Final number are in....
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Huckleberry Finn
Senior Member
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Sometimes it feels like the horse has been beaten to death and pounded into the ground on Ohio's declining deer numbers, but there is still a big percentage of deer hunters out there that get their hunting insights & information from places like The Columbus Dispatch. Here's an article from Sunday's paper that I just read over lunch... the headline about made me choke. Here we go again, blaming it on the weather... :smiley_crocodile: Enjoy the read.
Weather factor in drop in deer kill
Cold snaps put big chill on gun hunt harvests
By Dave Golowenski For The Columbus Dispatch
For The Columbus Dispatch • Sunday February 9, 2014 6:02 AM
Comments: 0
Those responsible for tracking and controlling Ohio’s deer population expected that the final harvest numbers for the 2013-14 gun and archery season would be lower than the totals in 2012-13. What is less easily explained is why the number of deer killed was reduced by more than 12 percent from a year ago.
“The herd is down, no question,” said biologist Mike Tonkovich, a longtime deer specialist for the Ohio Division of Wildlife. “Is it down because of the regulations in place over the past few years? Absolutely.”
Tonkovich was quick to add, however, that the smaller harvest does not prove that the state has fewer whitetails. (What??? Really??? Hey look over there, it's something shiney!!!) :smiley_depressive: Bad weather at inopportune times, he said, explained why the season harvest fell to 191,459, a decline of 27,451, or about 12.5 percent, from the 218,910 deer taken in 2012-13.
“We had two significant weather events that occurred during gun seasons,” Tonkovich said. “We had a cold and windy youth gun season, and the harvest was down. And we had what I call the (polar) vortex hunt during the final two days of the statewide muzzleloader season.”
Bad weather days also seemed to discourage hunters during the weeklong gun season. In short, gun hunters ran into tough conditions that resulted in the following:
• During the youth gun season Nov. 23-24, 6,645 whitetails were checked, a drop of 2,533, or 27.6 percent, from the 9,178 tagged the previous year.
• During the statewide gun season Dec. 2-8, hunters tagged 75,408 deer, a decline of 11,556, or 13.3 percent, from the 86,964 reported in 2012.
• During the statewide muzzleloader season Jan. 4-7, hunters checked 16,464 whitetails, about 12,600 of them during the two days before the freeze arrived to keep all but the hardiest hunters at home. During the same four-day hunt in 2013, hunters reported tagging 21,555 deer, which totals 5,091, or 30.1 percent, more than this year.
Hunters this season lost the two-day bonus gun season that had been in place for many years, and which yielded 14,365 deer in 2012. Although the loss of that bonus weekend no longer afforded hunters a second opportunity in December, the wildlife division established a muzzleloader season for antlerless deer on Oct. 12-13. During that hunt, 5,608 whitetails were tagged, partially offsetting the loss of the bonus weekend.
In all, alterations in hunting seasons and a pared-down deer herd likely were to lead to a predictable outcome.
“We had anticipated a harvest dip,” Tonkovich said.
The decline took the total season kill to a number not reached since 2001, when hunters checked 165,124 deer. Since then, the only season in which the harvest finished below 200,000 deer was 2003, when hunters took 197,790 whitetails.
Ohio’s deer kill peaked in 2009, when 261,260 whitetails were checked. The harvest was nearly as robust in the surrounding seasons — 252,017 in 2008 and 239,476 in 2010. Those numbers reflected a herd that seemed to be growing relentlessly, so much so that the Ohio Farm Bureau and others demanded that the population be contained to curtail damage to crops and orchards.
“There were deer everywhere back in those years to the point we were wondering whether we could reel it in,” wildlife division chief Scott Zody said on Thursday. “We were victims of our own success. (ReallY??? Go ahead & give yourselves a pat on the back.) :smiley_depressive: But it’s important to keep in mind that it’s not healthy for the herd in the long term to keep growing, and with large numbers of deer, you’re putting stress on the habitat.”
Exactly what that means for hunters remains a mystery, but it’s interesting to note that virtually the entire decline in this year’s harvest came among gun hunters.
Bow hunters slightly surpassed the harvest numbers from a year ago, taking 86,321 whitetails, an increase of 889, from the 85,432 taken in 2012-13. Removing the bow numbers, then, means that some 28,000 fewer deer were taken by gun in 2013-14 than the season before.
