Your Zone, Observations, & Mgmt Opinion

[Paradice]

Most everyone should have had some time in the deer arena by now.  Interested to know where everyone hunted, what you observed (numbers, age, wolves, buck quality, hunter density etc) and what you think of your zone regs (too loose, too tight etc). 

We hunt 172.  There are glimmers of hope in a few adult does seen.  Also saw a few fawns made it thru first weekend.  Not many gray deer though.  Mostly young.  Lots of hunting pressure in our area.  I would venture to guess there is about 1 hunter for every 8 acres on the private land around our area.  Not all at the same time of course, but there is a large number of people trying to take deer off very small pieces of property.  Also had meth-head dogs running through our place over a half mile away from their home.  I'm not talking labs or something cuddly.  Large, fast, aggressive dogs.  I'm not good with breeds. 

My management opinion:  Shut down antlerless for one season.  No carve outs.  Between crossbows and kid tags, there are many that were not drawn for doe permits that will still harvest does and fawns.  I know it's in the math already, but we have alarmingly high pressure in our area.

[monstermoose78]

Most everyone should have had some time in the deer arena by now.  Interested to know where everyone hunted, what you observed (numbers, age, wolves, buck quality, hunter density etc) and what you think of your zone regs (too loose, too tight etc). 

We hunt 172.  There are glimmers of hope in a few adult does seen.  Also saw a few fawns made it thru first weekend.  Not many gray deer though.  Mostly young.  Lots of hunting pressure in our area.  I would venture to guess there is about 1 hunter for every 8 acres on the private land around our area.  Not all at the same time of course, but there is a large number of people trying to take deer off very small pieces of property.  Also had meth-head dogs running through our place over a half mile away from their home.  I'm not talking labs or something cuddly.  Large, fast, aggressive dogs.  I'm not good with breeds. 

My management opinion:  Shut down antlerless for one season.  No carve outs.  Between crossbows and kid tags, there are many that were not drawn for doe permits that will still harvest does and fawns.  I know it's in the math already, but we have alarmingly high pressure in our area.

Just because you have a crossbow does not mean you get a doe tag!! All archers get doe tags unless it is bucks only and the youth having doe tags is a good thing, so what if a kid takes a doe I bet that kid never forgets it. I know many kids who could shoot does but chose to only shoot 3 year old bucks or better.

[ANYFISH2]

I bow hunt 214 and 248.  One managed and one HC.  I believe both can handle a managed designations, At this point. 

I rifle hunt 246, it is lottery with 1000 permits.  I think HC is ideal here going forward, deer numbers SEEM well on a rebound.  Another  year of lotto with like say 2000 permits would ideal for next season, I say this because my area of public may not represent all of 246.

[ESSGuy]

I posted my opinion already, east part of 183 in Nemadji forest is real bleak this year. My dad saw first deer today his 8th day in woods. Couldn't get shot at it.5 deer and 5 wolves seen in 8 days. I think we need more hunting pressure to move the deer around, so I'm hoping more of you guys come hunt this area.Remember, it's not the wolves, it's been the poor weather and the wind that hurts harvest. There is no question in my mind that the winter of 2013 and the healthy predators took a huge bite out of this area.

[mrklean]

I hunt in 242 I think the storms from early in the year did more damage then anything it was a complete mess in our woods and we never went up before season to clean up (our fault).  Personally it was a bad year for me only saw 3 deer all bucks a nub, spike and fork horn.  My father in law and another in our group saw tons of doe so there is hope.  We took 2 bucks between 4 of us.

[smsmith]

215, saw more bucks than does (not complaining), shot a 7 pt., 2.5 year old last Sunday a.m.  This unit is Managed, while there are more deer here now than there was last year or the year before I do not believe we should have gone to Managed this year.  One more year of Hunter Choice combined with a mild-moderate winter and we would have been in pretty decent shape.  My hope is that a lot of hunters here decided the DNR was clueless and didn't pull the trigger on does.  Only time will tell I suppose.

