Waupaca co. Ready for a no buck year?
Wisconsin
So in 2015 Waupaca county was on the brink of a no buck season. The Dnr backed off and gave 3 free antlerless tags/weapon license because the hunters got the message and would do the right thing. The numbers are in and they responded with a whopping 300 more doe killed even though they had as many as 6 free doe tags in pocket. So guess whats coming in 2017 barring a horrific winterkill? No buck for u!!!! Congrats WAupaca, you have earned it, now own it and enjoy 2017. Btw, any Waupaca hunters going to do the 4 day gun doe hunt wed? Or the holiday doe hunt? Crickets as usual.........
Btw, the doe kill was 8,100 and the dnr goal was 13,000. I read the almost 1,000 responses to the spring hearing and most hardly saw a deer? The dnr employees need combat pay digesting all the crap they here from waupaca hunters. According to the dnr 80 dpsm of habitat(non ag), hunter testimonials whined in at about 8 dpsm. Like hrc delusional.
So the antlerless kill was 5,000 short. 2,500 adult doe, 2 fawns so by 6/1 there will be another 11,000 deer vertcal. Sweet, steve bartrylla did an entire show in august showing the forest devestation in Waupaca county. Anyone here care to show any regen pics please share. thx
November -
So far we have filled 17 of our 24 antlerless tags and are still hunting. I will not be out during the upcoming 4 day hunt this next weekend, but will be out the following weekend, until the end of the season.
The neighbors don't feel the DNR has the "Balls" to force antlerless only next year and very few of them are shooting does. I will take some pictures of the habitat issues that I am having the next time I am out to the woods with my camera. Not only do we have regeneration issues, the deer have eaten everything within reach. I have no worries about hitting my head on branches when I walk through the woods.
BTW, wasn't the goal 14,200?? That's what I remember.
Mike, it may have been 14k. Either way, we are a minority to the destruction of habitat while most will flat out lie to the dnr about deer #s. i wont state here what my dpsm is, nobody here would believe it. I wont say how many baldies we will kill in the next 7 days nobody here could digest it. Bottom line is sonebody show me pics of hardwood regen in waupaca county. The 2 dnr foresters would enjoy seeing it. The dnr is now cost sharing with taxpayer $$$ exclusion fencing for regen and is now fencing ag fields with habitual crop predation farmers! Digest that and tell us a waupaca hunter saw few deer this year. Dnr employees deserve combat pay for all the bs they have to hear about no deer in Waupaca.
It's pretty simple. You repackage EAB and make it mandatory on PRIVATE land.
Perfect rut, now how many suits inMadison have the stones to do it? As a conservative i have zero confidence in scooter to understand biology after he gutted thr Dnr and tried to neuter the Nrb.
Like a lot of things, the suits will make it harder than it needs to be.
November, we have some things in common. My hunting land is about 2 miles, as the raven or crow flies, from your land. We both have our land because of our fathers. We both like to hunt and the people that know us think we are nice people. That is where the commonality ends.
My 40 acres of mostly mud. Your 376 acres is mostly prime high ground. I don't know how many deer you saw during gun season but I didn't see anything. Nothing. None. Nil. Zero. Zilch. But you probably can't "digest" that. I use to see 5-30 deer on opening day. Last year I saw three. This year nothing. We have not recovered from the 2006-2007 EAB. Even with all that we have killed more does then bucks in last 10 years
My point is this. If YOU, or anyone else for that matter, has too many does, then they need to shoot more does. Just don't force me to shoot something I am not seeing. That is like saying every road in Waupaca County should have the same speed limit. Imagine that for if you can.
Because it is impossible to micromanage something like this everyone has to abide by the rules set. You pass a ruling that applies to a certain area, in this case a county. Then everyone in that area has to abide by the same ruling, regardless of their circumstances, even if they are in sight of an adjoining county that is not under the ruling or if they are in less then prime land. Over-run with does? Shoot 'em all. It is a lot easier to manage your deer herd when you control more land. If you want, you and I can trade stands next opening day, with the agreement we will both shoot half the does we see.