Whether the overall decline continues next season might depend on whether conditions are favorable for hunting because proposed bag limits for 2014-15 by the Ohio Wildlife Council calls for a reduction in 44 of the state’s 88 counties (this only sets the stage for next year's headline: reduction in bag limits leads to reduction in harvest), with five counties seeing a proposed increase in the number of deer taken and 39 counties remaining at their 2013-14 levels.
Among the counties that will see bag limits decreased from four deer to three in 2014-15 if proposals are enacted are nine of the top 10 counties with the most deer checked this season. That list includes three central Ohio counties — Licking, Muskingum and Knox.
Among the other proposed changes are a tweaking of the deer muzzleloader season from Friday, Jan. 2 to Monday, Jan. 5, a change from the Saturday to Tuesday season this year. Also, the wildlife division has proposed the use of pistol ammunition in rifles for deer hunting.
Hunters and other interested parties can comment on these proposals and regulations at open houses at seven state locations from noon to 3 p.m. on Saturday, March 1 and online at wildohio.com through March 2.
outdoors@dispatch.com
A look at some of the numbers comparing the 2013-14 deer hunt with that of 2012-13:
Total kill
2013-14191,459
2012-13218,910
Gun
2013-1475,408
2012-1386,964
Muzzleloader
2013-1416,464
2012-1321,555
Early muzzleloader (antlerless)
2013-145,608
2012-13Not held
Youth gun
2013-146,645
2012-139,178
Two-day bonus gun
2013-14Not held
2012-1314,365
Archery
2013-1486,321
2012-1385,432
Weather factor in drop in deer kill
Cold snaps put big chill on gun hunt harvests
By Dave Golowenski For The Columbus Dispatch
For The Columbus Dispatch • Sunday February 9, 2014 6:02 AM
Comments: 0
Those responsible for tracking and controlling Ohio’s deer population expected that the final harvest numbers for the 2013-14 gun and archery season would be lower than the totals in 2012-13. What is less easily explained is why the number of deer killed was reduced by more than 12 percent from a year ago.
“The herd is down, no question,” said biologist Mike Tonkovich, a longtime deer specialist for the Ohio Division of Wildlife. “Is it down because of the regulations in place over the past few years? Absolutely.”
Tonkovich was quick to add, however, that the smaller harvest does not prove that the state has fewer whitetails. (What??? Really??? Hey look over there, it's something shiney!!!) :smiley_depressive: Bad weather at inopportune times, he said, explained why the season harvest fell to 191,459, a decline of 27,451, or about 12.5 percent, from the 218,910 deer taken in 2012-13.
“We had two significant weather events that occurred during gun seasons,” Tonkovich said. “We had a cold and windy youth gun season, and the harvest was down. And we had what I call the (polar) vortex hunt during the final two days of the statewide muzzleloader season.”
Bad weather days also seemed to discourage hunters during the weeklong gun season. In short, gun hunters ran into tough conditions that resulted in the following:
• During the youth gun season Nov. 23-24, 6,645 whitetails were checked, a drop of 2,533, or 27.6 percent, from the 9,178 tagged the previous year.
• During the statewide gun season Dec. 2-8, hunters tagged 75,408 deer, a decline of 11,556, or 13.3 percent, from the 86,964 reported in 2012.
• During the statewide muzzleloader season Jan. 4-7, hunters checked 16,464 whitetails, about 12,600 of them during the two days before the freeze arrived to keep all but the hardiest hunters at home. During the same four-day hunt in 2013, hunters reported tagging 21,555 deer, which totals 5,091, or 30.1 percent, more than this year.
Hunters this season lost the two-day bonus gun season that had been in place for many years, and which yielded 14,365 deer in 2012. Although the loss of that bonus weekend no longer afforded hunters a second opportunity in December, the wildlife division established a muzzleloader season for antlerless deer on Oct. 12-13. During that hunt, 5,608 whitetails were tagged, partially offsetting the loss of the bonus weekend.
In all, alterations in hunting seasons and a pared-down deer herd likely were to lead to a predictable outcome.
“We had anticipated a harvest dip,” Tonkovich said.
The decline took the total season kill to a number not reached since 2001, when hunters checked 165,124 deer. Since then, the only season in which the harvest finished below 200,000 deer was 2003, when hunters took 197,790 whitetails.
Ohio’s deer kill peaked in 2009, when 261,260 whitetails were checked. The harvest was nearly as robust in the surrounding seasons — 252,017 in 2008 and 239,476 in 2010. Those numbers reflected a herd that seemed to be growing relentlessly, so much so that the Ohio Farm Bureau and others demanded that the population be contained to curtail damage to crops and orchards.
