Early Antlerless with Youth Hunt

[Buck Ridge]

I see some other states have an early antlerless hunt that coincides with the youth hunt. For counties that may need to thin the herd, what are your thoughts on this and do you think it would be more effective than the later season antlerless hunts?

 

[buckdeer1]

We have early youth hunts and then a oct doe hunt but I didn't hear anyone hunting it in Oct.I does help with not shooting shed bucks unlike our Jan. season

 

[bueller]

We used to have an early antlerless only season and it was a disaster in my area. Over harvest was a big issue and so was the fact that many yearling bucks were accidentally shot and left to waste in the woods. Not to mention that come the traditional opener all the deer were 99.9% nocturnal already from all the early hunting pressure.

 

[Diesel5610]

We try to get most of our antlerless tags filled in the early antlerless season. Great weather, easier to fill the tags and we spend the rest of the season trying to kill mature bucks. Does get pretty smart by late season and those tags can be pretty hard to fill on our properties. If you have a certain number of antlerless tags you want to fill, do it early. If you don't have does that need to be taken and they are just opportunity tags it really doesn't matter. Depends on the area and your goals.

 

[H20fwler]

I think running antlerless season along with youth season opens a lot of potential for bucks getting shot and tagged as a youths deer.

I've got mixed feelings over youth hunts all together here. I've had my kids out when they were young and understand why states have them, Ohio has theirs a week to two weeks before regular season opens.
My issue is they seem to really get thing spooked as far as the deer and waterfowl season openers. I feel that kids would still hunt the regular openers anyway if they are really interested, they did for generations before they started having "special" seasons. Would rather see it like some of the southern states with youth weekends at the end of season.

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

I wish we had a 9/1 doe only muzzleloader season.

 

[sandbur]

I have not liked early youth or early antlerless hunts in my area. Public grounds get hit hard and overharvest often occurs.

 

[Bill]

Youth weekend around me is basically non existent. I always have hunters but rarely hear other shots close.
When MO sought feedback on an early doe season I was a NO. I can see that leading to a nocturnal lockdown.

 

[sandbur]

Youth weekend around me is basically non existent. I always have hunters but rarely hear other shots close.
When MO sought feedback on an early doe season I was a NO. I can see that leading to a nocturnal lockdown.

They threw it at us in mid October. Bowhunters hated it and so did many of us firearm hunters.

 

[Bill]

They threw it at us in mid October. Bowhunters hated it and so did many of us firearm hunters.

Probably couldn't be a worse time than mid October. Well, mid to late October. that would shut down so much good movement In early Nov.
I know a lot of conservation workers are hunters and get it. But anyone coming up with that idea doesn't hunt deer. At least no seriously.

 

[sandbur]

Probably couldn't be a worse time than mid October. Well, mid to late October. that would shut down so much good movement In early Nov.
I know a lot of conservation workers are hunters and get it. But anyone coming up with that idea doesn't hunt deer. At least no seriously.

Our firearm season usually opens in early November. Most of us felt the early antlerless season was not needed on 90% of the properties.

I agree that many of our current DNR people do not care about deer. Their interest is in pollinator mixes or other things, but deer hunters pay many of the bills.

 

[Buck Ridge]

With Wisconsin's mild winter and no change in antlerless harvest last year in some counties, I think that the Natural Resource Board (NRB) will be hammering down this year regardless of the County Deer Advisory Committee (CDAC) recommendations. An early antlerless could be an alternative to a doe only season and give hunters one last chance before doe only seasons. I would be for it. If I'm going into the woods with a youth and pressuring it anyways, might as well shoot a doe.

What other ideas / options are out there to increase antlerless harvest on areas that need it? Is EAB with in person registration the solution or is there other ideas?

 

[kl9]

I believe EAB was outlawed of sorts in WI

 

[j-bird]

IN has an early youth hunt weekend - for those under the age of 18 only. Any legal weapon during the regular hunting season is allowed to be used. In the beginning is was antlerless only, but they have changed that to any deer now. it's always the last weekend in september as our statewide season opens October 1st.

there are good things about it and bad. The weather - like any other time can work for or against you. Sure it isn't cold - so you don;t have to prep the kids for that, but it could also be in the 90's as well so deer movement could be minimal. I like that they can use any legal hunting weapon. Most now use a x-bow, mild rifle or muzzleloader. The deer tend to be on a feeding pattern and are unpressured so find some dropping acorns or a bean field corner they are visiting and you should see some deer. I have seen ZERO impact on the herd itself.