The Viagra sensation you get of "world records" has alot to do with what has been created under the smoke screen of a healthy deer herd.
Nofo, so how many antlerless tags has your group filled?
Sorry guys, I have to stand with November. He is not alone. After clear cutting a 10 acre aspen stand I have zero regeneration, and not it's not a "F" ing food plot. Deer don't know what a fence is unless it's too tall to get over. We have never been at or under carrying capacity in the NE corner of the county since before the EAB days. Making counties DMU's was flat out wrong! To say it is easier to manage the herd on a larger scale is wrong and 99% of the biologists know this.
I also stand with the landowners who don't have the high numbers of deer that we do and the public land hunters who aren't seeing what the DNR biologists are telling us are out there. What we have now is an all or nothing solution. It's not working and WE as landowners and hunter have a choice. I for one would like to know who is NOT shooting the antlerless deer in my neighborhood. I can count on 1 hand the number of landowners in the township that are harvesting higher numbers than in the past. This can be tracked by simply adding the township to the registration stub.
It's not a one size fits all solution, but remember the politicians are the one's who took the tools away from the DNR, the hunters and the landowners to manage the herd.
Bring back EAB, make it antlerless only. It won't work at the county level until we get landowners, public land hunters, and the biologists on the same page.
We either sit on our hands and do nothing, sit here on the forum and piss and moan, or you and I can do something to fix what is broken. Contact those who claim to be in charge and get things changed, you may think it falls on deaf ears, but if enough of us call and get their attention, it can be changed. Remember it starts with you and me, I will do my best to my point across, will you??
Nofo- how many kids did you have hunting on your land to help you shoot all those does? I think I know the answer. Why did you plant all those Norways if you can't control the herd. You might have to cut half of them down so the deer spread out to your neighbors. I think the dnr has to make the big parcels doe only and leave the rest alone.
So if the counties are too large of an area for effective DMU maybe knock them down to the township level? Still wont be perfect but would be a lot better and more in line with how human management (census tracts) is coordinated.
x2 neverbait..
Last season he was boasting the same thing. He has It all. Why not invite Pb for a hunt seeing as he's that close to you?
Not every land owner is in the same situation. Seems like you have a great setup over there. But to brag about it and ask how many people will be out taking care of a problem that isn't there is silly. Maybe you should step out into a different piece and see for yourself? Maybe you'd think twice about filling a doe tag. Maybe you wouldn't have the opportunity if you tried. That's just my thought.
You could have started up this thread a heck of a lot better than what you did. Just sayin...
The problem with opening private land to the general public is they abuse it. Garbage, ruts, shoot onto neighbors, etc etc. Letting a few known friends in is a better solution.
Mike F, EAB was notoriously hated by the majority of hunters. Enough so that thousands went to Madison to protest it. When else have we ever seen hunters coalesce with unity approaching that? What everyone needs to remember is that the majority of hunters in this state do not own land and many hunt on public properties. For those people, EAB is terrible. IF you want EAB, implement it on private landowners with high deer densities. You erroneously claim that what we have now is not working. First, the CDAC concept is new so to judge it in such a short time span is not fair. Secondly, having CDAC's puts management into the hunters hands. How many people attend the CDAC meetings? Contrary to what you state, we DO have the management tools, we just need to get hunters engaged. And, if we are to give the CDAC method a chance, we should be following it as it was planned. Why you and November continue to cite goal numbers is beyond me because the CDAC's are charged to manage by either increasing, maintaining or decreasing the herd. No goal numbers! Of course there was a very good reason for eliminating goal numbers, some of which include the methodology and perspective of those setting the goals. So, don't muddle with the system as it was defined and then blame that same system. The bottom line is that we as hunters need to manage the herd on a personal basis and within the confines of the areas we hunt. And for November to lecture others as to what they should do is laughable. He improves his property to attract deer, then complains about high deer numbers?