“There were deer everywhere back in those years to the point we were wondering whether we could reel it in,” wildlife division chief Scott Zody said on Thursday. “We were victims of our own success. (ReallY??? Go ahead & give yourselves a pat on the back.) :smiley_depressive: But it’s important to keep in mind that it’s not healthy for the herd in the long term to keep growing, and with large numbers of deer, you’re putting stress on the habitat.”
Exactly what that means for hunters remains a mystery, but it’s interesting to note that virtually the entire decline in this year’s harvest came among gun hunters.
Bow hunters slightly surpassed the harvest numbers from a year ago, taking 86,321 whitetails, an increase of 889, from the 85,432 taken in 2012-13. Removing the bow numbers, then, means that some 28,000 fewer deer were taken by gun in 2013-14 than the season before.
Whether the overall decline continues next season might depend on whether conditions are favorable for hunting because proposed bag limits for 2014-15 by the Ohio Wildlife Council calls for a reduction in 44 of the state’s 88 counties (this only sets the stage for next year's headline: reduction in bag limits leads to reduction in harvest), with five counties seeing a proposed increase in the number of deer taken and 39 counties remaining at their 2013-14 levels.
Among the counties that will see bag limits decreased from four deer to three in 2014-15 if proposals are enacted are nine of the top 10 counties with the most deer checked this season. That list includes three central Ohio counties — Licking, Muskingum and Knox.
Among the other proposed changes are a tweaking of the deer muzzleloader season from Friday, Jan. 2 to Monday, Jan. 5, a change from the Saturday to Tuesday season this year. Also, the wildlife division has proposed the use of pistol ammunition in rifles for deer hunting.
Hunters and other interested parties can comment on these proposals and regulations at open houses at seven state locations from noon to 3 p.m. on Saturday, March 1 and online at wildohio.com through March 2.
outdoors@dispatch.com
A look at some of the numbers comparing the 2013-14 deer hunt with that of 2012-13:
Total kill
2013-14191,459
2012-13218,910
Gun
2013-1475,408
2012-1386,964
Muzzleloader
2013-1416,464
2012-1321,555
Early muzzleloader (antlerless)
2013-145,608
2012-13Not held
Youth gun
2013-146,645
2012-139,178
Two-day bonus gun
2013-14Not held
2012-1314,365
Archery
2013-1486,321
2012-1385,432
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I saw that article too. I couldn't bring myself to post it. Glad you did, enjoyed your narrative. 
I saw that article too. I couldn't bring myself to post it. Glad you did, enjoyed your narrative.
I don't know why, but this scene keeps coming to mind...
[video=youtube;5LN23qErZDM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LN23qErZDM[/video]
Big_Holla
Senior Member
Well, that about confirms it for me....maybe the Michigan DNR is now doing a better job than the ODNR, at least they can admit when deer populations are down and not blame this crap on the weather. To think I always had high regards for the ODNR in the past, a lot of you warned me LOL!!
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I USED to have a great deal of faith in the ODOW. Somewhere around 1998, they started doing really stupid things. Coincidentally, Mike Tonkovich started at his position in 1995... The people I once had a great deal of faith in have long since retired. These clowns are surviving on the reputation of their predecessors.
LOL that's Tonk and Zody.Sure would like to see these two resign.They have no clue.
What a load of BS. Myself along with a few others on here had no problem hunting on that Monday and Tuesday of muzzleloader. I killed a nice doe on Tuesday. Weather my ass.
Joel
Senior Member
So you're saying that bitter cold and wind on the last two days of muzzleloader had zero effect on whether guys hunted or not? Hahaha.... Hilarious man. I'm happy for you and anyone else who was dedicated enough to hunt through that shit, but I bet the majority said fuck it and went to work.
Come on. We had perfect weather most of the season. I can see why you want to be an apologist for the ODNR but accepting their weather theory is pure rose colored glasses. The last two days of muzzy has such a low kill it doesn't come close to any real effect in numbers.
Fullbore
Senior Member
Huckleberry Finn
Senior Member
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Exactly!
The DOW just ticks me off with their BS ... they actually think we are dumb enough to buy that crap. Sadly, enough probably are.
Milo
Tatonka guide.
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Yeah but what about the wildlife council? Surely they are smart enough ...(tongue and cheek btw)