Northport buckslayr

I heard on the radio this morning that the WI opening weekend harvest was down 25%!! That is an awful significant number, yet we still need season after season of Earn-a-buck because of the 1.8 million deer? Something doesnt add upthere.

dvalliere

The purpose of EAB is to reduce the herd and it's doing what it is supposed to, so you should expect a decrease! The issue is not that the harvest is down but rather whether or not the population is too small, just right, or too large. The DNR is of the opinion that it's too large. You seem to be of the opinion that it's too small. That's it. Period.

Northport buckslayr

You seem to be a big fan of Earn-a-buck. I guess yiou dont like seeing deer whn you go hunting. Do you like crossword puzzles, reading, or what?

dvalliere

I'm a fan of EAB if it is necessary to force antler-hunters to better manage the overall herd.

Of course I prefer to see deer when I hunt. No hunter doesn't want to see quarry when they hunt. I haven't seen a single deer so far this season which is both unusual and frustrating for me.

I'm just not ready to assume that I know better than the DNR, with all the tools at their disposal, nor will I get upset because the smaller herd means I have to work harder to harvest a deer. There are so many other factors to consider when managing the deer herd and most of them are more important that my ability to readily and easily get a deer.

And yes, I do like both reading and crossword puzzles.

Schobs

It's as simple as the DNR wants fewer deer for any number of reasons, and hunters want more deer for the obvious reason. I'm a firm believer in the fact that although the DNR sets the rules it's up to hunters to decide how they want to play by them. I'm not suggesting poaching or breaking any of the tagging laws, but with any number of doe tags, it's up to the hunter to decide how many if any they want to fill. Why do you think they dont shoot hen pheasents, cuz they're not as pretty? It's cuz the roosters dont have the egg laying capabilities. I'm not equating the deer herd #'s to those of pheasents, but its the same basic concept. Everybody complains about not seeing deer but when they do finally see a deer they're all too eager to pull the trigger no matter what it is, even if it's a doe that's just been bred in the last week by that big boy they've been chasing for 2 years. I'm not trying to step on any toes here and put anybody down for shooting does, in EAB the DNR has forced your hand, and to each their own, but I really feel if we as hunters want to see more deer we need to think about what we're taking out of the herd before we pull the trigger. Granted, I hunt in an management unit that's half agriculture w/ alot of deer and half swamp/maple hardwoods, and i hunt in the area that has many fewer deer, so that's where my opinion comes from. my 0.02

Handles

Northport,
Maybe you should just keep this post going on the Midwest thread. I see you have it posted there anyway, why double post? I'm totally with dvallire on this issue, and I don't think that the 25% harvest reduction is due entirely to EAB. Weather, rut, and hunting styles have a lot to do with it, probably more than EAB. Some Units are in EAB for the first time ever, therefore they should see a huge increase in harvest No? I know guys who didn't register their deer yet because it has been so nice and cold they didn't need to. Two of our deer were registered on site by a warden, so they didn't take them in to the registration station, thus they don't get included in the report from that station.Lots of factors and it's a long season.

Northport buckslayr

I double posted because I figured different people check the different threads and I wanted to see how more people react, if there is some forum rule about that I apologize. I definitely agree with schobs that people need to be more critical of how they hunt, People seem to think that if the dnr issues the tags then it must be okay to shoot that many deer. I have a friend who has shot 3 does already despite only needing one to get his sticker. I really dont have anything against harvesting does in general it just seems that people think they need to shoot as many as they can.

I also think there is nothing wrong with being skeptical of the dnr or or any other governing body. We dont have the obligation to assume they are correct. Last thing, I resent the implication that I am against earn-a-buck because I dont think it should be difficult to harvest deer. I put as much time in the woods as anyone I know and I dont mind working for a mature deer. I hardly ever shoot does so why would I be upset that there are less to harvest? I am upset because more sighting s makes for a more enjoyable hunt for anyone. Okay I am off my soap box now.

Centauri

On Sunday, I stopped in the registration station in Lake Tomahawk, and it was down 50 percent. The DNR just doesn't care about deer populations, they just care about their wolves, which are a a HUGE impact on the deer, especially in the Northwoods.

Handles

That's a pretty ignorant statement. How many dollars go to the DNR from wolf licenses? I'm pretty sure they care about having a healthy, balanced, huntable population of deer.
I've been hearing a lot over the past few years that in areas such as Tomahawk, Eagle River, St. Germain that the deer aren't in the "big woods" anymore becuase of so many people in town that feed them. Could that be at least partly true?

wis_rifle_hunter

down here in southwest wisconsin the numbers are down. the deer registration station said they had a total of 15 deer registered all weekend. the dnr have all their numbers wrong