# Should I hunt it???



## plgorman (Jan 10, 2008)

I have a small piece of property that i've been given permission to hunt. Its about 40 acres total. My aunt owns 15 and 6 of her adjacent neighbors have given me permission to hunt their land as well. They all border each other and the whole tract is pretty square for the most part. 

I rifle hunted it last year and killed one buck (9pt) and thats all I wanted. Its within 15 min of my house which is another plus. All the houses are in a line on the north side and the property is all behind the houses. Looking at google earth and talking to other neighbors I know that there is a 600 acre peice of land behind it. The 600 acres is an oilfield with no residence or anything to worry about hitting. I dont have permission to enter this 600 acres. 

I hunted it prob 10-15 times last year before I took my buck and patterned the deer pretty good. I dont have feeders/stands placed there and dont plan on it. I just hunt out of my pop up and hunt sign/trails/water/food sources. 

Im considering bowhunting it this year but have a question. I've shot bows since I was about 10 and have bowhunted plenty of times before (not THAT big into it), but never taken a shot at an animal. There is a REALLY good chance ill get a good shot if I bowhunt this land this year, but im worried about TRACKING the deer. My brother is a big bowhunter and even with well placed shots he usually ends up having to track it for awhile and over a pretty good distance. 

How long can I expect a wounded deer to travel with a well placed vital shot? Do you think this land is ok to hunt given that its only 100 acres, ill be hunting the back part of it close to the fenceline (thats where they are usually). I dont want to risk having to track the deer across the other property. I dont know who owns this property and so far havent had any success finding out. And i've tried ALOT.

Hunt it or not...and how far will they travel with a good vital shot through them?


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## Long Pole (Jun 5, 2008)

I'm down....

Close to you is close to me. :cheers:


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## catchysumfishy (Jul 19, 2008)

Well if they are traveling at the back near the Oil F. property how close to the fence will you be hunting? Also, there is No Norm on how far they will travel before napping on the dirt!


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## TooShallow (May 21, 2004)

If you make a good hit; heart or double lung; the animal has about 6 to 8 seconds before going down. That may not seem like much time but if they run hard after the hit they can travel upwards of 200 yards. If they don't freak and just walk or trot off then they usually won't make it more than about 50 yards. A lot depends on how they react to the hit.


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## Captain Greg (Jul 19, 2007)

How far they run depends on how they react. Some will just trot off. I have had a couple just walk off like they didn't know what happen, and then just fall. But usually they take off like a bat out of ----.

2 years ago my father in law had one go across the fence - off of our leased property. He shot it with a rifle. We could see the deer dead about 20 yards on the other side. We didn't cross the fence. We called the game warden and told him what happen. He said dont cross the fence until he got there. When he arrived, we showed him where the deer was when it was shot, and he made sure the blood trail led to the fence. Then he crossed the property and drug it to the fence, and we pulled it under. We dang sure wanted to be sure we didn't get in trouble. You can get in more trouble crossing a fence to retrieve game than you can if you get caught selling dope.


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## big_zugie (Mar 14, 2006)

SkintBack said:


> How far they run depends on how they react. Some will just trot off. I have had a couple just walk off like they didn't know what happen, and then just fall. But usually they take off like a bat out of ----.
> 
> 2 years ago my father in law had one go across the fence - off of our leased property. He shot it with a rifle. We could see the deer dead about 20 yards on the other side. We didn't cross the fence. We called the game warden and told him what happen. He said dont cross the fence until he got there. When he arrived, we showed him where the deer was when it was shot, and he made sure the blood trail led to the fence. Then he crossed the property and drug it to the fence, and we pulled it under. We dang sure wanted to be sure we didn't get in trouble. You can get in more trouble crossing a fence to retrieve game than you can if you get caught selling dope.


^^^^^^

Smart Guy, thanks for the good advice :cop::cop::cop:


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## Chunky (Oct 15, 2006)

Yes you should hunt it. I would only take very high percentage shots. After the shot, if the deer did not fall in sight, I would give it extra time before following up. Many times they will go to the first safety cover if hard hit. You do not want to push it off the property.

When bowhunting and you make a good shot, the rule of thumb is at least 30 minutes. Depending on temp and weather conditions and time of day....I would wait as long as I could with out risking the meat. Maybe a couple of hours at least. A liver hit will take longer than heart/lungs.

Good luck


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## rlw (May 21, 2004)

No way u should hunt that property! Pls PM me and I'll keep up with it for U mine don't run at all!!! LOL Go for it.


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## 11andy11 (Aug 12, 2004)

Heck yeah hunt it. I don't think I would set up on the fence line. A good double lung shot deer is only gonna run 100 yards max. The last two that I shot through the lungs ran in a circle anyways and both were no more than 40 yards from where they were shot. The only deer I killed last year was with a bow and he went about four steps. You can always call the game warden if the deer goes on the oil field property and be well within your rights. He will probably help you track it.


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## plgorman (Jan 10, 2008)

Thanks guys I'll hunt it, just wasnt sure about how far I can expect them to run. See next question, posting now...


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## Sniper John (Dec 11, 2006)

I would hunt it, but like already said. I would try to look for locations farther from that boundary fence to set up on, to give me some buffer if a shot deer ran into the direction of the private property.


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