More bucks than does harvested?

[00rowe]

Using the figures given to us by the dnr, we harvest more males than females. What is the future of our deer herd if this trend continues? Is there any concern for buck:doe ratios?

I realize we used to have a buck only season, I'm assuming that's because our overall population was much lower, I know that argument is going to be brought up.

I didn't see any breakdown of the age of bucks harvested, but I suppose since that doesn't matter to the majority of deer hunters it isn't important to the DNR.

Mike

[BobT]

When you register a deer they are not aged. The only information gathered at registration is sex and area harvested.

[B. Amish]

they ask if it was an adult or fawn too

[Musky Buck]

True and if they're there they'll check the teeth and age it for ya like they did for many years at Gene's in NYM.

[BobT]

Doesn't it take a certain amount of training to age a deer? I'm thinking that the 16-year old working at the local convenience store in most cases wouldn't know a yearling from a 3-year old any more than I would.

They don't age deer at a registration station. Somebody maybe offers their opinion but I would doubt any of them are certified to age a deer.

[LightningBG]

Doesn't it take a certain amount of training to age a deer? I'm thinking that the 16-year old working at the local convenience store in most cases wouldn't know a yearling from a 3-year old any more than I would.

They don't age deer at a registration station. Somebody maybe offers their opinion but I would doubt any of them are certified to age a deer.

Musky said "if they're there", as in If the DNR person is present, they will/may age them.

[Musky Buck]

What ? These are the best deer ager's in the state. I'm talking DNR folk, certified deer biologists that did this for many many years in New York Mills at the standard station maybe they still are but I haven't registered one there for quite some time. Sorry Bob I wasn't talking about the employee's at the gas station. The DNR would just park their truck their and check your kill. I'd say they aged at least 10 -12 for me, they always would let me guess first, in farm country it's pretty simple. 4 1/2 + isn't though. They would ask you though first if you are planning on mounting the buck, otherwise they had to cut through the cheek part to get at those back teeth which would kinda ruin the cape. So I had to ok it so they could get the info.

[Musky Buck]

And that's where I got the steer to Madelia MN. The DNR said if I'm not here when you come and your curious, just mail the jaw portion to the address in Madelia and they'll send you an age verification, not sure if they still do as it's been a few years back now as well. Now being an older hunter, I'm usually fairly certain as to the age of the buck I sometimes get since I shoot no yearling bucks and 75% of the 2.5 year olds are safe as well, it's just 3.5 or older. I really liked them aging them as a youngster, learned a lot.

[BobT]

What ? These are the best deer ager's in the state. I'm talking DNR folk, certified deer biologists that did this for many many years in New York Mills at the standard station maybe they still are but I haven't registered one there for quite some time. Sorry Bob I wasn't talking about the employee's at the gas station. The DNR would just park their truck their and check your kill. I'd say they aged at least 10 -12 for me, they always would let me guess first, in farm country it's pretty simple. 4 1/2 + isn't though. They would ask you though first if you are planning on mounting the buck, otherwise they had to cut through the cheek part to get at those back teeth which would kinda ruin the cape. So I had to ok it so they could get the info.

Yeah, I missed the "if they're there" part. My mistake.

[candiru]

Of course more bucks were taken. About half the state was lottery areas. With some af them very restrictive and only a few youth antlerless permits available. There may be even more lottery areas next year. Alot of people don't have the option of shooting a doe.

It might have been different a few years ago when most everyone was in a multiple deer area or had an all-season license. Before that period more bucks would have been shot than does. It is nothing new.

[00rowe]

That's my point, whether it's trail cam pics or shining alfalfa fields in late summer, there's at least 20:1 does to bucks. So when bucks are already far outnumbered why are we continuing to shoot more bucks than does? Doesn't that make the buck:doe ratio worse? Does it even matter to anyone?

About the buck age, I've registered a few deer, I know they don't check, but shouldn't we be doing more survey's to get a better idea on what the age structure of the buck herd is? My observations would lead me to believe about 60% yearlings, 35% 2 year olds, and the remaining 5% older. These numbers are for area 214 and eastern 240. Although more QDM is taking hold in 240 (around Parkers Prairie), its seems more nicer deer are coming out of that area.

Mike

[BobT]

That might be a good idea but it costs money. If our DNR is already strapped financially, where would the money come from to train and monitor the registration stations to that degree?

[Musky Buck]

Hear ya Bob, it would be a good way to determine state wide the age of the deer herd. But, we all know it's been shifting younger and younger for the most part, ask the butchers and ask the hunters what they're seeing. People that have enough acreage can have the room for some to get older if they have decent deer holding cover. Otherwise, it's a lot of waxing off the fawn crop as they'll be 1.5's soon enough, those will be the adult deer to many come this fall.

[vister]

That wide doe to buck ratio is why the dnr allowed up to five deer to be shot of which four were antlerless. For the if it's brown it's down crowd that was great. But at the same time, how many of those antlerless deer were nubbin bucks? So it didn't really help bucks out, but it knocked down the deer population

the dnr can only do so much. If we hunters want to take it a step further, we have to take it upon ourselves to be conscious about what we are shooting at. Afterall as hunters, we have way more ideas and opinions than officials behind their desks.

I hear ya on the quality of deer in eastern 240 though!! I believe a perfect imaginary line is 10 miles east and west of the Todd/ottertail county line, and 10 miles north and south of county 24 in Todd co. This has a lot to do with the wing/leaf river systems, diverse terrain, and abundance of agricultural and safe cover. Maybe I think this because those imaginary crosshairs zero in on the family farm, or really close anyways.

Either way, if you're doing your part on management, then thumbs up to you!! Unfortunately, I fear 240 is on the verge of going lottery. That wouldn't be good at all. All the zones south of us are. And with deer numbers I see out of the stand, I'd say we should be intensive harvest

[Musky Buck]

It's that hunting 240 since 1983 that spoiled me, my uncles and myself with a lot of legit 200 pound+ bucks, year after year. It's all about pressure, there was so much unhunted land helping mature those bucks back then, now nearly every acre is hunted or driven out, lot less of that back in the 3 day bucks only of 1983 or the 2 day or 4 day, a lot less bow, no muzzy pressure, that's why it was great.

[00rowe]

Improve the deer herd = demand for licenses = higher nonresident licenses = more revenue and happier residents. Not to mention an increase in nonresidents brings in more money for local businesses. I'm just a common sense blue collar guy though, makes too much sense.

Mike