So, I have been doing a lot of reading lately about the CWD and excess of deer in southern Wisconsin, as well as the seemingly wiped out deer herds in the northern half of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. At the same time, my family and I enjoyed one of the best seasons ever, here in central Indiana. My feeling is that the regulations our DNR adopted 5 or 6 years ago, are the reason we have such a healthy deer population, including a good number of "shooter" bucks.
Our regs only allow a hunter to harvest ONE buck during all regular seasons, combined. That means if you take one with your bow, in the early season, you cannot shoot a buck with your gun or ML, later in the year. I know a lot of guys hate these regulations, but the end result has been impossible to argue with. Even the hunters that were screaming about this, when it was first set up, will grudgingly admit that it has had the desired effect! We have somewhat fewer deer, because more does are harvested (key to any good management plan, imho) but we have a remarkable increase in the buck:doe ratio, which has naturally resulted in quite a few larger bucks.
Anyway, I'd like to put together a list of other states/zones to get an idea of how deer herds are managed in other parts of the country. If you can, please post in this thread where you are located, what the regulations are for deer hunting (number of bucks you can harvest and the number of total deer allowed) as well as your perspective on whether or not you feel these regs are benefiting your deer herd, or hurting it. Please explain how you think things could be changed to improve what you are personally seeing, in your area.
I will compile a list and put it in a spreadsheet and post it for everyone to review, after I get a suitable number of entries.
Thanks and I hope to hear from many of you!
Jason
Our regs only allow a hunter to harvest ONE buck during all regular seasons, combined. That means if you take one with your bow, in the early season, you cannot shoot a buck with your gun or ML, later in the year. I know a lot of guys hate these regulations, but the end result has been impossible to argue with. Even the hunters that were screaming about this, when it was first set up, will grudgingly admit that it has had the desired effect! We have somewhat fewer deer, because more does are harvested (key to any good management plan, imho) but we have a remarkable increase in the buck:doe ratio, which has naturally resulted in quite a few larger bucks.
Anyway, I'd like to put together a list of other states/zones to get an idea of how deer herds are managed in other parts of the country. If you can, please post in this thread where you are located, what the regulations are for deer hunting (number of bucks you can harvest and the number of total deer allowed) as well as your perspective on whether or not you feel these regs are benefiting your deer herd, or hurting it. Please explain how you think things could be changed to improve what you are personally seeing, in your area.
I will compile a list and put it in a spreadsheet and post it for everyone to review, after I get a suitable number of entries.
Thanks and I hope to hear from many of you!
Jason