this makes me sad.

My problem with this is not the fact that they got soooo many deer, as Im sure it was their right. Just the line… Theyre not moving if your sittin.. WHAT A MORON LOL

Quote:

---

However isn’t the solution for over-harvest found in regulation and doesn’t that responsibility fall on the regulators?

---

Bingo Sunny. I read the bolg that followed the article. Those Hunters had tags and they filled them. Don’t hang this group for abiding by the law. If you have an issue with not seeing deer and believe the state has been overharvested, bring it up to the WI DNR. This group did nothing wrong, they had a plan and harvested their deer. No one got hurt doing it.

You want my honest opinion of why some Wisconsin hunters did not see many deer. A few reasons one is “BAITING”. These deer get pressured and know this food willl be there when ever they get there. So they hang tight until dark and then move. I have seen this unfold on a piece in WI over the last 10 years where I have permission and do not hunt. The neighbors baited the heck out of them. It programmed the deer not to move until after dark.

The second is “Pressure”. Both MN and WI need to get rid of these early anterless seasons. Alls it does is educate the deer before the big show even starts and puts the deer and especially the big bucks on high alert. If you want more harvest of does, fine. Do it after the Regular season during Thanksgiving & Early December. IMO the early seasons only hurts the overall harvest for reasons mentioned above.

Again just my $.02

Quote:

---

The second is “Pressure”. Both MN and WI need to get rid of these early anterless seasons. Alls it does is educate the deer before the big show even starts and puts the deer and especially the big bucks on high alert. If you want more harvest of does, fine.

---

That actually makes a lot of sense.

In regards to the over harvest concern. The area these guys stomp around in is huge. Years ago as a kid I used to hunt there with my dad. Sun would come up on opening day and all hell would break loose, hunters everywhere! And I do mean, literally, everywhere! Today that same area of land sees maybe 30% of the numbers from 15-20 years ago. Pressure is almost as light as private land in much of that area. The deer population certainly didn’t change much other than get larger. People do know the population nearly doubled from the mid 80’s to the start of 200 right? Doubled!

While I am also growing less and less fond of deer drives don’t try and convince me it is any less “hunting” than sitting in a stand is. True hunting might mean different things to different people but to me it means going one on one with the prey just like a predator does. I’d never seen or heard of wolves, yotes, fox, or other predators hunting by simply hiding along a trail and waiting for hours or days until prey comes along. They go in search of it and stalk in from there. Shooting a deer with a .270 while it comes out a couple hundred yards away to eat, while ethical, isn’t exactly hunting. It is waiting.

Steve: I understand your idea over letting these “mid size” bucks go. But to know this area like I do gives me an understanding of why it isn’t feasible. Like mentioned it is a HUGE area. There are some great deer here but very few. Having 25 hunters decide to practice QDM on that much public land is not going to impact much. I agree that if they took does instead it would benefit the buck population but not everyone is a horn hunter.

I still urge people to look into the research from Dr. Grant Woods. It can be rather eye opening!

Quote:

---

You want my honest opinion of why some Wisconsin hunters did not see many deer. A few reasons one is “BAITING”. These deer get pressured and know this food willl be there when ever they get there. So they hang tight until dark and then move. I have seen this unfold on a piece in WI over the last 10 years where I have permission and do not hunt. The neighbors baited the heck out of them. It programmed the deer not to move until after dark.

The second is “Pressure”. Both MN and WI need to get rid of these early anterless seasons. Alls it does is educate the deer before the big show even starts and puts the deer and especially the big bucks on high alert. If you want more harvest of does, fine. Do it after the Regualr season during Thanksgiving & Early December. IMO the early seasons only hurts the overall harvest for reasons mentioned above.

---

I also agree. I have experienced the baiting thing and thought the same, it conditions the deer to feed after dark even without being pressured. I also don’t like the early hunts. But there wasn’t an early season hunt in the unit the 25 hunted in this year.

Quote:

---

The disrespect for gun hunters on this site makes me puke.

---

Gun hunters are lazy son of guns. Is it really that bad?? I hate puking, it hurts.

Quote:

---

But there wasn’t an early season hunt in the unit the 25 hunted in this year.

---

I think this may even proves my point more. No presusre = more deer harvested during the regular season.

I think you might be correct also. While the other DMUs were having the early hunt I was nestled cozy in my bow stand watching deer move around freely. During rifle season we still watched more deer move on their own than what others are reporting. The final day of the season my brother took a doe about 950am that was walking out of a swamp picking at acorns. Ya just never know.

this is 53 deer out of how many total for the state?

alot of people keep saying numbers are down there is no deer, etc, etc. there are deer all over, the number of hunters is down. I hunt 75% public land, I have passed 5 different bucks in Whitewater alone, saw 7 others down there that I had no chance of shooting. Does everywhere, heck back in september i came back to the car about 2 pm and a doe was eating the grass in the parking area 10 yards from the car. (rare but it happens) NO lottery permit. they are out there, they are just smarter than most hunters, and they are further than 100 yards from the nearest road usually. worried about deer drives? use them to your advantage if people drive the woods you hunt in every year, set up on an escape route. changing stand placements, and hunting strategy/tactic is what you have to do to be successful.. Heck a 2 man drive set up with one guy on an escape route and the other slowly walking through the thick stuff with a grunt call, is a proven startegy that works in the late season…get out and try a new tactic, you may get new results happy hunting, I know I’ll be in my newly permission granted late season yarding area in the ground blind looking for the nontypical that’s going on my wall

edit:

I should also say, I know there are areas of the state that have really been effected and the deer HERD is down in some places, but overall we got lotsa deer left.

Excellent ideas DeanoB!

good points all around DeanoB.

Wow. 3 pages of replies and lots of angst over a hunting party that obviously has some strong family ties and traditions. They make an annual trip and shot their deer legally…….and it generates 3 pages of discussion. Wow.

I am with Kooty – I hate puking.

Tim

I recently received the following likely explanation for the reduced deer herd. Please read below and then take a look at the attached photo.

Why is the deer count so low you say?

Some say it’s the wolves, some say we’ve shot too many does with the earn-a-buck and herd reduction quotas the DNR has levied on us, some are blaming the cash crop farmers with their seemingly endless supply of crop damage permits, some say your average Joe farmer shouldn’t be getting any crop damage permits because he’s a hunter too, some say the private land owners are hording all the deer, some say it’s baiting and the deer are moving only at night, some say hunters don’t drive deer like they did years ago, some say it’s because more people are living in rural areas and there is less habitat for the deer to live in, and some are blaming the insurance companies being in cahoots with the DNR and making us shoot all our deer to keep their profits up by not having to fix so many car/deer accident claims.

The real reason was caught on film last month……… Please see above . Go figure !!!

Well now isn’t that strange. I have never in my life seen a deer tow truck!