Looked out the window this morning, and what did I see? The pictures tell the story. 2 yearlings were working their way from the cornfield/woods behind us, and came within 5 yards from our house.

I thought about it afterword and think they smelled apples we have in our garage. A neighbor gave me a bag and 5 gallon bucket for the "deer". The aroma is strong, and I have hopes of them working for deer, I just never expected them to lure them to my front door! Lyle

(The 3rd and 4th pictures have our golden retriever on the right - watching.)

that is cool

Good pictures, Lyle. How did you avoid autofocus on the screen. Some time ago I took pictures of a doe that bedded down a couple yards from the front window. Got several great shots of the screen with a very blurry deer beyond. Maybe you don't have window screens in Wisconsin. We didn't when we lived in Seattle.

Tony

man wait till they get bigger before you shoot them

Tony,

My wife took the photos, lighting must have allowed them to show up at all.

And I would definately wait until they get bigger. Fortunately, Wisconsin did away with "Earn a buck" this year, except in CWD zones. I've seen deer this size come in for registration, just so the hunters could earn the stamp to allow the harvesting of a buck, in previous years.

Lyle

That's cool. I wonder how they would act if you hung a few appples from the tree.

Cool Pics! They remind me of the good ole days back in West Virginia. It seemed like every night during Bow Season when I would come home after a long day of hunting, I would eat, shower, watch a little television then go to the bathroom before for bed, I would see 4 to 6 Deer out the bathroom window under my' Apple Trees. If I happened to stay home some mornings, I would sometimes spot a couple under the Apple Trees after daylight but everytime I tried to open the window with Bow in hand, they caught me in the act and took off quickly. Shucks!!!!

Things haven't been that good up there since about 2000 due to Lyme Disease, Hemorrhagic fever, heavy snow kills and such liberal Season bag limts for too many years. I moved from there in 1994 and went back every year to hunt since I have a Lifetime License but haven't been back since 2001. During that last time, I was lucky to see 2 to 4 deer all day in areas where I normally would see 50 to 100 a day in the mid-90s'!


Frank

Sounds kind of like PA. Lyme disease, liberal bag limits, less dear, etc. In PA, I agree with the antler restrictions (buck needs atleast 3 points on one side), but I don't agree with the amount of doe tags they issue.

Mark,

I grant you that diseases and heavy snows took their toll on the Deer populations in West Virginia and Pennsylvania from 1993 through 2001. However, much of the decimatation of the Deer herds in both States can be blamed on the DNR's lack of knowledge of the diseases themselves and for bad Deer Management Policies. Hell, in Randolph and Tucker Counties in West Virginia alone, there were thousands of Deer slaughtered because some (and I mean a small percentage) of the Deer in specific herds had Hemorrhagic fever. I know several of the guys that were contracted by the West Virginia DNR to exterminate the entire Deer populations on several farms or specific areas of the National Forest in Randolph County. One of these guys told me that they destroyed 200 to 300 Deer on several farms, dug pits with Bulldozers, piled the Deer in and then burnt them before covering them up. Sure, we know a lot more about Hemorrhagic fever now but they should have had at least an inkling that Hemorrhagic fever may or may not spread through an entire herd and that usually only 10% to 20% of the herd actually succumb (die) from the disease. That the Deer in a herd that is in infected with the disease and survives, actually becomes immune to it and passes that immunity on to it's offspring for quite a few generations.

I agree with your comment on the amount of Doe tags! I argued with the Biologists with the West Virginia DNR for years over having a Doe Season after the first or second rut. I stated that by allowing a Doe to become pregnant, then to be wounded, even though the wound might not normally be life-threatening, that they were actually giving most of these wounded Does a Death Sentence. This is because a female animal similar to a human female, has a less chance of surviving an injury when pregnant. This is even worse, if the Doe has been impregnated twice and is carrying the normal two fawns! I don't know if the West Virginia DNR ever saw the light and changed the Doe Seasons or not.


Frank