The harvest numbers are pretty sad

[Lundy]

 

[Buckmaster]

The numbers show what I've been seeing in the woods over the past few years. Was once 10+ deer per hunt is now 1-3, sometimes Zero.

 

[bowhunter1023]

If that ain't proof every body and their brother is a bow hunter, I don't know what is!

 

[brock ratcliff]

And the sad truth of the matter is, there are far more wounded per recovered with archery gear than guns. I wonder just how many lay dead in the woods due to arrows that are not accounted for. Percentage wise, I gotta believe it is much higher than with guns.

 

[huntn2]

45% of all counties fell by >10%....

 

[xbowguy]

Definitely sad.

 

[Lundy]

And the sad truth of the matter is, there are far more wounded per recovered with archery gear than guns. I wonder just how many lay dead in the woods due to arrows that are not accounted for. Percentage wise, I gotta believe it is much higher than with guns.

I used to get attacked for saying that here over the past few years

There is no doubt in my mind that is true.

 

[brock ratcliff]

Im not too worried about getting attacked This is why I wish bowhunter ed were mandatory in Ohio. It will never happen, but for the animal's sake, it would be nice!

 

[bowhunter1023]

Lundy, for me it wasn't what you said, but how you said it. I agree with the statement. Just easier to hear from a guy that has bow hunted since before I was born than from a guy who doesn't bow hunt. Just saying.

 

[Certified106]

Im not too worried about getting attacked This is why I wish bowhunter ed were mandatory in Ohio. It will never happen, but for the animal's sake, it would be nice!

Me to!!! I chewed out a 20 year old kid this year for not knowing what he was doing. Long story short he bought a crossbow and thought he had a rifle (shoot them anywhere and they die right). I was talking to him about halfway through October and he was telling me about his new bow and the fact that had shot 3 deer and never recovered a single one of them. All horrible shots in my opinion when he described them. I lit him up about it and said he needed to do a lot more research and get a better understanding of what a good shot is with a bow and when he should pass on a shot. He didn't appreciate it at all.

 

[Lundy]

Lundy, for me it wasn't what you said, but how you said it. I agree with the statement. Just easier to hear from a guy that has bow hunted since before I was born than from a guy who doesn't bow hunt. Just saying.

Well....I have 25 years bow hunting experience and pushing 80 dead deer from a bow from 5 different states. I used to shoot a bow a little, as Brock knows

 

[bowhunter1023]

Sounds like it, but that was news to me. Removes that "gun hunter only" tainted flavor from your opinion.

 

[Rastus]

It has become really bad. My group probably averaged 18-20 bucks per gun season in the late 90's -00's. This year we shot 4. Way too many does are being shot. I also believe the new call in tag system makes it way too easy to sneak a deer into the freezer and continue hunting on the same tag. Another big factor is the proliferation of coyotes in Ohio. Not enough people hunt them. I saw a series of trailcam pics last year showing them carrying new fawns back to one den 16 out of 21 consecutive days.

 

[hickslawns]

It has become really bad. My group probably averaged 18-20 bucks per gun season in the late 90's -00's. This year we shot 4. Way too many does are being shot. I also believe the new call in tag system makes it way too easy to sneak a deer into the freezer and continue hunting on the same tag. Another big factor is the proliferation of coyotes in Ohio. Not enough people hunt them. I saw a series of trailcam pics last year showing them carrying new fawns back to one den 16 out of 21 consecutive days.

I am sure you tried or considered, but. . . I believe this is a time period when I would be out hunting them, snaring/trapping them, or otherwise taking caring of business.

 

[Fluteman]

The check-in system is not the problem. A dishonest person is always gonna be dishonest, no matter how difficult it is to lie. What was gonna stop a person before from driving right past the check in station and heading on home, not tagging a deer? Nothing, it's just easier to place blame on the new tag system. This is not the problem, over harvesting of deer is the problem.