[reinhard1]

I hunt area 180.  The last two years were tough as far as even seeing deer.  This year we seen lot's of doe's and no bucks.  We did get 3 doe permits this year because we are Lottery.  We ended up with two nice does.  In our camp where we used to hear wolves every night, now this year, we heard none.  Our friends have a land 4 miles from us and they have heard wolves.  Hopefully this is a good sign that the heard is growing,  At our friends land they had one doe tag and filled it.  They have seen at least 12 adult does and seen yearlings as well.   I also have a buddy who hunts 180 and hasn't seen a thing.  So I look at this year as a positive in general.  good luck.

[Boar]

My observations were, plenty of deer, in 257, but I cant give any real opinion on a seson where  its far abouve normal weather patterns. 

[rkhinrichs]

I hunt 213 and this year it is  Hunters Choice! one more year would be great

[Paradice]

Just because you have a crossbow does not mean you get a doe tag!! All archers get doe tags unless it is bucks only and the youth having doe tags is a good thing, so what if a kid takes a doe I bet that kid never forgets it. I know many kids who could shoot does but chose to only shoot 3 year old bucks or better.

I didn't mean to insinuate that kids don't have any harvest control.  There's just some system gaming in my neighborhood that is enabling some to get doe tags and extra tags that otherwise weren't awarded one.  Frankly I think the millenials and younger are going to be the ones that save this thing in the beat down neighborhoods like mine. 

When the kids in our family start hunting, their first couple deer will be whatever they want.  But if they don't fill their own tags, those tags go unfilled.  No leaving them on the table at camp. 

[Jeff13]

Zone 246- public

We had 3 doe permits with 5 guys.

We used one doe permit and tagged 2 small 1.5 basket rack bucks.

We saw a total of 18 deer in 2 days on stand, passed numerous does and spikes/4 pointers.

I have hunted this area for 22 years and we have seen more deer the last two seasons than ever before.

the surrounding private land is crawling with deer as well, there's no wolves, and I'd up the permits or go H/C next year.

[Farmsfulltime]

Area 225 and plenty of deer , never was a lack as winter isn't a factor here , more likely this area going from intensive to hunters choice was political by the DNR to appease some , Thoughts this area will go managed 2016 and once again the average hunter will not take more than one . In a year or so we could easily be back to intensive and early doe seasons again .

[sportfish]

area 222 /221  we saw deer but not like it use to be . We had some doe permits but didn't use any . I shot a 2.5 y 8 point and 2  young bucks were shot also in 222 and the other 221 property we shot none , and saw very little .  But may be leaving the does alone and with a warm winter next year will be better ! I didn't hear the shots like normal so I think other had simalar luck 

[sportfish]

area 222 /221  we saw deer but not like it use to be . We had some doe permits but didn't use any . I shot a 2.5 y 8 point and 2  young bucks were shot also in 222 and the other 221 property we shot none , and saw very little .  But may be leaving the does alone and with a warm winter next year will be better ! I didn't hear the shots like normal so I think other had simalar luck 

[sportfish]

area 222 /221  we saw deer but not like it use to be . We had some doe permits but didn't use any . I shot a 2.5 y 8 point and 2  young bucks were shot also in 222 and the other 221 property we shot none , and saw very little .  But may be leaving the does alone and with a warm winter next year will be better ! I didn't hear the shots like normal so I think other had simalar luck 

[roony]

Area 230, I've seen lots of does and their fawns, almost at nuisance levels.  Bucks are pretty scarce and I haven't had a shot at one.  We are a Hunter's Choice zone and I think that what we should be again next year. 

[Neighbor_guy]

It is my personal opinion and only my opinion that no zone in the state should do any further than hunters choice. If the overall herd can be to the point where any hunter can take ONE deer a year with the weapon of their choice then let's do it. 

 

That said I hunt on the extreme western edge of 157. About a mile or so south of Onamia. We were lottery this year. I saw a doe last weekend and a buck chased a doe across the highway from zone 2 across our fields into the swamp willows as we were loading the truck last night. 

We do have a heavy population of coyotes and wolves passing through as well. The coyotes decimated our fawns and we ended up with 100% mortality no fawns made it through to fall. No fawns on our trail cameras past early July. 

We have hunted 2years without taking an animal and numbers continue to fall. A neighbor to the south of us (who won't be hunting for the next few seasons) took full advantage of the liberal doe permits and with the help of some bait, he, his wife, his kid, and his friend "each" took all the deer they were allowed. Funny how they could do that from home.?.?.? Taking an average of 15deer per season off his property. (40 acres)Thankfully the DNR took notice. (After several phone calls) but damage done. 

