Deer drops dead at my feet

[big honkin jeep]

So yesterday is opening day of bow season in Georgia and all the hunters are hitting the woods.
Meanwhile I'm babysitting my niece (3) and nephew (7) in the suburbs of Metro Atlanta (Dunwoody)
I'm standing in the driveway when I hear this loud noise like one of the kids has knocked over something in the garage and as I turn to look I see that the noise is rapid hoof beats on concrete. This little deer comes streaking by full tilt and boogie catches about 3 good strides when it hits the grass. It then runs into my nephews pitch back baseball training net, breaks its neck and falls dead at my feet. ( nothing I could do to help the little fella died nearly instantly)

I hope a deer dropping dead at my feet on opening day is a good omen of things to come this season.

http://www.theoutdoorstrader.com/data/attachments/442/442706-df737b59bb75e704f2b4c1c97708162e.jpg

[wbm]

That event might not happen again in several lifetimes. Go figure!

[mikein]

Did the little feller have any feathered sticks sticking out of him?:o

[olddav]

Luckly it didn't die at the hands of a hunter. That was a close one.

[sharpshooter]

How long did it take to get him on the grill?

[243LPR]

Sandwich deer.

[PMGO]

Hope you saved the back straps.....

[langenc]

Tag it. Your deer hunting is all done for this season.

[big honkin jeep]

Tag it. Your deer hunting is all done for this season.

Not even close. I haven't "tagged out" in years since they now give us 2 bucks (1 must be 4pts on 1 side) and 8 does. We get 10 total in Georgia.
It has gone from where there wasn't really even a huntable population of deer when I was a young man, to having them commit suicide in front yards in the suburbs.

The Georgia Department of Natural Resources has done a great job of bringing back the whitetails and turkeys too.
I'm proud to see the liscense fees of my fellow Georgia sportsmen and the taxes we pay on sporting goods as well as user fees being used in these efforts.
Now if we can only get a harvestable population of lake sturgeon returned to the Coosa river in my lifetime. :)

[BlueDog]

The Georgia Department of Natural Resources has done a great job of bringing back the whitetails and turkeys

Remember, a large herd is not always a sign of a healthy herd. I would have made an identical statement about our Department of Conservation here in Missouri until a couple years ago. I have video of 100+ deer using a single alfalfa field nightly. It was the best hunting of my life, and I was fortunate to have access and harvested a few really nice bucks. (One grossing 168 B&C) Now our deer herd has been ravaged by chronic wasting disease and blue tongue. Mother Nature doesn't like over population and is a fine manager in her own right. The year before last was very slim hunting in my area. Last year was a bit better, this year I've seen many more around. Hopefully the resident deer population will rebound to a healthy sustainable level.

[big honkin jeep]

Yall keep the CWD up there and get it under control.
I think the liberal limits and Quality Deer Management regs as set forth by GA DNR with hunter and landowners input have the population under control and healthy in most of the rural areas with some really nice bucks.
Cull permits that allow large quotas, night hunting, bait and spotlights are issued to landowners for problem areas, and some state parks, golf courses etc. normally off limits to hunters are closed to the public several times a year and opened up for special cull hunts to remove excess.
The Suburbs of Atlanta are definitely over run. Lots of city ordinances even for bows.
Overall I give our DNR a huge thumbs up for their management efforts.

[Beekeeper]

Big Honkin Jeep, good to see another hunter who understands that having a huge deer herd isn't a healthy thing. I think Ohio DOW has done pretty well, but our herd in the western part of the state is too large in my opinion. It's hard to convince hunters that the herd needs thinned to keep them healthy, and to keep getting large racks. Couple that with anti-hunters, and landowners who won't give permission to hunt this makes keeping the herd in line tough. I know around here they have resorted in culling at some of the local parks at night. Not much else you can do.