The 2007 Indiana Deer Harvest report...

For immediate release: March 6, 2008

Hunters succeed in ’07 despite deer disease

Record reports of a viral disease affecting white-tailed deer seemed to have minimal impact on the 2007 hunting seasons in Indiana, as hunters harvested 124,427 deer.

“The big thing for me was that number,” said Chad Stewart, deer research biologist for the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. “We were guessing the harvest was going to be down a lot more than it was this year.”

Stewart provides details of the '07 season in an annual report that includes a county-by-county breakdown of the deer harvest. To obtain a complete copy of the report, go to dnr.IN.gov/press/2007_Deer_Season_Report.pdf

A widespread outbreak of Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD), a viral disease transmitted by biting flies, had Stewart anticipating a significant drop from the 125,381 deer harvested in '06. Instead, hunters recorded the third-best season on record and were within 1,100 of the all-time mark of 125,526, set in 2005.

“That’s not to say (EHD) didn’t affect harvests in some parts of the state,” Stewart said. “The southwestern part of the state had a noticeable drop in harvest level, but that seems to have been made up elsewhere in the state.”

That “elsewhere” was primarily in the central and west-central areas of Indiana, especially in a handful of counties that experienced EHD in 2006.

“Where EHD affected counties like Clay, Fountain, Parke, Putnam, Sullivan and Vermillion in 2006, (numbers) all bounced back in a big way in 2007,” Stewart said. “In most cases, antlered harvests were back up to 2005 levels.”

Stewart said that’s potentially good news for such counties as Crawford, Daviess, Dubois, Knox, Martin, Pike, Spencer and Crawford, where harvest levels dropped at least 20 percent from '06. He said deer that survive EHD exhibit an immune response that can be passed on to their young, providing protection if the disease occurs the next year.

Other highlights of the '07 season included the success hunters had in harvesting female deer in the latter part of the firearms season and the muzzleloader season, which Stewart said plays an important role in controlling deer populations.

“Antlerless deer are shot at a 2-to-1 margin over the last nine days of the firearms season, and 80 percent of the harvest during the muzzleloader season is antlerless, with the majority of those being does,” Stewart said. “Without those efforts, the deer herds in some areas could rise dramatically.”

Steuben was the top county for the third straight year with hunters harvesting 3,754 deer. Switzerland County was second at 3,259, followed by Kosciusko (3,003), Franklin (2,950), and Marshall (2,854).

page 9.....very interesting

Yep, most hunters aren't as serious as this bunch and they have their slug gun already - it's worked before, good enough. I suspect it will take many years.

What surprises me is guys whine about using PCR, crossbows and high power handguns but they only make up 3% of the total harvest. h.h.

Where I check in my deer they ask every time you check in a deer during firearms and muzzle loading. Not during archery only of course. There is a space on the sheet for the firearm to be listed, if where some check in it is not asked then someone is not doing a complete job and more than likely putting down shotgun. Could be that they know you so well though that they know what you use and fill it in without asking too.

Not sure how accurate they could record the PCR data. There was not a check box for them on the form at the check station. I told the lady I used a PCR and she said that was not an option. I looked at the form and sure enough, that was not an option to check.

I ran across one who thought his .35 Rem. lever action was legal.