in the 1980s you needed to apply for doe tags. were we hunted in black river falls we would get a doe tag every other year most of the time. I was a kid and would have to pass on so many does every year it was ridiculous. Sometimes several dozen just on opening weekend .. Now you might see 1 opening weekend, if your lucky. But you could have a pocket full of doe tags ...
General Hunting Discussion
Are you old enough to remember?
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The arm band was a visual identification that authorized the shooting of a doe. Any person of the four applicants could shoot the doe, as long as they were wearing the arm band at the time of shooting. Although it was a quite common practice that any of the four would shoot the deer and then give the shooter the arm band.
Back in those days, Wardens were few and violations were plentiful. Hunting violations and fines were not that serious like they are now.
Back in those days, Wardens were few and violations were plentiful. Hunting violations and fines were not that serious like they are now.
I started hunting at age 12 in 1978. We had a party permit that year. My brother is 3 years older and had not shot a deer yet and he got to wear the arm band. I believe it was 1980 when you started applying for a hunter choice tag. This allowed you to shoot a deer of either sex in a specific game managment unit. Tag was only good for gun season. We’ll back then archery tag was either or.
Old hunter I think you’re absolutely right. I didn’t remember the arm band but believe that. Actually I kind of do......My first year hunting at the age of 12 was 1963. We had a party of about 8 guys, all but my dad and I went home to work the short work week prior to Thanksgiving. When they returned ....they said JFK had been shot.....we hovered around the only radio we had available which was in a guys car and no hunting was done that day. Those are my earliest recollections of my hunting
With the party permits, if my cloudy memory is correct, when you purchased a deer license, there was a tear off stub that was a application for the party permit. It had all your info on it and such. I'm positive that only one person, as long as they had all four stubs could get the permit. No need for all for to be present. Where my memory is a little foggy is if you had to go to the county courthouse or if you could send in mail.
If you were able to get a party permit, you received a identified metal leg tag and a colored arm band tag that had to be worn around the arm of the authorized doe shooter . Anybody of the four hunters could shoot the doe as long as they had the arm band and deer tag. Usually most party permit groups would select a young beginning hunter to shoot the doe. Another well used term for the permit was " Camp Meat "
The party permits were discontinued shortly after I began hunting. Maybe some where's around the late sixties.
Those were the days, when hunting was hunting.
If you were able to get a party permit, you received a identified metal leg tag and a colored arm band tag that had to be worn around the arm of the authorized doe shooter . Anybody of the four hunters could shoot the doe as long as they had the arm band and deer tag. Usually most party permit groups would select a young beginning hunter to shoot the doe. Another well used term for the permit was " Camp Meat "
The party permits were discontinued shortly after I began hunting. Maybe some where's around the late sixties.
Those were the days, when hunting was hunting.
I remember when my dad went to the courthouse in Neilsville WI prior to the season and wait in line to “possibly” get what was known as a party permit. It covered 4 guys. They didn’t give out many so you had to be in line early! what I can’t remember is if all 4 people had to be there? There were no computers, no texting, there were still party lines on the phone systems. Not easy for them to get personal information like now-a-days.
i also remember being in Holubs tavern in Humbird Wi with my dad at a very early age and this tall, thin, very tanned guy comes in. He’s got a western style pistol in a holster on his hip. I asked my dad who was he and why did he have that gun? A guy next to my dad overheard me and said. “Musky Fisherman......when he hooks one and gets it near the boat he shoots them” Quite a bit different than today, eh?
sorry for the boring stories
i also remember being in Holubs tavern in Humbird Wi with my dad at a very early age and this tall, thin, very tanned guy comes in. He’s got a western style pistol in a holster on his hip. I asked my dad who was he and why did he have that gun? A guy next to my dad overheard me and said. “Musky Fisherman......when he hooks one and gets it near the boat he shoots them” Quite a bit different than today, eh?
sorry for the boring stories
Luv2Hunt, your memory is correct. The deer license was really a big game license and it was legal to shoot a bear. I remember the party tags also being called camp meat tags. When I started hunting, the group I was with did not - absolutely NOT - shoot does. I used to sell my application tag to my shop teacher.
Course, I'm old enough to remember a friend earning money trapping and used some of it to order a .22 revolver from the Sears catalog. He was 12 or 13 at the time. He sent them a check and they sent him the gun.
I also remember hunting dinosaurs.
An old friend's father developed the Bodkin. Hunted with a good number in the 60's & 70's. His brother darned near lost his life to one out at that game farm in Montour IA. A boar ran between him and another hunter. The guy launched an arrow and it went clean through his thigh. Never felt a thing. He darned near bled out.
Tried them again once a place started swaging aluminum shafts circa 1985. Has one of the Baker's as well, but it terrified me because it was so shaky. Don't even think of climbing a poplar tree with that death trap. Had a couple of their 12 foot ladder stands too. Noisy as can be if you shifted your weight.
Correct actual stands became legal about 1971. You could hunt out of a tree for a while before that you just couldn't use a stand. I still have a dozen of the old green Bear broadheads and some Bodkins. The Bear broad heads go for good money on eBay now. I bought a Baker climbing stand after they became legal and used it for a long time. Now it's scary thinking about how many times that thing slid down while climbing. Fell out of it once about 10 ft up and knocked me silly but didn't break anything. I still have that Baker and the first Allen compound bow I bought. Not many guys bow hunted in those days.
Pretty sure that treestands became legal in 1971. I started from the ground with a 66" Colt Arrowmaster, green Bear heads and "Arrows by Raulf". Only drew a 41# bow that first year. Graduated up to a Browning Nomad 54" bow and then to a 48" Bear Super Magnum. Got my first compound, a 55# Indian that used a continuous plastic coated steel cable. It had about 70% letoff actual. Mostly hunted from the ground (to this day) so the law change didn't affect me too much.
When I first started bow hunting in the late 60s they had recently passed the law that you could hunt out of trees. It was illegal prior to that. I usually hunted public land and sat in the crutch of a tree with my recurve bow. Deer weren't wise to that yet. Guys would see me and come up and tell me that was illegal to do. After a getting my first couple deer with a bow my dad finally let me go gun hunting with my new red plaid coat and an old .32 special. Took a few years before I finally got a metal tag on my first gun buck. This past fall was the first year since then I did not get out bow hunting due to having surgery. I did get out opening day of gun season and passed on a couple smaller bucks but that was it for the year. Planning on making up for it next year!
My first year of deer hunting was 1968. I killed a doe we had a 4 person party tag. Total kill for the state was only about 90,000 deer total. There were very few deer in the southern part of the state. Hwy 12 went past my parents house was pretty much bumper to bumper the day before season.
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