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Author Topic: Whitetail numbers  (Read 2744 times)

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Offline 22lex

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Is anyone really getting good numbers this year across the state for whitetail harvests?

I'm down here (Rochester) in an intensive harvest area that does not seem to be producing harvest numbers as they did in years past. I talked to several groups of guys that hunt both seasons and truthfully hit the woods hard, and really haven't seen much for numbers out there, or taken by them or other parties around them.

Does anyone think the estimates could be a little off? Are the deer getting that much smarter that they are herding up on untouchable private land? Was the first season weather the factor? I know guys have talked about the wolves up north affecting the herd. Is Obama making them magically disappear? ( Sorry, I had to.)

What do you think?






Marry an outdoors woman. Then if you throw her out into the yard on a cold night, she can still survive.
-WC Fields

Offline BiggA

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I think numbers are down for sure. I only saw 2 deer the nine day gun season where i hunt. In past years i normally see double digit numbers opening weekend alone. I heard today that the state wide gun harvest was down about 10% from last year.

Offline beeker

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I'm east central.. mcgrath, finlayson, ascov... saw about the same as I always do.. we harvested. 3 does and 2 bucks.. one gimpy 5 and a 9 pointer.. we saw about what we usually do.. some does, and a handful of spikes, small forks.
If science fiction has taught me anything, it's that you can never have enough guns and ammo when the zombies come back to life... "WS"

Offline tazmn01

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We Have been out in Northern part of 3 B. We have seen 1 buck an 8 and have taken 5 does for a farmer. On that property we have seem probably 15 more does and 8 fawns. It is not hunted any other season so it turns into a sanctuary of sorts i guess. :taz:
Camp, fish, hunt hard as a family. And pray God finds you as a keeper when it is all over.

Offline HUNTER2

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I like your last statement on Obama. He did say he is going to change things. :rotflmao:
HUNT & FISH TELL YA DROP
I.B.O.T.'s 249 & 250
 Handle every stressful situation like a dog.  If
                        you can't eat it or hump it.

                         Piss on it and walk away

Offline Mayfly

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This article may explain a few things to people who did not see a lot of deer this year..........


Deer are scarcer thanks to DNR management

Pioneer Press

Updated: 11/25/2008 10:25:31 PM CST

Did you see fewer deer during the Minnesota firearms season?

It wasn't by accident. And it could be what hunters should expect in the future.

Though weather might be to blame for some of this year's double-digit drop in deer kill in the recently concluded season, the real story is that there are fewer deer in many parts of the state. The Department of Natural Resources has been aiming its regulations to cut the herd — dramatically in some areas — and now some managers are acknowledging that the aggressive management has worked.

The northeast quadrant of the state is a good example.

"I can only speak for northeast Minnesota, but I think we're starting to see a change (with lower deer numbers)," said Jeff Lightfoot, DNR regional wildlife manager in Grand Rapids. "It's been subtle and slow, but it's pretty apparent this year."

In northeastern Minnesota, the deer kill is down 19 percent this year and the overall kill could be the lowest since 2002, based on preliminary registration from Electronic Licensing System stations. It could be the lowest buck harvest there since 1998.

The declines range from 13 percent around Grand Rapids to 25 percent and 26 percent, respectively, around Brainerd and Aitkin. The decline was expected at Brainerd and Aitkin because several permit areas there became "lottery" areas this year, meaning hunters had to apply for fewer antlerless permits.

Lightfoot said he believes poor weather on opening weekend

played a role in the deer-kill decline in his region. Also, last winter was severe enough north of the Iron Range to kill fawns and maybe some adult deer, he said.
But the bottom line is there are fewer deer in northeastern Minnesota than a year ago.

Lightfoot described the northeastern herd as at a "crossroads," where it is declining closer to the DNR's goals. That might mean hunters will have to lower their expectations to where they no longer see "four or five deer a day," he said.

"If I were a Zone 1 northeast hunter, my advice would be to lower your expectations and think about what deer seasons were like five years ago before we saw the dramatic increase in deer numbers,'' Lightfoot said.

