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Post by cambygsp on Oct 23, 2005 6:35:37 GMT -5
I read an article that said that 30% of the total deer harvest in Illionis was via archery. I was surprised, since they have such a long archery portion of the season and such a short firearm portion. I thought the archery harvest would be a much higher percentage.
That prompted me to take a look at Indiana's numbers.
The archery percentage of the harvest in Indiana has been as follows.
2000 (22%)
2001 (23%)
2002 (18%)
2003 (19%)
2004 (18%)
In Indiana, the archery portion of the deer season enjoy's the most days, yet the harvest is on a steady decline. Firearms harvest are up, with muzzleloaders leading that group, from 15% in 2000 to 23% in 2004 (8% increase). And no additional days have been added in the firearm catagory....unlike the archery opportunities in urban zones.
When the call goes out to shorten firearms season, you have to ask yourself .... WHY?.............Sporting folks seem to be taking less and less advantage of all those days now!
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Post by drs on Oct 23, 2005 9:26:33 GMT -5
This drop off in archery harvests might be due to the fact that the Weather, in recent years, has been much warmer during archery season.
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Post by cday on Oct 23, 2005 9:55:14 GMT -5
Regardless if archery season was all year long and a liberal bag limit to go with it, It still will not take as manay deer as the first weekend of modern gun. This is why archery hunting is not so much a management tool but more fro recreation and more days of opportunity. The modern gun will and always be the big hammer when it comes to a effective deer management tool.
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Post by dlawrence on Oct 23, 2005 10:06:46 GMT -5
Maybe people don't want to spend the extra cash on a second tag if they get one.
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Post by trapperdave on Oct 23, 2005 10:20:07 GMT -5
its alot harder to get within 20yds than to bang em from 150. Also check the numbers of bowhunters verses # of gun hunters + the fact those guns are blazing away during the rut. The numbers dont surprise ma at all.
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Post by John on Oct 23, 2005 10:25:27 GMT -5
I'd have to agree with that statement. Doesn't surprise me either. Around here during Gun season, it's very hectic with all the Gun hunting going on. Bow hunters stay clear that week!
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Post by splash on Oct 23, 2005 11:36:32 GMT -5
Seems that the decline in harvest coincides with the OBR…makes you wonder, doesn’t it?
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Post by Woody Williams on Oct 23, 2005 12:51:54 GMT -5
Seems that the decline in harvest coincides with the OBR…makes you wonder, doesn’t it? Not at all... I've seen too many casual bowhunters (two season hunters) that just have hung up the bow and wait until gun season, cooler weather and the rut kicks in. Bowhunters are still passing bucks that gun hunters are merrily killing on open weekend of firearm seaosn. This is EXACTLY what Jim Mitcell said it would be - A transfer of the harvest form one seaosn to another.. The early bow season harvests are back to levels that they were 5 years BEFORE the OBRbeginning.. How anyone can think that the OBR is good for bowhunting is way beyond me.
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Post by splash on Oct 23, 2005 13:11:33 GMT -5
My sentiments exactly…I was just trying not to incite a riot from the pro-OBR people…
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Post by grappledad on Oct 23, 2005 13:14:26 GMT -5
Sounds like maybe we should come up with a way to get more people in the woods during the archery season. Perhaps another weapon, like maybe, oh I don't know, crossbow. Or we could cut gun season to 1 week and give crossbow hunters thier own season. Then I bet you would hear how crossbow is archery and doesn't need it's own season. Maybe.
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Post by cday on Oct 23, 2005 14:31:31 GMT -5
You could cut gun season down to one week and not really make a major impact on the number of deer harvested by modern gun. the opening weekend in most states harvests around 50% of the overall deer harvest, even in states like my where it is some locations 45 days long.
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Post by Woody Williams on Oct 23, 2005 15:29:28 GMT -5
You could cut gun season down to one week and not really make a major impact on the number of deer harvested by modern gun. The opening weekend in most states harvests around 50% of the overall deer harvest, even in states like my where it is some locations 45 days long. I agree.... In Indiana last year 57% of the bucks killed in firearm season were killed opening weekend. 52% of all deer killed in firearm season were killed opening weekend. 79% of the deer killed were killed in the first 9 days of the season. The only reason that number isn’t bigger is that the Thanksgiving holiday fell in the second week. Just by looking at the antlered to antlerless ratio on each day it becomes real apparent that as the season progresses the switch is from antlered to antlerless. I don't think the IDNR would want to give up that deer management tool. If the season were shortened then deer hunters would be in a more hurry up mode and would be less selective in what they will shoot.
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Post by cambygsp on Oct 23, 2005 17:36:26 GMT -5
I think an argument can be made that the folks partisapating in the firearms portion of the deer season in Indiana, did in fact become more selective after OBR.
When in the past they were willing to take the first DEER by, because they had spent $29.50 for their general firearms & bonus tag. Now days they are "selecting" to shoot the very first 3-inch antlered buck by....because they spend $24.00 on a single general firearms tag. And besides that, there are a heck of alot more of those 3-inch antlered bucks running around come opening day of firearms, because what few archery hunters that are left are passing them during the early archery season.
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Post by DEERTRACKS on Oct 24, 2005 8:51:22 GMT -5
I agree with splash & Woody on the OBR & it's effects on Indiana's archery season. It's a matter of hunter economics & work schedules. With the higher odds of taking a deer with a firearm it's a no-brainer for the average deer hunter when he figures the time off work & money invested per hour of gun hunting vs. bow hunting.
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Post by hunter7x on Oct 24, 2005 9:16:21 GMT -5
Archers saving the bucks for the guns hunters.....
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Post by Rick Lyon on Oct 24, 2005 11:02:51 GMT -5
Archers saving the bucks for the guns hunters..... Exactly right. First year under OBR the Buck harvest dropped ~5000. Firearm buck harvest went a bit more than that. Archery hunters overall are being more selective, hence the reduction of the harvest %. I suspect that trend will stabilize soon if not already. OBR didn't save any bucks initially, but what it did do was get hunters to think (forcibly) about hunting differently, to be more selective. It should be interesting to examine all the data at the end of the 5 year trail period. I'll reserve my opinion until then. I just hope that the data is looked at objectively and with the overall heath of Indiana's herd being paramount. Not that my opinion would matter!!! ;D
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Post by reynoldss on Oct 24, 2005 12:08:03 GMT -5
Nothing wrong with hunters being more selective!!!! With the liberal does limits around the state why does anyone need to shoot two bucks?
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Post by cambygsp on Oct 24, 2005 14:26:24 GMT -5
Nothing wrong with hunters being more selective!!!! With the liberal does limits around the state why does anyone need to shoot two bucks? No one does! The problem is that our license structure and for the most part our season structure is designed around a one and one buck bag. Throw the one and one buck bag out the windoe and we might as well start over. Our *restrictive* early archery part of the season is that way because the ADDITIONAL buck opportunity was incentive to get folks out there. I REALLY don't think our DNR will allow things to continue the way they are. Thats not saying that we won't end up with a permenant OBR.....but if it does remain permenant, I TRUELY beleive that the early archery part of the season will ALSO see some changes. We also MAY see some changes in license structure. License sales are down, the DNR will want to do something about that. However this OBR trial may just open some eyes! The department could more than likely sell ALOT more tags by opening up some additional opportunity in October.
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