Cajun ,thanks for a sensible response.Yea, we say the same thing.How can you have this much woods and no deer?I think there are plenty of reasons and I also think that the size of the tract of land we are talking and its ruggedness and remote locations lead to misleading numbers.I feel that there are deer to be had back in them bushes but maybe 1% is willing to get back there.We have these places like the 1000 acre bogs which are loaded with deer but to get to them would take a parachute jump.Last week I got stir crazy from sitting and seeing nothing so I decided to find where they were.I found the kings bed room after wading through the brook and crawling through the blow downs and thickets which would be impossible to do and be quiet.If he stays in there he will grow old with no problem.

Back to QDM.Living here in Maine is making a believer out of me that the deer is basically a fringe animal.Southern Maine has proven it to me.There are very few large tracts of land without some kind of agriculture being close by.The deer population down there is exploding,maybe our northern deer have seen the light and are migrating south.You also have to know that our moose population is very healthy and generally take the same browse that the deer do making winters just that much harder for the deer.

Yarding is something that doesn't get much print but it puts the deer at a terrible disadvantage when the snow is too deep for them to travel.They are basically in the hen house with the door unlocked for the coyotes to do what they please.They do an awful number on the deer.We are going through a big todo as we write about snaring the coyotes to protect the deer.You wouldn't believe the opposition and they speak with a real loud voice.

Even when predation is down, a heavy snow winter raises havoc.Like a couple of years ago we had heavy late snows that kept them in yard longer than the food supply lasted and they simply starved to death.There are many reasons for our low herd numbers and I think it is a very tough job for our wildlife people to make good sound decisions when you have so many unpredictable factors that can make or break your final outcome.

These are just my thoughts from things I read and experience.I am no expert but I truely love to hunt for deer.Someday I will buy me a pass to go hunt someplace where I can say that I can pass on an eight pointer and be quite certain that I will see another.Ron