Wat happen to the two weekends?

[Boar]

Was it 8 years sgo they changed from the two weekends to a 9 day season? was it to maintain harvest levels where they wanted it to be?. Long time ago an i can remember. I myself would prefer the two an four day weekends back, MAYBE. I like the fact that I/we can hunt durring the week, take time off when most arnt in the woods. Sounds like thru the post the state lands is packed so id assume it gives elbow room there too. I remeber that wen it was split seasons it gave the deer a chance to relax an the second weekend wasnt as hard to hunt, For me anyway, by the second weekend they ar shot to sh it an move very little. Im not ranting, just curious. 9 days to hunt is great an as it gets harder ya hunt harder no biggie. What are your thoughts on the 9 days VS the two weekend seasons. Did they just make it a level playing feild across the state then manage each zone due to harvest levels? Justcurious

[MJ1657]

I like the 9 day season.

I like to sit in my stand for the evening hunt during the week. Honestly not real concerned if I shoot a deer just find it very relaxing.

[mabr]

Boy did you leave that one wide open for Muskybuck. He will be all over this LOL.

I like it. In our area the mid week pressure is very light so it doesn't effect me that much. I also like the idea of getting in a stand midweek if time allows.

What I didn't like about the previous A B season was unless you had a sportsman's license You were stuck with whichever season you picked. Could be a terrible weekend weather wise and you were screwed. It also made alot of guys panic and shoot whatever they seen as they only had a few days. whereas now you know you have more time and can be picky.

[Musky Buck]

lol mabr you got it lol, honestly, honestly, I think the old zone 4 allowed more and some better deer to make it through the season to the next, it allowed for more sorta sanctuary areas after some groups were done 1st weekend which helped the buck structure in my area, but in my other area zone 4 or 2 doesn't matter as much as we all practice go/grow and the little bucks are only shot at by the rookies if they're lucky enough to get that chance, there's the most muzzy pressure in the state in zone 240 which they only get is it 500-600 deer but that's quite a few pregnant does, future bucks, and bucks that would've survived the old format. Sure zone 2 is added pressure, but the deer are smart and learn to go heavy nocturnal. I went and talked to all surrounding groups for the 1st time ever and gave them all the lecture their grand dads would've given them, all but 1 group agreed that things got out of hand around here the past 4 years or so, I went pointing my finger right at one lady and told her "you need to quit shooting everything that walks" boy was she taken back, I said you've shot 4,2,and 3 deer in three years, that's 9 the limit was 2 last year 1 this year and you party tag if you tag at all, she was quite red in the face, no 1 there denied what I said I just told them here is how everyone is hunting around here, no need to worry about the neighbors, anyway we finally all know who is where and what we're all up 2, 3 of the 5 groups decided our deer numbers are to low and they are backing off harvest wise, it was a great weekend to finally take the time and get many of us on the same page, it will help our future around there and there won't be such a competitive nature about all the hunters so zone 2 is going to improve our area because we all know what the deal is, most thanked me for going around and sharing what we're all doing and with wolves, what was harvested etc. etc. etc. Can you believe it mabr I went and took the road I should've traveled years back, and called out some of the shoot everything in our neighborhood people, many of them had a different tune as they didn't see much of anything this year. It was really good for our area and I come in peace really was my opening line, just talked deer with the crew(s), deer will recover nicely around there in time. My pendulum is swinging for zone 2 more now for sure.

[Musky Buck]

Cmon mabr get out of the stand and report lol, instead of bellyaching about it and having dropped a good buck Thursday night ending my season, I finally had the time to pull up and down driveways talking to many people I actually know or didn't know near noon when most weren't out, it's just we're so in our own world during deer season and then Thanksgiving hits and then ice fishing and x-mas, it was great and I'm going to try to help make zone 2 work for all of us better in our area, I didn't try to change anybody, I was smart to listen first talk 2nd and we discussed archery,rifle,muzzy and wintering herd etc. Now no 1 in the couple sections wonders about the others, great discussions went on and a few stories were shared, tagging, buying bonus permits, you name it and only the lady and her group were a bit touchy, but they know that we all know now and those days of piling them up are over in our area that we "share". So many agreed that yes if you shoot it you tag it or let it walk, zone 2 will have me onboard now, it just took the time to do what should've been done years earlier.

[CaptainMusky]

MuskyBuck, I dont know you, but if you would have came up to my wife (or me) as you suggest pointing fingers in her (or my) face you might be picking your teeth up off the floor.

