Ames question

[poorhunter]

I haven't seen any threads about Ames this year. How's the hunting been? CWD having any major negative effects? Fewer "mature" deer? I'm just curious is all.

 

[BigAl]

I did hear where they canceled restrictions due to CWD, but I'll let someone from Ames verify.

 

[duckduck84]

Can't speak for Ames directly, but our property is literally across the highway from it. Have heard a few shots that direction every weekend we've been out, but not as many as normal. Deer sightings are down for us overall, but not really sure it is CWD related.

 

[Bucks & Beards]

I did hear where they canceled restrictions due to CWD, but I'll let someone from Ames verify.

Yes re restrictions being cancelled due to CWD. It's also "earn a buck" this year. Members are required to kill a doe before harvesting the first two bucks. I'm not sure the count at the moment but generally more 2.5 and 3.5 yr olds are being killed this year. I killed a 129 1/8th inch buck Monday. Probably 4.5. Haven't aged him yet. A great buck was killed yesterday. I think it was in the 140s.

 

[Snake]

Where's Fairchaser ? Hadn't been him post in a few days , hoping nothing is wrong . Anyone know how to contact him ? Seems to be a good guy . He hunts @ Ames .

 

[Bucks & Beards]

Where's Fairchaser ? Hadn't been him post in a few days , hoping nothing is wrong . Anyone know how to contact him ? Seems to be a good guy . He hunts @ Ames .

Fairchaser is fine. Talked to him this morning.

 

[Lost Lake]

Where's Fairchaser ? Hadn't been him post in a few days , hoping nothing is wrong . Anyone know how to contact him ? Seems to be a good guy . He hunts @ Ames .

He is. Andy S. as well. Hope they've been doing good at Ames. I always enjoy their posts.

 

[Snake]

He is. Andy S. as well. Hope they've been doing good at Ames. I always enjoy their posts.

Two of our best !

 

[fairchaser]

Where's Fairchaser ? Hadn't been him post in a few days , hoping nothing is wrong . Anyone know how to contact him ? Seems to be a good guy . He hunts @ Ames .

Thanks for asking Snake. I'm doing well. Just haven't been posting much. I've been hunting and working when I have to. I hope all have a safe and blessed Christmas.

 

[Snake]

Thanks for asking Snake. I'm doing well. Just haven't been posting much. I've been hunting and working when I have to. I hope all have a safe and blessed Christmas.

Good to.hear from you and a Merry Christmas back at yahoo brother .

 

[fairchaser]

A couple of observations so far this season. You can have several days where you can't see a deer. If you do see anything it's likely going to be a small buck cruising. A doe is very hard to see. Between hunting pressure, buck pressure and CWD, they are just scarce. There are a few pockets of does here and there but once the hunters find them, they are quick to waylay a couple. Dr. H, finally told the membership not to kill more than two does. The hunters have been willing and able to kill bucks. Almost anything with a rack is fair game. We've killed a couple nice ones but the average is well below 120, the previous minimum. The membership can kill as many bucks as they have legal tags and they are taking full advantage of the opportunity. One has to wonder what that means for the future! There's always a few nice ones on film, but so far they have been as elusive to hunters as they have apparently been to CWD.

 

[easy45]

I hunt two farms around Ames. Your gonna hardly ever see a doe and it has nothing to do with cwd and everything with how Ames has been managed over the last decade. Ames has literally destroyed the deer herd in that area. They have continually over harvested does, literally every year since their club started. Yea we have managed to still kill some good bucks over that time but the overall quality of hunting has fallen off of a cliff. It's really sad to see what they have done.

 

[fairchaser]

I hunt two farms around Ames. Your gonna hardly ever see a doe and it has nothing to do with cwd and everything with how Ames has been managed over the last decade. Ames has literally destroyed the deer herd in that area. They have continually over harvested does, literally every year since their club started. Yea we have managed to still kill some good bucks over that time but the overall quality of hunting has fallen off of a cliff. It's really sad to see what they have done.

I agree there has been a lot of pressure to kill does. However, over the last 3 years, they have backed off due to lower numbers. In some ways, lower deer density is beneficial in controlling CWD. That's the goal now. If we are successful in getting the infection rate down, they may allow the herd to build back up slowly. But right now it's a bloodbath especially on bucks over 2.5. It's not the club it used to be and it's best days are probably gone but there's always a few good bucks to chase and that keeps most of us in the game.

 

[Antler Daddy]

Mike Belt was at Ames. Did he just stop hunting?

 

[easy45]

I agree there has been a lot of pressure to kill does. However, over the last 3 years, they have backed off due to lower numbers. In some ways, lower deer density is beneficial in controlling CWD. That's the goal now. If we are successful in getting the infection rate down, they may allow the herd to build back up slowly. But right now it's a bloodbath especially on bucks over 2.5. It's not the club it used to be and it's best days are probably gone but there's always a few good bucks to chase and that keeps most of us in the game.

Y'all are gonna lose another big group of hunters this next season. I realize the goal now but the over harvest of does has been a major problem since the club started. It's done way more damage than cwd in that area and now members are shooting everything they see. Say what you want but the management has always been subpar. Someone is needed that not only has the biological background and the general common sense of how to keep an area productive. One of those qualities has always been lacking from there.

