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Post by Woody Williams on Dec 3, 2018 7:36:42 GMT -5
AFTER THE FIREARM SEASON LAST YEAR.....
97,134
WE ARE DOWN 1,750 FROM LAST YEAR. THIS FINAL WEEKEND WAS SLOW.
From Sept 15, 2017 to Monday, December 4, 2017 at 6:03 am CST
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Post by jjas on Dec 3, 2018 8:26:20 GMT -5
This turned out to a be a gun season that surprised me in a couple of ways...
It appears we ended up harvesting approximately 64,000 deer during the gun season this year (with approximately 15,000 deer harvested on opening day) . Last year (with the lousy opener weather) we ended up with 66,000 deer harvested (with 7,326 deer killed on opening day).
From 2009/2016 we averaged approximately 25,000 deer harvested on opening day and around 77,000 for the firearms season.
So my question is, I understood last year's opener being down, but this year I can't figure out why we we approximately 10,000 deer down on the opener while (just like last year) the rest of the firearms season was close to the averages from the last several years?
Add in the 10,000 we were short this year and we would be sitting @ approximately 105,000 deer. Throw in the muzzleloader season average of approximately 9,000 deer and another 3,000 for the late antlerless season and we would be sitting @ around 117,000 deer for this season. As it is, it looks like we are going to end up somewhere around 107,000 deer.
Did hunters pass on opening day deer holding out for the "big one" and then picking up the pace from Sunday on? Was there lousy weather somewhere in the state on the opener that I'm unaware of that could account for that many deer? Were we down on bucks on opening day or was it does? Perhaps both?
It's just strange that the numbers were down on the opener, but then were fairly close to average the rest of the way.
What am I missing?
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Post by boonechaser on Dec 3, 2018 8:40:59 GMT -5
To early to tell what final tally will be. Obviously weather again was a small factor BUT it should average out as our firearms season is so long. That being said we still have archery, muzzy, late antlerless and urban zone zone hunting going on. We are only 1700 or so behind last year total harvest to date but not totally shocked we are behind. Most counties saw drops in antlerless tags and several dropped out of late antlerless season all together. Still think we will end up close to last year's totals.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 3, 2018 8:42:42 GMT -5
I think the IDNR set a goal years ago to have herd size to where we take 100,000 per year. Look a the micro managing this year!
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Post by jjas on Dec 3, 2018 8:54:13 GMT -5
I think the IDNR set a goal years ago to have herd size to where we take 100,000 per year. Look a the micro managing this year! Perhaps that is true but it still doesn't explain why the firearms opener was down 10,000 deer (as compared to the averages between 2009/2016) and the rest of the firearms season (with varying types of weather) was approximately where it has averaged between 2009/2016. Again...I'm curious as to why was the opener down so much this year?
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Post by chewbacca on Dec 3, 2018 9:14:25 GMT -5
This turned out to a be a gun season that surprised me in a couple of ways... It appears we ended up harvesting approximately 64,000 deer during the gun season this year (with approximately 15,000 deer harvested on opening day) . Last year (with the lousy opener weather) we ended up with 66,000 deer harvested (with 7,326 deer killed on opening day). From 2009/2016 we averaged approximately 25,000 deer harvested on opening day and around 77,000 for the firearms season. So my question is, I understood last year's opener being down, but this year I can't figure out why we we approximately 10,000 deer down on the opener while (just like last year) the rest of the firearms season was close to the averages from the last several years? Add in the 10,000 we were short this year and we would be sitting @ approximately 105,000 deer. Throw in the muzzleloader season average of approximately 9,000 deer and another 3,000 for the late antlerless season and we would be sitting @ around 117,000 deer for this season. As it is, it looks like we are going to end up somewhere around 107,000 deer. Did hunters pass on opening day deer holding out for the "big one" and then picking up the pace from Sunday on? Was there lousy weather somewhere in the state on the opener that I'm unaware of that could account for that many deer? Were we down on bucks on opening day or was it does? Perhaps both? It's just strange that the numbers were down on the opener, but then were fairly close to average the rest of the way. What am I missing? I didn't hunt on opening morning because I had something going on but I was able to drive around my hunting area for about the first 45 minutes of daylight. I can tell you this much, there just aren't that many people hunting during firearms season anymore in my area. I saw very few trucks parked in fields and didn't see much orange in the woods' either. My buddy texted me about an hour into his sit and said he had only heard about 15 shots up to that point. I replied back and told him I wasn't surprised because I wasn't seeing many hunters out. I didn't hear a single shot at all this weekend and I hunted both mornings and both evenings. Firearms season appears to be a dying thing around me. I wonder if this is true in a lot of areas?
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Post by boonechaser on Dec 3, 2018 9:33:17 GMT -5
I think the IDNR set a goal years ago to have herd size to where we take 100,000 per year. Look a the micro managing this year! Perhaps that is true but it still doesn't explain why the firearms opener was down 10,000 deer (as compared to the averages between 2009/2016) and the rest of the firearms season (with varying types of weather) was approximately where it has averaged between 2009/2016. Again...I'm curious as to why was the opener down so much this year? Well for one we don't have near the deer we had im 2009-16. ( Herd reduction peak.). Add to that I think hunters attitudes are changing with many choosing not to harvest doe's or less at least, so really not surprising to me.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 3, 2018 9:35:13 GMT -5
I think the IDNR set a goal years ago to have herd size to where we take 100,000 per year. Look a the micro managing this year! Perhaps that is true but it still doesn't explain why the firearms opener was down 10,000 deer (as compared to the averages between 2009/2016) and the rest of the firearms season (with varying types of weather) was approximately where it has averaged between 2009/2016. Again...I'm curious as to why was the opener down so much this year? What I meant is there are not as many deer to shoot. I'm a member of a large group of hunters that hunt 3 counties (Dearborn/Ohio/Switzerland) and we get together every opening Saturday after dark for a big dinner feast. General conversation was the low number of deer overall. How many yotes and cats seen. That conversation didn't happen in the past. Each year over the last 5 or 6 our numbers are lower.
