Deer Registration
 

Good morning hunters. I have a question I would like to get some info on. I live and hunt in Michigan. We do not have any system of deer registration. There are some voluntary check points set up for the first couple of days, and the DNR sends out a survey at random. My brother and I have been hunting a combined 70 years and have never received a survey. Wisconsin has mandatory registration for all who take a deer. Every gas station, grocery, bait shop, you name it has a registration station and it works very well for getting accurate harvest information. MI just estimates. Do you all think that registration is a good or a bad thing? I wish and have lobbied for MI to start a registration program but the response is always the same. "There is no tradition of registration in the state, so hunters would oppose it." Please, tell me what you think. Thanks.

RE: Deer Registration
 

I live in MN Mandatory Registration. Responsible hunters should be willing to do this because the reason of doing this is to collect harvest information, which helps the DNR set and change bag limits for area's and manage the population.

IMHO its a good idea for any state to do.

RE: Deer Registration
 

Really, if you ask me, when it comes to deer numbers your always just taking a guess. There are some deer out there in easily accessed areas that have never been seen. There will always be poachers and dishonest "hunters".

So IMO, even with state with mandatory check its, the numbers are skewed quite a bit from actually check ins to harvest.

RE: Deer Registration
 

I would love to see it in PA as I think it would at least give us a fair estimate of the deer harvest as well as a potentially more accurate estimate of the deer herd. The response here is always that it would cost too much to manage.

RE: Deer Registration
 

In Maryland we just implemented a new online or phone registration system. You go online or call an 800 number and give them you license number, location where animal was harvested and type of animal (antlers vs. antlerless)

I was very fortunate to have already tried the sytem last Saturday when I had my first bow kill ever. I only started bow hunting a year ago. Last season was more about shooting at targets but his year has started great.

RE: Deer Registration
 

I know IL just put in the phone system too, although i've never used it. Sounds interesting and very stress free for the hunter and still voluntary. Anyone have an idea what the cost is?

RE: Deer Registration
 

How do they veirfy if you have used a tag or not? That seems weird to me

RE: Deer Registration
 

It's about time MD started the program of phone in registration. It was a big deterant to shooting deer there because of the long drive to find a check in station. NC has been doing it for years. It's the only way to go if you have to check in the deer.

Personally it's a waste of time to check in a deer to be honest. More deer are killed by auto's and they aren't checked in.

RE: Deer Registration
 

It's not voluntary it's mandatory. They know how many tags you have used up becasue you give them your hunting lisence number. Once you give them all the information they provide a 12 digit confirmation number which you use for the processor or taxidermist. I made the call on the way to the processor and only took a few minutes.

RE: Deer Registration
 

Registration.........good:D

RE: Deer Registration
 

So whats stopping people from checking in a buck as a doe and saving that last buck tag?

RE: Deer Registration
 

Illinois is mandatory via the phone, replaces the check stations that were around in years past.. What is to stop someone from calling in a buck and saying it was a doe? Well, there is always the random chance that they will send a CPO out to your house to take a look. I can't remember how it is being done but it is the same thing as everything else. What keeps me from putting bait piles out or salt licks? Having 6 rounds in the shotgun instead of 3 (Or is it 4?) during shot gun season? The chances of getting caught doing any of these are negligable at best.. But, all you have to do is tick one person off and they turn you in or make a tip to the DNR and all of the sudden you get caught.. Or, what keeps me from doing any of these things is, well, I tend to follow game laws.

RE: Deer Registration
 

Not only was it a pain in the butt, but if you didn't get a deer out of the woods until late, they were all closed. You had to present the deer with the hide still on etc etc. What it really meant was that a LOT of deer didn't get reported. I personnally know of several that went to the chopping block in hot weather rather than wait for them to spoil so you could check them in the AM.