Originally Posted by fastetti

Exactly, outfitters are the ones yelling and screaming more than anyone about this. Anyone who basis their income on bragging about large bucks are the ones that the most worried. I hear so much complaining about over harvesting and such. If you want to bring the deer herd back, here is what needs to happen.

1) We need a normal summer and no EHD, if we have no EHD for a few years then we will be on the right track.

2) Don't shoot does. If we get 15,000 hunters to shoot one less deer we will bounce back too. If we shoot 15,000 less deer for the next three years we should be back to a decent population as well.

3) Start shooting or trapping coyotes! Over the past few years I have seen a huge jump in the coyote population, if you don't have that many deer, get out there and trap or call in coyotes and kill them. There are so many people who don't let anyone hunt their land for anything but if they would let someone in there to trap or kill coyotes it would help out immensely.

4) Plant food plots, keep crops in and make sure you have good bedding cover.

I was out scouting last weekend in Central Illinois and this was by far the most deer i've seen in a long time as well as the most deer sign. I will say, it was the most unusual spots for deer sign as well. There was more in the thick bedding cover than i've ever seen in Spring scouting. It leads me to believe, deer had altered patterns this year. I even checked a camera I left out all winter. I had thousands of pics of deer, a couple dozen bucks and endless amounts of does. They stuck in thick during daylight more than ever.

Driving back at sunset, over the course of three miles I probably saw 100 deer in the fields and they were spread out all over the place, not just "yarded up".

I know a lot of places in Illinois that still have a very good deer population. I talked to a lot of people who still say their land is holding a lot of deer. What I have learned are the people that have deer are the ones that have food plots, work on their bedding cover and leave a percentage of their crops out. The ones I do hear get mad are the ones that hunt/own land and do nothing to help the deer herd. They plant an acre of food at most and have all the crops taken out. People need to realize that combines are A LOT more efficient than they were 10 to 15 years ago. They don't leave near the amount of beans/corn behind that they used to. These deer don't have the food that they did before.

I'll admit the deer population is down, but people need to realize, we have a much higher coyote population which is effecting deer populations. We also have much more efficient farming equipment, therefor, deer that were on your land years before are going to someone else's land because they either leave crops or have a combine that is less efficient.

I support the whitetail alliance, but people need to quit just blaming the state. The IDNR is ran by a bunch of morons, I won't disagree with that at all BUT deer hunters need to realize a lot has changed in the last 10 years when it comes to the land we hunt. I really wish people would look in the mirror and say "What can I do to help?' Supporting the Alliance is great, but its a drop in the bucket. Plant more food plots, leave standing crops, go out and shoot and trap coyotes, improve your bedding are and pray we don't have EHD again. If you have neighbors that shoot everything, do everything you can to keep the deer on your land. Give them better food, better cover and ample water.

There is my rant, I'm just tired of hearing people blaming others for EVERYTHING. There is plenty hunters can still do but they aren't because they are either lazy or expect the state to do everything. I know there are a handful of hunters who have a low population that do a lot to help the deer population but I know a lot more that go out and hunt just gun season, hunt the same stand and then complain they aren't seeing anything.