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Deer #’s down statewide???

By what I observed from the stand this fall I would say down a fair amount. Very low number of sightings of mature deer (bucks and does) period. Very disappointing season for me personally. Know of one suspected EHD from neighbor but I'm assuming there are a lot more. I would say its decreased gradually over the last 3 years. Not an over hunted area. I'm guessing EHD, deer dispersing, and possibly poaching.

I shotgun hunt with family back in the NE IA and the numbers on the farms we hunt has sucked drastically for the last 5 plus years. Numbers have gradually just kept getting worse and worse. In the hay days of over population we would see 100 plus deer on some farms. 15-20 on others. Now it's 5-10. On these particular farms it's 1) over killing 2) Amish have moved in drastically (over killing). Sounds harsh but ever sense they have become neighbors its gone down every year. 3) Lose of habitat.
 
Non resident here so take my opinion with that in mind.

I drew a tag this year after waiting for 6 years. I hunted in Appanoose as well as Davis county.

First, it was the worst and most discouraging rut I have ever seen up there. Horrible weather and yes, imo, a drastic decrease in deer. Found a dead deer on each farm I hunted.

Imo, the farm I hunted in Appanoose was the worst. It is usually a very fun hunt. We had pics of quiet a few nice deer but when we got up there to hunt they we’re nonexistent. I did get lucky and get one but between the weather and EHD??? it was a far cry from what I have come to expect when I hunt Iowa.

The Davis county farm is a doe factory that really doesn’t see much buck activity until the rut. It was definitely not as good as it has been in the past but seemed to be better than the Appanoose county tract.

7/8 years is too long for me to wait for another bow tag. I will really miss it. I will probably just try and get a gun tag which takes 2/3 years. I’m not much into gun hunting and have thought about just bringing my bow during late season but I honestly don’t know if I’m tough enough for that.

Can you fellows legally use thermal scopes to shoot coyotes after gun season? It’s not as easy as you think but it’s definitely easier to kill them at night versus daytime.
 
Nightvision said:
Non resident here so take my opinion with that in mind.

I drew a tag this year after waiting for 6 years. I hunted in Appanoose as well as Davis county.

First, it was the worst and most discouraging rut I have ever seen up there. Horrible weather and yes, imo, a drastic decrease in deer. Found a dead deer on each farm I hunted.

Imo, the farm I hunted in Appanoose was the worst. It is usually a very fun hunt. We had pics of quiet a few nice deer but when we got up there to hunt they we’re nonexistent. I did get lucky and get one but between the weather and EHD??? it was a far cry from what I have come to expect when I hunt Iowa.

The Davis county farm is a doe factory that really doesn’t see much buck activity until the rut. It was definitely not as good as it has been in the past but seemed to be better than the Appanoose county tract.

7/8 years is too long for me to wait for another bow tag. I will really miss it. I will probably just try and get a gun tag which takes 2/3 years. I’m not much into gun hunting and have thought about just bringing my bow during late season but I honestly don’t know if I’m tough enough for that.

Can you fellows legally use thermal scopes to shoot coyotes after gun season? It’s not as easy as you think but it’s definitely easier to kill them at night versus daytime.
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Yes, thermals for coyotes are allowed after deer season closes
 
Hard to say where I hunt due to corn coming out late this year but numbers have been down going back to 2012 ehd, seems like every time we start to build back get hit with another round. Lots of young bucks this year but only saw 1 mature buck all bow season.

One thing I wonder is the role of increasing hot dry summers. Does that impact the heads ability to reproduce in some way. We always focus on how hard winters are but I think dry summers play a role.
 
I agree there is a problem in SWIA NWMO. Numbers way down. EHD is a factor no doubt but something is wrong with reproduction IMO. Is it chemicals, coyotes or something else IDK. Skip and I have disagreed on the coyotes before but I have hunted and trapped for years in this area and coyotes populations are normal. Guys that run dogs complain that they don’t jump as many as they used to and I agree. If we say new methods have made us more efficient at killing deer, there is no question that thermals have increased the effectiveness of hunting coyotes. My argument on reproduction is too often I see less than one fawn per adult doe. This is a problem if herd growth is the goal. Maybe I am wrong and coyotes are killing half the fawns per doe but it is far less common to see twins and triplets in the fall than it used to be. I’d be interested to see if others notice this but when I see a group of deer in a field or coming by a stand I pay attention to the ratio of fawns to yearling/mature does and it is less than 1:1 now which does not build the herd very quickly.
 
Muskrat24 said:
I agree there is a problem in SWIA NWMO. Numbers way down. EHD is a factor no doubt but something is wrong with reproduction IMO. Is it chemicals, coyotes or something else IDK. Skip and I have disagreed on the coyotes before but I have hunted and trapped for years in this area and coyotes populations are normal. Guys that run dogs complain that they don’t jump as many as they used to and I agree. If we say new methods have made us more efficient at killing deer, there is no question that thermals have increased the effectiveness of hunting coyotes. My argument on reproduction is too often I see less than one fawn per adult doe. This is a problem if herd growth is the goal. Maybe I am wrong and coyotes are killing half the fawns per doe but it is far less common to see twins and triplets in the fall than it used to be. I’d be interested to see if others notice this but when I see a group of deer in a field or coming by a stand I pay attention to the ratio of fawns to yearling/mature does and it is less than 1:1 now which does not build the herd very quickly.
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I agree. Fawn survival on land I owned in Wisconsin was much higher vs extreme Northern MO where I own now. Almost every doe in Wisconsin had at least one fawn. Totally different in MO. This year seems better but there are always plenty of does without fawns. There were no coyotes on our 80 in Wisconsin.

