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Offline single action

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Blue tongue
« on: October 08, 2007, 05:00:39 PM »
Hey guys, I heard a rumor today that has me a bit worried. I and 2 other members of my family were picked for the Peck ranch muzzleoader hunt next month. I got to go last year and had a great time. anyway The youth hunt was this past weekend and I was told 47 kids hunted and only 6 tagged deer, thats bad enough but one of the guys that took his kid hunting told me he found 5 deer dead next to ponds.he said they had  "blue tongue" disease. Has anyone else heard this? what causes this disease? If this area does have this problem, how widespread could it be?, county wide? several counties, statewide? I called the local conservation office and recieved no info. Thanks ahead of time for any info.
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Offline Ranger J

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Re: Blue tongue
« Reply #1 on: October 09, 2007, 03:42:59 AM »
I'm surprised your local Conservation Officer couldn't tell you anything about it.  It is called Hemorrhagic disease or commonly blue tongue.  It is carried by a small biting midge.  Unfortunately it is most prevalent in my part of Missouri this year.  In some past episodes it has killed 20 per cent of the herd.  Most of the local papers have carried articles about it lately.  I have not seen any dead deer lately but have not strayed too far from my usual hunting spot.

RJ
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Offline rocko

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Re: Blue tongue
« Reply #2 on: October 09, 2007, 04:29:46 PM »
I heard the same thing about the youth hunt. I didnt hear anything about them finding dead deer. But the cosv. agents told them it had hit there. I have hunted the bowhunt there the last 4 years, but we didnt put in for it this year, thankfully. You should still be OK though. It wont get them all. But you may see a few less deer.
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Offline Ranger J

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Re: Blue tongue
« Reply #3 on: October 10, 2007, 01:57:59 PM »
I guess I spoke too soon.  I talked to a friend that went on a trail ride just back of my house and they found three dead deer.

RJ
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Offline Beers

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Re: Blue tongue
« Reply #4 on: October 10, 2007, 02:52:42 PM »
By next month the weather should be cool enough to wipe out the midges for the year, anything that has it now will either be dead or will have recovered by then. That won't resurrect the deer already dead, but rest assured... there will still be deer to shoot. As was said above, you might not see as many, but I wouldn't be too worried. Blue Tongue rarely takes out more than a small percentage of the overall deer population, and as an actual benefit, the breeding stock will be that much stronger this year. The healthier animals will survive it, and they don't get it again once they've had it.

We had a small outbreak here in WV this year, not nearly as bad as you guys from what you're describing... but I have run across a few nasty looking dead deer near the ponds and reservoirs. On my scouting trips I've seen roughly as many deer as usual. I'm pretty confident I'll find something to take home this Saturday.
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Offline single action

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Re: Blue tongue
« Reply #5 on: October 14, 2007, 11:58:41 AM »
Well, kinda bad news, My son and I went to peck ranch this past friday.  I usually see 14 - 16 deer every time i go out there and last year I found all kinds of rubs, trails ect. This trip we were out there from about 0800-1530 and saw NO deer whatsoever in my usual haunts, checked 3 water holes and found a total of 2 sets of fresh tracks. I checked my 3 favorite ridges (usually covered in rubs by the second week of october.) and found no rubs. even the doe trails I usually watch, (the places I take kids so they can see deer) were very lightly used. So it seems the rumors unfortunately, are true. I will be going again next week to search a little deeper, to try to find some signs of life. Oh well, we will go out camp and hunt the hunt anyway, Its rare my 3 sons and I get the time off together to do anything, so just the 4 of us together will be a good time. Oh, one bright note, we did see a flock of about 13-14 turkey, so we can always look forward to next spring! Good luck hunting this fall.
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Offline BobT

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Re: Blue tongue
« Reply #6 on: October 14, 2007, 05:57:52 PM »
single action,
I too am going on the ML hunt, I hope there at least a few deer left. I think part of the reduction in deer numbers is due to the very large deer kill at Peck Ranch last year during the ML hunt. The staff said 150, the MDC says 149, that is about 3 times the normal harvest. The "any deer" boosted the numbers but the buck kill was up too. The youth hunt kill was down this year but they usually don't kill a lot of deer anyway (less than 20 I think for an average) The archery hunt should provide a little more insight on the herd condition. I have not had a chance to scout yet but like you I am used to seeing several deer and a bunch of tracks and rubs by this time of year. I hope there a few bucks left for us to shoot at! I'll be there scouting the whole week prior to the hunt and hope to find at least a couple spots to try .

Good Luck, Maybe I'll see you there!

Bob
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Offline Ranger J

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Re: Blue tongue
« Reply #7 on: October 18, 2007, 04:22:03 AM »
I keep hearing more and more stories of locals find dead deer on their property.  Between the blue  tongue, the poachers, and those killed on the road I hope there will be a few left for us to hunt come the 10th of November.  I guess we will get our first real check on numbers when the youth hunt comes up in a couple of weeks.

RJ
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Offline rocko

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Re: Blue tongue
« Reply #8 on: October 18, 2007, 03:00:41 PM »
Quote from: Ranger J on October 18, 2007, 04:22:03 AM
I keep hearing more and more stories of locals find dead deer on their property.  Between the blue  tongue, the poachers, and those killed on the road I hope there will be a few left for us to hunt come the 10th of November.  I guess we will get our first real check on numbers when the youth hunt comes up in a couple of weeks.

RJ

The youth hunt is already over. And the archery hunt should have been this last weekend. ;)
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Offline Ranger J

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Re: Blue tongue
« Reply #9 on: October 21, 2007, 01:41:43 PM »
I think the youth firearms season is Oct 27 & 28 this year.  I could be wrong but if I am a lot of kids I saw at the range this weekend are going to be real disappointed. ;)

RJ
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Offline BobT

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Re: Blue tongue
« Reply #10 on: October 21, 2007, 07:13:32 PM »
Ranger J,
I think Rocko is talking about the Peck Ranch youth hunt not the statewide youth season. The Peck Ranch archery hunt is/was 19th. through the 21st.

Bob
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Offline alpha wolf

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Re: Blue tongue
« Reply #11 on: October 22, 2007, 08:26:05 AM »
  What exactly does blue tongue do to the deer?
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Offline BobT

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Re: Blue tongue
« Reply #12 on: October 22, 2007, 08:36:05 AM »
I just spoke with the refuge manager at Peck Ranch and he said that the archery kill was only down a little from last year, 32 vs. 36. He said he thought the youth harvest was down so much because of the record high temperatures, the deer just weren't moving in the heat.
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Offline single action

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Re: Blue tongue
« Reply #13 on: October 25, 2007, 03:53:11 PM »
BobT,
           My sons and I will be tent camping in the campground directly across from headquarters. we usually are toward the back end on the creek side. there will be two ford extended cabs and a red ford ranger. Stop by and say hi. hope to see you and wish you good luck! only 7 days to go!.
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Offline BobT

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Re: Blue tongue
« Reply #14 on: October 27, 2007, 04:10:00 AM »
Hey Single Action,
Will do! We always try to camp in the small area 1/2 mile down the road from the gate. Will be in a White wall tent. I'm heading down on Monday morning to set up camp and spend a few days scouting. I drive a Ford S250 S/D ext cab green/beige, also will be a black Tundra and a red/silver F150 ext. cab stop by and shoot the breeze!

Bob
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