Completely baffled!

[*Hawaii5joe*]

Here is a picture of my Food plot back in 2007. There was as many as 50 deer using this food plot in 2007. It was an unreal sight for us. Since 2007, we have shot .75 does per year off our 475 acre chunk. That's right... 3/4 of a doe per year. I'm trying to figure out why I have very little deer on my property or anywhere in our area. Since 2007 my plots have improved big time, hunting strategy has changed, I've been part of our co-op for 5 years, been doing some timber improvements, etc. I'm fairly aware of what most of the neighbors are shooting and they haven't been going bonkers on the deer. Just frustrated because on paper I should have too many deer. I've been doing way too much work to see this kind of a decline on our property.

 

[SD51555]

Only one other thing has been constant for the last 8 years.

 

[SD51555]

Do you have wolves around Mille Lacs? Near public land? A big gap in winter forage made fatal in bad winters? Perhaps a few wild cards harvesting all year long? Big change in logging activity?

Ok, one more joke...

Maybe they are still hunkered down from the wind, rain, and corn.

 

[*Hawaii5joe*]

Some pretty good timber harvests lately. I do butt up to the Ojibwe band reservation. I think they can shoot deer year round if they want to. I rarely see the natives around though. Wolves are/were around but I've never had one on camera. I can patrol damn near the entire township in one big loop. You might see a few deer total. I used to see a dozen just driving to my friends house 4 miles up the road every night. I'm guessing deer are spread out with the acorns still, but there is no doubt this area is taking a hit somehow.

 

[Jordan Selsor]

Poachers and pressure would be my guess

 

[Freeborn]

View attachment 7655 Here is a picture of my Food plot back in 2007. There was as many as 50 deer using this food plot in 2007. It was an unreal sight for us. Since 2007, we have shot .75 does per year off our 475 acre chunk. That's right... 3/4 of a doe per year. I'm trying to figure out why I have very little deer on my property or anywhere in our area. Since 2007 my plots have improved big time, hunting strategy has changed, I've been part of our co-op for 5 years, been doing some timber improvements, etc. I'm fairly aware of what most of the neighbors are shooting and they haven't been going bonkers on the deer. Just frustrated because on paper I should have too many deer. I've been doing way too much work to see this kind of a decline on our property.

That kind of a change is drastic and with that many acres doesn't seem possible.

Baiting comes to mind. How about allot of human activity?

 

[*Hawaii5joe*]

Thank kind of a change is drastic and with that many acres doesn't seem possible.

Baiting comes to mind. How about allot of human activity?

I often wonder if guys who have plots and manage their land properly attract most of the deer causing others to bait as they might not have a single deer on their parcel. Still doesn't explain the general lack of deer sightings everywhere.

 

[SD51555]

The other thing to consider is that you may have had an abnormally large concentration during clover (is that clover?) season. Couple reasons come to mind; maybe a terrible acorn year, and nearby hay fields were not cut at all and offered no desirable forage. I've seen that play out across the road from us. If it gets cut at the right time, 40 deer. Cut at the wrong time, and you won't count 40 from October to first snow.

 

[dipper]

Winter starvation, predators(people forget about bears!), low fawn recruitment because of over population, harsh winter-predators.
People don't understand how fawn recruitment declines drastically with an overpopulation. The oldest does survive the winters the best and they are the least fertile.
My recruitment is soaring since I waged war on the old sows. Population has declined but recruitment has increased. Your scenerio is the exact reason I stopped managing for a deer behind every tree like most want. Crashes hurt!

 

[sandbur]

Joe-I have seen the same decline and blame our local manager with too many doe permits.
You have more wolf problems than me, ranchers over there have lots of problems. You have more bears for fawn predation. I have much more feed and probably a better reproduction rate, but a lot less cover.

It seems like something is getting the does.

At one time, the tribes season started Sept. 1 and ran for 4 months if my memory is correct. This would apply to any government land and has led to some sportsmens clubs no longer donating land for wildlife management areas.

Deer sightings are still way down in most of my area. I saw my last deer in mid- Sept. on my place. She poked her head out of my woods and ran back into the woods when she saw my truck. But I still have lots of corn around.

 

[bat man]

I think Skoog may be right with the wind rain corn, or Joe may be one of the lazy MN hunters our DNR has been researching and talking about.

But there are a few other possibilities you guys missed and you should be ashamed.

Brain worm, global warming, lemon grass, lead sinkers, 2-4-d, golden malrin, glyphosphate and chupacabra.

 

[*Hawaii5joe*]

Are you on your property more now than then? Is your clover plot as good as then? More plots spread out now?

No, we cut the amount of activity way back. Last year I didn't even buy a bow tag because I wanted to try and leave everything human free for a few weeks before gun season.

 

[Greta&Gus]

Joe, we are in a very similar situation. 06-10 were great years with lots of deer. I think it is a combination of factors but the winters of 12/13 and 13/14 really, really hurt the deer. They were both coming off of a decade of state wide doe slaughter. Like you, I didn't think the situation was that bad until this year. We need multiple years of conservative harvests and light winters to regain what we lost.

 

[bat man]

The reservation cut way back on tags long before our MN DNR did. They had serious concerns with deer numbers during the stakeholder meetings. They were asking and listening to hunters concerns on the crashing population. Imagine that.

 

[*Hawaii5joe*]

I'm pretty sure the answer is the same for you (Joe) as it is for me, Art, and many others.

Too many friggin' antlerless permits issued for far too long. Throw in the recent two bad winters to top it off. I'd say your proximity to the rez certainly isn't helping you any either :rolleyes:

In 2013 we didn't shoot a deer because we were trying to rebuild. Last year we shot 1 doe and left 15 antlerless deer standing in the middle of our food plot to help rebuild for this year. I guess I'm thinking there Is something above and beyond the tag thing?The gunshots on opener and the entire season have been extremely quiet.

 

[*Hawaii5joe*]

I don't recall stu...

 

[buckvelvet]

Yikes thats a STEEP decline..... :'(

 

[*Hawaii5joe*]

I couldn't ever knowingly shoot a BB again but I do agree things will get better for us and my families week of hunting with all the enhancements I have in the works. Not sure what the neighbors will do, but I guess I can't worry about them.

 

[sandbur]

The reservation cut way back on tags long before our MN DNR did. They had serious concerns with deer numbers during the stakeholder meetings. They were asking and listening to hunters concerns on the crashing population. Imagine that.

Brooks-do you have the hard data on that and what did levels did they cut back to.

Did they shorten seasons?

Supposedly, one person in the Garrison area was bragging about shooting 35 deer last year and he did most of his hunting at night (legally).

Joe, could you be losing deer to after dark deer hunts that you are not aware of?

 

[sandbur]

I think all of us have learned that we need more does in reserve than what we or than what our Area Manager had thought we needed in the past.