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Deer Hunting
Wisconsin is way out of whack!
Uploaded on March 20, 2009I was reading in a newspaper "Wisconsin Outdoor News", about the recent 2008 hunting season and the numbers for deer taking. According to the numbers here it says that in total 451,885 deer were taken. Out of that total number, 246,607 does were taken with gun and 63,759 does were taken with bow. Now thats 310,366 does taken! WHAT A NUMBER!
Now here's my beef. Wisconsin has said for years now that the deer population is huge and that it needs to be thinned down. The DNR has repeatedly setup different zones and special seasons to help in the thinning process, and from research and the numbers I have just spoke about, it seems as though the thinning has worked. So you would think.
With having taken so many does just this last season, you mean to tell me that the herd has to thinned even more? We still have to go out on these special "T-Zone" hunts and "EAB" zones, killing does off, just to get the chance at a buck. That seems totally outrageous to me.
With shooting over 310,00+ does, doesnt that mean that come this next season, when the does drop their fawns, 310,000+ does wont be dropping at least one fawn? So if thats the case, then technically, when they wrote down the numbers they should have at least multiplied that number by 2, since majority of does birth one fawn.
310,366 does killed + 310,366 fawns un-born = 620,732 deer killed in a single season!
Now I know that this is just speculation and that its hypothetical with the math, because some does dont get bred, some does have more then one fawn etc., but the logic is there.
Why, in Wisconsin, do we have to kill so many does? What kind of management is it, where you kill off the one thing that makes the breed itself, the mother? And to give out so many different tags, plus, give the option to "buy" more at discounted prices.
I would love to hear your response....good or bad.
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I don't think Wisconsin has done anything wrong, here. What has probably happened (like here in NC) is your doe:buck ratio very heavily favors the does. The numbers themselves tell me that you have many more does than you do bucks and they need to be thinned down. The people that are usually saying this are trained biologists, and while those numbers do sound staggering, you should trust those people to do their job.
Also, you can make numbers say anything you want. You could look at the data and say, "wow, more than 75% of our deer harvest was does." You could interpret that as KILLING too many does to replenish the herd or you could look at it as THE RATIO of does to bucks heavily favoring the does. I think the case is probably the latter.
Not sure what's going on in WI because i've never been there, but it's not unusual to kill does 2 to 1 over bucks. Eventually, when the ratio of does to bucks gets closer to even, you would hope the DNR will adapt and set new quotas or doe kill allocations,...YOU WOULD HOPE. Unfortunately it is tough to trust the DNR or Game Commission, as they are govt' beurocracies. If it' any consolation, I hear similar complaints everywhere i've been.
The only problem is 10 years ago you practically had to beg to stoot a doe in WI. It is all a learning process at least we are able to hunt. They are the so-called experts, but experts need advice from the field from time to time also. It would be nice if they would at least let us think they were listening to us.
Yes we definatley overestimated the numbers of the herd, but there's thuthing we can do now but not make that mistake again.
At least you have deer up there to hunt. Down here in Northern Illinois (Boone, Winnebago Counties)there isn't a deer to be had. Because, are DNR killed them all off.
get your facts a little more straight though first. In case you didn't know Wisconsin has just recently cut the EAB program altogether because if you'd known there was a more than 20% decrease in deer taken from the 2008 season then the 2007 season.
I think the ratios are getting closer but had they kept the EAB this year the deer herd would not have time to heal itself in certain areas of over hunting. Also the ratios seem to be getting further thrown off when people kill buck fawns that walk 5 feet from the bottom of your stand the week before the rut when they are kicked from there mothers. Many guys would kill the first legal doe (antler 3inch or less) that walked by during the gun season...
I know right! im in the cwd zone so we can get up to i think 4 doe tags a day for free! personally i have gotten loads more bucks on trail camera than does and i think its just nuts.
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At least you have deer up there to hunt. Down here in Northern Illinois (Boone, Winnebago Counties)there isn't a deer to be had. Because, are DNR killed them all off.
I know right! im in the cwd zone so we can get up to i think 4 doe tags a day for free! personally i have gotten loads more bucks on trail camera than does and i think its just nuts.
I don't think Wisconsin has done anything wrong, here. What has probably happened (like here in NC) is your doe:buck ratio very heavily favors the does. The numbers themselves tell me that you have many more does than you do bucks and they need to be thinned down. The people that are usually saying this are trained biologists, and while those numbers do sound staggering, you should trust those people to do their job.
Also, you can make numbers say anything you want. You could look at the data and say, "wow, more than 75% of our deer harvest was does." You could interpret that as KILLING too many does to replenish the herd or you could look at it as THE RATIO of does to bucks heavily favoring the does. I think the case is probably the latter.
Not sure what's going on in WI because i've never been there, but it's not unusual to kill does 2 to 1 over bucks. Eventually, when the ratio of does to bucks gets closer to even, you would hope the DNR will adapt and set new quotas or doe kill allocations,...YOU WOULD HOPE. Unfortunately it is tough to trust the DNR or Game Commission, as they are govt' beurocracies. If it' any consolation, I hear similar complaints everywhere i've been.
The only problem is 10 years ago you practically had to beg to stoot a doe in WI. It is all a learning process at least we are able to hunt. They are the so-called experts, but experts need advice from the field from time to time also. It would be nice if they would at least let us think they were listening to us.
Yes we definatley overestimated the numbers of the herd, but there's thuthing we can do now but not make that mistake again.
get your facts a little more straight though first. In case you didn't know Wisconsin has just recently cut the EAB program altogether because if you'd known there was a more than 20% decrease in deer taken from the 2008 season then the 2007 season.
I think the ratios are getting closer but had they kept the EAB this year the deer herd would not have time to heal itself in certain areas of over hunting. Also the ratios seem to be getting further thrown off when people kill buck fawns that walk 5 feet from the bottom of your stand the week before the rut when they are kicked from there mothers. Many guys would kill the first legal doe (antler 3inch or less) that walked by during the gun season...
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