D Rock

It was recently brought to my attention that my home state is trying to change the hunting regulations to encourage more doe kills. Here is the link to the proposed changes. http://www.in.gov/dnr/fishwild/2362.htm In summary right now you can hunt antlered and/or antlerless deer for 32 days between both shotgun and muzzleloader season. Under the proposed changes you would only be able to hunt antlered deer for 18 days. A 9 day shotgun season and a 9 day muzzleloader season. You would then be able to hunt does during a 2 day October gun hunt and a Dec. 25th- Jan. 1st gun hunt. Here is the link to the current game laws http://www.in.gov/dnr/fishwild/files...egulations.pdf

Right now we get 32 days to hunt any deer with a firearm. Under the proposed changes we would get only 28 days of firearms hunting with 18 of those allowing us to hunt bucks. At the same time I do not see any changes to the current archery season limits that allow for 89 days to hunt either bucks or does with archery equipment.

Do these rule changes sound fair? I know many of you out there live in states that have very different hunting regulations, but do these rule changes sound like they are going to achieve the desired result of killing more does? If not what regulations do you think would work better?

salukipv1

October & November should be for archery deer hunting during the rut only IMO, no gun hunting.

Are they trying to take more does? or just less young bucks? ie manage for trophy quality?

Keep the gun season away from the rut and more bucks will survive to older age.

I don't think we need super late season doe hunts, or OCT doe hunts, I'd make December a month long gun season, spread out the pressure.


An early doe hunt, 2 day season? and a late season doe hunt, I really don't see helping that much in taking does, sure more would be taken but not a lot more, I think most gun deer hunters will still just hunt the standard gun season, and not the early or late season.

How many bucks/does can a hunter take in IN?
If they want more does taken, they should institute a "earn a 2nd buck tag" program.

UncleNorby

Everybody has an opinion. I don't feel archery hunters have ANY more "rights" to the rut than anyone else. Under the current system, archers are allowed to hunt through the firearms season, so they have equal access to the rut.

These changes are thinly veiled, agenda-driven BS pushed upon the IDNR by "stakeholders" that want bowhunters to have the chase-phase of the rut to themselves. This is exactly opposite of what the average hunter wants. The problem is the average hunter is not represented by stakeholders.

IDNR is now receiving a LOT of input via e-mail to this effect. I encourage everyone to give their opinion, whatever it may be at: http://www.in.gov/nrc/2386.htm

vermont bowhunter

hey bro be glad you get that many days for bucks,,,we get 16days of buck thats it...we of corse have black powder and they have doe tag by lottery.but reg deer season is buck only and only 16 days.

UncleNorby

Being from VT, and if you know the history of herd management in VT, you should recognize the potential for disaster that comes along with the Wildlife agency being influenced by political and other pressures that force herd management decisions not founded on biological data. VT was a case study in my one of wildlife management courses at UNH. From what you are saying (and I assume archery is either sex in some or all of the state), VT is trying to grow the herd these days. Not saying that's wrong, its been a long time since I hunted VT (25 years or so).

doetrain

I live in Southern IN and hunt in the Memphis and English area,one is private the other a public area,Hoosier National Forest. I think they should leave it as it is because the problem here is that virtually every Buck no matter how mature seems to be shot on sight by many,not all Indiana hunters. I've been to some check in spots and I see very few mature Bucks taken but a lot of young ones and few does. We have a lot of Does in both these areas which I would be glad to take this year and pass on all small Bucks. I took a small Buck last year myself only because it was the first year I've ever hunted but this year I will pass on anything smaller than that one. I think this is a good practice to help the Bucks mature but I realize it's not against the law to shoot a young buck in our state. I Bow hunt and Gun hunt with my ML so I am content with all the time I'm given to hunt in IN. I say leave it alone DNR and we the hunters should do what we can to balance out the Buck,Doe ratio.