shed vs doe season
 

i found a shed yesterday in one of my food plots. it was from a big 8 i have seen and gotten photos of this year but could never get close enough for a shot. now i am worried about this stupid late doe season will have someone knocking him down for a doe. we are getting low on deer as it is we don't need anymore seasons. i had photos in December of bucks that had already dropped one side. it seems to me that we are going way to far the the limits and seasons.

There is a reason for the late seasons. At least in Iowa, (not sure how it is in Kansas) the only way the late season happens is if there are remaining doe tags from the earlier seasons. The quota needs to be met somehow, someway to keep the herd in check. These "additional" seasons are just away to increase the chances of reducing the herd numbers to a manageable level.

our late season is set before any season opens and your unused regular season tags become antlerless tags for the "doe" season. i have 2 concerns 1) we are killing to many deer-numbers i am seeing and getting on cameras are way down 2)we are killing bucks during the late season as some have dropped their antlers prior to the January season. i would be for eliminating the late season and if they feel we must kill more does to do it during the seasons we currently have available to us.

If it is on one of your food plots, it is private land I am guessing, right? By the time the bucks shed their antlers, they should be pretty well done trying to roam and breed. Of course, it is consequential, but I would imagine you could limit hunting on the land your food plot is on and potentially keep the deer of concern from being killed. He could also be in danger of being hit if he is anywhere near a road. Most of the time, and I say most, the conservation departments in our states have management figured out down to a science. There are a ton more deer now than there were fifty years ago, thirty years ago, and even ten years ago, at least in a general sense. I certainly understand that this can be dependant upon region. Just trying to help you rest easy though and I hope he is around next year. Also, most bucks are going noctournal since rut activity is done. BB

Yeah, I can see the frustration as well. With the drought conditions and nutritional diets lacking because of the drought in the midwest, we are starting to see them drop as well. I suppose the only nice thing I have going in my area is all of my neighbors have bought into the management and very rarely is there hunting into even December (aside from the late muzzy guys). Thats the way we avoid slamming antlerless bucks; last year we had more than one drop by Christmas.

Hope he makes it through!