Southern bonus buck tags
Wisconsin
At the Grafton registration station, 49 of the 66 deer registered earned a bonus buck tag. Allot of deer are going to be harvested in 77 M. The registration does not distinguish between crossbow and regular archery tags. So how is the DNR going to accurately track crossbow kills? With the pending rut, potentially twice the number of trophy bucks will be killed. And, antlerless harvest is already through the roof because of bonus buck tags. This is great!
Potentially is right! Only time will tell. I will continue to check the registration sheets. And, yes not one kill was registered as a crossbow kill. I find that hard to believe anywhere in the state. At least one had to be a crossbow kill. As far as 77 M being a high population area, there are more deer here than in many parts of the state. Even though, they are way off on their estimate. 17 per square mile is still too high! Try more like 8 to 10 per square mile. When they had us at 28 per square mile only two years ago they had all of Ozaukee County as a Metro Unit. Now we are less than half, are still a Metro Unit, and we have Bonus Buck Tags. They are nuts!
I registered a doe on the first weekend. You had three choices for harvest method. 1. archery 2. gun 4. crossbow
Not sure what happened with "3.". Maybe "3. car kill"....must be numbered on difficulty;)
10, it doesn't surprise me at all that none were harvested with a crossbow. I know of only one person in all the archers I know who switched to buying a crossbow this year. That same person never harvested a deer with a vertical bow either. I know many people are/were concerned that the woods would be inundated with crossbow guys, but be honest, how many people (friends, family or acquaintances) made the switch? Yes, 52,000 licenses sold. How many switched, how many weekend warriors, how many were gun hunters, how many were new recruits, how many were crossbow hunters previously due to age and handicap? All speculative, and perhaps not as bad as people imagined the impact would have on their deer.
Side note, I know of four does registered online that did not receive their bonus buck tag because they had no desire to shoot two bucks with the bow, and the convenience of registering it online, also disallowed them to receive that tag because that has to happen in person so they can visually see the doe (77A). I believe that next year this may be a growing trend, when everyone has the same luxury. These four people were part of the test run like I am, and if (BIG IF) I do shoot a doe, I will do it online, and will not receive that bonus buck tag either. By registering a doe in person, they are giving you a sticker, and many will go unused. I shot two bucks in one season one time. Two separate farms 25 miles apart.
Geitz, Pete, I understand what you are saying but, it still does not jive! The sheet they are using in Grafton is the same sheet they have used the last ten years. How can the DNR expect to get an accurate count of crossbow kills? My problem is not with the fact that they are crossbow kills, it is with the lack of any kind of system. It was not thought out. If it is wrong here? How is it all around the state? How do they justify keeping 77m a Metro unit when by their own account there is less than 1/2 the number of deer than two years ago? How do they justify the bonus buck option when the herd in this area is down more than 50% in just two years?
On my property, I am seeing 10 to 12 deer. Three to four are legal bucks. Some of those I am seeing more than once in a night. When the rut gets really going, I expect to see more bucks cruising but those are not living on the property. Then again I may not see anymore deer then what I already have. If the bow kill of bucks sky rockets in 77M, you are going to have many P.O.ed gun hunters. I wouldn't blame them.
10, not sure what "sheet" you are refering to. The filled out registration stubs are where the real data is compiled from. If they are not filled out well enough, the registration station does not paid for that stub.
If they are using left over registration stubs from last fall they would not have the cross bow option on them. Just a thought
10, how many acres do you have? You say you're seeing 10-12 deer, yet believe the population estimate of 17 is way high, and figure it's more like 8-10.
I'd bet the vast majority of hundreds of Kewaunee-Door County kills here so far are bow. The reason? Hundreds of K-D kills at this time other years were also bow. A couple guys (age 50+) I know who made the switch almost always shot one or two deer a year with bow. That won't change with crossbow. No gain there. Now, if many more gun-only hunters bought crossbows, we might see a difference. Then again, if they were gun-only, chances are many aren't too passionate about whitetails, either, and it might be more about just getting out there. I'm also just speculating here but the less passionate are also likely the ones who scout the least, and complain about the DNR and the old "annual deer count" the most. I'd bet more who are gun-only hunt public land more than the average bow hunter does. I'd expect an increase in archery harvest this year, even after the tough winter, due to all the bucks saved from last year's poor-rated opening day conditions (and that was by successful hunters who filled tags — imagine how those who didn't see anything felt about the 20-30 mph winds and bitter cold!).
Next time I am there I will snap a picture of the list they have. I didn't look at individual stubs. Naz, its 40 acres but, like I said I am certain I am seeing the same deer more than once a night. The target for 77 M, I believe is 11 per square mile. This area will support way more than that. Even at the supposed 28 we had two years ago, I didn't hear any farmer complaining about the deer damage. They did say kill every coon you see. Raccoons do a ton of damage.
" to avoid the shame/guilt/stigma of being known as a dirty crossgunner."
Shame? Legal hunting vs. say a guy like RC who illegally baited a sporty spiker with a rifle? What does Ron deal with daily Howatt? Any insight? sad
