Well my views are from Indiana where 6 deer tags and 3 turkey tags (we don't have bears) will cost you $185 per year. You would need to buy a $20 license for squirrel,rabbit coyote etc. Absolutely $0 of that goes towards development of my hunting areas. I would give them almost $200 a year and get nothing in return for my contribution and get berrated because I am not shooting enough does. I completely urge all Nonresidents to look elsewhere if you want to hunt in Indiana. The cost is prohibative.

What does development of your hunting areas mean? Does the state of Indiana (DNR,Fish and Game, whatever)purchase land for recreational use? Does it help protect waterways from pollution? Do they apprehend poachers? If 'yes' to any of these and I would say that they are helping develop your hunting areas.
You do have steep fees, I will agree to that.How often have you talked to a local congressman about this? How many DNR meetings have you attended?
Lilly Tomlin once said "I always waited around for someone to do something, until I realized that I was someone."
Probably not the reply you wanted to hear, I know, but we can't just snap our fingers and have everything we want.

Madison really needs to listen to the hunters that are out there. Not look at the numbers. I have seen a MAJOR decrease in deer sightings through out Clark, Jackson, Wood, Monroe, and Eau Claire Counties. Im not the only one that has seen this decrease over the last couple years, many people that I talk to say the same thing. There are no deer. Most of these counties are in some form or another in EAB status and parts of the counties and zones are on EAB watch lists. This is a bad idea in my opinion. On the 3 or 4 properties that I hunt, I used to be able to sit for 3 hours and see as many as 20 different deer, now with the EAB in some of these area, im lucky to see 1-4. TheDNRhas made a mistake in some zones. I can see it being implimented in some zones but when more than 60% of the state is in EAB status this is a bad thing.

How about a doe only season? What would happen (other than some ticked off hunters) if you could only shoot does, say for one year, maybe two?

There would be armed rebellion if there was a one year moratorium on shooting bucks. Now a special one week doe only season would work wonders, but you will also get somefolks screamng bloody murderunless youschedule it after all the other regular deer seasons are over.

We do get a 4 day (Thurs-Sun) antlerless only hunt in October and another in December with the regular gun season in between.


Are you a non-resident hunter? Are you trying to get 6 deer and have bought 6 tags or does a basic license come with that many tags? Are turkey tags included? Or are you lumping together multiple different hunting licenses/tags?

What do you think the DNR should do with the funds? What specifically should they do to help you in your hunting area?

Wisconsin does have two extra Doe hunts, one before the main gun season Oct 16-19 and one after the main gun season Dec 11-14. The early Doe hunt pisses off the archery hunters, the late Doe hunt pisses off the snowmobil clubs.

Sounds like it would be a good idea to double those special doe seasons. If the surplus of does is anything like it is in the part of Illinois where I own land, then something needs to be done and I don't care whosefeathers get ruffled. Theones that scream the loudest are probably part of the problem anyway[:'(]

Problem is that the antler-hunting crowd doesn't go out during the antlerless only hunts...Not unless they're Earn-A-Buck and want to cover their bases before season. It's still a good idea--give the antler-hunters a chance to fulfill their EAB requirement and give deer hunters a chance to back a deer and help with herd control at the same time.

Thats so true. The county I hunt in opened doe only days from September to October and from January to the End of March to help thin the does. we got a lot. The problem was the horn hunters werent using those days to hunt and shoot does. So this year they put in the EAB, which i hope works wonders. OUR EAB is a little more forgiving then most your allowed to shoot a buck, but in order to shoot your second buck you must shoot a doe first, and same goes for your third buck tag, you must shoot a doe, and you can pre load, Like shoot 2 does in the early season and be able to shoot your three bucks in the regular season with out shooting another doe.

"Problem is that the antler-hunting crowd doesn't go out during the antlerless only hunts...Not unless they're Earn-A-Buck and want to cover their bases before season. It's still a good idea--give the antler-hunters a chance to fulfill their EAB requirement and give deer hunters a chance to back a deer and help with herd control at the same time. "

sorry some how i screwed this post up