Originally Posted by
Don K
One other thing to consider was the Government shutdown. There where sites in Illinois that where closed to bow-hunters that limited harvesting opportunities.
Very good point Don. I know a lot of guys that couldn't hunt their spots for a while and had to resort to back up land that wasn't as productive. I bet it catches up quick.
I'm sure the numbers will be down somewhat, EHD did kill a lot of deer. No where like Nebraska though, man, did they get hit hard.
Indiana's one buck rule I bet does help a lot. Everyone is holding out for a good one. I see a lot of positive and negatives for it. Can't make up my mind if I like it or not.
I don't judge B&C number at all. I know of three B&C bucks that were killed last year by me and no one wants to get them entered. You get a county with enough B&C bucks, all the guys that lease and own land see outfitters move in and try to take every available piece of hunting land, which drives of lease prices and area land getting over hunted in the area. I think Indiana people probably do it because they haven't seen the ill effect of outfitters yet. There is an outfitter about a mile away from us and every week you see a new truck there.
We have some giants where I hunt, and last we had a B&C killed on our land. It won't ever be officially scored but still will mean just the same, officially scored or not.