[HeadedWest]

Originally Posted by Gmorck

so back to the topic at hand....does anyone have private property they are willing to let me hunt on?

Drop in on the nearest store that sells bows and related equipment. Ask them if they have any contacts.

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by Gmorck

so back to the topic at hand....does anyone have private property they are willing to let me hunt on?

You can post a wanted ad on craigslist...have to be careful using that site but it's worth a shot (no pun intended).

[yvetteson]

Originally Posted by HeadedWest

We should follow nature and let them die a slow agonizing death by starvation.

Nature is actually the greatest form of population control.
There's been a lot written but these books are the best on the subject
A Natural Regulation of Animal Populations
Growth and Regulation of Animal Populations
The Natural Regulation of Animal Numbers

A lack of food kills the sick and weakest, causes pregnant females to absorb embryos, reduces twinning...thereby reducing the population.

Although there may be a temporary decline of deer in heavily hunted areas, the population generally explodes after these areas are hunted. When a large number of deer are killed there is more food for remaining deer which is one factor in triggering increased reproduction rates.

In the Journal of Wildlife Management, a study by Richter and Labisky showed 'the incidence of twinning was 38% on hunted herds and 14% on non-hunted sites'.

With natural predation, the predators go after the congenitally weak, small animals. This not only creates a stronger gene pool, but these natural predators spare the weaker animals much suffering as they are generally the ones who starve to death.
On the other hand, hunters go after the bigger animals for meat and trophies, leaving the smaller, diseased, congenitally weak to breed, which degrades the gene pool, spreads disease and results in more suffering. Ecologist Edwin Way calls this 'evolution in reverse'.

But after all, wildlife agencies and their policies, were designed with the hunter in mind.. in order to maximize the number of animals hunted. The more people hunt, the more money the agencies make through hunting licenses and the Pittman Robertson excise tax on firearms and ammunition. And it's not a coincidence that the vast majority of people in these agencies are hunters.

In Wildlife Ecology and Management William Robinson states:
The general theory of harvesting animals is based on the premise that when animals are not harvested at all, growth and recruitment are balanced by natural mortality and that the average growth rate of a population at its carrying capacity is zero. Harvesting reduces population size, but the reduction results in an increase in the growth rate of the population. This increase in growth rate is brought about because of higher birth rates and lower death rates resulting from decreased competition for resources. This increased growth rate provides a surplus of individuals above the number required to replace the population, and this surplus can be harvested."

[JayCT]

This thread is asking a legitimate question that should only be answered. This not a place to debate the merits of hunting. There are other forums for that. Infractions will be issued for off topic responses. JayCT, Moderator.