Hunters might wish they saw more deer this season, but that isn't how the DNR looks at current deer management. The agency has been aggressively issuing licenses in permit areas north of Interstate 94 to cut the herd. That strategy began several years ago when new deer goals were set.

Those goals were based on input from the public, and some of those people — foresters and vegetable growers, for instance — wanted lower deer numbers to lessen the impact on vegetation.

"Our public wanted the deer herd to be brought down to lower levels," Lightfoot said. "We heard in general to reduce it by 10 to 20 percent."

For the DNR, the ideal herd size for any individual permit area would put it in the lottery category. That means the DNR would allocate a limited number of antlerless permits through a computer lottery. Lightfoot said it is possible more northeastern areas would become lottery next fall.

He also suggested the October antlerless season could be dropped in parts of northeastern Minnesota next year.

Statewide, hunters had killed 167,645 deer as of Monday, down nearly 11 percent from the same period last year. The buck kill is down 6 percent, but the antlerless kill is down 15 percent.

Lou Cornicelli, the DNR's big-game program manager, said recently that this deer season could result in a top-10 harvest, perhaps even higher.

Deer managers have seemed almost surprised by the drop, and they'll be looking carefully at the numbers at their December and January meetings. But hunters shouldn't expect to see more deer in the future. The DNR wants to retain a firm grip on keeping the herd down to its preferred goal levels.


Offline Stensethfan

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So if this wa from the East side paper then it is written by Chris Nestakian (SP) or what ever his name is??  He is a terrible outdoor writter.  I always have major questions still unanswered when I am done with his outdoor reporting.  Like for instance in this one, what is the DNR's goal number for the heard????  Sorry just venting...Happy Thanksgiving!
Don't shoot anything you do not plan on eating ~ D. S.
If the women don't find you handsome at least they will find you handy!  Red Green

Offline Moving2thecountry

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So if this wa from the East side paper then it is written by Chris Nestakian (SP) or what ever his name is??  He is a terrible outdoor writter.  I always have major questions still unanswered when I am done with his outdoor reporting.  Like for instance in this one, what is the DNR's goal number for the heard????  Sorry just venting...Happy Thanksgiving!
This is a problem with journalism in general.  They try to write entertaining essays instead of informative news articles.

Offline Mayfly

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I think we all get the point of the article. If you want to get more info than seek that out. Most writers are only alloted a certain amount of space and can't fit everything in the space provided.




Map can be found here:  http://www.minnpost.com/stories/2008/02/25/976/deer_herds_devouring_forest_seedlings_urban_hostas

Offline Moving2thecountry

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I think we all get the point of the article. If you want to get more info than seek that out. Most writers are only alloted a certain amount of space and can't fit everything in the space provided.

LOL, I guess we got the point with the headline, "Deer are scarcer thanks to DNR management" rendering the article superfluous.  But I apologize if you are a loved one is a journalist. 
« Last Edit: November 11/27/08, 08:24:14 PM by Moving2thecountry »

Offline redbull135

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I hunt 343 se MN in the past two years I would say the number of deer where I hunt has dropped by 3/4 we would see 10 to 15 deer in heards and this year we were lucky enough to see 5 all week but yet you still can take 5 does  :scratch:

Offline 22lex

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I think numbers are down for sure. I only saw 2 deer the nine day gun season where i hunt. In past years i normally see double digit numbers opening weekend alone. I heard today that the state wide gun harvest was down about 10% from last year.

In our area we are down 9%.
Marry an outdoors woman. Then if you throw her out into the yard on a cold night, she can still survive.
-WC Fields

Offline kenhuntin

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 I Mostly hunt firearms in Deer river Mn. Friday before the opener gave us a good inch of snow cover for tracking. Opener left me frustrated because the last five years I have seen 5 to 11 animals a day. This year opening Saturday I only saw a doe with a fawn. So I gave up the stand on Sunday at 10 am. and went still hunting to find where they were hanging out. I started seeing tracks at about Noon while working my way down to a Lake. This is a place where no one usually goes. About 100 yards from the lakeshore The ground was almost completely covered with tracks. I think the winds had something to do with them just holing up in one spot together for a couple days.
« Last Edit: November 11/28/08, 08:02:04 AM by kenhuntin »
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