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Post by Woody Williams on Aug 30, 2015 18:18:10 GMT -5
Since the Indiana deer season is just right around the corner......
What do you think are the biggest problems facing our Indiana deer herd today AND in the future?
You have five selections to make in this poll.
Comments?
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Post by swilk on Aug 30, 2015 18:35:51 GMT -5
Being insulated from much of the state has its drawbacks....only hunting my little chunk and the world seems pretty good. Good numbers. Good bucks. Healthy deer. Good neighbors.
But...many aren't so lucky. Access to be able to hunt where the deer are is likely what frustrates many so I would guess access, urban sprawl, farmers taking more habitat to plant and unfortunately leasing might be tied for number 1. I can't blame those with the means to lease and I can't blame those that profit from leasing....it is what it is and it isn't going to slow down any time soon.
I don't see any way to curb vehicle collisions or death from other circumstances such as disease.
Predation might be a problem in areas and its something we could control if it was.
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Post by nfalls116 on Aug 30, 2015 18:37:49 GMT -5
I think ehd and cwd are two of the most critical problems we face Leasing and lack of hunting ground aren't actually something I would say will negatively effect the deer herd just the quality of deer hunting But we are acquiring more and more public ground to help compensate for the Lack of Private ground availability. But I hunt in Parke County so the herd is dissimal at best already figure it can only go uphill from where we are
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Post by Deleted on Aug 30, 2015 18:46:22 GMT -5
Biological factors are my biggest worry. It seems EHD is becoming an annual issue. CWD is closing in around us and seems only a matter of time before it finds its way here. Blights seem to be ever increasing. It hit the pines a few years back. Now ash trees are all dying. God forbid the oaks are next. We can control a lot of factors that have a negative impact on deer herds but we are pretty nearly helpless against biological forces.
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Post by dbd870 on Aug 30, 2015 18:51:38 GMT -5
Loss of habitat is number 1 for me.
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Post by throbak on Aug 30, 2015 18:58:27 GMT -5
I chose CWD and Deer Farms you cant choose CWD without including Farms' I Have enough faith in the DNR to say most choices are a non issue The CWD we have no options other than the deer farm canned hunting restrictions and that didnt work It is THE most important thing effecting our herd not now but in the future YES
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Post by swilk on Aug 30, 2015 19:01:03 GMT -5
I suspect if we were miraculously able to test every wild deer we would find that CWD is already here.
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Post by jjas on Aug 30, 2015 19:13:55 GMT -5
Disease of trees, and the lack of quality hunting ground available to the "average joe" due to sprawl and leasing are my biggest concerns.
I'm not a fan of deer farms or canned hunting and it appears that much of the present outbreak of EHD has occurred on deer farms. How far down the road can CWD be?
While technology in the form of better bows, crossbows, optics, clothing and game cameras, etc have made hunting easier for the hunter, @ what point are we "shopping and shooting" deer instead of hunting for them?
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Post by greghopper on Aug 30, 2015 19:30:17 GMT -5
I suspect if we were miraculously able to test every wild deer we would find that CWD is already here. I am guessing you believe Deer can survive with CWD....
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Post by swilk on Aug 30, 2015 19:33:13 GMT -5
Not a good guess. You can try again if you'd like...
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Post by hunterman on Aug 30, 2015 19:55:25 GMT -5
Uneducated sportsmen are the biggest threat. When they read articles of National Enquirer credibility and become biologist and think the sky is falling and then use it as a platform to try and influence things.
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Post by drs on Aug 31, 2015 4:56:25 GMT -5
Indiana, as with other States, all have issues with declining Deer populations. Each season, I hear or read that Hunters aren't seeing as many Deer as they did 10 years ago. My own five choices, as issues facing the Deer Herd are:
1. Urban Sprawl
2. Over Harvesting of Doe
3. Lack of proper habitat due to modern farming practices
4. Shrinking hunting areas
5. Poaching (including "Party" Hunting)
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Post by tynimiller on Aug 31, 2015 8:49:29 GMT -5
I am with hunterdan. The biggest option IMO wasn't even there; the uneducated sportsman. The inability to judge whether harvests are necessary or not is done on a localized level...but can only be done when a hunter is in tune with his localized herd. Sadly not a ton are, and they go out and assume they can shoot whatever they want because it is legal. Sad fact is not everywhere is thriving in deer numbers....shoot even my 3 different properties in the SAME county are totally different. The one will see no doe harvests unless a new big group moves in...the other two could easily withstand a doe or two taken off each.
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Post by tynimiller on Aug 31, 2015 8:50:16 GMT -5
I did though vote for habitat loss...but I don't mean that just due to development...true good for deer habitat is just not occurring enough as forests mature and in some areas people refuse to log or fire up the chainsaws.
