Just seen this article and since this will probably be another hot topic this year figured throw it up. Basically have the same thoughts and do some of the things mentioned. http://www.whitetailproperties.com/blog/how-average-hunters-can-fix-the-deer-decline
Some boys need to lay off the does.....just cause they sell a doe tag doesn't mean you should be buying and filling them.
"Chances are you live near a hunter who isn’t as serious as you are about deer management. Spread the word and share this article. Every time a hunter pulls a trigger or releases an arrow, that hunter is making a management and stewardship decision. That decision must be made with the best interest of whitetails as a whole in mind. Sometimes the herd needs to be thinned. Other times, it needs a little TLC. Does your deer herd need TLC right now? If so, it's up to you and your neighbors to provide it. Get together with the neighboring hunters in your area and commit to shooting less deer. It’s unfortunate when hunters shoot deer because “if I don’t, the neighbors will.” That mentality isn’t why we hunt. It’s certainly not how we manage deer. We manage deer in their current situation. If the population is hurting, you and all your neighbors need to step up to the plate to help your local deer herd." I love this excerpt from the article, so spot on. I agree folks need to be careful about taking does. One thing I've always been a bit critical on QDM is being a little hard on does. One bad year for reproduction and with ratios where QDM preaches and you could be looking at some pretty rough conditions for a few years for the population to bounce back. I'd prefer to err on the side of higher sex population than 1:1 that is often touted as ideal. Our current ratio is about 3:1 and I feel that's a comfortable place to be in considering our estimated densities, cover and food.
I agree with the article for the most part. While I think e.h.d and other diseases play a small role in population decline I think it's just a small fraction compared to over hunting and predation. I wonder what deer hunting will be like in 50 years...wouldn't surprise me if it only existed on game farms.
Unfortunately the "if I don't shoot it my neighbor will" mentality is all too real for most hunters. I am surrounded by hunters who hunt only a few days a year and believe me they shoot whatever they see. I pass does and small bucks all fall only to have them shot the opening weekend of gun hunting. Convincing someone to not shoot a deer who only hunts two days a year isn't realistic at all.
I live in an area that has a big zone with different factors and conditions from the north that boarders on wolf country to the south that is semi urban. They cut the tags I went from 1 bonus tag to none, my archery tag this year was hunter choice. I have as many deer as ever or more but can fill my tag with only 1. I have 15-20 deer on the plot to eat feed and food plot stubble. My area needs to have deer taken out but the zone says no. I know deer need population in my area needs to be thinned but current zoning does not allow it, may be time to sub divide the zones.
If that's the case, then we have all failed! The deer population in Missouri has been at record highs over the last 10 years or so. Back in the 60's there were hardly any deer in Missouri, but thanks to sportsmen that has changed. EHD can nearly wipe out a pocket of deer. Areas hit hard by EHD lose deer in the hundreds at a time. That is a shock to the population and be hard to recover from if something in their environment doesn't change. Basically predator control is our only real tool to help allow the deer population to bounce back. That's predators such as coyotes, bobcats and people.
Me and a buddy just had a talk about that the other day. I can remember being in hs, which was only 12 years ago, and seeing trucks parked everywhere along the road during gun season. The past couple years you hardly see anybody, there's used go be 10-15 hunters near the property I hunt and last two years hasn't been anyone but me and my friend that owns farm I hunt. And it's not that they're there when I'm not cause I'm out there almost everyday doin chores or just messing around. Would be interesting to see though, be hard to come up with the numbers though. Tag sales would be hard, I know alot of people that get tags every year and never step foot into the woods.
Hunter participation is at an all time high around me for neighboring properties. As far as the other hunters on our 365 acre property, I have finally given up. We are 25% owners of the land, but 50% on the hunting rights. The other half allows others to come in and hunt the 365, while they go to an adjoining 220 they own solely. I have heard it all from, "I shot it, because the neighbor would of ended up doing it" and "I only saw 2 deer all year so I just shot them both, man we sure don't have the numbers we used to for some reason.".......yes my cousin actually told me this year they were done being picky, the solution to not seeing the same amount of deer, was to shoot everything they saw! Yep try to find the logic in that one. My uncle (other owner) was actually able to purchase rifle tags for "nuisance" deer for the summer for many, many years. They would go out and wax all kinds of does. This finally stopped when we took partial ownership in. Now I have no problem with someone shooting a deer for the meat alone. I have seen numerous bucks hanging on the meat pole that I had passed before. I never say a word, nor will I ever. But this idea that just because the DNR wants to issue multiple tags to whoever wants one, and feeling like you need to fill them all is absurd. Talking to the others about maybe laying off the triggers is a lost cause, I've been trying for a few years now. They see the decline in numbers, and think it's just all the more reason to take, take, take and expect it'll all magically get better. Unfortunately, a lot of locals in this area feel the same way. I show up each morning, hunt my spots, try to get away from the circus elsewhere on the property, hope for the day I can buy it outright, and that DNR finally puts a cap on this limitless tag system.
We have been hit really hard with EHD in NC this year. NC DNR are reporting the loss of about 50% in my county and 75%+ in the counties north of me. I haven't even killed a deer this year, not because I haven't had the chance, rather to help them recover. I've never experienced anything like this..it sucks for sure
Over in Northern Wisconsin I saw way less hunters than years past as well at least during gun season.
Iowa finally started to lower the number of doe tags. I went to but one for 2nd season shotgun but they've been sold out for months. Normally they sell close to 2000 in my county alone amd this year only 450. I bet it stays this way for a few years at least.
"some"?... ALL boys need to lay off the does for a few years. The numbers of deer in Ontario are WAY lower. T
Ohio lowered the number of doe tags and I'm glad they did because it used to be possible to get 6 or 7 deer (can't remember which) in my zone which is ridiculous. I would also love to see gun hunting banned for a year in Ohio and see what happens to the population. Too many people go out with a gun and whack anything they see, by admission from some of the people I've talked to. No management efforts donated to the herd. This is why I wish they would get rid of the early anterless muzzleloader and late muzzleloader seasons here in Ohio.
I actually had a very heated conversation about hunting on another board recently that got me a suspension of my privilages there. Not because I said anything terrible, but because what I said was hugely unpopular with those folks. Anyway. I am no position to tell another hunter how to hunt, or what to shoot. We all make those choices on our own hopefully and not do so based on outside pressure or what we get force fed to us on TV. Here in PA, we have what is I believe still the highest hunter density in the country. When PA implemented the 3 point to an antler rule years ago, there was an awful lot of resistance. Then the HR kicked in and made things significantly worse. I personally felt that the HR efforts were completely overboard in many places and it seems like we're now seeing the results. Parts of our state are almost void of deer. These areas didn't have many to begin because of over hunting. The Game Commission here created these blanket regions across the state and allocated doe licenses to these units based on what they felt was the number they wanted to kill. The results, people shot every deer they could find. Now, years later, the allocations have been cut back, but its still more than is needed and people are still shooting and filling every tag they can. The deer aren't able to recover fast enough and combine this with a harsh winter, predation, disease, etc., and its easy to see why some areas of this state just don't have many deer. Its not like that everywhere here. Some regions have plenty of deer. I believe two things are happening in these areas. One, the hunter numbers are declining across the state. These areas historically didn't have as many hunters to begin with. Secondly, some areas of the state just have more private property. And this trend is growing. Many land owners are trying to save deer by posting their ground. I see it all the time, folks closing their ground to hunting and either not hunting it at all or only hunting it themselves.