EAB may have been hated. But it was a VERY effective management tool, The biggest problem with EAB is that the DNR over used it. Had they used it responsibly, they'd still have that management option in their toolbox. As usual the biggest problem is the bureaucrats within the DNR. As well as certain politicians.
Capt. Mike- You are correct EAB will not work at the county level. It will work and did work when implemented in the old DMU's The harvest numbers prove that. Not all areas of the county hold the same number of deer. We did impose a no buck rule for the adults that hunted during the regular season this year and it proved effective in harvesting antlerless deer. But when I am surrounded by neighbors who shoot zero antlerless deer there is a problem. We will never get a solution that the majority of us will agree upon...
As far as getting the neighbors on board to help thin the herd, I have found it near impossible. They don't want to have to pass on a mature buck.
As far as getting the private land hunters and public land hunters to agree on anything like deer hunting is a pipe dream, I have been around long enough to see the division, over and over again. The have's vs the have not's. What is needed is a way to get hunters into the properties that are under hunted, and under harvested, which creates an issue where private property rights get stepped on.
Neverbait- There are plenty of non-family hunters participating in the hunt on our property this year, not just for the "special antlerless only seasons", but throughout the year. And yes, invites have been sent out to some members of this forum. I don't see there being an issue with the amount of hunters using our property. The problem lies on the neighboring properties where the neighbors don't have the interest in harvesting any antlerless deer.....
We have a job that was set before us to accomplish. I don't believe that we will come within 10 percent of that goal. That being said, what will the CDAC committee be comfortable in doing in the event we have another mild winter???
And other wildlife... lol
The large tract owners will always dictate deer #s. You can't force an extreme management plan upon a owner of 30 acres and expect it to be the same as someone owning 400. It's simple, if you have the habitat you have the deer. You need to allow more hunters to kill them otherwise don't complain.
You guys realize, many hunters have a hard time using up 1 deer let along 4-5 doe they should shoot, but don't want to. I have heard wives say "don't you dare bring home a deer". Most guys only have so much space in the freezer for venison. So your not going to get most hunters to shoot more does. Unless you make it easier for them to deal with, like getting someone to pick them up from their house, hunting camp or better yet drag them out of the woods. Another solution would be if the guys with too many doe that they don't want to shot, would let other do it. But 'that ain't gonna happen'.
Mike F, you refer to "goals" and managing for them but whose goals are the right ones? Apparently some of your neighbors do not share the same opinion you do as to deer numbers. Why are you right? Why are they right?
"That being said, what will the CDAC committee be comfortable in doing in the event we have another mild winter???" The CDAC's are not foreign bodies. They are committees made up of a combination of people with different perspectives, which includes hunters. IF enough hunters are not happy with the current deer herd, all they need do is show up at the meetings and voice their opinion. Without their participation, they have no voice.
I had all intentions of shooting a few does, I just never saw a deer while on stand this year in central Waupaca County. This is the first year that I ever remember being skunked for the weekend on stand, in my 31 years, last year I saw 18 deer opening morning, the year before was around 20 and I averaged about 8 for the previous 8 years sitting all within 50 yards of the same spot all those years. I know that the deer are there, the trails and lack of regen prove it, we just didn't see the deer this year that we normally do.
FiveRs,
Any chance some other hunter went in the day before the season to find and setup a spot to hunt, just upwind of you? I hunt public and gave up gun hunting after seeing, in the snow several times, what equates to deer drives the day before season opened. Sometimes what we think is bad luck is simply not knowing with someone else did in the same area before we got there.
I have the honor of hunting as a guest on a 200 acre farm in central Waupaca County. It's surrounded by 4 other farms of 200, 400, 250, and 150 acres. I'd call the area a "loose Co-Op" because the owners are all friends who talk after the season and agree on a few simple rules of the hunt in their area.
There are approximately 30 hunters in this 1200 acres on opening weekend, and progressively fewer as the season wears on.
There was 1 doe and 26 bucks taken in 2016 on this 1200 acres. Of those 30 hunters there is one person who still wants to pop a couple of doe's in the holiday hunt. Me. Everyone else is done for the year.
