what is considered a bad winter for deer?
12-30-2008 | 06:52 PM
#21
Giant Nontypical
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 5,195
Likes: 0
From: PA.
RE: what is considered a bad winter for deer?
ORIGINAL: BTBowhunter
I agree Greg. Conditions that make it hard, dangerous or deadlyfor them to move around are the most devastating. When the deer cant get to food or escape predators, it's pretty much over in short order.
I agree Greg. Conditions that make it hard, dangerous or deadlyfor them to move around are the most devastating. When the deer cant get to food or escape predators, it's pretty much over in short order.
only threat to a deer isHARD ICE with no snow on it.
that only happened 1 time in early 70s in CLINTON COUNTY.
12-30-2008 | 06:56 PM
#22
Giant Nontypical
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 5,195
Likes: 0
From: PA.
RE: what is considered a bad winter for deer?
ORIGINAL: Phil from Maine
Here we have had our share of bad winters.. Although I can not speak alot of what you folks have for issues in PA. I can say here as well as most places deer yard up to survive the winter months. They will have a network of trails to move around in. They will find food when time is needed. When we have snow that has crusted over with hail or ice the deer willsuffer greatly. The predators such as coyotes and bobcats can get the jump on them. As the deer try to run threw the crusted snow it cuts them on the leggs. While the predators run on top of this stuff making it easier to catch healthy deer and not just the sick ones some choose to believe. As most on here know deer are at it worst time during the winter months and last year was a very hard time for them up here in parts of this state. After all we had record snowfalls on most of the state. But it was a fluffy snow and coyote numbers dropped. They couldn't get around in that either. Alot of deer did make it threw the winter months but didn't have a good fawn production in the spring so this is another area that should be concidered when think how hard the winter months can be.. That's my 2 cents on this subject..
Here we have had our share of bad winters.. Although I can not speak alot of what you folks have for issues in PA. I can say here as well as most places deer yard up to survive the winter months. They will have a network of trails to move around in. They will find food when time is needed. When we have snow that has crusted over with hail or ice the deer willsuffer greatly. The predators such as coyotes and bobcats can get the jump on them. As the deer try to run threw the crusted snow it cuts them on the leggs. While the predators run on top of this stuff making it easier to catch healthy deer and not just the sick ones some choose to believe. As most on here know deer are at it worst time during the winter months and last year was a very hard time for them up here in parts of this state. After all we had record snowfalls on most of the state. But it was a fluffy snow and coyote numbers dropped. They couldn't get around in that either. Alot of deer did make it threw the winter months but didn't have a good fawn production in the spring so this is another area that should be concidered when think how hard the winter months can be.. That's my 2 cents on this subject..
this is why with winter this year in WMU2G,PGC should close the doe hunting next year do to coyote kills .
12-30-2008 | 07:01 PM
#23
Giant Nontypical
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 5,195
Likes: 0
From: PA.
RE: what is considered a bad winter for deer?
ORIGINAL: bluebird2
You could have provided some useful information , but like RSB you chose to alienate another PA hunter. The simple fact is that the herd should not be managed based on the extremes in our winter weather. No one could predict the ice storm that decimated the population in several NC counties in the late 70's.. Those deer didn't die due to lack of browse , they died because they couldn't get to the browse. The same is true when there is 3 or 4 ft. of snow cover. It is not that there isn't enough food for the deer, it is that the deer can not access that food.
You could have provided some useful information , but like RSB you chose to alienate another PA hunter. The simple fact is that the herd should not be managed based on the extremes in our winter weather. No one could predict the ice storm that decimated the population in several NC counties in the late 70's.. Those deer didn't die due to lack of browse , they died because they couldn't get to the browse. The same is true when there is 3 or 4 ft. of snow cover. It is not that there isn't enough food for the deer, it is that the deer can not access that food.
we killed over 78 deer in ice storm of around 1977 in about a 15 mile area,all had BROKEN BACKS.
they slid down the steep sidehills .
for 47 years i never saw deer starve.
12-30-2008 | 07:01 PM
#24
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 67
Likes: 0
RE: what is considered a bad winter for deer?
instead of decreasing the herd one would think you would increase the herd to have more of a survival rate during harsh winters. it is not the food it is the movement and ability to get to the food and not as much as not enough food.