The one thing I never understood is how grown men can be jealous of kids...... I hear it all the time. "Why do the kids get to hunt first", or "I am not taking the kids hunting until I get my deer first".....what?!?!? These folks take things way to seriously. These kids are potentially the next hunting generation. I take kids every youth season, sometimes they are not even my own. You want to see the pure joy of deer hunting......sit in a blind with a young hunter that has never killed a deer before and have a young doe walk in. I have shared the experience of a hunters first deer twice now and working on a third. That moment....that is the essence of what deer hunting is about. From the nerves and the shakes to the rush of the shot to the understanding they just took a life and need to respect that. It's an emotional roller coaster and I am there to help walk them thru that. Those hunts I remember just as well as those where I put bucks on the wall. Some of those hunts you don;t see a deer and we talk about different trees and habits of deer and why we are hunting where we are or simply watch other wildlife. They also learn that deer don't follow a schedule. They learn that sometimes hunting is disappointing and then they can learn that things can change quickly as well.

I don't care when you do it - but take a kid hunting. Use the time to teach them about the outdoors and nature and if you kill a deer in the process great. Set them up as best as you can to succeed. They just want a deer.....its about as down to the core deer hunting as you will ever get.

 

[bwoods11]

For most hunters there is no jealousy at all with youth hunts---just common sense. We actually participated in one in NW MN, my sons each shot a buck with their rifles. This was a county that had quite a few deer at the time, and limited hunting pressure..... However, I am against making the youth season state wide in MN for a few reasons. We do not have the deer, or bucks in certain parts of the state to justify a state wide youth hunt.

Minnesota has too many seasons already, and this would interfere with the bow season. If you want to take your kid hunting, or someone else kid, take them archery hunting? I have never understood why kids cannot hunt with their parents, friends, or relatives? Isn't this how we got involved.

The early youth duck season has been a success in some ways, but irritating in others. For those that hunt public land, the early youth season pushes the ducks off the sloughs, and they do not seem to come back. When I was young, my friends and I bought our own decoys and duck boats and lugged it through fields to get to sloughs (mostly public) and busted our butts to shoot mallards, woodies, teal, bluebills. Does the youth of today, have to have a blind already set up and drive the SUV up to the blind so they can be escorted to it? Will they love it anyway, like we all do?

 

[Bill]

I'm with J-bird.
I consider myself pretty much a nut when it comes to the rules for hunting at my place. Everything from when, how, where stands are accessed to getting out of them.

But when it comes to youth season, which is Halloween weekend and possibly the worst possible time to be cracking deer with a gun, I'm all in. Most of the rules go out the window and we have pure fun. Sure we try to keep the impact as light as possible but not to the point of taking the joy out of it.

By far my personal favorite season.

 

[j-bird]

Tell me youth season isn't worth this?

I remember this hunt like it was yesterday.

Obviously in areas where deer numbers are terribly low - this may be a different story, but we hunters HAVE to make it a point to pass this on.

 

[bwoods11]

Tell me youth season isn't worth this?
View attachment 12467
I remember this hunt like it was yesterday.

Obviously in areas where deer numbers are terribly low - this may be a different story, but we hunters HAVE to make it a point to pass this on.

I have never figured out why we cannot (hook kids) and have fun by simply hunting with a bow during the bow season. Is it because they are less likely to harvest a deer? What is the difference between a special youth gun season during the archery season, or going out and hunting with a bow---during the archery season?

Then we can (hook more kids) on deer hunting during the regular gun season. What is the difference?

 

[j-bird]

I don't NEED a special youth hunt to take kids hunting. I don't care when they go or what they shoot with or even the deer they shoot, just take them. Be safe, be responsible and have fun. I do know in my area the school kids live for that weekend as even those that won't get the chance at any other time will get to go then. If we are not seeing deer the phone is buzzing because of friends getting deer. I can give the kids 2 days. I will take my kids at other times of the season as well if they want to go, but not all hunters make that an option for their kids.

 

[Bill]

I get what you're saying and yes we should take them as much as possible. I also don't think we "need" one. But I like them having one.

Not so much anymore as the kids got older but when little we treated it like the old fashoned deer camp, just for kids. It was fun having them. My favorite year was 3 kids around 9 or 10 years old. Ice cream, candy, soda, cartoons and deer hunting. We made it an event not just a day hunting.

2009