Expected worst Deer harvest in 20 years!

[PurpleFloyd]

Keep in mind it is almost one deer per hunter statewide. As opposed to the past few years where some zones were 5/hunter. Less available tags equals lower harvest numbers. I can only tag one deer this year, in 240, and I have yet to see or hear of wolves in a 30 mile radius of where we hunt. It's more harsh winters that do it, rather than wolves. But yes, wolves do take their toll.

Exactly. For years the vocal big buck hunters on the boards were telling others to leave the smaller bucks alone and fill the freezers with does. Many passes on yearling bucks yet went ahead and shot multiple does for sausage without a thought about what it could do to the population. After the cold winter last year there was a sudden(I mean like days) role reversal and a small group of hunters declared that suddenly the DNR was negligent because they allowed hunters to do what they were asking to do all along and that they needed to be audited for it. So they listened, reduced the number if tags available in order to reduce the harvest to make that group happy again and now, after getting the antlerless harvest reduction they asked for, they are complaining because fewer deer will be shot.

[smsmith]

they are complaining because fewer deer will be shot.

Don't know who you're referring to. I am very happy with the reduction in antlerless tags, and so is everybody else that I communicate with. It is the correct move on the DNR's part.

What I am still complaining about is that the reduction in antlerless tags should have happened a few years ago. The model and data inputs the DNR uses did not ring the necessary warning bells for some reason. Many of us would like to know why, and what can be done to prevent it from happening again.

[laker1]

I know one guy a few years ago shot 9 deer himself,via party hunting. The question is why? Like excessive deer killing by a rare wolf killing more than they can eat.

[mntatonka]

I know one guy a few years ago shot 9 deer himself,via party hunting. The question is why? Like excessive deer killing by a rare wolf killing more than they can eat.

how many did the rest of his party shoot? And how many people did he share that meat with?

I know people that shot AND tagged 8 a couple of times in our area, but we're also a unique area.

[Beast26]

I know one guy a few years ago shot 9 deer himself,via party hunting. The question is why? Like excessive deer killing by a rare wolf killing more than they can eat.

Rare wolf killing? LOL That right there is funny. 80% of the wolf diet is deer. According to most things I have read a single wolf eat 10-18 deer a year depending on who you ask. Hardly rare. If we have 2400 wolves that adds up to 24,000 - 43,000 deer per year. BTW I personally still believe we have more than 2400 in MN. Their home range has expanded dramatically in the last few years and is within spitting distance of the Twin Cities.

[delcecchi]

Don't know who you're referring to. I am very happy with the reduction in antlerless tags, and so is everybody else that I communicate with. It is the correct move on the DNR's part.

What I am still complaining about is that the reduction in antlerless tags should have happened a few years ago. The model and data inputs the DNR uses did not ring the necessary warning bells for some reason. Many of us would like to know why, and what can be done to prevent it from happening again.

Apparently the DNR failed to properly forecast the winter weather the last few years. What you said reminds me of what Will Rogers said about how to make money in the stock market. "buy a good stock and when it goes up sell it. If it doesn't go up, don't buy it. "

[FISHINGURU]

I'm predicting a nice harvest down here in SE MN.

Numbers will be down because of the simple fact they are only letting you shoot 1 deer but that's about it.

[Jameson]

...Apparently the DNR failed to properly forecast the winter weather the last few years....

Don't know about that, but they did fail to react to the severe winter/spring weather of two years ago that happened after the ideal hunting conditions and abundant deer harvest of 2012.

[SmellEsox]

Apparently the DNR failed to properly forecast the winter weather the last few years. What you said reminds me of what Will Rogers said about how to make money in the stock market. "buy a good stock and when it goes up sell it. If it doesn't go up, don't buy it. "

The herd was well in decline prior to the last two severe winters.

[PurpleFloyd]

Things look pretty normal around here. We have fewer doe tags than normal but have lots of our kids at an age where they can still harvest a doe.

The wind was ridiculous today so the deer were holding tight and not moving but once we started doing drives we found them. Lots of does and a few bucks. The best part was all 4 deer we harvested today were taken by someone under 17.

[BRULEDRIFTER]

I always love how PF chimes in declaring how great the deer herd is near his place and therefore all is well and DNR done good.

I guess since PF has tons of deer then they must be thick throughout the whole state. What in the heck am I doing wrong.....???

