I am looking for land in Eastern Washington or North Idaho. Most of what I can afford is totally undeveloped, so I would be starting with a clean slate. What if I were to develop the land in such a way that it would attract whitetail deer, and I could fill my chest freezer with venison without ever having to leave my property.
After all, what do deer really want? A source of water? Easy! Just make a large pond. Protective cover? Easy! Plant some fast-growing poplars while waiting for the evergreens to reach suitable heights. Winter food? No Problem! Just plant the right species of fir and pine trees. Summer food? Select a good forage crop that grows well under the trees.
It seems like you could develop a Garden of Eden for the deer, with the understanding that a small sacrifice must be paid once every year. Has anyone ever tried this before?
Here's the proverbial fly in the oinkment......
I have had exactly this situation for as long as I've been able to pick up a BB gun. In simple fact, myself and my kids have had permission (orders more like) to shoot the deers in the yard with the same BB guns to keep 'em out of Mama's roses.
Last yr my son-in-law was lamenting that "he was working so much (construction) that he didn't have time to get any meat"
I looked at him sideways and said "if it's really MEAT you want, just shoot one in the yard!" Ten minutes later, LITERALLY ten minutes later he laced one with his Mathews and was dragging out to the range to butcher.
My kids have had the same option basically all their lives..... a couple have arrowed a deer. Many of the local deer have holes in their ears because that's how we get them away from the targets when we're shooting, shoot a hole thru their ear.......
I've never shot and killed one myself. I remember my little brother useta' call me from the shooting bench, "hey, you feel like gutting a deer? This guy won't get off the range" and my answer was always "nope."
It's simple butchery.
It's not "hunting" nor is it "fun" once't ya' have it.
I'm a complete idiot because I'll happily spend mucho dinero and drive for days, sleep in the rain and spend endless misery packing meat out and getting it home safe.
When I could've just shot one out my bedroom window.
It's lovely to live in the heart of game country. I've got deers and cats and bears and elks on my driveway. Google my address 20211 NE Yacolt Mountain Road to see that I live in 10,000 acres of God's Own Country.
But it just ain't fun to shoot your own deers!
I've got nothing against it. I'm ALL FOR IT! But it's just not fun. I'm so bad that we were backpack bowhunting the The Eagle Cap and Strawberry Wilderness areas for nearly two fruitless weeks when a farmer invited us in. "40-50 elk in this field every night, a 7pt herd bull and at least 5 other branched antler bulls"......"You'se just set behind them round bales and in the last hour before dark you can plug a trophy when it walks by".....
We set.
We set up about 3:00
We set for prolly 40 minutes....
Then we looked at each other and at the same time we all stood up and LAFFED and shook our heads and walked back to the truck.
It ain't fun to shoot thy neighbor's animals neither!
We went home empty that year.