I understand your intentions about passing along a message about safe harvest levels and leading to QDMA, but it sure sounds like you are trying to push your ethics upon someone else even though you say otherwise. I may be going out on a limb here, but I suspect you are not a biologist or a game warden so you have ZERO authority.

Party hunting is legal in MN, so if one person shoots multiple deer and they are tagged by them (if bonus tags available) or other members of the party no foul.

If you suspect otherwise, call the DNR and have them hash it out. No reason for you to be judge and jury. Thats their job.

Regardless of what YOU want to accomplish, that doesnt mean others in your area share the same goal. If they are following the rules they shouldnt have to apologize to anyone for harvesting a deer as the law allows.

Off my soapbox. On a side note my 11 year old son bagged his first deer. A nice mature spike. I bet that chaps your hide musky buck. He isnt going to nor will I apologize for him not passing up this deer.

[hockeybc69]

Boy MB,,,, lecturing, finger pointing, and basically bullying to get your point across???

Man, I hope you dont show up at our farm cuz your going to find my size 10 kicking your butt off the land before you get two words in...

I understand the frustration in things, but quite the tactics to make your point....

.... and quite honestly you must be one helluva salesmen if you talked 2 or 3 groups into changing the way they hunt in a single meeting...

[jay83196]

I agree with previous two posts if someone came up to our camp lecturing, pointing fingers about what we shoot we would have all sent you packing, your entitled to your opinion but there is a right and wrong way to deal with people...learn the right way you might get more respect and better results. I guarantee you walked away and they all were saying what an %$& hole, and nothing changed despite what they said to your face!

[Todd Caswell]

Next year send me a PM befor season, I'll give you directions to our camp, you might find yourself hung up next to the spikes and forky's till monday.

[Todd Caswell]

I agree with previous two posts if someone came up to our camp lecturing, pointing fingers about what we shoot we would have all sent you packing, your entitled to your opinion but there is a right and wrong way to deal with people...learn the right way you might get more respect and better results. I guarantee you walked away and they all were saying what an %$& hole, and nothing changed despite what they said to your face!

No kidding they were all just agreeing to get rid of the A Hole

[mabr]

I'm in no way defending Muskybuck as I wasn't there. But I'm certain I'm not the only one who agrees with him to some degree. The reason for my earlier statement on MB getting in on this thread, He has been voicing his displeasure with the new season for as long as I can remember reading his posts. Guys if you have been on here long enough and read his posts you have to feel his pain. We all LOL when we read it again whenever it comes up as it does every year.

MB correct me if im wrong but based on what I remember reading, your complaints over the years is you have, what you believe are people filling other GHOST hunters tags. The wife who has never touched a gun, the brother-in law mother in-law etc etc. We all know it happens but it's very hard to prove. Its been happening on and around his family's farm and based on what I remember they have been hunting it alot longer than the people he is frustrated with. Again only based on what he has said on here. It sounds like they shoot deer off his land by being on the property line shooting onto his land and dragging them back real quick, also shooting after legal shooting time has been brought up in the past if Im not mistaken. As far as calling the CO, how many really think this is going to work when its your word against theirs. I may very well be wrong but i think he has said they have called the CO in the past but it never resulted in any positive results.

I think he handled it similar to how i would have instead of getting the law involved and causing bitter feelings for who knows how long. And if you read his post again, It sounds like he didn't go in there guns a blazing, instead he says he listened then spoke. As for the woman, I feel the same as others have said. I doubt its going to make much of a difference to someone like MB has portrayed her in his post but who knows maybe her own group has expressed the same feelings to her in the past and it might make a difference. As for pointing his finger in her face, Maybe a little over board on that if it is the case.

[SpitnArgueDuckClub*]

As far as calling the CO, how many really think this is going to work when its your word against theirs. I may very well be wrong but i think he has said they have called the CO in the past but it never resulted in any positive results.

Keep calling in any suspicious activity as it only takes one time for the CO to catch the group reported to change the activities of that group forever. Better yet one idea to consider if your a land owner in the same boat having neighbors that are hunting / shooting over the fencelines invite the local CO to hunt your land. If the CO can't contact the local Sheriffs office and invite a deputy or two to hunt. Make it known to the neighbors that any trespassers will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and that the local CO or sheriffs deputies will be hunting on your place.