[PurpleFloyd]

I always love how PF chimes in declaring how great the deer herd is near his place and therefore all is well and DNR done good.

I guess since PF has tons of deer then they must be thick throughout the whole state. What in the heck am I doing wrong.....???

Being whiny maybe?

You post is interesting though. There are pages and pages of people in a few areas of the central part of the state who have been very eager to tie their hunting experiences to the state as a whole and project their particular hunting situation to the state at large by asking for audits and restrictions that impact the whole state and yet you say absolutely nothing to any of them yet when a fellow hunter states that their area looks pretty good without mentioning the rest of the state at all you project that into them saying everything is right statewide? Never have I said the whole state was OK and never did I say there were no problems but don't let that get in the way of a good rant. Happy hunting.

[Siwulat]

This thread is comical. Good for a chuckle.

[delcecchi]

We had 4 bucks in the back yard the other day, been hanging around for the last few weeks or maybe more. One really like sunflower seeds. Licks them right out of the tube feeder. They ate the hostas right to the ground, but the frost was going to get them soon anyway.

Perhaps there is a locational difference. Have to see how my buddy in St Charles does.

[Jameson]

Wildlife feeders cause deer to unnaturally congregate. Removed the placed food to have a more apples to apples comparison with normal hunting conditions.

[jay83196]

The area I hunt in went from intensive harvest (5 deer!) for about 5 years,then 1 year hunters choice to this year being lottery (very few tags given might as well be buck only) that is simply ignorant mismanagement plain and simple.....5 to 1 in matter of couple years! Shoulda been management all those years and now we could be a hunters choice area and get to use our tags! Sure ultimately hunters were irresponsible and over harvest is largely to blame but that's why we have DNR, Police and rules in our society because people are selfish, irresponsible and need rules in place to control the balance!

Thanks DNR!! AND NOW the buck only areas are only creating smaller bucks so now we have less deer and the ones we have are smaller because every stupid deer with any reseblance of an antler that shows its face is toast and never growing up to be a 8 pt or better. Thanks again DNR!

[Jameson]

I wonder if this snowstorm actually created a very good opening weekend harvest. Could it be that the deer were really moving ahead of the storm much like fish go on a frenzy before a storm?

Now if we do get a foot of snow the harvest will likely really slow. A little snow and the harvest goes way up due to increased ability to see deer. A lot of snow and hunters have a hard time getting out there and harvest goes way down.

[hockeybc69]

Bring on the heavy snow, and a nice warm front in a few weeks to melt it all. Perfect!

[Getanet]

We got 2 bucks for 10 people opening weekend. Couldn't believe how much wolf scat was on the trail - first time I can remember seeing so much where we hunt.

Very unscientific report here, but the meat locker I drive by on my way home wasn't as empty as I was expecting based on reports of the deer herd being so low. There were more deer than last year. Still not as many as a typical year, but not too bad.

[gp13581]

Wolves have got to go. There are way more wolves than anyone can imagine. Deer are being forced into cities and roadways to get away from the wolves. We hunt north of mcgregor and there were numerous wolf sightings in multiple locations. You couldn't walk far without stepping on wolf dump. It was like walking in a dog park and guess what? No deer! It's time for the DNR to increase dramatically the wolf tags. I guarantee in the next two years well start seeing human/wolf attacks.

[Jameson]

Bring on the heavy snow, and a nice warm front in a few weeks to melt it all. Perfect!

What are the chances?

Our luck is that it would melt 80% and form a very hard impenetrable ice layer on everything.

[leech~~]

On our drive home last night from the Outing area, we did not see one Deer on a truck or trailer, not one. That is unheard of for an opening weekend ride home!

[jay83196]

We had a 4 hour drive saw 3 SMALL BUCKS (NEEDED TO GROW UP) we had 2 bucks out of 5 hunters sounds like we did well!

[ozzie]

we jumped a couple does yesterday sitting in swamps but other than that it was slow...this was the Princeton area and like mentioned saw 2 deer heading south last night. One doe and a small buck. On to the second weekend hunt

[Red Miller]

Looks like the weather is going from bad to worse. Its shaping up like (below zero) lows by the end of that week after this gale blows through. No sign of warming up on the 10-day forecast. Might be time to start looking at the ice fishing gear. Its going to be tough to hunt in that cold. I think this years hunt will be chalked up as a disaster. Mine is sure looking that way.