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Deer numbers down
- Thread starter clfergus
- Start date
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were they tiny? I bet they tasted good.
Shooting tiny does makes him a hungry epicurean, not an asshat.
I have not noticed a huge loss in Parke County this year, and I hunt most of the county. My friend hunts Fountain just north of us and they were decimated this year. Not sure if EHD, overkill, EHD+Overkill, or what. I saw the peoples republic of Illinois reported deer harvest down 10% this year!
Well he's gonna be hungrier next year cause those were the only deer I've seen near us all year. And neither will be birthing any fawns in the spring. It's a good thing IN didn't outlaw high fence hunting in a few years that's all we will have left.
First Indiana whitetail I killed (first year hunting deer) was a 9 point buck.
That was in 1981. You were allowed to shoot 1 deer per year, and that had to be an antlered buck.
The only legal firearm was a shotgun loaded with a slug. Had to be 12ga or 20ga. No .410's.
No handguns, no pistol-caliber rifles, no center-fire rifles. I'm not sure if you were allowed to use a muzzle loader or not.
I did not even see another buck for the next 15 years, although I bought a license and went out every year.
When handguns were allowed I thought I was in heaven. There was much clamor about the implementation and life moved on.
Somewhere in there they started the "bonus antlerless" seasons in most counties.
"But that's just going to destroy the herds...", we heard again.
Next thing you know, they allowed pistol-caliber rifles. According to many "experts", this could only result in decimated herds and a spike in the number of hunting related injuries and deaths.
Guess I must have missed all the news reports, and life moved on.
Now they've allowed us the use of center-fire rifles, and the numbers are a little low.
Hunting pressure is a small part of the overall health of the Indiana herd.
Numbers are down drastically this year on the ground I hunt as well, but I don't think the herd is "all but wiped-out" either.
Whitetail deer are not nearly as predictable as some like to believe.
Well said. I see the same people year after year being successful anywhere they hunt and I hear another group of people year after year talking about how it used to be better and how we have decimated the herd. I also know that predator hunting/trapping is way down. An unmanaged pack of coyotes is much more detrimental to deer, turkey, quail, pheasant, and rabbits than the legalization of centerfire rifles. Herd management gets looked at through a focused lens when you truly need to have a wide angle and take in the whole picture to see what is going on. I've talked to "herd doomsayers" who refuse to take management bucks and "wait it out" for their trophy bucks. It's a balancing act.
I have a friend who runs one of the best managed pieces of property I've ever been on in Alabama. He told me a few ways he got his "herd" healthy and abundant. He started with predators, taking coyotes on a regular basis only to notice their population not really dwindling as they seem to be transient between packs, so he started having people hunt rabbits. Taking rabbits led to a lower number of coyotes which led to more fawns making it to adulthood. He lets guys in to take specific management bucks and does to cull the herd, reduce competition and that lead to trophy bucks being a regular thing. He knows his woods and will not allow hunters to take certain bucks out of the gene pool. He also actively removes hogs (not an Indiana problem yet). But moral of the story centerfire rifles (and you can use most every sporting rifle in the game in Alabama) does not affect the herd as much as being a proper conservationist. Passing that trophy up one year to take a management buck etc. A properly culled herd is also much less likely to suffer many of the common diseases.
Hopefully the apparent numbers will increase with the temps in the teens. The last couple years, it hasn't gotten this cold until well into Jan/Feb. The deer come out of the woods, seeking food when they need more to stay warm. It takes less energy/fuel to move around in the warmth of day when the temps are this cold also.
2 posts above. Hogs are a problem, we've dealt with them for years. Field hunters don't see deer pouring into the fields like they were last year. Reason being is the acorn crop. There is still a large amount of acorns under the leaf litter in the woods. Two years ago was a huge mast year and all the field hunters I know were complaining about not seeing deer. The deer around me have just now started eating my food plot. My oats 1 week ago were 18" tall, last year low acorn year, the oats were <3". The deer just now have started on the oats. Just my guess on low deer sightings.
Another detrimental predator to deer is the bobcat. I found a deer kill this fall, small doe. Puncture holes in neck, covered with leaves. Put trail cams on and in one weekend a big bobcat (male) devoured that deer in 3 days. Based on this observation a bobcat can eat 1 deer a week. This deer was killed instantly, no signs of struggle. It was a small deer, but as easily as it was killed a big deer can be killed with some effort. Indiana DNR is dragging their feet with implementing a season on bobcat. They are 8 years late by my observation. They (idnr) had a comment session on a season for bobcat, and received some feedback from the humane society. Pros for season far outweighed the cons, but the biologist I talked to stated, and I quote, "I doubt we'll see a bobcat season due to the negative feedback from the Humane Society."
What?? Are we managing a population or catering to a animal rights advocate? The DNR needs to grow a set and manage, not cater. Rant over.
As the acorns disappear and cold sets in, the deer will pile into the fields. Come middle January, if I drive the 4mile loop around my house and don't see 80-100 deer, I'll eat crow and silence myself.
Another detrimental predator to deer is the bobcat. I found a deer kill this fall, small doe. Puncture holes in neck, covered with leaves. Put trail cams on and in one weekend a big bobcat (male) devoured that deer in 3 days. Based on this observation a bobcat can eat 1 deer a week. This deer was killed instantly, no signs of struggle. It was a small deer, but as easily as it was killed a big deer can be killed with some effort. Indiana DNR is dragging their feet with implementing a season on bobcat. They are 8 years late by my observation. They (idnr) had a comment session on a season for bobcat, and received some feedback from the humane society. Pros for season far outweighed the cons, but the biologist I talked to stated, and I quote, "I doubt we'll see a bobcat season due to the negative feedback from the Humane Society."
What?? Are we managing a population or catering to a animal rights advocate? The DNR needs to grow a set and manage, not cater. Rant over.
As the acorns disappear and cold sets in, the deer will pile into the fields. Come middle January, if I drive the 4mile loop around my house and don't see 80-100 deer, I'll eat crow and silence myself.
What part of the state are you in? I haven't seen any signs of hogs in my area (Decatur, rush). I lived in Alabama for 9 months or so working on an airport and there were droves of them. I've heard of hogs south of me, I have never personally seen any sign in my little neck of the woods. I agree with you on the bobcats completely.
JeremiahJohnson
Master
Our deer sightings here in southern Indiana were up this year over the previous three. Between my son and I we've put five in the freezer and given two more away, he took his personal best buck by bow, I took a respectable buck with my bow. We could have killed many more, but we've got plenty.
I'm betting we see a bobcat season within five years. Probably a limited trapping season to start. If they can manage to get an otter season they'll be able to get a bobcat season, Humane Society and PETA can scream all they want.
I'm running across them in Putnam from time to time....at least to the point it's not rare anymore.
Current reported deer harvest
112,104
From Sept 15, 2016 to Friday, December 16, 2016 at 4:25 PM CST
Deer harvest numbers are updated as deer are checked in via CheckIN Game. All numbers are raw data that have not been verified by the Indiana DNR.
See… DNR: Indiana Deer hunting, biology and management
the DNR better get on the ball with the bobcat season, they prey heavily on deer and turkey both. the states that have them know. fawns are easier to catch than a rabbit or mouse. the biologist that got us the otter season quit an went to Wis. 4 years ago he gave me data he was keeping on accidental cat and otter catches by trappers and road kills. data showed steady increase last ten years. i caught 3 cats trapping last year, everybody around here has trail cam pics of cats
UNCLE HARLEY
Sharpshooter
I saw 5 does today. Now there's only 4 still walking.
