The reason for that and what both you and George seem to be missing is how the winter actually affects the deer population. The reduction in the next fall deer sightings usually isn’t a result of the deer that died through the winter as much as it is from the reduction in the fawn survival rates following a hard winter.
RSB, I understand that, what Im trying to figure out, is how with what had been some really mild winters, you were seeing more winter kill. Especially after 2003, one would think that after such a harse winter with what had to be an significant increase in winter kill you saw more winter killed deer afterthe mild winters. You would think that once the 2003 winter was done and some deer died and the does that didnt reabsorbed their fetus's that with a decrease in over wintering deer and a mild winter there would be less winter killed deer not more. After all with less deer, logically there should be less winter kill.
Then in 2005 we still didn’t have a mast crop and though the winter wasn’t as long or harsh the habitat still hadn’t recovered from the years of being over browsed. The recruitment was somewhat improved the next spring but we were into the compounding factor by then of having fewer deer to reproduce due to the fact that the does that should have been producing fawns didn’t exist because they had died within a couple of days of being born back in the spring of 2003
Wow that one really has me baffeled, from my log book, 2005 had one of the best mass crops Ive ever seen, I remember turkey hunting near Galeton and there were so many acorns one the ground that you could have shovled them up. I will say one thing, I think the winter of 2003 is by far the biggest reason for the herd reduction in 2G.
I dont think hunters have near the impact they think they do. Ive been hunting south of wheeling WV for the past 11 years, we have roughly 60 dpsm, but the hunters hunt the same way year after year, they climb into their treestand at dawn and climb out at dark, the deer know this, and after the first day tend to lay up in small, hard to reach gullys and hollows. With all the deer down there the most Ive ever seen in one day is 12.After all the local hunters leave, I usually still hunt, when done correctly this is by far the best way to shoot a good buck down there. Now in PA it seems the hunters for the most part hunt just like their WV counter part, still hunting has become a lost art, and if they cant shoot a deer from a stand they arnt going to shoot one.