Was in the tractor during gun season last year and would say it was peak or close to it during gun season; it always is. Saw multiple bucks chasing.
I would say it was pretty close to peak rut as well. In 2012 I shot a 120 9 pointer and 1:00pm with no other deer in the area. Last year on our last day drive we kicked up a buck that was bedded with a doe.
Based on trail cams pics and fawn birth peak breeding happened the week of November 17, I could be wrong but the last 2 years fawn birth was later in June, this is not based on one doe but several over the last 2 years. I am in South Central just over an hour north of MPLS
An hour north of MPLS?! You're right in my neck of the woods. I'm 15 miles east of St. Cloud, near Princeton. If basing it off fawn birth... Could the harsh winters have had anything to do with it? I have no idea myself, but thought it might affect when they pop out.
I live west of the Sherburne refuge, and I could count the number of shots I heard opening weekend on 1 hand, based on gun season results being down %30 in central MN either there are a fraction of the bucks or they were not in full rut, that combined with fawn births indicates later breeding.
Some of our deer numbers and lack of big racks all over could be to the rise over the last maybe 5 to 10 years in hunters with guns and bows crawling all over the woods. Cable TV and the World Wide spider Web have increased the attractiveness to hunting I believe. Look at me, I picked up a bow for the first time at 36 years old and shot my first public land deer, a spike buck, two years ago. Back in the days I didn't know very many hunters at all and the ones I did grew up doing it with the elder men and got passed on the lifestyle, most I knew gun hunted. Gun/bowhunting is a billion dollar a year cash cow and the push is toward products and hunters to sell them to. It's cool to be a hunter now, at least where I live in MN, I know tons of hunters, there's three bowhunters and one gun dude on my block alone, and I live IN the city in Brooklyn Center ! The last few years I've been raised on hunting shows, YouTube and the Internet and asking questions on here and with people I meet. So if I can just start out of the blue I'm sure I'm not the only one. I am part of the problem as well, I asked people's advice on what to do if I saw a small buck walk out on me, should I let him walk like the TV shows, let him grow up to be racked up nasty........unanimously people said, you're on public land shoot it because if you don't the next person will. I drew, thought real hard, let down and thought more, drew again and killed that spike. I had like 15 sits under my belt with nothing and finally I had a deer in bow range. I have those spikes on the wall in my garage right now, looking at the situation now, I feel I made not the "wrong choice" but not the "right" one either. I wouldn't do it again faced with the same situation. In fact, I put out a trailcam this year and saw two what I think to be 1 1/2 to 2 year old bucks in the same area growing velvet bone. I have made the choice not to shoot either one this season if it walks out. Someone else may, but I have decided to do what I can as a Minnesota bowhunter, growing into that responsibility, to help our deer population mature into legendary states like Iowa, Illinois and the like. We have all the crop land, timber, water and such to have giants all over but I don't believe hunters are using restraint in the field in our public lands. I don't have a quick solution to our situation nor do I believe there is one. I only aim to take one deer per year for myself even though I hunt the 601 unlimited antlerless, last season I got skunked, this season my aim is a mature doe, or this "BIG EIGHT" this guy keeps telling me runs the woods, he's been trying harvest for like four years. I started bowhunting with my emphasis on killing a deer, and I did my first season out. I've since slowed down and realized it's not just about filling a tag at all costs. I read on here a lot people talk about filling their freezers and what not. We all live near grocery stores and unless you're that broke and your family will starve without you putting "Brown Down" maybe some should sit out from the hunt a year or two, or let young deer walk on public lands. Too much finger pointing at the DNR and other hunters, we all need to look in our own mirrors and decide what you can personally do to help our deer herd, not just blame others and finger point.
I think you made a couple pretty good points. One thing I will say though, is that it's a lot easier to pass on a deer if you know you can't legally shoot it. Most of your average hunters follow the rules. If the rule says it has to have 4 points, most people will grumble about it, but will pass on anything less. I would love for us as a state to start getting some larger QDM cooperative type things going on. I even brought the idea to a couple neighbors and got shot down. Whereas if the DNR just says ok this is how things are going to be done, we can get some more rapid changes. Look at the harvest numbers. DNR says the herd was down, and now nearly the entire state is at a one deer limit.
I don't think recognizing there is a problem and giving suggestions as to how to fix it is finger pointing. I also don't have a problem with any new hunter regardless of age shooting anything they want. I think that is a huge part of learning to hunt.
I completely agree, however how would you enforce a point limit and still allow first time hunters to shoot any buck?
I shot a doe for my first deer and then there are year and a half 8s for the first bucks, So they just couldnt shoot a fork for a buck. I think this could work, just how do we get these changes into the ears of people who matter?
Kids do not have to follow the point restriction in SE MN. They can shoot any buck they want until a certain age.
While it is frustrating, I do get it. At least for this year, in central Mn around Foley. 1. Predicted to be a terrible winter again. 2. Crops are in late, deer will have enough trouble surviving. So I do think it is a good idea this year, it is hard to fill the freezer, and you have to decide which sex to shoot. It will only bring better hunting in the next few years! And maybe gives you a chance to try out a different type of hunting!
