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Deer #’s down statewide???

I hate social media in the sense that - u know u r gonna deal with some low IQ folks. Folks that are angry at the world & sick of living in mom & dad’s basement at 45 years old because even Pizza Hut won’t employ them. They have lots of times for comments. BUT… I still do it if I feel like it can help: others, our resource, the good folks out there (there’s a lot!) & educate the casual hunter or non-hunter about hunting/conservation. It’s a NET win. 20% of comments are just gonna be like “what in the heck is wrong with u? What are u thinking? U r not a functioning member of society! U for sure huffed gas in your parents garage”. Or a common one in “deer hunting world” where ever u go… EVERYONE IS A DEER EXPERT!!!! Everyone has opinions that are just spot on!! When they’re not… ;)

Here was the video, most comments pretty good. Few of them - good gosh. & comments here are pretty mild & timid vs your general feedback on any post. Maniacs out there. ;).

 
JNRBRONC said:
Oh stop your hand wringing!

Deer numbers are strong statewide!
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I can't tell if this is sarcasm or not? There are places in IA that have strong populations yet. I don't know where you're at, must be one of those. It truly is wild how few there are out west here. Never would've imagined we could get to where we are now, that's the common discussion I have with folks who are really in tune with the deer heard around the counties around me anyway.
 
Daver said:
I could not agree more. I often think back to my early deer hunting days and how undetected many/most mature bucks were. Cameras changed all of that, some for good IMO, some for bad too, IMO. But how many times do you hear the phrase, "That's the buck we came in here for...", in all of the various hunting vids? Perhaps as often as the phrases, "Let's go!" or "Smoked him." or "I can't believe that just happened." or "I'm still shaking...". :) :) (Yes, I feel like certain phrases are OVERUSED in the vid world. :)

Back in the day, 80%+ of the time you had NO IDEA what bucks were around, let alone hunt selectively for a buck that you absolutely know is "there" due to camera surveillance. Right or wrong or neither...it is WAY different world these days. And then once the fortunate hunter knows of a certain buck...all of the weaponry advances, to include sitting in nice, comfy blinds, come into play and greatly enhance the odds that Mr. Big going down.
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Hard to square increased efficiency with a significant reduction in overall harvest though. I can see what you are saying when it comes to the biggest/oldest bucks but when it comes to the overall herd it doesn’t make sense that the harvest is down and not steady or up with the increased efficiency in weapons that many hunters are using as well as the longer seasons.
 
LoessHillsArcher said:
I can't tell if this is sarcasm or not? There are places in IA that have strong populations yet. I don't know where you're at, must be one of those. It truly is wild how few there are out west here. Never would've imagined we could get to where we are now, that's the common discussion I have with folks who are really in tune with the deer heard around the counties around me anyway.
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Sarcasm.

The DNR wants to sell licenses though. They aren't going to tell people to stay home or think about how many tags to fill.
 
Rous14 said:
Hard to square increased efficiency with a significant reduction in overall harvest though. I can see what you are saying when it comes to the biggest/oldest bucks but when it comes to the overall herd it doesn’t make sense that the harvest is down and not steady or up with the increased efficiency in weapons that many hunters are using as well as the longer seasons.
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I was agreeing that rifle and camera usage increases kill efficiency, which is not the same as raw kill numbers. Hunters are FAR MORE efficient at killing any target deer these days than back in the day, even though kill numbers may be down due to any of several factors.
 
Somewhat unbelievably, especially in light of a thread to this effect...I just saw a news report on KGAN where there was a reference to the effect, "State officials indicate that deer numbers are strong statewide...". Crazy.

Here's the story link
 
Sligh1 said:
I hate social media in the sense that - u know u r gonna deal with some low IQ folks. Folks that are angry at the world & sick of living in mom & dad’s basement at 45 years old because even Pizza Hut won’t employ them. They have lots of times for comments. BUT… I still do it if I feel like it can help: others, our resource, the good folks out there (there’s a lot!) & educate the casual hunter or non-hunter about hunting/conservation. It’s a NET win. 20% of comments are just gonna be like “what in the heck is wrong with u? What are u thinking? U r not a functioning member of society! U for sure huffed gas in your parents garage”. Or a common one in “deer hunting world” where ever u go… EVERYONE IS A DEER EXPERT!!!! Everyone has opinions that are just spot on!! When they’re not… ;)

Here was the video, most comments pretty good. Few of them - good gosh. & comments here are pretty mild & timid vs your general feedback on any post. Maniacs out there. ;).

