Interesting post, but I really dont think the DNR is lying or has any reason but to be as accurate as they can. If I were in an area that was supposed to average 10 deer per square mile and I saw 30 deer in a 5 acre field (common in an area I hunt) does this mean I have all the deer for 3 square miles right in front of me and no one else inside this 3 square mile range will see any deer? not likely. Similar thoughts have been in my mind for several years. I hunt the same exact stand every year. On average I see maybe 1 deer a day, all day long, from this stand. Almost always it is a 8 point or larger. It is a very difficult area to access because of swamp and terrain. A relative of mine chooses to hunt an area a little more than a 1/4 mile from me. Very easy access, nice 3 minute walk and he is hunting. If he sees less than 20 deer a day, he isn't happy and thinks the deer numbers are way down. He rarely sees bucks, all does and fawns. Yet he is very happy to see lots of deer and wishes he could see more bucks. I sometimes wish I saw more deer, and I know I can a short distance away, but my goal is a large buck. We are both successful in our hunts, both happy. yet our perceptions of deer populations in this area vary immensely.