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Old 12-14-2009, 11:23 AM
  #36  
Lanse couche couche
Boone & Crockett
 
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Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Southwest Ohio
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Saluki,

Deer were almost wiped out in Illinois by the early 20th century. If i recall they were very rare in many areas until they started restocking them in the 1950s. Then it was another decade or so until there were enough deer to justify a buck only season. When i was coming up in Richland County in the early 1970s, it was still somewhat unusual to see deer and success rates were pretty low. Wasn't until the late 1970s and early 1980s that the population really started to take off. By the early 2000s it had simply become amazing at how many you see wherever you go. Lots of folks nowdays are accustomed to driving down the road dodging deer, seeing a dozen at a time out on the edge of fields, or being able to pass on all sorts of does and small bucks before deciding to shoot one. That's very different from 35 years ago and 35 years ago was very different from 70 years ago. That's why it is always a subjective perspective in terms of whether the deer numbers are great, loousy, or somewhere in between.
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