Are the glory days of deer hunting coming to a close?

[Mortenson]

People are pretty cordial for the most part here. There are some hotter topics. Definitely don't suggest that COVID vax had any positive benefits. Also, don't tell everyone with less than 1000 acres that they are not capable of QDM haha.

Haha, wasn't that Yoder's line? That you're not affecting anything with less than a thousand? He also was proud to state he'd drop a world record buck after it shed its antlers to claim its jawbone if it met his age requirement.

 

[PatinPA]

I feel like my experience is almost the exact opposite of everyone else but I'm from PA so what would I know? My first deer hunt was in the year 2000 so I've only got 23 seasons under my belt for comparison. Despite the doom and gloom I read about every single day on PA hunting forums, deer hunting gets better every year. The racks on my wall are getting bigger. The pool of mature bucks to pursue is greater. The buck to doe ratio is improving. I'm living in the glory days every time I put on my camo and walk into the woods.

With you 100% on that. I pass deer now that would've won our local archery club buck pool back in the 90's and 00's. I saw 4 buck one morning this year. I had seasons in the 90's and 00's that I didn't see 4 buck all season and I had a lot more time to hunt back then.

 

[PatinPA]

to be fair the mechanics of drawing a trad bow vs a compound are the same. Sure the power, letoff etc make a compound much, much easier. But you're still drawing. The crossbow doesn't require the same mechanics. It's cocked and ready to go with potentially little to no movement if you're shooting off a rest.

This is my new favorite example of how having to draw your bow (compound or not) creates a challenge that the crossbow does not. And yes, he wouldn't have been able to hold it at all if it was trad, but with a crossbow that buck is dead

Love watching their videos

 

[PatinPA]

That’s awesome. I’ve read about the old days of PA hunting. Sounded horrible. Like 90% or bucks got shot by 1.5!
With that said, the decline im envisioning will not be an immediate decline. All this cheap tech and loose regs will manifest in a lag. As I said before we could easily look back in a couple years and wonder what the hell happened.

I actually just read an article about this in PA Game News. Before antler restrictions we killed 80% of the total buck population every year. Now I think 2 out of every 3 buck killed is 2.5 or older.

 

[Turkish]

If my baiting comments turned this toward an ethics conversation, I apologize. My intent was only to support the notion that baiting is a huge uplift to hunter efficiency.

"Supposed to be." That is the key point. Our Fish and Game Department floated the idea of banning baiting this year. It is not unprecedented. Their reasoning was concern for disease mainly. Whether you agree with that or not, they found it to be backed by evidence and took the first steps to explore the financial impact, etc... They were immediately challenged by two state legislators who threatened to withdraw $1,000,000 in funding if they followed through.

Yeah. This is a problem. I won’t go so far as to say commissioners are bought and paid for, but I will accuse them of being biased on the baiting issue. They do not follow the advice of the scientists that they pay to advise them.

 

[SwampCat]

to be fair the mechanics of drawing a trad bow vs a compound are the same. Sure the power, letoff etc make a compound much, much easier. But you're still drawing. The crossbow doesn't require the same mechanics. It's cocked and ready to go with potentially little to no movement if you're shooting off a rest.

This is my new favorite example of how having to draw your bow (compound or not) creates a challenge that the crossbow does not. And yes, he wouldn't have been able to hold it at all if it was trad, but with a crossbow that buck is dead

No doubt, there is no question a crossbow is easier than a compound. And to me, as you said, the drawing aspect is the big difference. It allows me to hunt from the ground. I dont need to lug a stand and saftey vests. I take a 9 lb turkey strutter chair. It takes 15 seconds to set up - and I am hunting. Now granted, hunting on the ground with a crossbow may not be as effective as hunting in a treestand with a compound. At my age, I am looking for things to make the hunt easier on me - not necessarily easier to take game. When you are 68 yrs old with some physical concerns - actually killing a deer can be problematic. I for sure get a lot more deer closer to my tree when I am in a stand with my compound than I do on the ground with my crossbow.

But, all that said - a lot of folks hunt out of an elevated stand with a crossbow. I dont think a crossbow is that much of a difference maker in the south - as far as overall harvest goes - because we have a long rifle season and not as many folks feel compelled to pick up archery to be able to fill another tag. That is why you only see compound and crossbow combined only accounting for 15% of the harvest - where you see that percentage in northern states approaching 50%.

 

[SwampCat]

If my baiting comments turned this toward an ethics conversation, I apologize. My intent was only to support the notion that baiting is a huge uplift to hunter efficiency.

Yeah. This is a problem. I won’t go so far as to say commissioners are bought and paid for, but I will accuse them of being biased on the baiting issue. They do not follow the advice of the scientists that they pay to advise them.

In AR, our g&f did not ban baiting in the cwd zones - maybe the only state to not do that. I think it was the biologists that recommended to keep baiting in an effort for hunters to reach g&f harvest goals. That is same in the cutover commercial timberland area of south AR. Without baiting, it is doubful harvest goals would ever be reached hunting 1000’s of acres of 15 ft tall brush. In some cases, baiting can be an effective management tool to increase harvest where needed.

