And the survey says??????

[NWBuck]

I know this will not be a popular opinion, but it is an honest opinion that I happen to believe in. What many of you are witnessing (declining deer numbers) is one of several negatives related to QDM. Sure, the antlerless tags have an impact on population, but in my area, issuing all firearm tags as "any-deer" has had a significantly greater impact. We cannot encourage people to pass small bucks, and subsequently complain when the population is down because they shot a doe

Some people want the venison, and you can't have it both ways.

Personally, in addition to cutting back on the number of antlerless tags sold, I favor a return to some portion of the firearms tags being issued for antlered only deer. While praises are heaped upon QDM because so many giant bucks are killed, I now see far too many negatives related to this issue. There are a number of active threads on this board that are certainly related to the statewide obsession with QDM. Declining populations, increase in leasing and outfitting, and limited access due to unreasonable prices for prime hunting ground...just to name a few.

Having passed too many small bucks to count, filled a half dozen antlerless tags this season alone, and even been lucky enough to take a few good bucks, I'd trade today's hunting for what we had 20 years ago in a heartbeat. Just my 2 cents.

NWBuck

 

[dbltree]

I've found everybody's "survey" to be very interesting...and perhaps a bit of an eye opener for me as to how much our deer population varies even within any one county, let alone across the state.
I hesitate to say this, but it's pretty hard to hide the deer in my area. I hunt a lot, sometimes all day and I keep a diary of what I see. During Oct and Nov. I saw just under 200 deer in two different counties. You can see why my perception of our deer herd varies widely from others who may only be a few miles away and see a 1/2 dozen deer.
All this makes me wonder how we can deal with problem areas without wiping them out in other areas?
Obviously in the area's I hunt, extended seasons and more tags are never going to work.
I see enough deer in my yard alone to replace every deer shot near my home. There is simply not enough interest nor access to harvest large numbers of deer where I hunt and land is being sold to hunters at a rapid rate...hunters who for the most part enjoy seeing large numbers of deer.
After the "surprise" attack with the TG season and extra week of late season, I wonder what will be next?
My personal feelings are (in high deer density areas) that we need to take a higher percentage of does then bucks. The total kill does not seem to rise signifcantly, so the next logical step is to take steps to ensure that out of the deer taken, less are bucks.
In other areas though, the opposite might be required. Some "micro" management may be required to better manage our deer.
Currently it seems that some areas are literally being wiped out and others "protected".
I believe that people like DNR Biologist Mr. Suchy understand many of these problems, but the legislature often trumps the DNR's card with permenant solutions to what may only be a temporary problem.
In my area, the first weekend of shotgun season is when the bulk of the deer are killed for the entire season. There is simply not enough participation in other seasons to have a significant impact. For this reason I expect that this season will be used to either take more or less antlerless deer depending on the situation.
I also expect that people who know nothing about managing our deer herd will continue to pressure lawmakers into making changes that may not be best for our deer herd...or us.

 

[liv4archery]

I agree with you NW Buck. In my mind, bug bucks are ruining our sport as we knew it growing up. 10 years ago, I could get access to basically whatever I wanted hunting with a bow. Now, everybody has gotten uptight about access issues, because everybody wants to shoot a big buck. And I can't blame everybody else, because so do I.

 

[avidhunter]

What you are seeing are large clusters of deer, that have been pushed out of many different areas where hunting pressure is greatest. I would wager that these areas where people are still seeing lots of deer after shotgun season are under hunted, due to either a lack of hunters (doubtful) or lack of access (probable).

This year was quite interesting, to say the least. We traveled through areas that traditionally hold many deer, only to be disappointed. Needless to say we had to get far from the roads to find these pockets.

Deer numbers have declined significantly.

 

[Pupster]

I understand that the deer herd is dramatically decreasing, but why do they have to have so many different seasons just to kill does?

I guess I take it personally since I was a late season hunter before it became popular.
I used to be able to really concentrate on taking a nice buck late, now with the doe hunting pressure those good bucks all go nocturnal.

I'm sure I'll adjust..actually I already have.....thank God for that spilt/late canada goose season!!!!

Pupster

 

[dbltree]

[ QUOTE ]
What you are seeing are large clusters of deer

[/ QUOTE ]

Gee...I sure hope the DNR doesn't notice the "cluster" of deer out in the field across from my house...

So do you all think our thoughts last fall to Willie...you know...give us a boatloads of cheap antlerless tags and we can REALLy control the herd...were wrong?
Have we been wrong to slap each other on the back in the doe harvest posts...you killed 5, 10 or 15...way to control the herd!
Heck...I'm starting to feel guilty cause I whacked a couple does during bow season......

 

[tracker]

I don't think we were wrong in doing what the DNR had asked us to do. The numbers are only down, the deer haven't been eliminated. I think that we proved to the DNR and the Legislature that residents can reduce the population when needed. Now that we have done our part they also need to listen to us.

 

[avidhunter]

You misunderstood my post. I was only commenting on how educated the deer were after the shotgun seasons, hence they had remained grouped up (like schools of fish) long after and well into late muzzleloader season. Which explains why some areas seemed entirely depleted of deer, and others loaded.

I think we all did a great job managing the deer population last year, as such the DNR/state legislators don't need to increase NR either sex tags.

 

[TimberPig]

This was the worst year of hunting I have seen in a while. Didnt see the numbers of deer and certainly not the quality of bucks. However, although I do think the population is down somewhat, I suspect the weather has more to do with this than anything. The whole season (outside of Shotgun) was 10-30 degrees above normal.
Last year we had cold and snow this time of year and deer were grouped up in snowy fields and feeding in daylight. Consequently, every other article in the DM register was about how we had too many deer and it was all people talked about. This year is much warmer, deer are not feeding as early, and are much less visible in the brown fields. Low and behold, no articles in the Register and fewer legislative proposals. Warm weather sucks for deer hunting, but this year it may have been just what we needed to get the deer "problem" off the front page.

On the down side, it seems the tree haters are capitolizing on this mild weather by destroying as much habitat as possible. Taken a drive in the country lately?

I'd like to see an article about the overpopulation of dozer piles.

 

[dbltree]

[ QUOTE ]

I think we all did a great job managing the deer population last year, as such the DNR/state legislators don't need to increase NR either sex tags.

[/ QUOTE ]

Works for me!!

TP - I've noticed a lot of "clearing" going on also. In several cases whole hill sides which should have been left alone. The ones I've seen were done by corporations putting in the huge hog confinements and they need every available acre to spread the hog manure...doesn't seem right to me but I don't make the rules.