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Amish deer slayers

We picked up another lease only to learn the neighbors are Amish. Very friendly people but the drive deer all of shotgun 1 and 2. Last season they killed thirteen deer. One buck was shot 8 times before they got him. However, this is a great big buck area in S. Iowa and this lease has much potential.

What would you do?

1. Hunt smart and let them run the deer to our "safe zone?"

2. Pick up sticks and find another lease?
 
If it's an annual lease, I'd determine my releasing of the property off of what you observe this year.

IMO, if everybody is being honest, and only hunting their properties, you could have a safe haven honey hole for deer. They learn where they are safe and where they're being pressured.

I share hunt a property with several others. Few deer call it home. The neighboring property is identical, but little hunting pressure. You aught to see the deer pour into/out of it in the AM/PM. They know exactly where the property boundaries are.
 
I agree with Obsessed, play off of their moves for now. The Amish are unethical hunters and are known to trespass, you can't hunt their properties but they sure want to hunt everyone's else's property.
 
I used to get nerved out about groups doing deer drives where, or near where, I hunted...but then I came to understand over time that most deer drives collect deer that I wasn't going to shoot anyway...as in they get a relatively small percentage of the very oldest bucks. Not zero...but not a lot either. As long as they stay on their side of the fence, I would lean towards keeping the lease, especially if you are happy with what you see this year, etc.

Now then...if they are fence jumpers, then I would not be happy staying in that area.
 
we had Amish in area that caused countless problems. Trespassing to poaching to shooting every buck & loading hunter after hunter on ground. I know many that have like “120 acres”…. might have 15 of them hunt & kill 8-10 bucks - almost all not mature.
Our shady neighbors finally left town!!! Everyone was pretty happy see them go.
I do know lots of guys that won’t buy land with Amish around.
I don’t want to paint with a broad brush…. I was with one a few months ago …. Had a “real conversation”. I asked him if he thought “their group” had a bad reputation overall & if he thought it was justified. This was an Amish hunter who I like a lot…. He said “yes, as a whole, we have a bad reputation. Often times deserved. But there’s a smaller portion of us that don’t do that junk”. Clearly we all agree there’s some bad apples. That group sure seems to have more of those bad apples but clearly not all of them. Hope u found some good ones to neighbor with.
 
If it's an annual lease, I'd determine my releasing of the property off of what you observe this year.

IMO, if everybody is being honest, and only hunting their properties, you could have a safe haven honey hole for deer. They learn where they are safe and where they're being pressured.

I share hunt a property with several others. Few deer call it home. The neighboring property is identical, but little hunting pressure. You aught to see the deer pour into/out of it in the AM/PM. They know exactly where the property boundaries are.
Good points. Thanks for the feedback.
 
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