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Post by ff1126 on Dec 21, 2008 18:43:10 GMT -5
Ran across some info in an old American Rifleman magazine from 1965.
It had data from 48 states on the kill and population of big game in the U.S. for 1964.
In Indian, White tailed Deer Population Estimate was 50,000 and 6,000 killed. There was NO report of turkeys at all. In 2007 Indiana killed 124,427 Deer, and 12,204 turkeys.
In Missouri 1964, total population Deer-320,000 with 21,000 killed. For Turkeys-8,000, with 476 killed.
2003 the Show Me state deer kill was 207,516 and for turkeys in 2007 total harvest was 43,416 just in the spring.
I believe the "Good Old Days" are right now.....
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Post by drs on Dec 22, 2008 8:17:28 GMT -5
I think you're right! I remember back in the early 1960's, in Indiana, about the only place, a Hunter would stand a chance for harvesting a Deer, was at Crane NWS Center. IF he got drawn to hunt! Infact, I SAW my very first Deer, in Indiana, in 1969 while Squirrel Hunting. Just saw it's rump.
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Post by tickman1961 on Dec 22, 2008 10:08:20 GMT -5
We are living in blessed times when it comes to game and non game species populations.....
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Post by Woody Williams on Dec 22, 2008 10:55:43 GMT -5
My first year of deer hunting was with a gun and I really didn't even go out but about a half dozen times. That was in 1967. I saw no deer in those 6 trips.
The next year I started bowhunting. I went out quite a bit as I was on rotating shift. I saw a total of 6 deer the entire season.
Yes, these are the good old days...
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Post by Woody Williams on Dec 22, 2008 10:59:36 GMT -5
Here are some OLD deer season predictions..
Indiana 1975 Deer Season Forecast
Hoosier bowmen harvested an estimated 1,000 whitetails during the 1974 season and since approximately 21,000 archery licenses were sold, they enjoyed a success ratio of about 5%.
Edward Hansen, Chief of Wildlife, reports that this is up from their average annual success ratio of 3%. Hansen estimates the current herd at some 60,000 animals.
Residents need a $5.75 archery license while the fee for nonresidents is $30.75. The expected dates for the '75 season are October 18 to November 14 and December 13 through December 21. The first part of the season will be for either sex while the latter part is for bucks only. The bag limit is one deer per hunter.
Hansen reports the '75 bowhunting outlook as "good" and that, in good habitat, the deer continue to maintain their populations. In some intensely farmed areas the deer population is on the increase.
He recommends the northeastern section of the state, the south central hill region and the strip-mined areas.
Indiana 1978 Deer Season Forecast
John Olson, Indiana's Deer Research Biologist, expresses concern over the severity of last winter. I "Hunter success in '78 is likely to be lower due to the expected decrease in the reproduction of the herd." The best hunting, according to Olson, will be found in the military areas and Zone 1 (northeastern section of the state), Zones 5, 6 and 7 (southern third of the state). He also recommends the State and National Forest areas as well as the state's 13 Wildlife Areas.
Indiana's current herd contains from 80,000 to 85,000 whitetails and bowmen enjoy an average annual success ratio of eight to nine percent. Last year's report indicates that approximately 25,000 hunters bagged some 2,500 deer.
The required archery only license is $5.75 for residents and $25.75 for non-rsidents. The Ocober 14 to November season is for a deer of either sex. Bucks only may be hunted during the December 9 to 17 season. The limit is one deer with a bow.
Indiana 1982 Deer Season Forecast
In 1974 Indiana's estimated whitetail population was 55,000. For 1982 the herd is estimated at between 80,000 and 120,000 head. In 1980 40,701 archers hunted this state's deer and even more bowhunters took to the field in 1981.
This past year was the first during which mandatory check-in of kills allowed game officials to compile deer harvest data. This information has shown that 3,657 of the 4,017 deer tagged were taken during the early season.
Indiana residents will pay $10.00 for the combined archery license and deer tag, nonresidents $35.00. The limit is one deer, either sex (bucks only during the gun season) in the October 9-November 12 and December 4-31 archery season. Further information can be obtained by writing to the Division of Wildlife, 607 State Office Bldg., Indianapolis, IN 46204.