We haven’t killed doe on a 120 we bought in 2021 and haven’t seen an increase in population. Odd!
 
MN Slick said:
I agree. Fawn survival on land I owned in Wisconsin was much higher vs extreme Northern MO where I own now. Almost every doe in Wisconsin had at least one fawn. Totally different in MO. This year seems better but there are always plenty of does without fawns. There were no coyotes on our 80 in Wisconsin.

We haven’t killed doe on a 120 we bought in 2021 and haven’t seen an increase in population. Odd!
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Agree in my area as well. The majority of does this year never had fawns with them on camera.

Our coyote population is extremely high. I have multiple camera pictures of coyotes walking around with fawns in their mouth this past spring.
 
marshall said:
Hard to say where I hunt due to corn coming out late this year but numbers have been down going back to 2012 ehd, seems like every time we start to build back get hit with another round. Lots of young bucks this year but only saw 1 mature buck all bow season.

One thing I wonder is the role of increasing hot dry summers. Does that impact the heads ability to reproduce in some way. We always focus on how hard winters are but I think dry summers play a role.
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Dry summers shouldn't have a significant effect on the following year's reproduction. It can affect milk production in the current summer.

This last winter though had that awful stretch of deep snow and terrible cold in mid january. There cold have been some fawn abortion during that time period as does struggled to fend off starvation.

This phenomena is also seen in western states, so it has historical evidence
 
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Sligh1 said:
3) there’s SOMETHING else!!! ?!?!?! ______. ????? I don’t believe it’s cwd. Rob had mentioned enlist beans…. It is “new”. Round up & seed treatment are not new so discussing what has changed. He also mentioned covid in deer. It could be another virus or a some other sickness. I suspect it’s something like that. This is one we need some thoughts & feedback on. At this rate, IMO- I believe there will be some investigation into what else might be going on. It’s SOMETHING!!! Thoughts?
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Asked my agronomist on his thoughts on enlist soybeans affecting numbers. His response was that enlist has had widespread nationwide adoption at this point so unless there is a nationwide dip in fawn recruitment, it wouldn't be that.
 
8bitnes said:
Asked my agronomist on his thoughts on enlist soybeans affecting numbers. His response was that enlist has had widespread nationwide adoption at this point so unless there is a nationwide dip in fawn recruitment, it wouldn't be that.
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Interesting comment and what I would expect from involved chemical company. Not saying enlist is culprit turkey numbers are down in a huge area. Deer numbers down in fairly large area and I have read several articles discussing the song bird population decline. Related IDK…
 
How late into the year have you guys seen EHD symptoms or deaths? How fast have you seen symptoms arise?

I have a 3 year old that I've become well acquainted with the last two years that I've been beyond excited for. I saw him on the 23rd... perfectly fine. Out cruising, doing normal buck things during the late rut. 3 days later I see him again but this time slowly walking up the crick, stopping every few feet, drooling and foaming from mouth. Head droopy.

I find it hard to believe he burned himself out that bad in 3 days. But maybe? But also surprised EHD would still be a factor in late November. But maybe? No signs of physical injury. He looked like he was in his final days unfortunately.
 
RinggoCy said:
How late into the year have you guys seen EHD symptoms or deaths? How fast have you seen symptoms arise?

I have a 3 year old that I've become well acquainted with the last two years that I've been beyond excited for. I saw him on the 23rd... perfectly fine. Out cruising, doing normal buck things during the late rut. 3 days later I see him again but this time slowly walking up the crick, stopping every few feet, drooling and foaming from mouth. Head droopy.

I find it hard to believe he burned himself out that bad in 3 days. But maybe? But also surprised EHD would still be a factor in late November. But maybe? No signs of physical injury. He looked like he was in his final days unfortunately.
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Very unlikely. First frosts wiped out the midges several weeks ago across Iowa, unless you are much further south
 
Muskrat24 said:
Interesting comment and what I would expect from involved chemical company. Not saying enlist is culprit turkey numbers are down in a huge area. Deer numbers down in fairly large area and I have read several articles discussing the song bird population decline. Related IDK…
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Equally interesting response considering you have zero background knowledge on this agronomist.

Let me give you some background. He is a hunting enthusiast, a Farmer with many conservation practices, holds a PhD, is research minded and solution driven, is equally frustrated by deer numbers, and not employed with an affiliate of Enlist.

But, tell me more about how this person you don't know would give me anything but a straight response.

Also, I would love to read the published articles you mention. Pollinator numbers are down too and have been for some time
 
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