Thought what I was doing was hunting but maybe not. Yeah, I grew up hunting public land and finding an acorn tree or trail and praying I’d see a deer and shooting the first legal thing that walked by. Did that for 30 years or so. Then I started with leases and that was pretty fun, could be a little more selective.
Then I got access to some prime property and honestly that’s when I really learned about deer behavior and it opened up a whole new world to me. Then again that was the time I started trapping and spending a LOT of time all year in the woods.
To watch a buck transform from one year to the next was eye opening.
To watch does as they care for fawns while nursing, then to watch them let those same fawns enter the open to make sure the coast was clear before they stepped out was perplexing to say the least.
To watch a known doe drop twins for a few years, then triplets for a year, then singles, until she finally quit producing was unique.
To watch the hierarchy in bucks play out and to see how intense they fought was almost scary.
To sit in the stand and not care whether I shot or not was priceless. If I just wanted to watch I could. I could always take a deer another day. With like minded hunters we could decide how many deer needed harvested and the age we’d like to let bucks live to.
So yeah, I’m hunting better now than I ever was. And it’s a lot more fun than shooting whatever walks by. With that said, I’d love to spot and stalk deer out West. Thought about trying it in our pines and getting a doe. Our only issue is noise, not a lot of bare ground to walk on and sneaking within 30yds for a bow shot would be a feat for sure. Not saying it couldn’t be done by those who grew up doing it, just be a little different for me, lol. This flat ground isn’t the easiest to stalk in.

Hunted that way for years . As you get older and more broken down you try things that turn the odds in your favor

Me too

How we do it

Depends on the location you're hunting that dictates how you hunt a place you do what works and is legal. The biggest divider between sportsman is "I don't do it that way so it's wrong if you do.

How is a deer stand between bedding and feeding areas any different than a stand in a feeding area really? I hunted river brake draws most of my adult life here in SD they bed in the hills then head to the crops for the evenings. In MO we do food plots to give the deer a destination or they just go around aimlessly or to other food plots or cabin lawns in the area. People hunt deer with dogs and feeders in areas because they work and the cover calls for that type of hunting.

I walk out on the same saddle every year with the same 264. And shoot a deer. I don't pick and choose.

That's hunting,
Cameras
Food plots
High fence
Salt blocks is not hunting.

The last 3 deer I killed were taken with an automobile on “state land”. lol

No food plot, corn pile or trail camera.

Like I said I have nothing against food plots, game cams, etc. but have such things effected ones ability to hunt. In other words, giving the right genetics and age in deer, are folks still able to read sign, determine natural food sources, etc. and harvest a mature whitetail (buck or doe) minus technology or artificial food sources?

Yep I just grab the gun and go out back. No cameras food plots or other such things. My old Woolrich bibs and a coat.
That's true here oldfarms are getting cut up into smaller pieces every year. But that doesn't mean you have to get cameras, food plots, the newest scent free suit, fancy scopes, drones and such. Set up where deer travel by spending time in the woods and observing track, rubs, scrapes, natural food and behavior

Can a mechanic that now uses diagnostic equipment on cars tell what’s wrong without them? Understanding the basics doesn’t mean you have to be exclusive to their use.

How many of us are still using just long spring traps and snares?

Never hunted over bait, just scouted the bedding areas and food areas , and the trails in between.
Also made note of where deer went when spooked while scouting.
Never used trail cameras either , but they were so expensive back then, I just couldn't justify them.
They do help a lot, and I use them now , but not for hunting.

Old school here too. Just like trapping - location, location, location. Know where they are and where they go when pushed.

I only hunt on my own small 80 acre farm. I will dump some corn on the ground, just to help keep a few does in the general area. I then hunt from tree stands on trails entering the property. Which stand hunted is completely dependent upon the wind direction at the time. I do pull cows out 1st of July to let cover in the creek grow up and be more attractive to deer. Not sure if the corn really makes a difference or not. Minimal pressure does make a difference.
I have pretty good success until rifle season when a few "neighbors" seem to forget where the property lines are and sneak onto mine when party hunting. They blow the deer out and are not seen again until spring. I usually get my deer before rifle season. So, its not such a big deal for me. Really sucks for my son and son-in-law who cannot hunt until after rifle season has been open a few days.

Very True

You realize that fast if You Travel to other States to hunt

I use cameras to survey what bucks I have available to harvest. Georgia limits the private land buck harvest to two bucks per season and one of those has antler restrictions. Im looking to harvest two of the best bucks I can annually, not just the first deer that walks by. I've killed a lot of whitetails and have been selective harvest-minded for a couple decades. I don’t own any hunting land, but lease three tracts that total about 2300 acres. I dont have any family land or even private land where I've hunted free without harvest restrictions.

With all that said, why would anyone that invests $$ in owning/long term leasing hunting property not be interested in some version of deer management? Food plots, cameras, feeders, etc are aspects of deer management...not necessarily hunting. I know landowners that do all these things, but don't even hunt.

Those of you that live near/have access to tracts of public land have no reason to be concerned with deer management. You don't have anything invested in the land, other than buying your licenses/permits. Your deer hunting plans are not in the same league as those that own a tractor and implements & plant plots (to give back to the wildlife, instead of just taking). Most public land hunters have the mindset to shoot him b4 the other guy does. That's OK if that satisfies your deer hunting appetite. For me, the deer management aspect is much more self-fulfilling that just killing a deer. It is a great feeling to get on my tractor and mow openings or disk plots, and plant them. But, it is even a better feeling to put up those cameras and take pics of nice bucks and gobblers browsing in those plots I planted.

I'm not knocking any public land hunter. Everyone doesn't/won't have access to land where they can conduct management activities. Plus, it is very expensive. I too hunt public land at times, usually quota hunts in various areas of the state (quality buck areas and unique habitats like the Atlantic coastal islands). We all have different setups, different scenarios, different land access, different interests, different $$, and live in different parts of the country with vastly different habitat conditions and deer populations.

I'm almost 60 and my dream of owning my own hunting property likely won't happen. But, if it did, there would be food plots in every available opening, feeders all over the property, and several cameras taking photos of the game I'm giving back to.

I'm off my stump...

Deer management...farmers version of deer management is getting every deer off the property as possible. They aren't fans of crop depredation and deer running through fences. I hunt those properties.

A hunters version of deer management are myriad.

Farmers attitudes towards deer are not the same in all parts of the country. Down here, most farmers are hunters and landowners....therefore they are land/wildlife managers, too.

But, most non-land managing hunters could care less about any form of deer management. It's about killing.

That's fine and I'm not at all opposed to that. I see pics of the bucks you harvest and they are dandies. What I'm wondering is if hunting in an area that has the genetics, natural browse,and mature deer do today's hunters still have the ability to find, pattern, and kill mature deer simply by the sign that deer leaves? No cameras or "artificial " feed to aid in sizing or patterning deer?