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Great video. I agree %100. After reading the comments on the various pages that it was shared to I think many took it the wrong way. We just got done with an election cycle where one side accused us of all being too dumb to know what was good for us. It’s obvious to me and all of us here what you meant but many took it differently. Telling “casual” deer hunters to ask the “serious” deer hunters about the deer heard was perceived the same as democrat politicians telling us to just go along with them because they know what is best for us. I don’t have the answer and what you said needed to be said and I honestly do not know how anybody could have said it better. I think in this case even tho a few might have had some rude comments they are thinking about what you said and hopefully their actions reflect that. Well done!
 
booneriverbucks said:
Great video. I agree %100. After reading the comments on the various pages that it was shared to I think many took it the wrong way. We just got done with an election cycle where one side accused us of all being too dumb to know what was good for us. It’s obvious to me and all of us here what you meant but many took it differently. Telling “casual” deer hunters to ask the “serious” deer hunters about the deer heard was perceived the same as democrat politicians telling us to just go along with them because they know what is best for us. I don’t have the answer and what you said needed to be said and I honestly do not know how anybody could have said it better. I think in this case even tho a few might have had some rude comments they are thinking about what you said and hopefully their actions reflect that. Well done!
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The message was spot on for sure but labeling the one weekend a year shotgun hunters as casual vs others as serious would rile a lot of folks.
 
JNRBRONC said:
Sarcasm.

The DNR wants to sell licenses though. They aren't going to tell people to stay home or think about how many tags to fill.
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And how much money will they be down this year due to the rule change of nonresident party hunting this gun season?
 
8bitnes said:
Our group is still coming in. The social aspect of deer camp far outweighs what one is allowed to shoot. I didn't think either guy even hesitated
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That's great, and I know many that come back to hunt with friends and family. But I have heard of more going to other states to spend their dollars. Do get me wrong, I am happy for the rule change but will be watching what the next few years will have in store.
 
letemgrow said:
Here’s a few screenshots (pano) I took this past Saturday of the deer out in the field at one time. There were 5 more behind me at this time as well.

Mercer County, MO 2 miles from IA line….19 total in the pics and this is a CWD zone where I get 10 extra tags yearly.

1ba14a05478bb67e9237cf17ee67388c.jpg

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Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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I grew up in Mercer county, MO amd still hunt a few farms there. On my farms I would say the deer numbers are down compared to 5 years ago. In 2017 I would see 10-15 on some good evenings. Now I'm lucky to see 5.
 
Numbers here in nw Mn are not strong on a per acre basis, but those with good coverage doing well.

I made some archery deer drives for a buddy yesterday along the Red River.
I'm guessing we seen 60/ 70 deer.
 
Jgamet said:
I grew up in Mercer county, MO amd still hunt a few farms there. On my farms I would say the deer numbers are down compared to 5 years ago. In 2017 I would see 10-15 on some good evenings. Now I'm lucky to see 5.
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Same for me, attended Mercer R-III and most of my family is still there.

Haven't seen a change in deer densities for my farm, but what has changed is the # of quality mature bucks given the increased hunting pressure in the area as opposed to the early 2000's.
 
letemgrow said:
Same for me, attended Mercer R-III and most of my family is still there.

Haven't seen a change in deer densities for my farm, but what has changed is the # of quality mature bucks given the increased hunting pressure in the area as opposed to the early 2000's.
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My farms are also in Mercer, one since 2005. I agree with the quality of mature bucks being down. I noticed a drop off around 2018-2019. Increased pressure is my diagnosis as well: crossbows, more guys being selective but not selective enough, EHD, CWD sharpshooting, guys from down south in leasing anything with a tree on it (haha, kidding......but not kidding).
 
MN Slick said:
more guys being selective but not selective enough
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The biggest 2-3 year olds have a hard time getting another time around the sun.

One buck shot this year on a neighboring property that I also had pics of was estimated to be 2.5 years old. He grossed 141" with double split brows with an extra g-3 on his left side. It's just the nature of the beast with enough guns in a given area.
 
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