Thread: It Has Begun

Originally Posted by Corker

OMG, that's almost 5,000 dozen minnows!

Hey Corky, That does not account for cost of production that is already spent either. Add another 300 dollars an acre. Of course the crop would pay that leaving the difference as profit not counting equipment payments but wait we don't have a crop because a four legged fiend has ate it all and would not let it grow up to any where that it could stand some grazing. I had a field today that had plants that were 4 inches tall in rows as thick as hair on a cats back that are now as bare as a concrete floor. I thought I was going to have to use row markers to replant at one point but I could still make out the old row streaks barely. Now planting dates have come and gone. Already taking yield loss at this point for being late. Anything the deer do from this point forward will be permanent. We are going to have to smoke them hard the next couple weeks until the beans get some height on them.CF

While I fully understand the situation (crop damage), and the legal aspects of removing the offending wildlife ... it still seems like a waste of a good tasting, ~ fat free protein based, healthy foodsource. (& yeah, I do like me some deer sausage Rofl ) Seems like there should be a way for you to recoup some of your financial losses, by legally selling the fresh carcasses ... or, if not that, some way to get those animals processed & distributed to some local foodbanks or homeless shelters.

... cp

Pappy, I think Farmer posted before that it is illegal in NC to harvest meat from deer taken with a nuisance permit. Two other things is I don't think he has the time or resources to clean that many deer and in this hot weather I don't think you could get it done fast enough so he's every buzzard in eastern NC best friend!

Originally Posted by crappiepappy

While I fully understand the situation (crop damage), and the legal aspects of removing the offending wildlife ... it still seems like a waste of a good tasting, ~ fat free protein based, healthy foodsource. (& yeah, I do like me some deer sausage Rofl ) Seems like there should be a way for you to recoup some of your financial losses, by legally selling the fresh carcasses ... or, if not that, some way to get those animals processed & distributed to some local foodbanks or homeless shelters.

... cp

Hey Pap, If you got a good look at these deer when they are shot this time of year, You would say no way or would not want anyone else eating them either. Their ears are a mass of ticks. I have seen many that had so many tics on their ears, that You could not see the hair. They get in their eyes and just all over them. I have shot deer and go to remove them from the field and the carcass is still moving from ticks.

We have so many deer down here that the woods is crawling with ticks that the deer spread all over. This time of year if You go anywhere near tall weeds, You better have repellant on. you will brush a weeds or two and get a couple hundred seed ticks on You quick.

There are places that hunters can take the deer that they do not want that can be processed and given to the needy. These sites are only open during hunting season but given what the deer look like the rest of the year with ticks, that is probably a good thing.

Another issue would be handling them. We shoot anywhere between 30 and 50 deer in a three week time frame during the summer. We shot 96 about 4 years ago. could You imagine how long it would take to pick up all those deer, load them in a truck and carry them to the processor? In the meantime, the deer are still eating out there and doing damage. The amount of fuel we would burn just hauling deer to the processor would make it too burdensome to mess with unless You could take that off taxes as part of Your donation. There is only two of us doing all this.

The part that irks me the most is we have a hunting club that is here on this land. My Dad and I have no power to grant hunting rights as we rent this land. There are 30 members in this club. Last year they killed 50 deer. 30 Members killed 50 deer. I have killed 9 in 3 days. If they would just shoot 5 deer a piece, I would not have to shoot any during the summer.

And there is really no fun at all going out and shooting them this time of year. The sun does not set until 8:30, You sit in a stand or Your truck or blind until it gets dark around 9 or 9:30, then You have to clean Your gun real good with wd40 everyday because of the humidity this time of year. When all is said and done, You come strolling in to get supper at 10pm at night. Do that for three weeks everyday after working from 7am to 7 Pm and soaking Your clothes down in sweat earlier in the day and then throw in the fact that a few fishing trips are lost because of all this and all the money lost on top of that and then You really don't give a crap about the life of a deer. All You see at that point is a determination to shoot as many as possible. seeing the damage to the crops, You can guess how many need to be killed to stop the damage. That's Your target and You try to reach that number as quick as possible. I hate doing this Pap, more than anything. Just have to do it.CF

Originally Posted by Boscoe

Pappy, I think Farmer posted before that it is illegal in NC to harvest meat from deer taken with a nuisance permit. Two other things is I don't think he has the time or resources to clean that many deer and in this hot weather I don't think you could get it done fast enough so he's every buzzard in eastern NC best friend!

Yes it is illegal. I can shoot as many deer, bear, rabbits, or any other animal that I decide is hurting my crops as long as they are not on the endangered species list or protected like the bald eagle (and even then what no one knows won't hurt them)(don't ever have that problem with anything like that anyway). All animals that are killed can be removed from the field but can only be carried as far as the nearest ditch. The can be removed from the field, just to the edges.CF

Got a 450 pound black bear that has decided that My corn tastes good this year also. This is a first for me because we just have never had many bear around. Most of the time, they just pass through. This year I have two to deal with. The big one and a smaller one. This should be no problem. A box full of honey buns should do the trick. Might need to break out the heavy artillery for them though.CF

OK I think what you guys need to do start the "Farmer Pool" and see who can guess the correct amount he kills by the next bash!

Been two more kills recently. Up to 11 now.CF