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I agree. This winter was absolutely brutal. Ive been reminding all our hunters to get their applications in every time I see them as the success rate for anterless tags was going to be very low. And im right. 4500 down to 1100.Quote:
Originally Posted by terrym
As someone who spends a significant amount of time in WMU 49 (its minutes away from my house, and my camp is there) I am 100% with this reduction. This past winter was the worst winter I have seen in my entire life. It was brutally cold at times, with tremendous amounts of snowfall.Quote:
Originally Posted by Deerslayer99
But this shouldnt really phase you. It was maybe only 4 years ago tag numbers were this low. 2008 was a bad winter as well. Deer populations are incredibly sensitive to winter, both on the good side and bad side. A couple easy winters and the bush will be overflowing with deer again. Right now, they are not, on a whole for the unit, overflowing.
I hate to see the reductions in antlerless tags as well inWMU 49 and WMU 53a as I hunt them both.Thegame cameras and what I see is showing me a lot of does, similar to lastyear.What I haven’t seen yet are any fawns.If most of the deer aborted and we haveanother bad winter we are going to be sorry.I have to agree with the MNR on this one, better to be safe this yearthan sorry next.
Sorry to hear that but I'm not too surprised. My camp is in 49, just outside of Huntsville, and we've had a very healthy population of deer for years now. Last time the tag numbers dropped I went nine straight years without an antlerless tag. I hope I don't have a streak like that again. At that time the MNR was saying numbers were low but we were seeing anywhere from five to fifteen plus does a week with no tags.Quote:
Originally Posted by blasted_saber
I was hoping for an extra doe tag in 63B.........nice holiday up in Lanark
The problem is #49 is a large unit and several different deer yards are involved. The reality is our deer population is a product of the winter (deer yard) capacity. Your particular area may have better wintering grounds than other parts of #49. We haven't shot a doe in 3 years and actually see very few. I rather be cautious than sorry. What if we have another bad winter?
I agree and I have no issue with being cautious. We had a few frustrating years where we couldn't get doe tags but where tripping over does. I saw seven does all well within shooting range in a 24 hour period. I was actually taking pictures of one when a buck happened by. I was so used to seeing does that I was caught off guard. I did manage to put my camera down and pick my gun up and drop him though.Quote:
Originally Posted by terrym
It's interesting, some people think it was a terrible winter but for others it was just like it suppose to be, 2007 was much colder I believe and the snow fall in 208 was pretty good too. Older folks, 70+, I talk to didn't like it but are not that impress, "just a regular winter"..... The MNR never went on the ground to check anything, they probably have some kind scale, Deer tag/Snow fall and that's how they decide!I guess they have to chose somehow...
Now if they are so worry abut the deer population they should let us shot yotes without a tag in these areas.
Was out for a drive in 74B saturday night. In an hour of driving, late at night, I spotted no less than 5 deer out by the roadways.
Our camp, since 1963, is in WMU 49. I have personally not had a shot.. period in the last 4 years. We ( 7 hunters) have got 1 doe per year over the last 5 years (with average sightings of 2 does per week and that is hunting dawn to dark) and we have had a handful of doe tags, which obviously didn't matter. So the reduction in our area for us is quite meaningless.
As an older (experienced) hunter I look to the positive, come the rut, the BIG boys will have to be searching for does over a much wider area, and I will be ready to meet and greet them !