Originally Posted by
Cornelius08
But none of that matters, since we cannot harvest more deer than we already are or the herd size will continue to shrink more and more. You fail to address that fact. Everyone can hunt harder, smarter...etc etc. Like us, but the success will only go lower than it already is, because the deer herd isnt limitless. We are already in stabilization mode (slower decline), and there is no room for increased harvest. If the herd doesnt grow, there never will be. Thats the reality of it.
Well spoken. I guess it's easy to assume that folks who complain about low deer numbers, are trying to kill more deer than are being killed currently. Hair-brained and false assumption. I for one, hope that next year brings a continued decline in harvest, and that a few more guys give up early, and don't see the need to fill all their bonus or DMAP tags. If we all took off two weeks for gun season, hunted our butts off with big gangs of guys, and located and hunted the pockets of remaining deer, we'd have just made a bad situation even worse. And the following year would be the worst yet. In fact..I'm comitted to reducing the harvest in my areas by deciding beforehand that the doe get a free pass for next year in 4D and even 5B. I'll buy the tags...and by so doing, save a couple deer. A shortsighted hunter would hunt harder to fill all his tags next year. A far-sighted hunter will excercise restraint when necessary, knowing that it will improve his hunting in the future. No different than passing on a small buck. I'm disappointed in the deer management, and the deer numbers overall......not the reflective harvest. Personally glad that this years' was down again.