ORIGINAL: Pro-Line
I live in Ohio, but own a farm and hunt primarily in WV. WV is heading in the AR direction, I think.
You guys have complained about AR's since they came out...well most of you have. That said, is it the AR's you're pissed off at, or the massive killing of does? Some see no deer, and others see tons, kind of like WV.
If the PGC hadn't allowed the liberal doe seasons, and had put on the AR's do you think it would be better?
I'm not stirring the pot, just looking for your opinions. What is your answer to the problem. THANKS!
AR by itself will drop your buck harvests, even if you do not implement hr.
Of the deer you would hold over your first year... 20% of those will die from non-hunting causes. But if you do then you are growing your deer poulation in your state and you would increase the pressure on your habitat. If WV has plenty of habitat then you have nothing to worry about, if you can sustain higher deer numbers then by all means stop shooting bucks and there will be more around.
But I really doubt WV does have extra habitat laying around that your DNR or legislature says they would really like eaten by more herbivores. In general that is counter to most eastern states goals...
So what you will have to do is shoot more does, to make room for the bucks your going to protect. In most states who have a good recruitment rate already, you will be merely taking bred doe and kill them so they do not produce a fawn the following year. (when you used to kill a small buck, that was not a big deal).
Pa already bred 90% of thier does and 25 % of thier fawns in a decent time period and so when we increased our doe harvest we were doing wht our deer managers wanted...reducing the herd size. In our case, not just enough to make room for the few bucks we held over, but for the purpose of "balancing our habitat with the herd". They said our 1.4 million in 2000 was "twice as many as the habitat will support".
Soooooooooo..... your state is very likely in the same boat, your biologists will ask for cuts to the herd, and as a consolation they will offer you AR as a booby prize . Your not after all Mississippi or Arkansas with rich mississippi delta soil and long hot growing seasons. Your more like PA.
So look to pa,
since AR/HR we have dropped our buck harvests from 203,000 buck prior to AR, down to 165,000, then 142,000 down to a dismal estimated 110,000 bucks this year. Some hunters now can hunt for days in some areas and not see a deer, let alone a buck.
So for 93,000 less buck being taken in pa we have increased our 2.5 year old buck taken by 9,300. (From memory I think we harvested 52,000 before and 61,300 something after).
So in WV are you ready to send 93,000 hunters home with no bucks, just so 9,300 can say they got a 7point 2.5 year old instead of a 6 point 1.5 year old????????? [&:]
As one of our Game Commisisoners said "we are taking hte same old bucks we have been taking for the last ten years".
.....and a heck of a lot less of them.