Just because the DNR says we can take that many deer doesn't mean we should. Ultimately it's up to us as hunters as stewards of the land we hunt to know what the property can and can't handle as far as harvest goes. 

I still have another full week to hunt. I'm not sure I should even consider it or take the shot if a buck presents itself. I'm not sure the population on the land I hunt can handle it. 

[ESSGuy]

Saw wolf number 6 this morning, big dark gray beast. If we get back to a season we will do pretty good on them. I guess one plus to the wolves is that they keep the coyotes in check. I believe the dnr estimates the statewide wolf population at around 3500?, so we must be incredibly unlucky to have 6 in our square mile hunting area. Total of 1 mature buck and 5 does for the year, none taken.

[JIvers]

347. Plenty of deer. Hunter's Choice again in 2015.

I see no reason we can't go up to Managed for 2016, especially with what looks to be a historically mild winter this year.

[JIvers]

"It is my personal opinion and only my opinion that no zone in the state should do any further than hunters choice. If the overall herd can be to the point where any hunter can take ONE deer a year with the weapon of their choice then let's do it."

The southeast corner of the State, Zone 3, has too many deer as it is. To the east of us in Houston and Winona counties taking five deer per person is working fine. Adopting a one-sizes-fits-all approach and reducing us to one deer per hunter makes every bit as much sense as allowing anyone hunting anywhere in the state to take up to five deer each: none.

[hoppe56307]

I bow hunt 214 and 248.  One managed and one HC.  I believe both can handle a managed designations, At this point. 

I rifle hunt 246, it is lottery with 1000 permits.  I think HC is ideal here going forward, deer numbers SEEM well on a rebound.  Another  year of lotto with like say 2000 permits would ideal for next season, I say this because my area of public may not represent all of 246.

I have land in the northwest part of 214, and I would have like to seen us stay at Hunters Choice for 1 more year.  3 people hunting both weekends on 120 acres and only seen 5 deer.

[NoWiser]

Zone 172 all public land.  We saw a ton of deer.  For 10 guys on opening day we easily had 40+ deer sightings.  It's probably the most we've seen in 10 years, though it never really got that bad compared to what hunters in NE MN experience.  We had zero doe permits for the 10 of us and ended up with 5 bucks so far.  4 yearlings and a 2.5 year old 8 pt that I shot.  We're headed back for third weekend so we may add another.  It's going to be tough to find a mature buck in the area for a while.  It's nice seeing the fawns living to see another day, though.  No sign of wolves in our area this year, but lots of coyotes.  Hunting pressure was pretty typical for the area - you can't walk 100 yards without seeing orange.  I was quickly reminded why I left the area.  It was fun to see a lot of animals, though, for a change.  Saw more in one morning than I have in the last 3 or 4 years combined hunting the big woods. 

Where we hunt they could easily go to hunters choice next year if we have a mild winter.  I'm sure there are areas within the unit that should stay lottery, though.

[Neighbor_guy]

"It is my personal opinion and only my opinion that no zone in the state should do any further than hunters choice. If the overall herd can be to the point where any hunter can take ONE deer a year with the weapon of their choice then let's do it."

The southeast corner of the State, Zone 3, has too many deer as it is. To the east of us in Houston and Winona counties taking five deer per person is working fine. Adopting a one-sizes-fits-all approach and reducing us to one deer per hunter makes every bit as much sense as allowing anyone hunting anywhere in the state to take up to five deer each: none.

and if you don't have private land to hunt or $$$ to pay a lease you are up a creek. 

[JIvers]

"and if you don't have private land to hunt or $$$ to pay a lease you are up a creek."

What does this have to with imposing an arbitrary one-deer limit on Zone 3? Leaving aside the option of public land, of course.

[Neighbor_guy]

Because the issues in the se bluff lands are of their own doing. Big lease money hunters are only after antlers thus they had the money to push through antler point restrictions. And pay to hunt people aren't going to pay to shoot does. And when land owners are paid to keep people off their land for deer hunting they aren't going to let people onto shoot does either. 

Sorry I even brought it up....

just saying, 5-deer per Hunter is what put us in this mess in the first place. 

Edited November 16, 2015 by Neighbor_guy