Honestly, I'd be inclined to believe that more people cheat the system now that the deer tags can be printed off the computer rather than the old colored deer tags you were issued at the store. Multiple copies can be made of the same tag, so if a dishonest hunter wanted to "temporarily" tag a deer with a spare copy, they could fill the tag out, making them "legal" until they got home, disposing of the tag and not tagging the deer online. To me, that is the bigger issue here with a dishonest hunters. If a ODNR officer was to stop this hunter on their way home, outside of the officer tagging the deer in for the hunter as a "courtesy," there is no way for that officer to know he's just gonna go home and dispose of the "spare" tag, not check the deer in.

IMO, there is no easy answer to solve Ohio's deer herd population. In most areas, bag limits need to be cut, but there needs to be more done than just reducing tag numbers. If coyotes are a problem, then that issue needs to be looked into. If the insurance agencies and FB have too much control over the DNR, then that needs to be addressed as well. Also, maybe it's time to look into crop damage permits and how they are issued. Get hunters involved with the "nuisance" problem, or you don't get the tags. I'm just not smart enough to know what a good path forward would be.

 

[Fluteman]

Also, I will add that if enough hunters are sick of the way the herd is being decimated, and our concerns are falling on deaf ears, then maybe it is time for us to start uniting and taking action on our own. If enough hunters get on the same page and start harvesting less deer (say one a year), we can make a difference. It may take longer than if the DNR was to get involved, but we can turn the numbers in our favor. The biggest problem is going to be convincing the people that don't care to cut back. Just because you can buy six tags doesn't mean you should harvest six deer...

 

[MK111]

That will work. But let's say you get 100 guys on TOO to join together but I rather doubt anyone outside of TOO will join in. It'll make not much of a difference state wide.
The state has to join the do the cutting back with less tags. In my mind the early ML season and PCR kills don't add up to much as most of those kills came from the gun season normal kills anyway. Or so I think so.
In the past I've been jumped on about research I've seen about unrecovered wounded deer so I'll pass on that one.

Also, I will add that if enough hunters are sick of the way the herd is being decimated, and our concerns are falling on deaf ears, then maybe it is time for us to start uniting and taking action on our own. If enough hunters get on the same page and start harvesting less deer (say one a year), we can make a difference. It may take longer than if the DNR was to get involved, but we can turn the numbers in our favor. The biggest problem is going to be convincing the people that don't care to cut back. Just because you can buy six tags doesn't mean you should harvest six deer...

 

[finelyshedded]

Also, I will add that if enough hunters are sick of the way the herd is being decimated, and our concerns are falling on deaf ears, then maybe it is time for us to start uniting and taking action on our own. If enough hunters get on the same page and start harvesting less deer (say one a year), we can make a difference. It may take longer than if the DNR was to get involved, but we can turn the numbers in our favor. The biggest problem is going to be convincing the people that don't care to cut back. Just because you can buy six tags doesn't mean you should harvest six deer...

DITTO.......Well said Flutie!

 

[Jackalope]

That will work. But let's say you get 100 guys on TOO to join together but I rather doubt anyone outside of TOO will join in. It'll make not much of a difference state wide.
The state has to join the do the cutting back with less tags. In my mind the early ML season and PCR kills don't add up to much as most of those kills came from the gun season normal kills anyway. Or so I think so.
In the past I've been jumped on about research I've seen about unrecovered wounded deer so I'll pass on that one.

You won't catch me jumping on you about wounded and unrecoverable deer. Over the years I've met many local hunters outside of TOO and gotten to know them. They were horrible shots and wounded deer left and right. A lot of the weekend warrior Bowhunters wound and lose deer. But the same can be said for shotgun only hunters who pick up a gun for one week a year. It goes both ways and adds up to a crap-ton of lost and unchecked deer.

 

[MK111]

http://www.ellsworthamerican.com/sports-outdoors-in-maine/losing-wounded-deer/
Recent article on the subject of wounded deer. In line with my past readings.

Eye opening reports on wounded deer studies. Believe it or not.

http://www.deerfriendly.com/deer-population-control/archery-wounded

You won't catch me jumping on you about wounded and unrecoverable deer. Over the years I've met many local hunters outside of TOO and gotten to know them. They were horrible shots and wounded deer left and right. A lot of the weekend warrior Bowhunters wound and lose deer. But the same can be said for shotgun only hunters who pick up a gun for one week a year. It goes both ways and adds up to a crap-ton of lost and unchecked deer.