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Post by majyang on Dec 3, 2018 9:48:45 GMT -5
I feel the same way about there being noticeably fewer hunters out on opening day (and throughout the whole season actually). For me personally, i can tell ya'll i gave it my dang-dist throughout gun season and i just wasn't seeing any deer. Did have some good sightings during archery... just couldn't make it happen then. So i was very much looking forward to gun opener. However once 17 Nov came around, either my luck ran out or the deers simply moved out of the state. I saw very few deers (unusually low average for me anyways). Sightings only got worse as the season progressed. I've at least scored a doe, but based on my recent outings i'm feeling this may be a tag soup year.
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Post by dbd870 on Dec 3, 2018 10:00:04 GMT -5
I did hear the least amount of shots opening morning that I have heard in a long time; and the first came very late; way later than I can ever remember. Having said that the number of deer seen during archery season was pretty normal
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Post by colts1888 on Dec 3, 2018 10:02:56 GMT -5
Same here. Firearms season was awful on my property again this year. Seen one deer all opening weekend and only seen a total of 6 for the 2 week season. Trail cam pics few and far between as well. Lucky i got my buck the monday before gun came in or i would be deerless again this season most likely. Did see more deer during archery but nothing like it used to be. Im not surprised by the numbers any more I seen the decline years ago in my area. its the new norm now.
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Post by medic22 on Dec 3, 2018 10:15:08 GMT -5
As ive said in other threads this has been the best year ive had in a long time on public or any other land.
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Post by jjas on Dec 3, 2018 11:04:31 GMT -5
I get all of your points. But....what doesn't make sense is that archery was up and days 2-16 of the firearms season averaged out about where they had over the last several years.
But...the opener was down 10,000 deer. Now if the whole season was like that, I would say...yes herd numbers are down. But that's just not the case.
Perhaps it was people holding out on the opener for a big buck and/or fewer people shooting does. I guess when the data comes out next year it may tell the tale based on what was killed on the opener (bucks vs does), but right now...it's odd that the historically largest harvest day of the entire deer season was down 10,000 deer, yet the rest of the season (to this point) has been right around the average or a bit above.
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Post by MuzzleLoader on Dec 3, 2018 12:24:39 GMT -5
I think hunters are just aging out. A lot of buddies just don’t go anymore or hunt just a few days. Tagging a buck isn’t the motivating drive it used to be. I generally just hunt for meat anymore. I don’t go out when it’s bad weather like I used to or hunt as long. It’s just we are getting older and hunting less. The kids these days are not hunters.
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Post by 36fan on Dec 3, 2018 12:27:49 GMT -5
I get all of your points. But....what doesn't make sense is that archery was up and days 2-16 of the firearms season averaged out about where they had over the last several years. But...the opener was down 10,000 deer. Now if the whole season was like that, I would say...yes herd numbers are down. But that's just not the case. Perhaps it was people holding out on the opener for a big buck and/or fewer people shooting does. I guess when the data comes out next year it may tell the tale based on what was killed on the opener (bucks vs does), but right now...it's odd that the historically largest harvest day of the entire deer season was down 10,000 deer, yet the rest of the season (to this point) has been right around the average or a bit above. I'm going to make a postulation that will be difficult to prove: It's because of the cool early season weather we had. More people got their buck early in the season and weren't out on opening firearm morning. Also, doe tags have been decreased, and people are starting to pay attention to herd size. I would ask how firearm licenses compared to previous years, but that wouldn't be an usable data since the bundle license exists.
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Post by subzero350 on Dec 3, 2018 13:18:40 GMT -5
Opening morning of firearms was quiet around here. While I didn't hear as many shots as I had in years past, I did see more deer than I've seen a few years.
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Post by jjas on Dec 3, 2018 13:41:23 GMT -5
The more I think about, perhaps more hunters were trying to kill a certain class of buck or a certain buck they had seen on their cameras and waited until day 2 to really push into harvest mode.
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Post by Woody Williams on Dec 4, 2018 6:42:30 GMT -5
Current reported deer harvest: 95,881 From Sept 15, 2018 to Tuesday, December 4, 2018 at 5:40 AM CST Deer harvest numbers are updated as deer are checked in via CheckIN Game. All numbers are raw data that have not been verified by the Indiana DNR. www.in.gov/dnr/fishwild/8367.htm
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Post by Woody Williams on Dec 4, 2018 7:08:58 GMT -5
THIS DAY AFTER FIREARMS SEASON LAST YEAR
97,949
From Sept 15, 2017 to Tuesday, December 5, 2017 at 6:30 am CST
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Post by Woody Williams on Dec 5, 2018 5:51:21 GMT -5
Current reported deer harvest: 96,029 From Sept 15, 2018 to Wednesday, December 5, 2018 at 4:48 AM CST Deer harvest numbers are updated as deer are checked in via CheckIN Game. All numbers are raw data that have not been verified by the Indiana DNR. www.in.gov/dnr/fishwild/8367.htm
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