Deer Harvest 9/15/16-1/17/17
Connecticut
DEEP released the numbers on their FB page. Redding is #18 in harvest statewide, #6 in archery statewide, and #3 in Zone 11 for overall take. So far statewide total take was 1,457 more than 2015 and 824 less than 2014. Was that "spin?"
Wow look at the January archery deer numbers.. Makes me happy to know I'm not the only one struggling.. Especially in Groton with a total of 0
No spin at all and thanks for the numbers.
So while this season's take was more than the last season (2015 was unusually low), it still shows a declining trend line for total harvest if you look at the last 5 years. Glad to see my guess was wrong,... that this season would be worse. And what happened to the State Land Archery category?
Bob, You are right about the 5 year harvest trend; 2016 shows a 6.5% decrease from the 5 year average (2012-2016). We also found the crop damage harvest numbers during the season are down approximately 53% from 2012. A downward harvest trend even after they added crossbow (2013) and Sunday hunting (2015) which added 19 days to the seasons in 2015, 2016.
You guys can make the numbers support whatever position you want them to support. :)
Way too many variables to come up with any conclusions with regard to live deer, based on dead deer in my opinion.
Bob,
One other factor to bear in mind is that even if every year in question had an equal number of "hunting days" it's almost impossible to ever get a true apples-to-apples comparison for one very obvious variable; weather. You see, there's "hunting days" and "hunt-able days" and the two aren't always equally apportioned.
For example, both 2016 and 2015 will end with the same 138 "hunting days" but if you recall last year's weather we suffered a high degree of wash-out weekends (and a lot of rain in general); by comparison this year was much better for hunters.
I think you're on the right track as the best analysis is always a trend over time and not a year-to-year comparison.
Now, as always, the most important take-away is what we as conservationists choose to do with this information. Any consideration on harvest needs to be tempered with the fact that we are dealing with increased natural predation; certainly in NW CT where we have a thriving bear and bobcat population this is very evident.
Regardless of tag allotment it is still an individual choice as to how many (or how few) we hunters use. I would strongly suggest that if hunters choose to max out every season it would be hypocritical in a few years time (if the downward trend continues or worsens) to blame the DEEP.
Control what you can control.
Obviously it's only one data point but this does seem more consistent with the position that deer population numbers are down somewhat from past years but not catastrophically so. How did total # of hunters compare this year with past years?
Those permit data you'll have to wait for. This chart will show you the permit issued and harvest trends over the past 11 seasons.
Interesting that the permit issued numbers dropped off starting in 2008 (the economic meltdown) and have consistently decreased during the Obama presidency. I wonder if there is a correlation there.
Yes, it's definitely Obama's fault. I'm sure Trump will make CT deer hunting great again.
Wow, I would have guessed the number of permits issued going up after allowing the xbow ...
What year did we begin printing our own tags?
Yeah, that is what I was thinking too!
I posted this in a different thread
Archery permits have gone up. Crossbow is somehow considered part of archery permits.
Mike - you're right about considering other factors. I could say that the hunting population, like the population in general, is getting older and therefore the older hunters, like myself, don't get out as much and chose not to shoot anything that walks by. Conversely, there are more new/young hunters who don't know how to find and shoot deer.
But to over simplify the data - we're taking less deer YOY for the last 5 with the exception of 2015. This is not a complaint for my hunting satisfaction or what I consider a successful season, just my opinion on the numbers. Or maybe it is Obama's fault:)
Here's a better quality image.
And here's a breakdown of percentage of each kind of permit/year.
http://www.sportsmensalliance.org/news/obama-administration-flouts-law-again-to-benefit-anti-hunting-pals/
http://m.ctpost.com/local/article/Fairfield-County-ranks-high-in-2016-deer-hunt-10868257.php
notme - Kent is considered a southwest town??? I say fake news!! Obama's fault again.
