Contributors to this thread:
Can you use private land doe tag on private land enrolled in Forest Cropland Program?
No. You need a public land tag for that since it's open to the public to hunt.
Am I the only one that finds the current private/public land doe tag system a complete cluster? We thought it was bad when the DNR decided things by themselves, now we find out what happens when the bar stool PhD's have their say.
It is a cluster. Way to complicated.
I do not find it to confusing. I will be more involved next year and voice my concern to the committee. Saturday private land to answer ahead family saw 32 does 3 bucks, 6 hunters. I am concerned about over population and ag tags in our area again. those things are demise of quality deer heard mgt.
Do deer know the difference between private and public land?
Im sure Im not the only one the hunts a variety of both.
Well the hunters asked for this!
There isn't anything saying you can't hunt both public and private land. You might not be able to shoot does in both areas however.
The guys bitching about this need to suck it up. It's the closest thing to separate management on public that we are going to get. Public lands get pounded, this helps alleviate some of that. It's really not confusing unless you make it so.
With the growing disparity of deer numbers on private versus public land, this is a huge step taken by the department to try and address that disparity.
It is ridiculous that any hunter would complain about this small inconvenience, if they have any real interest in the health of the deer herd.
Tweed, are you serious? Deer most certainly feel pressure and move accordingly.
Wow....didn't know this was such a hot button issue.
My questions are going to be sincere and looking for info so please refrain from jumping all over me.
Rut & Capt - How does separate tags help with management? Just by tracking the number of tags filled? Seems like they're available in equal numbers.
I absolutely want a healthy deer heard. I hunt primarily on public land but would love to jump on an opportunity to hunt private. There's people at work that have invited me to hunt on their land but wont because I have my tags for public land. I have a small patch of dirt up north that I got private tag for but is surrounded by public land.
The deer I hunt down here on public land I'm sure also spend plenty of time on private land and vice versa.
Tweed, sorry, for jumping on you. The way that separate tags help management is that it limits the number of antlerless taken on public land while promoting the harvest on private. Many private land owners want to protect "their deer" and will hunt public for antlerless, instead of taking them off their own land.
You can still hunt both public and private, you simply will need to get separate tags for the two. Yes, certainly deer do move about but on average, a doe's core area might be less than 80 acres, meaning that some deer will live their entire lives on private land.
To clarify my post I like the plan. It is my or our families fault for not attending the meetings and being involved. I am saying I will be more involved. We hunt only our own land and want to control the deer population as well. Not like it was in the early 2000's. I like this approach and need to be proactive.
I understand and lean towards agreement with the current state of things (how's that for hedging?). The thing that bugs me most, as someone who used to hunt almost exclusively public land, is that I no longer explore all the public lands around the state that I used to. It was nice deciding for each weekend which area I wanted to check out, usually within a 100-mile radius. I can still do that and only hunt bucks, but I'm not all that keen on getting up that early and driving that far and then limiting myself to bucks only. So I tend to stick to my county, or head up to our small property up north and that's about it. I understand the greater control it provides over management and generally approve. Perhaps we could consider making areas larger than counties -- maybe three counties or so within the same zone -- and selling antlerless tags by those larger areas.
+1 Bill. For example the public land i hunt straddles two counties.
Can't be done, Bill. The quotas are set by the county. Far too much varied lands to try managing it on that large a scale. While I understand that this does limit some, it is still much better than some states where the residents must apply for a tag in a drawing. That alone is reason enough for us to grit our teeth and put up with this relatively small inconvenience.
How does it work if you're hunting on private land and you shoot a doe that runs onto public land or vice versa. What tag do you use, the one where it was shot or where it died?
CaptMike, actually research has shown that deer don't move because of presure. They may leave their home range if the pursuer is hot on their tail but they will come back ASAP. A deer would rather be starving in it's home range with wolfs than in unfamiliar territory with no wolfs and plenty of food. To an animal it's home range is it's whole world, they don't know what's across the river and don't have a map to show it or an internet to research what's over there LOL!
I used to look at the zones and regulations "out west" and thank God how much easier and consize our regs were - no longer.
One thing that people are maybe not realizing is that it's the areas that have low deer numbers in general and heavy pressure on public land that have the limitations. These limitations allow the Counties the ability to continue to grow deer numbers in general but allow limited harvest in areas that are primarily private/ag land and need some does harvested. As the herds rebound up north, or in areas in the south that have plenty (or too many) of deer tags are readily available for both public and private. Many areas have essentially unlimited tags. If you need to kill a deer to enjoy yourself or you are relying on deer for food, there are plenty of places to go.
Many of us are old enough to remember when all we had were buck tags and maybe a chance to shoot does every few years. We have been blessed with high deer numbers across the board in the last twenty years and many equate hunting to killing.
Zinger, that is what I am saying. Deer that live on private land remain on private land, thus not moving to public lands where they are available to public land hunters. That is why these private/public land tags are needed, to address the disparity of deer on private verse public lands.
I'm curious about Zingers question too .My brother hunts private land and one of his stands is only about 30 yds from state land .What if he shoots a doe and it runs on to the state land .Does he tag it with private or public tag. What if doesn't have a public tag , can he legally recover the deer. Just curious and would like to prevent any problems.Thanks
I would imagine if you hunt private land and the deer runs onto public go get it and fill your private tag out . If the warden stops you explain where you shot it at . Also whoever owns the private land . Everything is on the honor system now .LOL
Sounds like a question best answered by a warden.
It is in the DNR Q&A - I'll try to find the link. You use the tag that corresponds with where you were hunting.
That is correct BillB - Yes, that is how it works - this is not that complicated.
Like I have said all along. These separate tags are a good thing, we asked for this. It's only difficult if YOU make it that way.
It is a pain in the butt for the traveling archer.If you hunt more than one county and then you hunt private and public it amplifies the issue.
When did it become mandatory that a hunter be able to kill a doe to make it worth hunting? Go hunt whatever county you want on public or private land and just enjoy the hunt for what it is supposed to be.
