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Post by schall53 on Jan 6, 2015 9:13:00 GMT -5
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Post by boonechaser on Jan 6, 2015 13:09:59 GMT -5
I have always said Hunters manage the deer population. Not the State.
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Post by ridgerunner on Jan 11, 2015 7:38:08 GMT -5
I have always said Hunters manage the deer population. Not the State. True , but most Hunter's are poor managers..they'll shoot as many deer as the State will allow...or at least try to fill every tag they can have legally..I remember a guy on this site bragging a couple years ago about him and his buddy shooting 50-60 doe a season...they'd go from county to county buying all the bonus tags they could..said they were helping farmers out. They were pretty proud of the fact they killed so many doe every year. Few years of that in a 3 county area, then you add EHD, a bad Winter last year..takes a toll. I do agree with you Boonechaser hunters manage the population..So if a hunter isn't seeing deer, don't shoot any deer on your hunting land for a few years, let the herd recover. I did not shoot a doe this year in Indiana, first time in probably 20 years..I saw about 8 doe all season, very few bucks, tough year. I decided not to shoot any doe...self management , discipline, foresight, being responsible land steward whatever you wanna call it...it's just like anything else in this World...there are those who take, take ,take,......and there are those who only take what they need and plan for the future and think about what impact their actions may have..so couldn't care less as long as the IDNR says" i can kill 8 doe that's what I'm gonna do"...until they run out of deer to shoot..then they blame others. If you wanna see more deer starting shooting less deer for a while, figure how many deer you need to take off the property each year before season..I knew in September I wouldn't be shooting any doe this season..trailcam pics told me numbers were down..EHD and last Winter hit my deer herd hard last couple years.
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Post by mrfixit on Jan 11, 2015 8:15:19 GMT -5
While you may not have killed any does it's hard to convince the neighboring folks who traveled 200 miles and spent good money on tags not to kill anything because the local deer numbers are down.
I guess I'm the only one who feels our infamous deer biologist who manages our deer population and decides how many does that can be killed per county should be fired? Some I've spoken with whom always seen at least a few deer didn't see a deer this season. For example in Lawrence county I've spoken with a few people who didn't see a deer but yet Lawrence was a 8 doe county? I hunted Greene and didn't see one silly doe but I did see several baby bucks that was probably killed by someone on a neighboring patch of land just to fill their tag. It's hard to eat tag soup and I would probably have killed something if I had purchased a tag. Fortunately, I have a lifetime so while it did cost me something it was nowhere near what it cost someone who purchased one of the high dollar tags they now push. But hey, never fear, when the harvest numbers come out in a month or so it will undoubtedly be yet another record year so they are assured of selling more of the high dollar sportsman tags next year. This method of culling the does may work inside a fenced operation but it isn't working outside the fence. And I guess it's a good time to legalize center fire rifles because soon the only deer you might see will be 600 yards. Can't see 600 yards in the woods? Me either! Just means you won't be seeing any deer but just think of the possibilities when you do!!
Yep, I'm more than a little bitter and I think the guy at the top needs to be fired immediately before he causes further irreparable damage.
And for the record I'm not against center fire legalization. It's way past due and should have been done instead of the silly pistol caliber rule.
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Post by throbak on Jan 11, 2015 8:58:51 GMT -5
As long as we have Record or nearly the same harvest numbers no one Me included is going to believe the population is crashing I Think The popularity of Food Plots Is shifting the deer to other areas I have done food plots acres of WSG cut cedars for bedding Fire breaks with clover Safety zones IHave seen as many as I always do My neighbor That has improved his cattle pastures hunt the property line now Look around you see what others have done Could be a wake up there
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Post by mrfixit on Jan 11, 2015 9:28:02 GMT -5
Not to be rude but just keep telling yourself exactly what you are. There aren't many deer left here in my neck of the woods. The travelling orange army will be arriving soon to a farm near you to assist you in curbing your "over abundance" of "quality managed deer". And nothing personal but I hope it's more sooner than later. Maybe, just maybe, it will be in time and the deer in my neck of the woods will be able to recover a bit.