Just sayin'
With almost 65,500 square miles of land in the state of WI, what happens on this 1,200 acres is hardly representative as to what happens with the remainder of the state.
Masterbaiter, a third grade intelligence coupled with the ability to drink, a good recipe for entertainment. Thanks for the laughs, fool.
I hunt S.W. Shawano Co. I can spit from my stand and it would land in Waupaca Co. Finally, on Thanksgiving Day morning, I shot the ONLY deer I saw this gun season. A nice 7 pointer. My son saw only two, both does, and way out of his shotgun range. There are plenty of deer. I saw a ton of them during bow season. Shot a doe 2nd weekend. But, the gun season was a total bust...except for that ONE deer. The ONLY thing a doe only season would do is sell even less gun licenses than were sold this year. More and more hunters would turn to the crossgun, hunt warmer weather, longer season, and forget about what's becoming Wisconsin's big joke. The 9 day gun season. JUST what the DNR has been hoping for.
I'll take a deer. Anyone wants to shoot a mature doe today till Sunday I will gladly pick it up.
Per48R-
Nothing changed as far as the neighbors, we've known them forever and talk to them every year. The biggest change for me this year was the weather, the wind seemed to keep them out of our hardwoods and in the lower areas. I had a fair amount of deer on camera the week before and during the week, I was only able to hunt opening weekend and the second Saturday there due to work and family commitments. Still way more deer there than my private land in Lincoln County, where I bow hunt and gun hunt Thanksgiving day, Friday and Sunday. I had more deer on my cameras in 2 weeks in Waupaca County than all fall in Lincoln County, the biggest deer picture was Lincoln County but biggest rack was a toss-up and might have been Waupaca County.
There was a guy that got caught for poaching right by us, he told the warden that he only shot does but a neighbor found a small buck dead in his field. Not sure how many deer he shot over the years, but he killed deer in back-to-back nights to get caught and he told the warden that he has been doing it for 14 years. I'm sure that had an effect on our local population, if he had killed 20 - 30 does a year for the past few years, he said he shot them all in the roughly the same area, a few miles from his house.
Here's how I see it going down if a doe only season is implemented.
Spring 2017 hunters whine and complain. Fall 2017 hunters whine and complain. Spring 2018 bucks allowed again. Fall 2018 more record book bucks than any year ever before from any county. Hunters suddenly become big fan of doe only season. Spring 2019 DNR hatches has to hatch new plan because threat of doe only does not have desired effect. Likely EAB.
If everyone is going to call in fake doe kills, why didn't it happen this year?
While the phone in registration makes violating easier, it isn't going to turn the majority of law abiding hunters into violators. The people that already violate now have it much easier but the masses won't become lawless over night just because they can.
Possible, but 400 more than last year isn't a big jump. With 3 free doe tags per license my guess is that more hunters did what was asked of them and shot more does vs acted like little children an called in fake kills because they didn't want to shoot does. But who knows. Maybe the DNR needs to plant some wolves since the hunters can seem to control the herd.
"Likely EAB" is so true. It's gonna be interesting to see former enemies of EAB advocating for it.....as the lesser of 2 evils. Good thing it actually works!! IMO.
When are we, as the stewards we proclaim to be, going to step up and start doing right by our deer AND their habitat?
When are we going to talk grandpa into doing a little logging? When are we going to demand the Feds get to logging on our national forests? When are we going to realize that more isn't always better? Why does it always have to be made easier? When are we going to make a little sacrifice for the future? What will it take for us to finally come together in a meaningful way?
I feel bad saying this but I'm glad it's not an issue down by me. If my area was made eab again I wouldn't be able to hunt down here. My LO's would never be willing to let me shoot a doe off of their land. id be stuck using the camera.
It will NEVER come down to no bucks. The DNR doesn't have the balls to risk losing the revenue.
