Bowsite.com

Deer Population

I deer hunt over 40 days a year in Minnesota and was wondering if deer numbers are down? The DNR issues more and more doe permits and the total harvest numbers keep going down. The area I hunt has a lot of preditors and I think they take out a lot of fawns. Anyone else have thoughts of this?

I can't speak for your area, but deer numbers in central MN along the transition have been very good the last few years. But DNR's goal is to knock them back, which they did this year with early antlerless seasons. DNR Wildlife deer management has no goal for a quality experience. It is all about controlling numbers. They don't want to deal with complaints about deer. The goal setting process is kind of a joke. It seems their mind is made up before they come to the meeting and it usually is shoot the crap out of them. This state could be one of the best states for hunting, but never will be unless their management strategy changes.

I agree that they want numbers down. All the doe permits and the harvest rate is below the 5 year average by 16%. I am worried that there are lean years ahead. My area is 2 deer but the deer I am seeing are fewer each year and not many young deer in the fall. I feel the deer numbers are going to crash.

I agree that they want numbers down. All the doe permits and the harvest rate is below the 5 year average by 16%. I am worried that there are lean years ahead. My area is 2 deer but the deer I am seeing are fewer each year and not many young deer in the fall. I feel the deer numbers are going to crash.

I'm convinced in the Mid-west that NO DNR or whatever the agency wants to call themselves could care less about anyones quality experience. Thats why recreational land buying for personal hunting is booming and prices are going through the roof. Those who have the means are going to make their own quality experience as best as possible. Oh yea they do care about a quality experience but its reserved for a certain age group only.

In my area coyotes are pretty thick and this year I have been seeing a lot of does without fawns. Last year a group of coyote hunters took 105 from my local area through out the winter. There's still plenty left. Deer numbers where I hunt are ok but the state wants more and more killed. State lands around here get hit hard, my only grace is a couple landowners who won't allow firearms hunting.

In the primary area I hunt it's one deer either buck or doe. We consistently see up to 60 deer in the private fields after hunting in the public woods nearby. Maybe 1-3 bucks in the mix. Yet we cannot shot a bonus doe with archery in an archery only area (no I am not telling where).

Wolves are now moving into the area. Anyone with common sense knows these packs eat a deer every three days. The population will drastically change in a few years if they are not controlled. If the Feds and DNR don't do something certainly the locals, firearm hunters will. SSS will come back around, so will other types of poaching if its not already taking place.

For now lack of deep snow is allowing the deer to feed, run and hide from the wolves as they need to. If the weather changes significantly and we get a couple of feet of snow we will see.

Should we as hunters in Minnesota be worried with the increased doe tags and at the same time harvest totals are going down? What does this say about the Minnesota deer herd?

This is a large State, north to south, and the habitat and winter conditions and wolves vary greatly north to south. Generally, I'd say the herd needs to be managed somewhat differently, north to south. I'd say there is roughly the southern third. middle third, and northern third, with no doubt some east to west differences in each third. When the State says the harvest is up or down some per cent each year, to me that is meaningless. Might be nice PR, but the harvest needs to be identified by parts of the State to reflect a true picture. Seems most wildlife managers feel a need to talk the company line which is just generalities. The wildlife manager at Tower tends to see and talk a more realistic picture of what is actually occurring on the landscape seasonally and year to year.

They already have zones to manage deer. I just think the deer herd in the state is a lot smaller then they think or they want to make it even smaller.

Yah realize they have zones. Been hunting the State for almost 65 years. I guess I'm talking more about how in general the State addresses the total herd, total harvest success etc. End of season they talk total kill as successful or not if it meets their expectations, goals. I would like to see DNR forecast kill projections, success etc regionally as if they actually care about the differences. They use the zones to set some regs, but in the end they talk Statewide,and don't give the impression they are really concerned or recognizing the huge differences. And they certainly don't acknowledge the huge impact wolves are having. They say yes they are a factor but always fall back on winter or habitat. Those of us that live, hunt and work in wolf country realize the significance of the predators along with winters. Whatever.

They look at the buck kill in each unit. That is their main variable. If the buck kill is up, they typically assume the herd is up in that unit. The area manager responsible for that unit will make a recommendation based on buck harvest, angst amongst farmers, and their jedi knight "force" best guess seat of the pants thoughts. Sometimes they do flights to verify that their model is correct. The flights usually come back well below what their model says so they typically throw those in the trash can and go with their Jedi Knight estimate. There you have the jist of it.

I am in western MN and unless you have a bank account to support owning river woods you can hardly find a deer.

You can blame the DNR all you want but, the real enemy has been the reduction of cover. Mostly farmers to blame (my dad was one of them). Fence-lines are gone, tree-belts are gone, abandoned farms are gone, CRP is gone, wetlands are being drained at an alarming rate, Deer have evolved into river-bottom and city outskirts animals.

DNR needs revenue. They will sell tags to meet a monetary goal, not a population density goal.

X-man you nailed it.

Xman may have nailed it in his area, but not from the transition and north. I've lived here for 30 years and I don't see much change in habitat honestly in that amount of time. At least in my area. Biggest influences I've seen are winter, wolves and excessive antlerless harvest.

Wolves, access and antler mania.

I see all kinds of deer in the fields on private land adjoining public land. 50 to 1 or better does to bucks. Wolf sign and vocals every time out. Since they eat a deer every 3 days only a matter of time before it will start to seriously affect the population.

Wolves have been affecting the population for many years. Listened to them a week and a half ago eating one alive 100 yds from my deck at midnight. Went down there in the morning and literally only crumbs left.

Register here to reply to this topic