If the deer herd takes a hit from crossbows being included in the mix, what do you think will happen next season or following within the archery season.
Lets say a record whitetail kill from all the weapons. Then what? Better hope for a mild winter too! Whats your guess as to what will follow in the coming season after a record kill number?
If this were to happen some year my guess is the DNR would be elated and would never stop selling unlimited buck tags and they will always control antlerless tags. The only way anything would change is if the 400,000 gun only hunters wake up and realize "their" deer has been in the freezer long before opening day. They don't care enough about deer hunting to band together and become a voice.
The buck age structure will take a hit north of hwy 29 on public land. South of hwy 29 with mostly private managed ground? Not much will change. Buck age, antlerless taken, weapons/bh used are all or can be controlled by the landowner.DMAP with 113 properties signed up is a huge flop and is not a game changer south of hwy 29 or anywhere.
Any shortened season would be shared equally by the vertical and bolt crowd now. But again, the DNR will trade a yearling buck for a $28 fee all day long.
The buck numbers might be interesting. If I recall right, just a few years back we had the 4th highest buck kill overall in WI. It will be interesting to see how this year compares to then. There might be some people up north taking bucks they would normally pass on just to get meat due to no doe tags. I will also be curious to see how Bonus Buck in the farmland areas is utilized.
Lets say it does happen as you did say hypothetical, I would expect no changes as I would expect the DNR to use statistics from multiple years before making changes. Of course that is just an opinion and worth $0.00.
The buck numbers might be interesting. If I recall right, just a few years back we had the 4th highest buck kill overall in WI. It will be interesting to see how this year compares to then. There might be some people up north taking bucks they would normally pass on just to get meat due to no doe tags. I will also be curious to see how Bonus Buck in the farmland areas is utilized.
Lets say it does happen as you did say hypothetical, I would expect no changes as I would expect the DNR to use statistics from multiple years before making changes. Of course that is just an opinion and worth $0.00.
I talked to a guy in Cable over the weekend who said he saw more deer last season than he can remember in a long time. Both he and his son tagged out in archery and gun. Go figure.
I also don't think there is enough deer on the landscape in the north woods. Our 80 in Sawyer County was pretty bleak until we planted 10 acres of grain, and I still haven't hunted deer there in five years. It's simply better hunting where private land is managed privately. And where I hunt, it's all private. We don't necessarily plant food plots to feed or hold deer, but there is plenty food, and plenty hunters, and still plenty deer.....even where CWD tags were given away. It is rebounding well, because private land owners took charge and said no to useless slaughter. Will CWD spread? Probably so.
There will be certain data that will show if the crossbow is a huge attribute in hunter success or not. I honestly believe if the numbers are crazy high (which I don't expect), they will adjust the crossbow season. That's why gun season has ran as short as it is right now. When the DNR needs more deer killed, they make up antlerless seasons, holiday hunts, give away free tags, expand the CWD zones, and entice people that don't mind taking more than they need. Once again, private land owners have grown the herd better than anyone, and I believe (personal opinion) the public land hunter uses less discretion, simply due to lack of ownership. And no, I do not mean everyone.
My suggestion, get to know someone you view as a liberal anti! Take the time to talk to them. Convince them you are not this raging, handgun touting, AR flailing, crossbow slinging maniac that wants to kill everything in sight. If you seriously earn their trust, it just may open the door to some of the best quality deer hunting you will ever experience. A little civility and willingness to show you care about more than killing goes a long way!
I look at it this way. As avid bow hunters we put the "time" in. We scout, we manage our land and hunting locations, we monitor deer movement patterns, the weather, scent control, play the wind, etc.
I could be way off base, but I don't see the "boomstick" guy that now owns a x-bow putting a big dent in deer numbers. I do however expect to see a ton of new "slightly used" x-bows for sale in the next 2-3 years.
I also agree with what most have stated. With no doe tags up North, I don't see a record harvest in 2015.
I believe hunting has never been stronger and growing. 40 years ago, I was wondering if we would even have public hunting, any intrest, and what the gun restrictions would be.......
Today, its all over the television, good or bad, its out there, big draw, bows are selling off the racks, and equipment etc, industry is strong,,,,,,
Kids archery in the schools is huge, hunter ed classes are packed, not enough trappin ed classes available, and National Field Archery on the college level is in a climb.........
The only issue is, is there enough game for everyone who wants to pursue it. Natural Resources are fragile, game managment is tricky, and maybe the only draw back I see, is that seasons may get shortened, due to pressure on the game........
The xbows are now part of the picture, at least here, and although they should be in the gun seasons, we will see what happens.......
I also see alot of intrest in shooting traditional equipment, so again, I believe, the future looks good
But i would guess the buck kill all combined to be way up as a total..
What will happen? Eventually gun hunters will want the days of archery hunting reduced...and eventually as more and more xbows fill the woods for the rut..I can see a closed season coming back before gun season ..it use to be closed on the Sunday prior ..I can see that plus maybe even the week before that to protect the "tourists" some deer to hunt.
For the first time they have hunting the Friday before gun hunting. Just don't see it going back to the way it was.
I will hunt that Friday this year but just the morning as once the afternoon comes is when the gun hunters start coming out of the woodwork to get stands up etc (I hunt public land up north)
Just like anything else, I don't see why us as hunters can't work together instead of saying 'your' way of hunting is wrong/unethical/etc.
I believe that there will be a huge increase in wounded deer and deer not recovered, that will not be put into any equations for the future.
There will be a higher number of hunters this year and maybe next year, but a lot of hunters that haven't found a way to archery hunt are going to end up getting bored and quit hunting with a crossbow and just keep gun hunting.
If the harvest numbers are way higher than expected with the crossbow, that season will just get shortened, then the crossbowers will cry and complain. Then a few years after that, the gun only hunters will get on their side and we will have the 1 buck season that so many are pushing for. It will be because we will just have 1 deer season, weapon of choice, from late September through the first weekend in January. End of story, then nobody can complain, if you want to use archery equipment, use it; if you want to shoot your deer with a rifle in October, do it; if you want to use a crossbow, go ahead; one tag, any weapon, either way, you would end up with your 1 buck and any does that are alloted for your County.
Many camps and guys have put a self imposed 1 buck rule in years ago. I've taken 7 bucks the last 10 years combined while passing about 100 each year. The 1 buck camp wants older bucks and to share the resource as well. I'd rather see someone else take a buck then fill both my tags.
Here is what will happen. More and more hunters will migrate from the compound contraption to a compound crossbow. Their effective range will be extended to double the distance, with less effort and less practice. It will become easier to fill a tag. They will no longer be bowhunters. They may not shoot more deer, but it will become easier to fill their tag so they will hunt less, and with less effort. What can be more democratic and American than that?
WOW, I'd probably think about passing on more bucks too if I could see about 100 each year. I'm lucky to see 5 different buck in a year, that isn't only counting those in range either, this is total.
Rut-
You have to remember that there is no doe harvest for a good portion of the State this year, so that isn't an option. Give the guy that wants to fill his freezer with a bow buck and a gun buck a break. Everyone pays the same amount for their tag, so yours is no better than anyone else's.
