Hunting NH Unit M on the west side of that area, think Nashua to Brookline.. I went out on the 31st of October for the start of the muzzy season..well, I didn't see a deer until the 9th around 4pm and it was a doe so I let her go knowing a buck would be nearby. Nothing to be seen for deer again till the 15th. Nice buck but no clean shot, that was around 8am. I went home for lunch and went back to tree stand, around 2:30pm. I placed my tree stand about 15' up that overlooks a convergence of a few paths, a small trail that leads across a small stream 2' wide maybe to the small island which I can cover from my tree stand. I know the deer use it as I've gotten trail cam pics. Right before dusk about 4:30 I hear a muzzy go off about 100 yds behind me.
So now it's dark out and I can see the flashlight on the island. Turns out 2 guys showed up, they split up with 1 of them walking right under my tree stand and following path to the island. Other guy moved further down a different path to where the stream goes back into the river. I waited for 2nd guy to walk up to my stand, I had climbed down as there was not any hunting time left. Turns out the guy on island shot a doe, most likely the doe I was using as buck bait. We chatted for a while and I told them I had been out there since the 31st with barely a sighting. Didn't want to give away any info. They show up that afternoon and in 2 hours harvest the doe. I get it, a deer to some is a meal, regardless of it's sex, for others its for the bragging rights, trophy or whatever reason.
I went out every morning and afternoon, home for a few hours inbetween, for the next week looking for any buck. I would go out an hour before sunrise and would stay till about 1/2 hr after sunset. So the following Saturday guess who shows up, yup same 2 guys and they both head straight for the island. They split up to cover more of the island. No luck for them and I did go up into my stand just incase any deer tried to go back to the island. Next morning, they are back again and beat me out to area by like 5 minutes because I could hear them just in front of me, we took different path to get to that area, ie where path goes across to island. Keep this in mind, island is inaccessible from 2 sides unless you take a watercraft, 3rd side is heavy brush, thorny bushes and swampy + private posted land which really only leaves the 1 side to access the island. Right where I placed my tree stand, They stayed on island till about 10am & I was determined to make it known that this was my spot, I had my tree stand there, yes, its public land but after the 1 guy shot the doe I told both of them I was there everyday trying to to get a deer this year. So when they decided to leave, they both knew full well that the only way off the isalnd was to walk right past my occupied tree stand. What do they do, the try to go opposite direction through the heavy brush & swampy shit to try and leave that way. Guess what, no go, so they start making their way back to the stream to cross back over making a nice and loud racket doing it too. They finally make it to about 10 yds from me, yup, still in tree stand looking right down on them. The 2 of them just stand there looking at me. I don't say a word. Then 1 of them says , um we tried to go out the other way but it was to difficult. I'm like yes it is. I say nothing else. They just stand there so I let them for another minute or 2 and then wave them past me. At this point, its moot to try and hunt for obvious reasons. So I let them walk away and climb down after another 1/2hr past. I was pissed to say the least.
For me its the common sense, courtesy and ethics that some hunters totally forget. Yes, they beat me out there to that island, twice. However after they shot the doe, they figured they could just come back anytime and shoot a buck that was looking for her. Ok, well for me, I had the area covering the island and path, my stand was there and I was there. I'm showing active participation in this area, not like I put stand up 3 months ago and the 1 day I show up, try and claim the whole deer population near there!!NOT. I will mention this extra little piece of information that these 2 "hunters" shared with me after they shot the doe. "We each have 4 tags but we're not expecting to get 4 each!!" Ouch. I call that gluttony and excess. Sure you can pay for all the tags you want, but if someone else already has a established presence in an area, move along and hunt somewhere else. They knew that after the 1st day when they hauled the doe out right under my stand while I was standing there talking to them.
Why am I writing and sharing this story, Whacko, wherever you are hunting in NH, unit M, stay there as I didn't see much in deer in my area of unit M. Usually I see plenty of deer but this year was way, way down. Perhaps I should move to another area of unit M, be like those 2 a**holes and just trample in or through other hunters areas to get 1 of 4 deer that they can harvest. Not give a shit about anybody else, ya be selfish!! The whole situation has left me biased in a way I never thought I would be.
I did not see another deer for the rest of the hunting season and I went out there just like before, and even midday when I had the chances to. So zero deer for me this year. I will be out there next year again and I can promise you this, Nobody will be out there before me in the am or afternoon.
I hope some of the other hunters had a good season in NH, and now Ma hunters have their opportunities. Best of luck to you all.