Now what?

[dblmainbeam]

Well i totally agree with letting the little ones go.

Up here in the north country they took away the extra doe tags. The party I have hunted with in the past were just starting to shot does and let the little bucks go. Before season I was listening to them complain about deer numbers being way down. Didn't pay much attention. Saturday I shot a doe. There a few small bucks shot. I asked why nobody else took any does. They think they need to save them because there aren't any deer left up here. Now they save a buck deal is gone. After hunting for 3 days with them I agree with the super low numbers. In 3 days with a good sized hunting party and guys pushing big sections I didn't see 50 deer the whole time. We used to see hundreds. So how do you argue? They want to get the population back up(and half the guys are farmers). I want to see big bucks but I also want to see more deer. They should have never had the extra tags up here.

 

[Steve-O]

So what was the point of shooting the bucks? Dont you need the bucks to breed the does? Hmmmmmmmmmmmm.
Little confused about the decision.

But I know what you mean on the declining #'s or it just be the timbers I hunt because seeing way less in southern Iowa where I hunt also and most is private and lightly shotgun hunted boardered by public.

 

[shadowpeople]

I would have to agree with your findings for deer numbers as I have already stated before. We didn't see more than 30 deer first season which was a total downer. I remember seeing herds in upwards of 100. Not this year I guess. However, the bucks we did see were mostly some quality mature bucks.

I can kind of understand the whole save the does thing because if a doe goes into heat she is pretty much going to get bred no matter what but I don't know about shooting the little guys. It kind of seems to me that a couple years ago we had waaay too many deer around but since they have given out the tons of doe tags there has been a extreme drop in deer numbers. Maybe it will just go in a cycle like this or something???

I hope we can see deer like I have in the past again.

 

[vrod]

my farm in lacona has seen a major decline in the last 4 years.still have deer sign,but can count the deer i've seen on stand(bow and shotgun)on one hand.don't get it!

 

[hunt iowa]

Pretty simple actually!!!!!!

Farm Bureau and insurance industry pressure on legislators to dramaticaly lower the herd numbers.

 

[Handcannon]

This is why it is important to have the harvest reporting system. I bet there are a lot of counties that won't get extra antlerless tags next year...now that we have a pretty solid idea of how many are harvested & where.

 

[Ghost]

Not everyone has to buy into the "slaughter all the deer you can" philosophy. Each and every area of state and each and every area of your county has a different deer population and habitat which will support and tollerate different population densities.

Just because the DNR is giving out tons of tags for a given county dosen't mean that your area needs a population reduction.

Don't get me wrong, there are some severely overpopulated areas in this state. Mostly due to lack of hunter access to hunting ground in these areas.

Don't think for a minute the the insurance industry isn't laughing their way to the teller window at the bank when they read of record deer harvest.

I for one, am for having the most deer on my property that the habitat will still support as a healthy herd.

I visit a lot of gun hunting groups in the area and am hearing concerns of low deer populations this season.

The state is not set up to regulate in micro-management fashion.

Bottom line...keep an eye on your hunting areas and fill tags accordingly.

 

[timbershadow]

[ QUOTE ]
Not everyone has to buy into the "slaughter all the deer you can" philosophy. Each and every area of state and each and every area of your county has a different deer population and habitat which will support and tollerate different population densities.

Just because the DNR is giving out tons of tags for a given county dosen't mean that your area needs a population reduction.

Don't get me wrong, there are some severely overpopulated areas in this state. Mostly due to lack of hunter access to hunting ground in these areas.

Don't think for a minute the the insurance industry isn't laughing their way to the teller window at the bank when they read of record deer harvest.

I for one, am for having the most deer on my property that the habitat will still support as a healthy herd.

I visit a lot of gun hunting groups in the area and am hearing concerns of low deer populations this season.

The state is not set up to regulate in micro-management fashion.

Bottom line...keep an eye on your hunting areas and fill tags accordingly.

[/ QUOTE ]

That is very well put and is a great idea of management! I would think that if everyone followed a strict QDM procedure the deer herds would be at their best!

 

[deadeye]

fill tag accordingly... very well said.
Nothing wrong with only going for a decent buck and not filling a tag - especially considering how many tags one can actually buy. The start of the doe tags may have spoiled people into thinking that they could shoot 4+ deer a season year after year. Maybe the herd is being kept in check in your area and with the help of the reporting system the extra doe tags will not be granted next year.

 

[DEERELVR]

the numbers are down in the areas that we hunt too. IMO the areas that are overpopulated come from absentee, and out of state landowners who buy 240 acres somewhere and only want to take 1 trophy buck off that property a year w/o any other herd management. Also, I don't know if anyone saw the Register on Monday that says we have lowest auto rates of any other state!

 

[kbgibby]

[ QUOTE ]
Also, I don't know if anyone saw the Register on Monday that says we have lowest auto rates of any other state!

[/ QUOTE ]

Great, we've dropped the herd size as the insurance companies wanted (and reduced the potential for accidents) and what do you wanna bet they still jack up the rates!

Well said to Ghost. I've got an either-sex tag for late muzzle and an antlerless tag for January in southern Iowa. I'm planning to see what's out there and if I don't see the deer I normally do, my tags might go unfilled, although one or two tags won't make much difference in the areas I hunt.

 

[BJohnson]

In my area I saw less deer (bucks and does) than in recent years. Our county did get a lower doe tag allotment than prior years but still got a small amount which sold out in a couple days MAX. I did buy an anterless bow and ML tag this season as well as anysex bow and ML. I have yet to use any tags since an opportunity on a mature buck has not yet happened. Although I have had a couple doe shot opportunities this season, timing and the locations of the opportunities were not good (LONG drags - rut funnels, etc.) My buck and doe sightings so far this season were about 45% bucks-55% does. I know this is probably not an accurate representation of herd balance but it is what I have witnessed this season. Anyway, I have chosen to let the does walk since overall my sightings have been noticeably lower than before.