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Anyone else get the latest INDNR deer survey in their email box? I completed mine today. I found it downright comical the last question was about trophy management. It seems they have gotten a lot of complaints in 2021. Go figure. 32 gun days, 16 peak rut. Crossguns for ten years. No hunter quotas on public land, even during gun season. No nonresident quotas. Lol I gave up on this state decades ago. There is no mature buck management at all. None has ever existed in my 61 years. I'd say that horse has left the barn! And at this point is so far down the road it's a lost cause to even bring up as a topic. All my whitetail Novembers are spent in Illinois & Iowa. And I never expect that to change, unless those states fall to liberal bad management. And there were many questions about my satisfaction with the INDNR's deer management practices here. But in fact I know it's corrupt uneducated politicians that make major deer decisions here, not the DNR. They should know that, since they are the DNR?! What am I missing here? Lol. Hell, of the four legislators who sponsored the crossgun legislation, two had only high school educations, and one a DWI (but all four had big wide open pockets). I think the trophy question just appeared in the survey to appease those dissatisfied taxpayers.
The wording of the questions about "trophy management" were indeed kinda comical, to the extent that whoever wrote the survey pretty obviously does not want any "trophy management" practices....whatever that phrase means. To try and slant survey results, forewarn the respondent of the dire consequences of answering in a way you don't want them to answer...such as this wording the DNR placed within the survey questions: "you won't be able to hunt that farm for free anymore, non-resident hunters will increase, leasing will increase, you won't be able to shoot just any buck you want", and etc. Then they ask later in the survey how much you trust the Indiana DNR...lol! Well maybe I used to kinda trust them.....then after reading that survey, sorry but my trust factor just dropped a bunch.
I thought the same thing about the “trust” factor. I have never completed a survey before with so many questions about their own credibility. That was weird.
Chart above is an indicator of liberal deer management in Indiana & Michigan. It would take a complete overhaul of mentality for change, which will never happen. And the comment about “can’t shoot whatever buck you want” is just misinformation. In Illinois last November I passed on button bucks, fork horns, 100”, 120”, 130”, even three 140” and a 160” before harvesting a 185”, all on conservatively managed public land. I could have shot ANY of these deer legally if I wanted. Pathetic scare tactics by the INDNR. Lost my trust.
As I get older and the Western terrain gets more difficult for me, just glad I got an Illinois lifetime license and 4 Iowa points. I don’t sweat the bad deer management here in Indiana. At least the public turkey management & hunting is great.
Who sets hunting limits for the IDNR?
Who sets hunting limits for the IDNR?
What kind of limits? Generally, corrupt politicians manage the deer in all states except Iowa. They do allow the DNR to set some limits if it doesn’t interfere with lining their pockets.
Can you provide an example of how setting deer limits can “line pockets”?
Lol! Where should I start? The supply is infinite.
Obviously, most of the money is under the table. But some shows up in the form of campaign contributions, as has been going on with politicians since the beginning of time. One of the most recent examples took place in Illinois where Jerry Costello was greased by Ravin to sponsor full crossgun inclusion in the archery season. The legislation completely over-ruled the professional game managers employed by the ILDNR. Then last year Ravin sent no less than three lobbyists to the Iowa statehouse to push legislation sponsored by their bought and paid for legislator. Forgot his name but you can Google that one. But the Iowa Bowhunters Assoc is powerful & professional and fought it off. That is why I paid for membership even though I live in Indiana and can only hunt there every five years. I admire the IBA. There have been several attempts by greased politicians in recent years to increase the NR deer tag quota in Iowa. Most these were funded by the outfitter & landowner lobby’s. DNR’s are powerless.
Anyone get the new 2023 survey? Just completed mine. Still more questions about “trust”. Still not sure what’s up with that. But glad to see some questions about our opinion of the dates and length of the firearm seasons. Not that anything will change, but good to see they are aware there are lots of critics. My response was to mirror Illinois firearm seasons. That would be a good compromise to completely banning November seasons like Iowa & Kansas. Anyway, I liked the opinions box. I filled that out with all my thoughts.
Just completed mine. Can you believe the proposed dollar figure for a lifetime comprehensive hunt/fish license: $6259.00??? I bought mine 20yrs ago as a new parent for $760.00. If I were at the same stage of life now that I was when I purchased my lifetime license, I could never afford it! I wonder what this hints at as far as where resident tag prices are headed???
I also made sure to mention that Ohio and Illinois have figured out how to move gun seasons out of the peak of the rut and that 30ish gun days are not necessary. I'm sure that will probably fall on deaf ears though...
I filled mine out the other day as well. Gun season in the rut, costs of the proposed lifetime licenses, the current increase in license fees, etc were also part of my concerns as well.
I lost "trust" in the IDNR when the Indiana Legislature turned the IDNR into political puppets. Politicians that have zero knowledge / understanding managing our natural resources simply won't stay in their lanes. Why a biologist with a college degree in their profession would even take a job in this state is beyond my comprehension.
I too suggested moving the firearms opener post rut...but unfortunately, the IDNR does not have that power. They can propose such a change...and then some short-sighted morons that don't like the idea will enlist the help of their legislators to get it squashed. Seen that exact thing happen before...and that's when I gave up on representing bowhunters in Indianapolis. Just took a handful of over-zealous idiots to wreck natural resource management in this state...forever.
Ask me how I REALLY feel!
Thank God for non-resident hunting opportunities!!! That's where the vast majority of my vacation time gets spent annually.
Can’t believe I bought my Illinois lifetime license for a whopping $190 in 2006. At 63 I don’t care what they want to charge for an IN LL. I’d never buy one anyway. Not worth it just for turkey. I’ll be in Illinois or Iowa every deer season regardless, due to the nonexistent deer management in IN. IL is in my work area so I get most of my travel expenses reimbursed as well. No brainer.
Even knowing it'll never happen, I suggested to simply adopt an Iowa-like season structure and timing. While keeping a one-buck rule. If you travel to hunt whitetails, you'll know that Iowa's deer hunting is the envy of the nation. It would be extremely tough to ever make that kind of shift here, with the politics and personalities involved, who'd loudly and ferociously defend what we have now.
