MasonsRidge

Is there anyone on here that hunts in West Virginia? If so, you may not be the only one'(s) who are complaining about the scarcity of deer in the Mountain State.
With the state's DNR doing a poor job of managing the states deer herd, many hunters are venturing into the woods and not seeing very many deer like in the past. I West Virginia a deerhunter can harvest as many as (9) deer a season, that's entirely too many deer being killed, therefore leading to the low kill numbers as well weaking the strength of the deer population. West Virginia, like it's neighbor Pennsylvania, needs to set restrictions of points on bucks as well as decrease the number of does being slaughtered in order to bring back the deer hunting in West Virginia like it was before, if not, the state is going to see a drastic decline in not only deer but hunters as well.

bigbuck7

I also hunt in WV, and I haven't seen very many deer at all this year(only two bucks). I relly agree with you on the doe and buck hunting. An antler restriction would be nice, and you shouldn't be able to kill so many does. I think the hunting would really inprove if all this was done.

MasonsRidge

I totally agree with you BigBuck. Something needs to be done about our deer hunting in WV before it's too late. Entirely too many does being slaughtered. I'm NOT sold on Ed Hamrick's way of decreasing the numbers in order to better our Buck herd, it's total BS. I live in Morgantown and hunt in Monongalia County and it's really gotten bad around these parts. I purchased a Pennsylvania lic. this year and saw more deer (especially bucks) in 3 days of hunting than I've seen in West Virginia in the last 4 years. I might mention, the place where I was hunting in PA is just 10 minutes from West Virginia and where I hunt.

royak

Hey guys, I live in Mercer County and it has been the worst year I have had in over 10 years. I havent saw a buck at all and I have hunted. I am disabled and do not own a 4 wheeler so I cant get way back in the mountains like I used to but I still hunt at least 50 or more days a year. My disability is my heart. I havent saw as many does this whole year as I used to see in a day of hunting. And we still have several doe days left. I think they want all the deer gone.

germain

Wow,so you guys aren't the only ones huh?Pa is doing the same thing.The public lands are depleted of deer yet more and more private land is getting posted/leased so the landowners can still have a few deer left to hunt.I'm afraid the tree huggers have taken over policy and we're left out in the cold.

antlergetter

I am fortunate enough to hunt in the 4 bow-only counties in WV. There has been a 1 deer limit in McDowell county for years, and they recent changed it to 2 with one being antlerless. I hunt on a 330 acre tract of private land which ties in with tousands of acres of public land. I have seen a rapid downfall in daytime deer activity over the past few years. I believe this is due to a rise in "natural" predators in the area but it is legal to kill yotes and wild dogs, so that problem is being handled slowly but surely!! My point is in WV the 4 bowhunt only county are the place to go!! And if you dont believe me just take a look at some of my buddy Hankfan's posts!! He is hard at em in Mcdowell and the trail cam pics he posts on this site proves it.

Pro-Line

My farm is in Braxton County, and we're hurting, too. Nobody seems to be listening. All you hear that the number of deer/car accidents is still up there.

The 9 deer limit is a problem...Also the fact that you can shoot 5 spikes if you feel the need is a joke, too.

In 2001, we had a HUGE winter kill with that ice storm. We may be seeing the wrath of that.

jetblast

In october during the 1st week of bow season, me and my buddy got tired of counting the number of deer. Way to many does, not enough bucks (even though that's the only ones that came within bow-range for us). The does need to be shot and quit shooting the little bucks during gun season!

MasonsRidge

I have to disagree with you JetBlast. They are letting you kill too many does in West Virginia. I agree, some counties have more does than others within the state but they (DNR) need to get an accurate account of which counties need more does taken and quit guessing and estimating like they have been doing. Another thing about killing all these does is that most hunters in West Virginia are "poaching" deer and not checking deer in, therefore killing all the does on top of that leads to depleting the whole herd. As far as I'm concerned, I think WV needs a antler restriction as well as an accurated account for which counties they need to have doe season ands which counties need to have NO DOE SEASON. Myself, I am a trophy hunter and get no satisfaction out of shooting a doe.

antlergetter

One thing that I agree with jetblast on is that too many ppl would rather shoot a small yearling buck, then a fat mature doe. That causes a lack in big mature bucks. The state is packed full of "meat hunters" and the way they look at it is if its brown its down. If more of the meat hunters would hold out for a doe....and the DNR would change regs on bag limit, I think WV would be in good shape. The Genes are there for sure, and the nutrition can be alittle sparse at times depending on our mast, but that can be helped out alittle with supplemental feeding during the summer months. The only thing left is AGE!! More ppl should let em walk. Just little more of my 2 cent