Ohio deer population
- Thread starter Steelheadtracker
- Start date
Issued permits isn't the problem. It's the untagged deer shot and left o rot and not tagged that's the issue. Gut punch a few here and there and let them wonder to the neighbors to die or back into the woods and never tag them. That's a bigger problem then the ones that actually get tagged. Or shoot that good buck at night with spotlight and rifle and cut his head off and leave it lay to rot. Your suppose to turn over antlers to the DNR but do you think any of the good bucks are getting turned over? Hell no, those skulls are hanging in the barn or basement.
- 39,125
- 274
Bingo. They don't tag every deer they shoot. Either by wounding or on purpose. They just want to hit them and typically shoot until they don't see deer anymore. The permit just allows them to be out there legally with a rifle at night. Long as they have one tag in their pocket they can shoot until they run out of ammo or deer. The same as if you went hunting and shot a deer but never bothered to go look for it. You'd never tag one unless it dropped within sight. You could shoot 20 in a season and still have that one tag in your pocket.
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I'm in SW Ohio, and I can promise you, 20 years ago we had 2x as many deer. That isn't just me remembering things through rose-colored glasses, it's fact as proven by the ODOW harvest stats. We killed 600 deer then, <300 now...and that is with the addition of Sunday hunting, youth gun season, muzzleloaders that go off when the trigger is pulled and are accurate to 200 yds, and far better archery gear with more participants! I told Tonkovich personally that we had more deer in the mid-90's and he said "No way". I told him what his own stats said... I was right, he knows it.
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I see what you're saying. But I also understand that In 1972 the median household income was $8,400 and In 2012 it was $49,486
The argument of "It's still great hunting today because in 1972 the deer population was way lower" is like someone's boss cutting their pay by 60% and saying. "The pay is still great. I can remember 1972 when my family only made 8k a year."
Just because it's come a long way, or because it's better today than 52 years ago, doesn't justify making it worse than it was 20 years ago.
dante322
*Supporting Member*
Being here in Muskingum county since 1975 with 70 acres I witnessed a gradual increase of deer till the ODNR started allowing wholesale slaughter of the deer herd. As a youngun in the 60s I recall seeing corn standing weith foxtail weed in December and even Pheasants, Now I see acres upon acres barren of all growth to the point where it looks like a carpet, no wildlife cover left. I have seen as many as 20 deer in one day while hunting here in the past now I see perhaps 4 if I am lucky during a day of hunting. Hey I'll let the deer eat upon my land but I sure don't like big farm operations that rent land near me to take it upon their own to reduce deer buy shooting does in the early summer allowing the fawns to starve to increase their profit. After all with larger equipment, more chemicals than ever before they should have increased their profit dramatically.
yotehunter
Member
My problem with these spots that are off limits Phil is this. Next spring they will be the first one jumping up and down wanting nuisance tags. They don't let people hunt but then want them executed with a rifle and a spotlight and don't gives them the OK.
ajupsman
*Supporting Member*
Is there any kind of program that gives farmers a tax break or other financial concessions in exchange for allowing hunting access? My father in-law has his chunk of land in what is called current-use. He gets a huge break on his property tax by allowing recreational use of his land. He has to allow hiking, fishing and hunting to keep the discount. Now he still has the right to kick people off his land if they are not following his rules. Plus anyone who wants to use an ATV or hang a treestand has to get written permission. It's a pretty good deal. It allows him to keep all the land and still keeps it open for others to use.
ajupsman
*Supporting Member*
I would venture to say that you all 3 acres for every 1 we have that would fall under that exemption. Everything here has crops or a house for the most part. Any larger tracts that don't, are usually public ground. It's a great idea though.
ajupsman
*Supporting Member*
You're probably right but I wonder if an aggressive program like that would open up more land for hunting. Plus it would be better than allowing farmers to basically slaughter deer at will.
Joel
Senior Member
If I owned a big piece of land there is no way in hell I would allow public access to it just for a tax break.
dante322
*Supporting Member*
It's pretty simple really, "oh, you want 20 nuisance permits? We'll need copies of 10 signed permission slips" if 10 hunters can't remove 20 deer from a property that is so overrun with them, there's more of a problem than deer.
ajupsman
*Supporting Member*
Well if you are looking at owning 500 acres and paying 10k a year in property taxes or only 1k you'd probably think long and hard before turning down the offer. Not sure about Ohio but property taxes here are HIGH.
ajupsman
*Supporting Member*
True. When this happens, it is a problem. Not every farmer has kill permits, but those who do. . .