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Post by Woody Williams on Dec 22, 2008 11:02:10 GMT -5
This Indiana's Deer Range in 1955..  |
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Post by Ahawkeye on Dec 22, 2008 12:08:40 GMT -5
My first year of deer hunting was with a gun and I really didn't even go out but about a half dozen times. That was in 1967. I saw no deer in those 6 trips. The next year I started bowhunting. I went out quite a bit as I was on rotating shift. I saw a total of 6 deer the entire season. Yes, these are the good old days... Woody, do you think knowlege and expierence had much to do with your numbers or would you say it's all in the numbers of deer? I'd say folks had to learn to hunt deer as well as be where they were acording to your map. JMHO |
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Post by raporter on Dec 22, 2008 13:21:20 GMT -5
My first year hunting deer was 64 or 65 (hope I can figure this out some day). Anyway hunted for a week with the bow and saw one deer which was a buck. I did get two shots at it and didn't come close on either one. Hard to hit anything when you are shaking as bad as I was. First experience with buck fever. Don't really know if it was big or not as any deer would have been big to me then. Probably a good thing I didn't hit it as I knew nothing about sharpening broadheads, (They were new, why would you sharpen new ones?) Hunted the same area the next year and only saw one doe and no shots. We got a huge snow later in the season and a friend asked me to go with him. Didn't really have the clothes for such a hunt but went and froze my bU!! off. Got a shot at a small 8 pointer and hit the jugular vein(Not that that was where I was aiming) and collected my first deer. My friend also got one that could have been his twin. These were the first two bucks any of us knew about being taken at the time. We now let bucks like this walk. Yes we are living in glory days of deer hunting.
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Post by beehunter on Dec 22, 2008 13:30:11 GMT -5
I can remember seeing the 1st deer tracks around my area in 1978 and when I killed a small basket rack in 1986 my Uncle and his Brother inlaw drove 20 minutes just to see it. Not very many people in my area killed them back then.
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Post by indianahick on Dec 22, 2008 13:48:51 GMT -5
I bought one of those 21k archery licenses in 1974, 75, etc. I started hunting in 1970 and don't remember seeing any deer until maybe 75 or 76. I think I got a doe with a bow in 76 or maybe 77. Nothing with a shotgun until 1980. Where I hunted then is what would be part of the Fairbanks area except that it is private and now the owner leases it out to a outfitter type. Another part of that area that I hunted is now unhuntable because it marked as no trespassing. There are probably 15 times as many deer now as then and there was not any turkeys. At least non that I knew of.
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Post by beehunter on Dec 22, 2008 14:27:55 GMT -5
indianahick I also saw my first Turkeys in 1988 or 1989 I don't remember which they were in the stripper hills by Peabody mine.
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Post by steiny on Dec 22, 2008 17:41:39 GMT -5
I bought one of those 21,000 archery tags in 74' also.
Man .......... we're getting old !
My uncle killed a 177" 10 point booner on the farm I now live on in 74'.
That was the talk of the deer hunting community in town that year.
It still ranks in the top 20 or so typical in the state.
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Post by kodiak50 on Dec 23, 2008 5:37:26 GMT -5
I started deer hunting in 65 and if I even seen a deer it was a great trip and big deal. Got my first Thanksgiving day 1968 a basket rack 8pt. It was the talk of the town.
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Post by budfields on Dec 23, 2008 9:40:31 GMT -5
My first hunt was Indiana's OPENING DAY of archery season in October of 1964. Some "friends" at work invited me to "tag along." I was freezing and decided to head back to the car.. I was going the WRONG WAY and someone spooked a doe that almost ran over me.
The FIRST wildlife deer I ever saw and it was standing in front of me. (Actually, that was proably the safest place.) I "warmed up fast" as I drew the bowstring back. I was using a brand new 52 lb. Shakespear Necedah that I bought at KMart the night before the season opened. I was shakling so bad, that cedar arrow could have ended up ANYPLACE in the county.
As I released the bowstring, the deer spooked and I BELIEVE it actually "ran into the arrow." That doe ran maybe 20 yards and flopped to the ground.. I SHOT MY FIRST DEER!!
As I was re-telling the story to my hunting buddies, and anyone else willing to listen, I THINK the distance from me to the deer "might" have gotten farther and some of the situation leading up to the opportunity "migt" have also been told somewhat differently but that FIRST DEER started a BURNING desire that still RAGES TODAY.
Regretfully, all the "good ol' boys" that got me started have passed on but I can still recall ALL the "GOOD OL' DAYS" and I even remember some early 1960/s deer hunts with raporter and some friends in Spencer, Indiana... GOOD OL' DAYS!!!
Bud Fields
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Post by tomthreetoes on Dec 24, 2008 22:32:52 GMT -5
I killed my first deer, a seven point, in 1963 with my dad's Indian Archery 60 inch recurve. Pretty big deal for a 17 year old kid. Someone has a house there now, a sign of the times I guess.
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