But, dont take this as my support for baiting. I wish it was gone tomorrow.

 

[Howboutthemdawgs]

In AR, our g&f did not ban baiting in the cwd zones - maybe the only state to not do that. I think it was the biologists that recommended to keep baiting in an effort for hunters to reach g&f harvest goals. That is same in the cutover commercial timberland area of south AR. Without baiting, it is doubful harvest goals would ever be reached hunting 1000’s of acres of 15 ft tall brush. In some cases, baiting can be an effective management tool to increase harvest where needed.

But, dont take this as my support for baiting. I wish it was gone tomorrow.

Does that poor habitat have a carrying capacity issue? I know when I hunted timberlands of South Georgia it was common to get skunked all weekend.

 

[Turkish]

In AR, our g&f did not ban baiting in the cwd zones - maybe the only state to not do that. I think it was the biologists that recommended to keep baiting in an effort for hunters to reach g&f harvest goals. That is same in the cutover commercial timberland area of south AR. Without baiting, it is doubful harvest goals would ever be reached hunting 1000’s of acres of 15 ft tall brush. In some cases, baiting can be an effective management tool to increase harvest where needed.

But, dont take this as my support for baiting. I wish it was gone tomorrow.

I’m with you. I understand that. As much as I dislike baiting, Ill admit that I have considered it in locations where I really need to kill does and would really LIKE to do it in a low-impact fashion (meaning in a specific location). Can’t bring myself to do it.

 

[Foggy47]

READ THIS!!

Angry deer hunters rally against wolves, DNR, Democrats

After another poor deer season, hunters want an open season on predators. That was the message during a packed meeting Wednesday in Carlton organized by the new group Hunters For Hunters.

www.duluthnewstribune.com

 

[Foggy47]

One of the comments on the above is pretty good.......

mn52june941 HR AGO
I did a comparison with Alaska's wolf population to Minnesota's. Alaska's wolf population covers 85% of the state compared to Minnesota's 40%. This may not sound like alot, but Alaska has about 2 wolves per 100 square miles versus Minnesota's 8 and that 40% is the Arrowhead region. When you start doing the math and figure out the number of deer that are killed due to wolf predation and the number of fawns lost because mom is killed before they are born you can easily see why the deer numbers are dropping. I had 1 fawn this year on all my trail cam pictures. All of the moose hunters know why the moose population is taking a hit too. Compared to Alaska, Minnesota's wolf population should be about 750, not the almost 3000 animals they say are out there, which is probably a lie. I'm guessing there is more than that. I live 15 miles from Walker, MN and reports are 3 different packs of wolves roaming the area, ranging from 15 to 25 animals each. No wonder why we only bagged 1 deer for 12 people. I'm not saying we have to get rid of wolves completely, but look at Minnesota's deer hunting results, we had a good thing going when there weren't so many wolves. The wolves are out of control thanks to the federal government. Alaska manages its wolf population let Minnesota do the same.
REPLY 0

 

[Brian662]

Nobody gets the troops fired up like Steve Porter

 

[Tree Spud]

READ THIS!!

Angry deer hunters rally against wolves, DNR, Democrats

After another poor deer season, hunters want an open season on predators. That was the message during a packed meeting Wednesday in Carlton organized by the new group Hunters For Hunters.

www.duluthnewstribune.com

Definition of irony ... we want to kill the predators who are killing the deer so we can kill them ...

 

[Wind Gypsy]

Definition of irony ... we want to kill the predators who are killing the deer so we can kill them ...

Kind of? If deer or bunnies were eating my garden up I'd want to kill them so i can eat the food growing there instead too.

 

[Telemark]

Definition of irony ... we want to kill the predators who are killing the deer so we can kill them ...

It's not irony, it's competition.

 

[Howboutthemdawgs]

return wolves to their native range but don’t allow humans to kill them as they did the previous thousands of years. Irony

 

[BenAllgood]

@Howboutthemdawgs They just announced a confirmed case of CWD in Ballard County Kentucky. That could be a way to get the baiting stopped.

 

[Howboutthemdawgs]

@Howboutthemdawgs They just announced a confirmed case of CWD in Ballard County Kentucky. That could be a way to get the baiting stopped.

I have this devil on my shoulder that wouldn’t mind finding it by me if it eliminated bait. I’ll take my chances with immature bucks surviving cwd over bait.

 

[Tree Spud]

It's not irony, it's competition.

If the wolves are that effective at reducing the herd, why would the DNR have a season on them?

Seems wolves & hunters are a win win for the DNR, farmers, insurance companies, etc.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

If the wolves are that effective at reducing the herd, why would the DNR have a season on them?

Seems wolves & hunters are a win win for the DNR, farmers, insurance companies, etc.

Dont forget loggers/foresters.