A part of me thinks you are right, but another part of me thinks they already laid the ground work by proposing it last year. Revenue hit wouldn't be all that big. It's only one county and plenty of people will still buy a license in the county.
There is no reason to not allow bucks to be hunted. And again, if any of you are paying attention, this decision is now made at the county level and within parameters set by the department. Add in the fact that certain things (like EAB) have been taken away by the legislature and you will realize it is a complicated issue. And again, whose goals are being managed for? I'll give you a hint, CDAC's set the goal to increase, maintain or decrease. Don't like it? Attend your county meeting and make your voice heard. They are also more than willing to listen to your ideas.
Here's a question. Let's for a minute pretend they make waupaca co eab. Now that we don't have in person registration, how many will just falsely claim they shot a doe so they can hunt for a buck?
CD, I would not but I certainly would find somewhere else to hunt.
CDAC makes the recommendation s and the NRB approves them. So if a CDAC does not go the way the NRB wants, the recommendation can be denied until they come up with what the NRB wants. It's kind of like me asking my kids what they want for lunch but only agreeing to something reasonable. They think they got to chose and are happy, but their choices were definitely limited. As for EAB, just as easily as it was taken away, it was given back, I don't believe that tied any stipulations to it like what is needed to for ammendting the Constitution.
My county was EAB in the past, and I didn't leave then. I'm not a take my ball and go home kind of person if something goes the way I don't like. Roll with the punches. Besides, the following year will be amazing for bucks. Our deer camp would still get together, fun would still be had and meat would be in the freezer.
We reap what we sow. Maybe all the does in Waupaca will be shot over the next 2 doe hunts.
I could easily see that happen just like when guys would "share" a doe during earn a buck.
Inmyel- your talking as if your land has the habitat to hold a lot of deer. What about the LO who has 30 acres and seen 2 deer all season? Punish all because the big acreage owners can't manage the deer #s makes absolutely no sense. Hunter #s will drop dramatically and the deer herd will increase even more. Hunters need incentive and that would be an extra buck tag if they shot x amount of does on those large tracts of land.
My land does have the habitat to potentially hold a lot of deer. Half mile tracks of woods surrounded by ag fields. My little chuck was recently logged. Ample thermal cover, food plots, nice ridges that give the deer a nice vantage point to escape hunters, and not an abundance of natural predators. But some the predators we do have pound the does. Lots of fawns go into the winter without a doe. Depending on the winter, not a lot make it through. A few years ago I had 1 doe with 9 fawns standing in my driveway the last day of muzzle loader season. Not many made it through the winter.
If I was in an over populated county and am not seeing deer, I would ask myself, why? If it's over harvest by neighbors, is it lack of time in the woods, am I a gun only hunter who has no idea what is really going on in the woods, poor stand placement, too drunk from the night before, smoking too many heaters in the stand, sleeping too much on stand, grunting/rattling/rubbing trees/bleeting non stop with my buck tarsal gland/doe in heat from 10 trees all scaring the deer away, ect? There's a lot of things that can cause a good area to not produce, and even more reasons a hunter might not see deer. Some are in our control, some are not.
An extra buck tag is an interesting idea but I would expect the same people who aren't shooting the does also won't over harvest bucks.
It will be interesting to see what happens next year.
Inmyel, you are correct, the NRB could change it, however they would only do so with compelling reason. Remember they were in support of the Deer Trustee who came up with the CDAC idea so I believe they give those recommendations quite a bit of respect. Again, you are correct that EAB could be brought back legislatively but do you have any idea what that would take to get done?
You didn't leave your county? Good for you. I don't play certain ball games because I don't like them.
About the fake registering of does to earn your buck, they would have to make in-person registration mandatory if you want to earn your buck tag, there is now way that call-in registration would work. I don't see them going back to in-person registration.
FiveRs - that still won't stop guys from "sharing" a doe for registration.
