2019 Indiana Deer Management Survey

The survey link can only be used once, so please do not share your link with anyone else. The survey link will be active for 21 days. You will receive a reminder after 1 week. If you do not wish to take the survey, just ignore this email and the reminder email.


I seen(other places)some seem to think they can post the link for other to use...SMH..."The Common Sense Deer Hunter" LMAO!

When the OBR first came up for discussion it was widely reported that there was approximately 6,000 “double dippers”..

Agreed. I filled out mine.

To be honest..I'm simply confused about CWD. I see the number of deer harvested in states like Illinois,Michigan,Ohio..and can't help but think..is it (CWD) that detrimental to the herd? Some of these states have had this disease around for years and have short firearm seasons and still harvest large amounts of deer. I definitely don't want it here..just trying to understand after reading so many articles in the 3 whitetail magazines I subscribe to.

I didn't get the survey, but this past season was the fourth year out of 35 years not getting one from Indiana. I hunted 6 full days and only saw a couple deer. Luckily, my Ohio area was better this time. I like Ohio, they send it out before seasons starts so you can fill it out as you go. Sent Ohio in last month.

In the area that I mostly hunt, in the past 9 years I have seen the buck population take a complete 180. 8-9 years ago I saw many older bucks, I'd say in the 3-5 year old range with 8, 10 and one 12 point racks and a few non-typicals. Couple of houses were built within 1/2 mile and now all I'm seeing is spikes, four point racks, with a few 6 point and even fewer 8 point racks. The age "class" of the deer has changed with the majority of deer now being 2 1/2 with very few 3 1/2 year olds and none older than that showing up on camera now. The size of the trees that are being rubbed now has changed greatly too.

I believe it's mostly due to poaching, with a smattering of poor shooting and not recovering the deer, "so lets shoot another" mindset, and just more hunters in the area which is fine if they could shoot worth a hoot. 2 years ago during ML season I heard what I thought was a .223. Great I thought, someone is putting the hurt to coyotes. About 1/2 hr later I see this buck that I passed during archery season come hobbling by, one front leg dangling from the knee down. I grab the ML, hot foot it to the edge of the property (I had an idea where it was headed to bed down) and shot it before it left the property. There was a hole thru the one front knee that looked like it was a FMJ .22 caliber hole. Exact same size in and out, knee shattered.

I am averaging finding one deer per year on the property that has been shot on neighboring property and not recovered. This year it was a 1 1/2 year old 10 point. The rack wasn't any bigger than it's ears and it had an 8-9 month old body but a 1 1/2 year old face. I would love to have seen that deer in 3 years. Gut shot right in front of the rear legs, thru and thru. From where it died, I believe it walked across the whole property and died right before it left the property.

Another reason (I believe) for the decline in the deer population in the area is the DNR's fault. There is a farmer that owns considerable ground on 2 sides of the property. He has 20-20 acres in CRP but hates deer. After talking to the DNR Bioligist, she said he applies for and gets quite a few depredation permits. (in blocks of 10 permits) She said when he fills them, he applies for and gets another 10. If the farmer was required to remove the shot deer and take them to a place that can utilize the deer for feeding the hungry or homeless, I think that there would be less deer shot. As it is now, they can be shot and left lay. Yes, the horns are supposed to be cut off and turned in but who checks that? With the drastic reduction in fur prices, how much damage to the corn is caused by coons and not deer?

I'm glad to hear I'm not the only person seeing less and less older/bigger deer, and not just bucks - our doe age structure seems to be falling as well.

I saw more mature bucks this year than in many previous years. Also saw quite a few does and most seemed to be mature to me. Just all depends on the area. I know quite a few older bucks made it through the season too. Should be a great selection this fall. I’m really looking forward to it. Don’t expect all years to be like this one with 5 deer in the freezer and one more for the wall, but I’ll take it when it’s given.

I can't recall where, but I just read something the other day saying someone thinks they may have a cure for CWD (Chronic wasting disease) in deer and elk.
No idea why or how they think that's possible, but I'm all for it.

I also received and submitted my survey yesterday.