[Boar]

well this wasnt what I expected, didnt knoe it was a nerv topic. sorry, I got MB type neighbors here to. Just curious why it changed. I can understand deer allowed due to harvest levelsb but the entire season? Should this be reomved or can we play nice, didnt mean to open the worm can.

[pikerliker]

I love the 9 day season. I like it for various reasons but the main one is I mostly hunt public land and I can get away during the week to hunt a less crowded WMA, state forest, etc. My 2 cents.

[nonteepical]

I hunt 240 and i swear i'm the only one hunting during the week. Alot of locals hunting parties still pick the weekend they get to hunt the family farm pretty much still doing it like it was before.

[Meat-Run]

A couple reasons I like 9 days is the fact you get more time to hunt, less mid week pressure, there's less "brown-it's-down" with more days to harvest your deer and hold out for a mature deer. I think it's about perfect for my hunting season.

MR

[RumRiverRat]

Oh wise Musky Buck,

A little less pointing fingers in the face of women and a little less of the Holier Than Thou attitude would be much appreciated.

I am going to go throw up now, Musky Buck's post made me very ill.

[CaptainMusky]

If you think "ghost" tags is only impacting your area you are foolish. Unless the dnr figures out a way to catch people in the act of it its not going to change. Perhaps rule out party hunting or verify that every license holder has a firearm safety certificate on file or something. The 9 day season hasn't changed ANY of the actions of people who see loopholes in the rules. They will still shoot into his land or have ghost licenses so I fail to see the correlation there.

[hockeybc69]

I am not a fan of the 9 day season compared to the split zone 4 we had prior.

There were 3 choices in zone 4 for firearm.

1. First season 2 days

2. Second season 4 days

3. All season license which allowed people to hunt both seasons.

That structure had pressure divided across two weekends and a small percentage of people utiiized the all season license that would allow them to hunt both weekends.

With the zone 2 structure, everyone can hunt both weekends if they want. And surely opening weekend alone has gotten much more pressure with the zone 2 change.

Example 2004

4A - 73,000 hunters

4B - 37,000 hunters

All season sales statewide - 46,000

Making an assumption on how many of those all season license holders hunted in zone 4.

Roughly 7% of license sales were all-season tags.

Simple math says that means about 7,000 people had all-season tags in zone 4... And those people could hunt both weekends. But no all of those people hunted both weekends. Some people probably bought the license so they could hunt all seasons, rather than intent to hunt just both weekends for gun season.

Roll forward to the present.

Now hunters dont have to choose, and can hunt either weekend or both weekends if they like.

Sure, not everyone hunts both weekends. But there are surely many that do, and the numbers of hunters in the woods on just opening weekend I would guess is far higher now that people dont have to choose 1st or 2nd season.

[fishadb]

I myself like the 9 day season, my favorite way to hunt is to make drives and I get a couple buddies to take off a day off work during the week. If we make drives on the weekend there is always a pickup or two sitting on the road watching to see if we chase anything out. And another gripe I have is just cause people drive a hundred miles from home and come out here to the sticks, does not make it ok to throw beer cans out every half mile, how would you like it if I came to where you lived and littered your street with trash. Not saying anyone on here is doing that, but it really makes me mad.

[hockeybc69]

Quote:

And another gripe I have is just cause people drive a hundred miles from home and come out here to the sticks, does not make it ok to throw beer cans out every half mile,

Give me a break. I drive 125 miles to our place and end up picking up cr@p too... How the heck do you know its out of towners vs the local stand up citizens?

In fact someone dumped chunks from a cement foundation from a building in our woods along the road. I would be quite certain someone didnt haul them up there on a car trailer from the cities....

Ridiculous accusations...

[bigbucks]

My guess is the majority of beer cans found a long the road come from kids, but again that's just an assumption. Whoever does it, it's not right.

Going from zone 4 to 2 is great as far as I'm concerned. I've gotten to spend a lot more time hunting with my brother & we've gotten to hunt all of the places we always wanted to try, but didn't have time to try before. Lots of them are duds, but it's still fun. It has also made most of our party more selective. The guys that used to buy the all season license still hunt the whole season, the guys that just bought one weekend licenses before pretty much just hunt one weekend. As a whole we do way less drives then we used to, because it's no fun to go to your stand on the woods that was just driven & you know there aren't any deer in there. We hunt the wind during gun season way more than we ever used to because we have the option.