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Post by boonechaser on Aug 31, 2015 11:44:55 GMT -5
I am happy with the deer population in my home area. Was just talking with friend over the weekend that we were gonna have to harvest more than normal amount of does this season as we are seeing ton's and ton's of antlerless deer. Pretty happy with the buck's we are seeing on cam's as well. Several 125" to 140" class deer but with all the does in the area there will surely be some other bucks show up during the rut. Hunter education would be No.1 biggest problem facing our deer herd or I guess lack of it.
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Post by tynimiller on Aug 31, 2015 12:57:24 GMT -5
boonechaser...if you guys truly get in a pinch I do have a lifetime license and would love to come see ya and help harvest does after all your buck hunting is done late season. Probably end up talking more habitat than anything but still! bahaha
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Post by Jamie Brooks 1John5:13 on Aug 31, 2015 13:10:06 GMT -5
I didn't know we had many problems, but I'm going to lose sleep now. LOL
I'd actually like to see more sportsmen. I obviously don't know much, but I don't like to hear 5 shotgun shots go off in a row. I heard this on my first and only day of firearm season. It did sound like it all came from the same gun. If it's going to take 5 shots at a deer, I'm not shooting at that running deer. If it wasn't running then, someone just picked up a gun from last season and didn't sight it in.
In my opinion, a sportsman wouldn't attempt it. I know that I haven't hunted enough to be a sportsman, but I'd like to be one.
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Post by tynimiller on Aug 31, 2015 13:47:24 GMT -5
I didn't know we had many problems, but I'm going to lose sleep now. LOL I'd actually like to see more sportsmen. I obviously don't know much, but I don't like to hear 5 shotgun shots go off in a row. I heard this on my first and only day of firearm season. It did sound like it all came from the same gun. If it's going to take 5 shots at a deer, I'm not shooting at that running deer. If it wasn't running then, someone just picked up a gun from last season and didn't sight it in. In my opinion, a sportsman wouldn't attempt it. I know that I haven't hunted enough to be a sportsman, but I'd like to be one. IMO you are a sportsman brother no doubt in my mind.
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Post by chubwub on Aug 31, 2015 14:14:06 GMT -5
I didn't know we had many problems, but I'm going to lose sleep now. LOL I'd actually like to see more sportsmen. I obviously don't know much, but I don't like to hear 5 shotgun shots go off in a row. I heard this on my first and only day of firearm season. It did sound like it all came from the same gun. If it's going to take 5 shots at a deer, I'm not shooting at that running deer. If it wasn't running then, someone just picked up a gun from last season and didn't sight it in. In my opinion, a sportsman wouldn't attempt it. I know that I haven't hunted enough to be a sportsman, but I'd like to be one. Some of that can be blamed on the fact that we have to use slug guns instead of rifles, imo, plus the fact that people want to make sure they drop the deer down in its tracks as opposed to risk having it run over to someplace that they don't have permission to retrieve off of. I mentioned something like this to my fiance and he said that when he deer hunted he started picking up the habit of putting two to three slugs in it after having to watch a couple deer rot on the other side of a fence because a neighbor wanted to be a jerk. If you've already knocked it down and drawn blood, you might as well make sure that they don't have a chance to get back up. Also, there is the off chance that they were this guy, lol www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXs3f_XCMLI
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Post by Woody Williams on Aug 31, 2015 14:30:43 GMT -5
I didn't know we had many problems, but I'm going to lose sleep now. LOL I'd actually like to see more sportsmen. I obviously don't know much, but I don't like to hear 5 shotgun shots go off in a row. I heard this on my first and only day of firearm season. It did sound like it all came from the same gun. If it's going to take 5 shots at a deer, I'm not shooting at that running deer. If it wasn't running then, someone just picked up a gun from last season and didn't sight it in. In my opinion, a sportsman wouldn't attempt it. I know that I haven't hunted enough to be a sportsman, but I'd like to be one. Some of that can be blamed on the fact that we have to use slug guns instead of rifles, imo, plus the fact that people want to make sure they drop the deer down in its tracks as opposed to risk having it run over to someplace that they don't have permission to retrieve off of. I mentioned something like this to my fiance and he said that when he deer hunted he started picking up the habit of putting two to three slugs in it after having to watch a couple deer rot on the other side of a fence because a neighbor wanted to be a jerk. If you've already knocked it down and drawn blood, you might as well make sure that they don't have a chance to get back up. Also, there is the off chance that they were this guy, lol www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXs3f_XCMLII'm a firm believer in "anchor shots"... over the years I've lost a couple that I thought were "down for the count" with one shot...
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