So the harsh winters and not enough browse is bogus for a reason of the deer slaughter.
So the harsh winters and not enough browse is bogus for a reason of the deer slaughter.
12-31-2008 | 06:39 AM
#25
Nontypical Buck
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 2,262
Likes: 0
RE: what is considered a bad winter for deer?
I've seen quite a few deer starve Sproul.I even have a picture of one on my desk right now.My buddy found it dead last year near his house.In 2005,I found over a dozen that starved to death in less than a 1/2 mile.That same spring,while doing a deer density analysis with PSU,we found 5 winter-killed deer in a 76 acre patch.Deer do starve in Pa and the fact that you never saw one proves nothing.You haven'tseen a deer all hunting season but they're obviously out there.
On top of deer starving,which isn'ta huge factor in most years,fawn recruitment also goes way down.Once a doe loses 20-25% of her body weight,the chance of her fawms surviving is very slim.
On top of deer starving,which isn'ta huge factor in most years,fawn recruitment also goes way down.Once a doe loses 20-25% of her body weight,the chance of her fawms surviving is very slim.
12-31-2008 | 10:26 AM
#28
Giant Nontypical
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 5,195
Likes: 0
From: PA.
RE: what is considered a bad winter for deer?
ORIGINAL: DougE
I've seen quite a few deer starve Sproul.I even have a picture of one on my desk right now.My buddy found it dead last year near his house.In 2005,I found over a dozen that starved to death in less than a 1/2 mile.That same spring,while doing a deer density analysis with PSU,we found 5 winter-killed deer in a 76 acre patch.Deer do starve in Pa and the fact that you never saw one proves nothing.You haven'tseen a deer all hunting season but they're obviously out there.
On top of deer starving,which isn'ta huge factor in most years,fawn recruitment also goes way down.Once a doe loses 20-25% of her body weight,the chance of her fawms surviving is very slim.
I've seen quite a few deer starve Sproul.I even have a picture of one on my desk right now.My buddy found it dead last year near his house.In 2005,I found over a dozen that starved to death in less than a 1/2 mile.That same spring,while doing a deer density analysis with PSU,we found 5 winter-killed deer in a 76 acre patch.Deer do starve in Pa and the fact that you never saw one proves nothing.You haven'tseen a deer all hunting season but they're obviously out there.
On top of deer starving,which isn'ta huge factor in most years,fawn recruitment also goes way down.Once a doe loses 20-25% of her body weight,the chance of her fawms surviving is very slim.
next time, get PICTURE of all these STARVED DEER for us.
i bet it will be as elusive as getting a COUGAR print which i am still waiting for.
12-31-2008 | 10:32 AM
#29
Giant Nontypical
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 5,195
Likes: 0
From: PA.
RE: what is considered a bad winter for deer?
ORIGINAL: germain
A bad winter for the deer this year was the two week snow cover in our area.Made for real easy kills and they hammered the deer.
A bad winter for the deer this year was the two week snow cover in our area.Made for real easy kills and they hammered the deer.
we had snow but our deer kill was down in clinton DO TO LACK OF DOE.
i heard as of yesterday about 26 bucks killed for 3 months in western clinton county.
many camps never saw deer, 1 camp had 4 bucks from oct to end of deer gun season.
they usually have around 8 or 9 bucks for 16 hunters for 3 months of hunting .
they saw about 11 doe for 3 months.they hunt in good area too, HYNER ,PA.STEEP, VAST, RUGGED ,REMOTE MOUNTAINS,that use to kill me when goose would say that when he wanted everyone to think there are deer, well, i heard gooses camp only got 1 deer .
12-31-2008 | 10:47 AM
#30
Boone & Crockett
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 12,823
Likes: 5
From: Eastern PA
RE: what is considered a bad winter for deer?
Sproul - we're going to have to get together one of these days when I go up to our family's camp along Hyner Run.
We're close to the Hyner-Abes Fork split. You know the area - where the DCNR is handing out DMAP coupons to kill all the doe??. My friend and I each got one and they are setting on my reloading bench waiting for the season to end sowe can report 'no kill'.
We're close to the Hyner-Abes Fork split. You know the area - where the DCNR is handing out DMAP coupons to kill all the doe??. My friend and I each got one and they are setting on my reloading bench waiting for the season to end sowe can report 'no kill'.