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Post by jjas on Jan 11, 2015 9:48:09 GMT -5
It's funny how QDMA is looked @ by hunters. For years, many have felt QDMA was nothing more than a trophy hunting organization that was really pushing hunters to kill enough does to get the bucks on their feet during breeding season. Many others felt QDMA was a model of management for the country.
And that's how people seem to feel about herd reduction now. Some can see the reasoning behind it, while some think it's going to ruin deer hunting in the state. I'm quite sure there are places in Indiana that are over hunted and the does need to be let up on, just as I'm sure there are places that still have too many deer. And in the end, I believe that the IDNR wants to protect and manage the resource while trying to provide quality hunting, generate income and keep non-hunters relatively happy. It has to be a daunting, thankless task.
In the future, I'm sure herd reduction will continue. And yes, I know many say hunters manage the resource (and that's essentially true as we pull the trigger or release the string), but as I've said before, goals are goals and I don't see counties that have high high bonus antler less permits available will see those permits reduced by much until the trends show those goals being met.
As for me, I (we) harvest deer based on what we are seeing year round and that leads me to this....
My friend and I were talking Friday evening and he was telling me about how there were about a dozen deer in his field where we left standing soybeans. Funny thing is, with all the debate and arguing over the last few years about tags, seasons, herd reduction, equipment choices, EHD, drought, and rough Winters, that's about the same number of deer that have shown up in that field after hunting season every Winter for the last ten years.
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Good read
Jan 11, 2015 12:11:28 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by span870 on Jan 11, 2015 12:11:28 GMT -5
Where are you guys hunting that you can't find deer in Lawrence, Orange, or Greene counties. Every time I'm out running dogs we have deer up. I'm convinced a lot of the issue is most people refuse to hunt public land and that's where the deer have moved to. Areas I used to hunt in HNF that were loaded with hunters are void of anyone hunting. We used to see 10 to 20 deer before noon. A lot of that had to do with hunters pushing those deer. Now the deer have a huge section of woods to move in and no one to keep them moving. I run 90% of the time of public land and the vast majority is HNF land. The deer are there. Are the numbers there, I don't know. I liken it to the argument of wolves and elk out west. The wolves aren't killing off all the elk. Just the surplus. 200 years ago there were more wolves out west than there are now. Less elk. Now you have to hunt for the elk. Same as Indiana. Is there the number of deer as 10-15 years ago. Probably not. But they are there. I've read several post over the year of hunters hunting a farm and not seeing any deer over a week or two. Why are you still hunting that farm. When I deer hunted seriously a stand had at the most two, maybe three sits. If no deer than I didn't hunt there anymore. If I fish a hole in the river and ain't catching fish I don't keep going back to that hole time and time again. I just stop fishing that hole. If I run a property and we don't get any rabbits up I stop hunting there. I don't go back time and time again hoping there are rabbits there. And before guys says its the only place I have to hunt, you have over 200,000 acres to hunt just in the HNF. That doesn't include state forest land or other public land.
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Post by M4Madness on Jan 11, 2015 20:48:05 GMT -5
I hunt Lawrence County exclusively and saw probably as many deer this past season as in years past.
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Good read
Jan 14, 2015 13:03:52 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by beermanbrian on Jan 14, 2015 13:03:52 GMT -5
You hit it on the head span870. I believe many guys think herd management means more deer. The DNR set out for a heard reduction and that goal is being met. I also believe that many hunters think a county with an 8 doe max means that every Hunter kills that many deer. The stats flat out show that 85% or more of hunters only harvest 1 or 2 deer a year. Biologists know this and that is why they raise the number knowing that most will never come close to that number.
I also agree that if you aren't seeing deer in area stop hunting it as if by some sort of magic that next sit will be the one. I get a kick out of some comments that say they have hunted a stand 25 times and not seen a deer. That doesn't sound like hunting. Thankfully we as a society don't rely solely on killing our own meat or some guys that call themselves hunters would starve to death.
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