nchawkeye

I'm not at my office, so my figures may be a little off, but if memory serves me, in NC we kill about 55,000 does and button bucks and 45,000 antlered bucks...As stated, we need to kill more does...Last year, I killed 8 does and one buck, unfortunately, to many, deer hunting isn't about hunting for food, or to put meat in the freezer....It's for the racks...Many hunters don't even eat deer...

I don't think making the season longer will help with harvest figures...The average hunter stops after he kills a couple of deer...

If we look at bringing in bow season, say, August 1st...Who the heck wants to hunt when its 95 degrees??? It's tough enough when it's 80...

Currently in the Central area of the state (where the most human population is and most deer colllisions), muzzleloading comes in the 2nd week in November...This is when the rut is kicking in...Many guys are then waiting for a buck, not a doe, and will continue to do so until after Thanksgiving week...Most of the locals I know, either go down east or down to SC or take a couple of does with their bow before gun season even comes in...

Now...If we extend the season into January, you are stepping on the toes of small game hunters, many who wait until after deer season so they aren't running rabbits with beagles during deer season...Plus...You are killing does that have already been bred...

That's why the proposals are being looked at...Hunters being able to take more deer because franky there just are not enough being taken during the September and October bow season...

Currently, they are just being "kicked around", nothing definate...The proposals are just for private land as the numbers of deer killed on game land aren't that significant...So, if you hunt private land and want to continue to bow hunt, you can do so...