I do not understand the love affair with the whole EAB thing. We had it here (I hunt three different zones all within 4 miles of my home) and no one seemed to like it (especially me). I had to hunt hard for 3 weeks to get the permission for my buck tag to be good, and it wasn't long before the thing "expired". Mostly it's the guys from town that want guys to do what they want. If we want to thin them out we'll do it without being told to. Thanks
"EAB may have been hated. But it was a VERY effective management tool, The biggest problem with EAB is that the DNR over used it. Had they used it responsibly, they'd still have that management option in their toolbox. As usual the biggest problem is the bureaucrats within the DNR. As well as certain politicians."
+1
There were many problems with EAB. Public land in southern Wisconsin is still hurting because of it. I met a guy on a trail as I was going out he was coming back with a 5 pointer. He was bragging that it was his 9th deer he killed on public. Lord knows what I wanted to say. So I'm sorry.. EAB may be great for land owners. I just hope those words stay far, Far away from public land..
Noc, EAB was good for public land as well. However the DNR refused to use it responsibly. Other than the DNR abusing it. The major problem with EAB on public is the private landowners that would only shoot does on public as to not mess with "their" deer.
There is already a remedy for the private landowners and that is to get involved in DMAP. Through DMAP participation, landowners in areas with too high a deer density can qualify for reduced price antlerless tags. The fact is, there are remedies available. Apparently some landowners would rather whine on a website instead of use the tools available.
And, let's keep it in perspective. Too many deer is not a commonly heard problem from around the state. If the guys who have worked their properties into deer havens are not happy with too many deer, they can always minimize the habitat. You know, manage your property for fewer deer, similar yet opposite to what you did to attract them in the first place.
master baiter........just leave ......Problem solved
Good luck with EAB and the call in registration system. Not a snowballs chance in hell they, or it, can work together, or at all.
Many good points made. Quite the conudrum for cdac/nrb. Imo, extra buck tags are meaningless(most camps already fill 1/2 by choice), eab is not an option, no buck will produce less antlerless taken. Put real incentive in Dmap and problem solved. The nw 1/4 of the county sb exempt. Big chunk, small chunk? Most are small chunks. Not seeing deer? Maybe your woods is so overbrowsed it wont hold deer. Again, steve Bartrylla did a show on Waupaca permanent damage from overbrowse. 20,40,80 acre chunks. The Dnr is now paying $1/lineal foot for 10 year exclusion fence in hardwoods. So a 6 acre fence cost the Dnr $3600 or 150 resident license revenue!!! Guys buck hunt till they are done hunting. I bet 300 antlerless will be taken the next 4 days. Holiday hunt? Goodluck with that. How much interest to begin with and whats the snow depth? I would love to hear anyone in Waupaca that has true hardwood regen beyond canadian maple(boxalder).
It would be refreshing for hunters to push hard for in person deer registration. I for one want it and a non paper tag We need to bitch loud enough.
glunker +1..... There are more deer being shot than you think.....
Gunter +2. No matter what RC (Woods) says.
If some from of eab is brought back in person registration would have to happen for the antlerless deer in order to get the buck tag.
November^^^ that's what I thought too. I think EAB is a thing of the past..
Dmap could easily get around Eab, have a flood of signups and great oppurtunity for education which is the long term solution for this issue.
November, nice to see you touting the benefits of Dmap. I remember not too long ago when you argued with me that you didn't need anyone to tell you how to manage your property and that Dmap was a joke. It may not benefit you but there are countless others who could benefit from it.
Agreed capt. Here's the scenario that works. County goes antlerless. Head fake Eab by awarding Dmap properties a property buck tag for every 2? antlerless registered in person or by his dmap biologists.Dmap signups thru the roof and long term education begins.
Day 1 of the antlerless only gun hunt was today. Anybody partake? Waupaca, waushara, marinette? Our longest shot today was 450 yards. Takes the lead with 3 rounds left.
Ok, day 4 is now.anyone in the high dpsm doing it in a snowstorm?..... not
Day 3 is done. Anyone care to compare kills? We got to the least effective, dirty harry, sw model 29, 44 mag. Smoked her.
