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Harvest numbers look down

Risto is dead on with the hot spot comment. The DNR manages by county, that is the best they can do. They also say if you aren't seeing the numbers of does you want, quit buying and filling doe tags.
 
Am I the only one that didn't realize that DWILK was a clone? Looks like somebody is messing with someone else.
 
I believe numbers are down compared to last year yes...that or else they are all hiding..there are spots where there are a lot more up here but talking with our local DNR he thinks there should've been no antlerless tags issue for our county this year and we had 150..He said deer car accidents are a third of what they were before they started the anterless season here and what he said, which I agree in a way, is our numbers are finally getting to where they should be...theres not a abundant amount thats for sure like there use to and not everyone is going to get a deer..that's why they call it HUNTING..we think we up them one with technology and everything and they find away around it but as previously said there are hot spots, most which people can not hunt...This fall in general has been a screwy fall compared to most for prolly past 5 to 10 years..that might have a big role with it. Good luck to everyone still in the woods and be safe!!
 
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I was having a hard time seeing deer during bow season. Now the last few nights they are all over the place. Last night I counted 34 does in a beanfield on the neighbors and the two previous nights there were 30 plus does in a different neighbors beans.

I'm not sure if it was the corn coming out late or what. But where I'm at there are plenty of does now. Between me and my buddy we took out at least 20 does this year. I'm interested in seeing how things pan out next year. Usually on years when we shoot a lot of does that many more will move in the next year.
 
If ya did'nt get a deer in first shotgun............get a late DOE tag!! Then you can kill 2 or 3 deer with one shot since many of the doe's wiil be carrying! Be carefull what you wish for!! If your that hardup to kill something shoot your dog!!! :thrwrck:
 
Crockett said:
If ya did'nt get a deer in first shotgun............get a late DOE tag!! Then you can kill 2 or 3 deer with one shot since many of the doe's wiil be carrying! Be carefull what you wish for!! If your that hardup to kill something shoot your dog!!! :thrwrck:
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Many have concieved and are carrying as we speak. It's really no different than shooting them now, although I do see your point and completely agree, let the survivors survive!
 
Justin,
They will constantly be moving in until you get it into check up there.

I have the same problem but it is a fun problem to have.

It will be interesting to see what happens these next four to five weeks with all this snow. :confused:

jjohnson said:
I was having a hard time seeing deer during bow season. Now the last few nights they are all over the place. Last night I counted 34 does in a beanfield on the neighbors and the two previous nights there were 30 plus does in a different neighbors beans.

I'm not sure if it was the corn coming out late or what. But where I'm at there are plenty of does now. Between me and my buddy we took out at least 20 does this year. I'm interested in seeing how things pan out next year. Usually on years when we shoot a lot of does that many more will move in the next year.
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risto2351 said:
Justin,
They will constantly be moving in until you get it into check up there.

I have the same problem but it is a fun problem to have.

It will be interesting to see what happens these next four to five weeks with all this snow. :confused:
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From what I can see people are just not shooting does. I talked to several groups this week and all they are saying is "yeah we saw alot of deer but no bucks". Then I ask how many tags they filled and they say 2-3. One guy said he seen over a hundred deer in one drive and they never shot one. Nobody wants to shoot the does because they think the bucks will be behind them. They need to realize there's not that many shooter bucks. Not everybody will get a trophy so have fun and shoot some does. I bet the harvest will be way down...
 
I just don't get it. Why can't people understand or believe that record numbers of licenses and record numbers of hunters and rapidly declining harvest numbers can only mean 2 things. One is that at least 60 percent of the deer hunters have suddenly become idiots who could not find a deer on a basketball court, or much more likely there are way fewer deer. The harvest numbers tell the whole story. 2005 had 211,415 deer harvested 326,000 hunters. 2008, just 3 years later, 142,194 harvested by 344327 hunters. So 18,327 more hunters managed to harvest 69,221 FEWER DEER. There is only one thing to attribute this to, fewer deer.:thrwrck:
 
I watched alot of hunting over the past weekeend, and watched groups push smalls plot of standing corn. The deer werent in the corn...the deer were no where to be found actually. If 20 deer ran out of the woods, it was a miracle...and in years past there would be at least a hundred...either way, deer numbers are down in areas where they can be hunted...and where they cant, they are still high..thats all the people see are the places where they are high... Doe tags and the november doe season needs to be thrown away...
 
I sat for 3 hours last night- pushed deer off the food plot on the way in and deer started filtering back in 10 minutes after we got in the blind. We saw over 25 bucks and had 120 deer in the field at one time... with the deer coming and going I would guess we saw atleast 140 to 150 deer. We were hunting 900 acres or so of private ground and I bet all of the neighbors were saying what you guys are saying!

Are you seeing less big deer? I am not. I have beat down the does hard for 3 years or so and am seeing less overall deer but just as many or more big bucks.
 
My trailcams are showing me a healthy population, does with twins and triplets.
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It's been a very successful season for me and it's far from over, however actual sightings have been down compared to previous years.

My trail cams reveal the truth however, numbers are far from down, they are just living in the thousands of acres of corn still standing. The only does I see with singles are yearling does which is normal.

Neighoring shotgunners took about the same number of deer as usual but some groups said their harvest was down, due mostly to the standing corn.

Each county and areas within counties will always vary of course but down here in SE IA where we have plenty of cover and thousands of acres of "sanctuaries"...there are no worries about running out of deer anytime soon.....;)
 
Nobody said:
We saw over 25 bucks and had 120 deer in the field at one time... with the deer coming and going I would guess we saw atleast 140 to 150 deer.

I have beat down the does hard for 3 years or so and am seeing less overall deer but just as many or more big bucks.
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Your 1:5 buck to doe ratio says you should keep beating on the does.

And since you threw out the numbers could you answer a few questions?

1) How many others hunt this 900 acres?
2) How many deer are taken off the 900 acres each year on average?
3) How many acres of food plots are dedicated within the property?
 
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