First-weekend deer harvest drops 25%

[Skunk]

First-weekend deer harvest drops 25%

By Paul A. Smith of the Journal Sentinel

Posted: Nov. 23, 2009

Hunters registered 25% fewer deer over the opening weekend of the 2009 Wisconsin gun deer season, according to a preliminary report issued Monday by the Department of Natural Resources.

Also, five hunters were reported injured in shooting incidents over the weekend.

A statewide survey found 100,330 deer were registered Saturday and Sunday; the 2008 opening weekend registration was 133,828 deer. In 2007, it was 171,584 deer.

A lower harvest was forecast this year by DNR wildlife managers, citing lower deer numbers in many areas and changes in regulations that have resulted in fewer herd control and Earn-A-Buck units.

The weather was mild, which made it easier for hunters to stay in the field, but it also featured fog in parts of the state that impaired visibility

In addition, more standing corn than usual and a lack of snow cover may have reduced hunters' success.

"Those deer are still out there," said Keith Warnke, DNR big game ecologist. "There is still a lot of hunting left."

The opening weekend buck harvest was 49,583 (52,477 in 2008); the antlerless harvest was 50,478 (81,351 in 2008).

Though not a surprise, the lower harvest is a source of consternation to many.

"The herd has been driven down over the last several years," said Ed Harvey, chairman of the Wisconsin Conservation Congress. "The season frameworks were inappropriate for the number of deer we had on the landscape in many places, and they did a lot of damage."

License sales are slightly behind last year's pace.

The DNR reported 626,404 licenses were sold through Saturday; 631,223 were sold at a comparable time in 2008.

The 2009 licenses include 9,592 sold to 10- and 11-year-old hunters under the new mentored hunting law.

Three of the shooting incidents occurred Saturday.

In Grant County a hunter was struck in the back of the leg by shrapnel when a companion's gun discharged into the door of a vehicle as he attempted to unload the gun.

In Price County, a hunter suffered a self-inflicted wound in the left hand from a handgun, and in Green County a hunter suffered a gunshot wound to his leg when he slipped crossing a stream and his shotgun discharged.

On Sunday a Barron County hunter was wounded in the thigh by a bullet, and in St Croix County a hunter suffered a self-inflicted gunshot would to the right hand from a .30-30 caliber rifle.

A final harvest report will be available early next week; the season ends Sunday.

http://www.jsonline.com/sports/outdoors/72051452.html

[Cheesehead]

The deer numbers are not there. Many people in my area have seen few or no deer.

Cheese 

[a4beltfed2000]

yep, We only took one deer this year, last year we had 5 by this time....

[TribReady]

Pretty down around here as well.
Have only talked with a few guys who have seen alot--and they are pretty isolated.

Heard a couple pass thru this AM before light, but then the wind and rain picked up and we hit the road. Hope to get out Thanksgiving AM

[Odinbreaker]

DNR smoke and Mirrors cannot tell us the deer are down more than other years won't sell licenses. I have not seen any in my area you have to have a drive to push what deer are there.

[ihookem]

The numbers are down more than that because last year noone had to hurry to get them in the freezer. This year we are registering them very early. We will find out soon just how down it is.

[jcn59]

The North is no longer herd control but you can still buy as many doe licenses as you want, same as last year but they cost 12 dollars each this year, 2 dollars last year.

Considering the limited number of deer out there in the North, it's a shame we have to kill any antlerless deer this year.  And guess what....we have a 4 day antlerless season coming up in December.  And the state is trying to give us a 16 day season up here next year.

Part of the problem is that the wolves and bears are taking over half the animals hunters usually take in the North.   The other part of the problem is our democrat governor and the 7 mental dwarfs who run the DNR.  (Wisconsin sells near a million hunting licenses and yet we wound up with a DNR Secretary who does NOT hunt. How does that happen?)

We are VERY close to reaching a point where the predators will be able to take 100 % of the deer that hunters usually shoot.  The math is simple.  Graph it out yourself if this sounds far-fetched. The deer numbers will be so low in five years that the season will be cancelled.

Back in the early 1930s we only had deer hunting every other year and wolves were on the decline then.  Don't think it can't happen again, especially with wolves on the increase now and unlimited doe tags being bought and used by our own ranks!