ORIGINAL: Germ
All the states with bigger bucks have few things in common. 1 thing for sure. Doe management
Not true.........they may crack a bunch of does but one has nothing to do with the other.
Look at the states who have bigger deer on average how do they differ from NY, MI, and southern states?
Genetics, nutrition and decreased hunting pressure.
Why do Iowa hunters kill more bigger bucks than Minn?
Less hunting pressure..........short shotgun season vs long rifleseason
Without a doubt Minn has more and better deer habitat and a lot more. Same for MI and Ohio. So without a doubt proper doe management is a key factor.
I don't think so..........and certainly not "without a doubt".
Ky -OBR- liberal doe permits and a doe tag
Ill - Gun season after the rut shot gun only - liberal doe tags
Iowa - Gun season after the Rut shotgun only - liberal doe permits(shoot more does than bucks again)
Ohio -OBR - Gun season after rut - liberal doe permit.
IN - New kid on the bock, went to OBR and liberal doe permits
Wis - EAB, liberal doe permits
KS - OBR
You may look at it at that way...........I don't...........all I see is a bunch of states trying to protect what they already have by not letting the bucks get over hunted.........the liberal doe tags are to control such things as crop damage andcar accidents........tools to sooth public relations that have little to do with improving hunting. What so many people fail to consider is how many bucks are lost through crushing the does.........everyone cries when a BB gets shot and they all celebrate when a big mature doe falls. Killing the doe potentially removes multiple bucks from the herd while the BB is only one lost.
MI way more deer, no where near Ohio, I can tell you we have way better and more habitat also.
How many more hunters are in MI??
The data shows doe management works.
Works to control numbers...........has no effect on quality of hunting. I have seen the deer numbers in NY rise and fall (sometimes dramatic) over the past 20 years. You used to need 5 guys just to get one doetag..........now you can kill them by the truck load and hunting is no better.......in factit is likely worse in many areas.
PA 2008 season or 2009 we are going to see members shoot some biggest deer in there life. Look at 2007
Once again..........you are falling victim to the "lottery" mentality......you are basing your view of PA on a few good deer shot in PA (most of which were on private land). This board is no where near a good sample of an entire state (either way). I was in PA this year and what I witnessed was a much less rosey picture.
MI and NY have fewer bigger deer not because of location, but the way we hunt.
I don't think it is the "way"...........I think it is "how many" of us hunt more then anything.
I am a QDMAlife member
I won't have to buy any landin MI, but Ohio yes.
QDM whitetails magazine is a great read. Great land management tips.
The 3 most stunning examples of land management I have witnessed first hand in NY all have one thing in common.........They didnot kill a single deer for 5 years.
Ask yourselfthis...............if someone told you they would give you access to 500 acres of landthat had not seen a hunter for 10 years would you be happy or sad??
What I saw out of state this year TOTALLY changed my opinion on the myth that you need toblast the does to have good hunting........it's just not true, and in my opinion is actually counter productive.