JNRBRONC
Well-Known Member
I've typed in a couple of sheets that I got from the DNR a couple of years ago when I was looking at depredation tags for my property.
Benefits of Aggressive Doe Harvest
• Habitat is preserved if the deer population is kept with the range’s carrying capacity
• Harvesting does will put less pressure on bucks and provide a better adult-doe-to-antlered-buck ratio.
• You will see more mature bucks.
• The number of rubs will increase.
• Scraping behavior will intensify.
• With more mature bucks, the rut will be more intense, and frenzied chasing and fighting will occur more often.
• With a balanced adult-doe-to-antlered-buck ratio, techniques like rattling and calling will be more productive.
• The rut will be more predictable. When does greatly outnumber bucks, the rut lasts up to 90 days. When the adult-doe-to-antlered-buck ratio is 3-to-1 or less, the rut will last about 40 days.
• With a more condensed rut, most fawns will be born on schedule. Fawns will develop and gain enough weight to survive harsh winters.
Deer Reduction Check List
• Harvest adult does, not fawns. Impact recruitment.
• Encourage your neighbors to shoot does. Work together to accomplish common goals.
• Spread hunting pressure over several hunting seasons. Have does harvested early while they are within their home ranges. Utilize the youth, early muzzleloader and archery seasons to accomplish these goals.
• Utilize hunters during first and second gun seasons to harvest does. Promote stand hunting. It doesn’t do any good to drive deer off your property where they may or may not be harvested or locate a refuge.
• Keep good records of harvested deer (sex & numbers). You are the deer manager.
• Monitor impact on crops and natural vegetation.
• Realize that harvest of the right does is often more critical than harvesting a lot of does. Harvest does that impact and consider your property as part of their home ranges.
Other factors to consider
• Learn to recognize different types of wildlife damage. Knocked down corn is raccoon damage.
• Planting adjacent to woodlands is inviting trouble, if unavoidable; plant a buffer strip between crop and the woodlands.
• Early implementation of a two-strand baited electric fence can change deer movements.
• The key to solving these local deer problems lies with the cooperation between Iowa DNR, hunters and landowner/tenants.
• Property rights allow each landowner to ultimately control deer numbers & sex of deer harvested. The DNR regulations can’t make landowners harvest deer. Remember, ultimately the hunters & landowners are Iowa’s deer managers.
FWIW
Benefits of Aggressive Doe Harvest
• Habitat is preserved if the deer population is kept with the range’s carrying capacity
• Harvesting does will put less pressure on bucks and provide a better adult-doe-to-antlered-buck ratio.
• You will see more mature bucks.
• The number of rubs will increase.
• Scraping behavior will intensify.
• With more mature bucks, the rut will be more intense, and frenzied chasing and fighting will occur more often.
• With a balanced adult-doe-to-antlered-buck ratio, techniques like rattling and calling will be more productive.
• The rut will be more predictable. When does greatly outnumber bucks, the rut lasts up to 90 days. When the adult-doe-to-antlered-buck ratio is 3-to-1 or less, the rut will last about 40 days.
• With a more condensed rut, most fawns will be born on schedule. Fawns will develop and gain enough weight to survive harsh winters.
Deer Reduction Check List
• Harvest adult does, not fawns. Impact recruitment.
• Encourage your neighbors to shoot does. Work together to accomplish common goals.
• Spread hunting pressure over several hunting seasons. Have does harvested early while they are within their home ranges. Utilize the youth, early muzzleloader and archery seasons to accomplish these goals.
• Utilize hunters during first and second gun seasons to harvest does. Promote stand hunting. It doesn’t do any good to drive deer off your property where they may or may not be harvested or locate a refuge.
• Keep good records of harvested deer (sex & numbers). You are the deer manager.
• Monitor impact on crops and natural vegetation.
• Realize that harvest of the right does is often more critical than harvesting a lot of does. Harvest does that impact and consider your property as part of their home ranges.
Other factors to consider
• Learn to recognize different types of wildlife damage. Knocked down corn is raccoon damage.
• Planting adjacent to woodlands is inviting trouble, if unavoidable; plant a buffer strip between crop and the woodlands.
• Early implementation of a two-strand baited electric fence can change deer movements.
• The key to solving these local deer problems lies with the cooperation between Iowa DNR, hunters and landowner/tenants.
• Property rights allow each landowner to ultimately control deer numbers & sex of deer harvested. The DNR regulations can’t make landowners harvest deer. Remember, ultimately the hunters & landowners are Iowa’s deer managers.
FWIW
