Ripley archery hunt

I talked with a lot of hunters this weekend who seem very feed up with the current sad condition of are MN deer herd. The publics trust in the deer process was the topic of many conversation. The MDDI guys are doing a better job than they think.
 
I talked with a lot of hunters this weekend who seem very feed up with the current sad condition of are MN deer herd. The publics trust in the deer process was the topic of many conversation. The MDDI guys are doing a better job than they think.

Danka Kar. We are beyond baby steps. I can not tell you where it will lead, but one thing is for sure. It is a better place than where we are now.
 
I talked with a lot of hunters this weekend who seem very feed up with the current sad condition of are MN deer herd. The publics trust in the deer process was the topic of many conversation. The MDDI guys are doing a better job than they think.
I heard the same thing when I was in camp last year. I did not apply this year. Why give the DNR more money.
 
When I went through gun safety 20 years ago, they showed us a spooky video that was meant to teach us to respect the sport and be safe. They talked about how (this is from memory, so forgive me if i'm off a little) if we didn't secure the future of hunting, we'd be relegated to being assigned a specific area by the goverment and only given a limited period of time to hunt.

Total mind blower after looking at those pics.
 
The hunt is " crazy" to say the least. I personal don't like big crowds when I'm hunting or fishing. I was talked into going by a couple of new bow hunters. One is a seasoned hunter and the other is new to every thing outdoors. Both guys work full time jobs and have young kids like I due. I talked about past hunts there ( when there were deer there ) and the success we had in the past. After the hunt I asked the guys what they thought and they both agreed the hunt was great the hunting deer part could have used a few more deer!!!! You can't describe what it's like to have that many bow hunters in one spot at the same time. The non hunting parts were all part of the experience. The good, the bad and the ugly. That being said I'm glad I own my own places to hunt and can manage it the way I want.
 
You can find places to get away from the crowds in camp.

However, when there were more deer, hunting with other people nearby was an advantage. Deer were constantly moving.
 
It's like those people who camp out for black Friday deals to save a few dollars. Some love the experience but most don't see the value in it. I hope it improves for you guys.
 
It's like those people who camp out for black Friday deals to save a few dollars. Some love the experience but most don't see the value in it. I hope it improves for you guys.

When you have the MN DNR fighting you tooth and nail, how can it get better!
 
When you have the MN DNR fighting you tooth and nail, how can it get better!
While everyone is waiting in line or later in camp it seems it looks like a good time to do some grass root work and talk to these guys about maybe not shooting every deer they see so the population can rebound. (I'm not referring to you) The DNR cannot make anyone pull the trigger or release an arrow so anyone shooting a doe or small buck there should not be complaining.

Granted any efforts are not going tom fix a state-wide problem but you can see pockets of ground rebound.
 
While everyone is waiting in line or later in camp it seems it looks like a good time to do some grass root work and talk to these guys about maybe not shooting every deer they see so the population can rebound. (I'm not referring to you) The DNR cannot make anyone pull the trigger or release an arrow so anyone shooting a doe or small buck there should not be complaining.

Granted any efforts are not going tom fix a state-wide problem but you can see pockets of ground rebound.
The DNR did drop the number of hunters per hunt from 2500 to 2000. But some how they allowed bonus permits to be used??? You could buy a bonus permit and shoot a doe or use your regular archery tag(either sex) still only on deer total. In my opinion they should go to bucks only for a year or two to allow the population to rebound. They will still have a ton of people apply. That heard is independent of Big AG and Car insurances. There population is mostly controlled by 4 legged and 2 legged animals mixed with weather. In that order.
 
The DNR did drop the number of hunters per hunt from 2500 to 2000. But some how they allowed bonus permits to be used??? You could buy a bonus permit and shoot a doe or use your regular archery tag(either sex) still only on deer total. In my opinion they should go to bucks only for a year or two to allow the population to rebound. They will still have a ton of people apply. That heard is independent of Big AG and Car insurances. There population is mostly controlled by 4 legged and 2 legged animals mixed with weather. In that order.
I think the herd is somewhat controlled by the local manager. I am not surprised at the use of the bonus permit in a way that none of the rest of the state has ever done.
(That is the same manager who thinks some areas outside of camp need 8 doe permits.)
 
"The DNR cannot make anyone pull the trigger or release an arrow so anyone shooting a doe or small buck there should not be complaining."

I hate to admit it, but those are the people for the most part that are not complaining. First thing that walks by them they shoot. So to them if there are 20 deer in the area or 1 deer in the area, they dont give a rats ass. They got a deer. In order to get that crowd involved with the outcry its going to take things to get only worse before that happens for many.
 
Would it be better to get as many guys as you know to get a tag and not hunt? That way that is not giving someone a tag that will just shoot any deer.
 
Long t
Would it be better to get as many guys as you know to get a tag and not hunt? That way that is not giving someone a tag that will just shoot any deer.

I think its better to keep the heat on the Area Manager who wants all the deer in the Camp gone. Beau Liddel actually let guys use bonus tags for anterless deer on the hunt. This is the same guy bringing a good portion of the heat on the MN DNR deer team for managing below goal in the zones he controls.

Beau needs a promotion or some time with Adrian Petersen.
 
Would it be better to get as many guys as you know to get a tag and not hunt? That way that is not giving someone a tag that will just shoot any deer.
That would not work in some areas and it is too late in others.
Some areas have unlimited Hunters Choice tags which means one deer of either sex per hunter. Buying another license would not stop someone else from shooting a doe.

Lottery areas had a drawing for doe tags with a deadline back in early Sept. if my memory is correct. Hunters could still choose to not shoot a doe if they had the doe tag.
 
I tried for a doe tag in my zone this year. I was hoping to make a short youtube video of me burning it.
 
I think quite a few guys who drew the Ripley hunt chose not to go this year anyway? I thought I had read about 30% of those drawn didn't hunt the first hunt?

I dont think they had enough applicants to draw 2,000 guys each weekend.

Go totally against the Cornicelli Theorem that reads:

'It matters not how many deer are afield, the deer hunters of MN will never stop buying the tags we offer'
 
Not exactly 100% sure on my numbers but if I recall reading some were that they issued 18xx tags and 12xx showed up to hunt . That would mean that they didn't even get the 2000 applicants to fill the number of tags ( which was lowered by 500 from previous years ) the first hunt is during the week so I'm sure that does affect the numbers applying. We choose the second hunt. The weekend hunt. You have to choose 1 or the other when entering the drawing. People used to have to wait 3 years to get drawn!!!!!!
 
I didn't get drawn for the second hunt. Must of been enough applicants for that hunt.
 
Top