeated at the Conservation Council's annual convention, he said. "There is no solid biological data that proves that antler restrictions improve deer quality,'' Parker said. "I don't shoot spike horns, but that's my choice. Someone else who pays the same amount for a license, you're asking him to pass up a deer, when it's not proven that it will improve the quality of the herd.'' Steve Wowelko, president of the Onondaga County Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs, says he supports the idea of antler restriction, but he agrees with Parker that it should be voluntary. "As a sportsman, I'm always looking for ways to be more inclusive rather than exclusive,'' said Wowelko, of East Syracuse. "We need to bring more hunters in instead of limiting hunters' access to wildlife.'' Ray Gawlas, of Scotia, likes the idea of young people having an opportunity to hunt with a mentor before the regular gun season. "This was long overdue,'' he said. "New York state has been very negligent in providing opportunities to recruit younger hunters, particularly when there is an overabundance of deer in portions of the state.'' Public comments will be taken by the DEC through July 28. Batcheller said he hopes many people with a variety of interests look at the plan and comment. "It's certainly of interest to deer hunters, but it also talks about a lot of other things such as assessing deer impact on forests,'' he said. "We want to make sure deer are not permanently harming the forest ecosystem.''

State Lyme commission only lacks funds By Cynthia Mccormick cmccormick@capecodonline.com June 13, 2011 The creation of the state's first Lyme disease commission is all but a done deal. A budget amendment proposing creation of a commission to study the tick-borne illness has passed both the House and Senate. The commission becomes official once Gov. Deval Patrick signs off on the state's fiscal 2012 budget, which legislators expect to take place by the end of the month. The new fiscal year begins July 1. The commission will bring together experts in medicine, wildlife management, public health, and insect control, as well as patients and advocates, to come up with ways to prevent and treat the disease. Local advocates for people with Lyme disease say the commission is a positive development in advancing understanding of the illness, which was controversial even before it was first recognized in 1975. "There's hundreds of people who are sick, getting sick," and cannot find physicians who will treat them, said John Kenneway, a fisherman in Chatham. The medical community agrees on very little when it comes to diagnosing and treating Lyme, which is named after a town in Connecticut where it first drew public notice.   Every issue debatable The debates start right away, from how many doses of doxycycline to use in early stages to which laboratories are best for testing blood for evidence of antibodies indicating presence of the bacteria that cause Lyme disease. Physicians disagree on whether late-stage Lyme even exists, although sufferers say it's debilitating. Kenneway said if he had been treated properly when he became ill in 1986, his Lyme disease might have been controlled. Instead, he said, it's created havoc with his immune system and caused neurological problems, muscle pain and physical weakness, among other symptoms. In its early stages, Lyme is more of a flulike illness, sometimes accompanied by a bull's eye rash. Advocates say the suffering caused by the tick-borne disease is particularly acute on the Cape and Islands, which has the highest incidence of Lyme per capita in the state. In 2009, the last year for which the state has figures, there were 4,028 newly diagnosed cases in Massachusetts, including 255 cases in Barnstable, Nantucket and Dukes counties.   Legislator's advocacy It took the advocacy of state Rep. David Linsky, D-Natick, chairman of the House Committee on Post Audit and Oversight, whose son has Lyme, to make the commission a reality, Richard Sylver of East Dennis said. "That's what it takes — somebody who has the disease or knows somebody who has the disease, to get this thing going," Sylver said. He is a founder of the Brewster Lyme Disease Support Group. As part of its work, the Lyme disease commission aims to educate the medical community and remove barriers to treatment. Members of the new commission will include representatives from medical camps with opposing views of treatment and chronic care, as well as members of the Legislature and municipal health officials. Also included will be representatives of the state Department of Public Health, the state Division of Health Care Finance and Policy, the state Laboratory Institute and the state epidemiologist. Four other members will be patients or family members of patients and members of Lyme disease organizations from across the state. "The more feedback from patients and those involved in the issues of Lyme and other tick-borne diseases, the better," said Joanne Creel, a Lyme sufferer and activist from Yarmouthport. She said she hopes the commission includes representation from the Cape and Islands, which has one of the oldest Lyme disease task forces in the state. The commission is expected to report back to the state Legislature next year. "I think it's a step forward, pending administrative support and some funding," said Brenda Boleyn of the Cape and Islands Lyme Disease Task Force.