Just curious, how many waupaca hunters were out the last 4?days? ...,,,,,,,crickets......congrats, look in the mirror, u r the problem!!!!!!
Waupaca has the most deer ive ever seen and been hunting the Iola area since 1983.There totally out of control and if someone cant shoot a deer in Waupaca County there simply in the wrong sport.I mean there all over on private,public,cities and in some areas you can see 100s every sit.
Thanks for the correction Mr Tweed and have a great day.
Well at least one person has it right on here.......Bring back EAB for private land and make it mandatory.
Another option would to bring this to the Federal level and stop allowing the insurance companies to lobby for garbage like the lowering of the deer population. This would force the State of WI to make their own decisions....yes they the state employees would have to do some work.
Insurance companies have no part in this. They do not lobby for less deer. All they do is set premiums based on statistically significant indicators, one of which includes where you live (takes into account deer populations as one of the factors).
Actually Capt Mike......The insurance companies are one of the biggest lobbying groups against a high deer population. They pay out more with higher deer densities but can still raise rates based on other factors when deer densities are low. I do know this for a fact.....
Can Mike or Lung provide citations?
I sat in Waupaca co yesterday. Didn't see a deer, but did watch the deranged neighbor. Despite what's printed here not every Waupaca co property is overrun with deer. Even with a freshly harvested corn field.
Tweed, I have no verification other than to tell you that I have sat through a fair number of legislative hearings on deer related topics and have never once witnessed a representative from the insurance industry testifying in any capacity. I have asked this question of a buddy who sits on the DNR Board and he told me this is a common but false assumption made by many hunters. I also know a few different legislators fairly well and when I next talk with them I will try and remember to ask them if they have ever been visited by or lobbied by an auto insurance representative on a deer herd related issue.
My brother was an insurance agent for a long time (in Pennsylvania). I asked him about that sometime in the late '90s. He just smiled and said "Not a chance, they just raise the rates and the best part---I still get my percentage". He was not kidding.
With Waupaca County being mostly private land, The landowners will control the deer hunt, Not the DNR. With that being said, if the DNR were to attempt a antler less only season, There will be far less deer harvested then there is now.
Tweed, RC, Whomever, I have a friend involved in the insurance industry for over 50 years. He just retired last December. Truly the insurance industry forwards a lot of money and input regarding deer harvest, car kills, ect. To go a little further the insurance industry provides a lot (not all) of the car kill data the DNR uses for a laundry list of things. You guys can say what you want but if you could reduce what you pay out but still find a reason to raise rates to make more money in the end....you would do it too.
After reading so me very accurate posts and some very inaccurate posts, I can't take it anymore.
There are "hot spots" where there are too many deer. There are also many area's void of deer. Can you see 100 deer in an afternoon sit? Yes, but only in a few places.
As far as EAB, the tool is not in the tool box. It is lost and will not be replaced until the legislature get's their head out of their rear end. So get over it and get used to high DPSM.
Insurance sucks big time and should not have their hand in setting the population quota's - It's politics at it's best. Insurance is required and the companies are lining their pockets and trying to influence the population. Sad, but true.
For those that were in attendance at the last CDAC meeting, we all know the general feelings of those in attendance. No antlerless only season and with the number of deer harvested so far and if we have anything of a hard winter, we will have winter kill and then we won't have to worry about that at all.
Congrats to those who got out and had the opportunity to fill tags. It will be very interesting to see what the year end harvest numbers are after the Holiday Hunt. The kids on the west coast are chomping at the bit to get here for the hunt. I hope we don't disappoint them and get a few more tags filled.
Good Luck and hunt safe if you get out!
Interesting thread. Sounds like there needs to be more management of the deer herd. Managing a public resource, on private property. Things get very tricky. You would think that land owners who covet their big bucks would understand that having an out of wack buck to doe ratio would not be a sustainable thing as far as keeping your big bucks. That would be the motivating factor to "fix" the problem. Good luck guys, seems like everywhere else the problem is the opposite. Mother nature has a way of working these things out at the end of the day.