 

[AlabamaSwamper]

I don't get it, I just don't

first off if you hammer does for years then yes, you are going to see less deer. Goes for a lot of properties I know with no CWD.

second, the whole kill them all, we have CWD I just don't get. Other states have realized it's not the world is falling problem. Their herds are fine and growing. I don't get why the TWRA keeps preaching to kill them all. You ain't getting rid of it. Why decimate your deer herd attempting to do something every other state has failed at that has tried it.

i just don't get it. Sorry

 

[fairchaser]

Ames has always been about research. When experimenting, sometimes the outcome is negative. The management has been collaborative with other experts as well as input from the membership. They will always look to the future and be willing to make the sacrifices now. Rather than allow CWD to take over completely, they are willing to take the deer herd down to a minimum to see if it can come back to a healthier state. Before CWD, the goal was to keep the herd balanced with an older buck population. That strategy was starting to work wonderfully but CWD was starting to affect the herd too and nobody knew, even the state. There were a couple years where the two things overlapped and caused the herd to shrink. Now we are dealing with the disease and the only possible solution is to shrink the herd. The same strategy as the state. It's very painful for us deer hunters but there's nothing we can do.

 

[fairchaser]

Mike Belt was at Ames. Did he just stop hunting?

He might have. He's not been in the club for a couple years. We hate to see him go and will miss his knowledge on this forum. Maybe he'll chime back in.

 

[Tom Collins]

He might have. He's not been in the club for a couple years. We hate to see

I agree there has been a lot of pressure to kill does. However, over the last 3 years, they have backed off due to lower numbers. In some ways, lower deer density is beneficial in controlling CWD. That's the goal now. If we are successful in getting the infection rate down, they may allow the herd to build back up slowly. But right now it's a bloodbath especially on bucks over 2.5. It's not the club it used to be and it's best days are probably gone but there's always a few good bucks to chase and that keeps most of us in the game.

Have y'all found a lot of deadheads/dead deer from CWD?

 

[fairchaser]

Have y'all found a lot of deadheads/dead deer from CWD?

I found one yesterday which looked over a year old. It was a doe. I found a mature buck head during turkey season. That's all though. But if every member found 2 each, it would add up to a lot.

 

[Headhunter]

Kill all the deer is impossible the most ignorant thing the TWRA has ever done. That has already been tried in several states with CWD. Waste of time, money and most importantly, DEER.

Nothing new was discovered, CWD was for sure not stopped or slowed and the only thing that happened was a huge amount of deer were killed with no benefit.

If I was over Ames I would have told the TWRA to pound sand on killing more deer especially all the bucks.

 

[AlabamaSwamper]

Again, it hasn't killed all the deer off in other states. The TWRA and Ames had no proof CWD was affecting anything.

i have friends that work for agencies with decades long positive tests and have talked to others in hot zones I've hunted in other states.

they all told me the same thing. Initially the sky was falling but a decade or more later every single one of them just shrug it off.

Worst thing is, you ride the roads the deer carcass count being dumped has increased 100x the last two years here.
Again, I'm no expert but if you believe there is a disease killing your deer if it doesnt make sense to me to kill what is there. Especially when that method has proven not to work.

 

[fairchaser]

Again, it hasn't killed all the deer off in other states. The TWRA and Ames had no proof CWD was affecting anything.

i have friends that work for agencies with decades long positive tests and have talked to others in hot zones I've hunted in other states.

they all told me the same thing. Initially the sky was falling but a decade or more later every single one of them just shrug it off.

Worst thing is, you ride the roads the deer carcass count being dumped has increased 100x the last two years here.
Again, I'm no expert but if you believe there is a disease killing your deer if it doesnt make sense to me to kill what is there. Especially when that method has proven not to work.

I've been hunting Ames for the past ten years and I can assure you CWD is having a serious effect on the herd. There are fewer deer and the bucks at least are younger. It's all not from over harvest.
It does make sense to kill what's there if the infection rate is much higher than the surrounding area. The less infected deer will move into the area and lower the infection rate.
It's really the only tool we have right now.
I attended a meeting this past Spring where state biologists, a CWD expert from Wisconsin and large landowners talked about CWD and what we've learned over the decades about this disease. Allowing CWD to run rampant in areas where the rate is high, is devastating to the herd in that area and a threat to surrounding areas to spread infection quickly.
it may be too late to accomplish much at this point but they have to try. The deer herd will rebound. Whitetails are survivors. I'm not sure that it's going to help me much at my age but it's probably the right call for the future. The only alternative is to ignore the disease and hope the herd doesn't fall off a cliff. So far all but one buck has come back positive for CWD.

 

[Jcalder]

I've been hunting Ames for the past ten years and I can assure you CWD is having a serious effect on the herd. There are fewer deer and the bucks at least are younger. It's all not from over harvest.
It does make sense to kill what's there if the infection rate is much higher than the surrounding area. The less infected deer will move into the area and lower the infection rate.
It's really the only tool we have right now.
I attended a meeting this past Spring where state biologists, a CWD expert from Wisconsin and large landowners talked about CWD and what we've learned over the decades about this disease. Allowing CWD to run rampant in areas where the rate is high, is devastating to the herd in that area and a threat to surrounding areas to spread infection quickly.
it may be too late to accomplish much at this point but they have to try. The deer herd will rebound. Whitetails are survivors. I'm not sure that it's going to help me much at my age but it's probably the right call for the future. The only alternative is to ignore the disease and hope the herd doesn't fall off a cliff. So far all but one buck has come back positive for CWD.

The herd ain't gonna fall off a cliff. That's probably the biggest misconception thru it all and the states that have it continue to have a herd that thrives. Outside of making them extinct there's not much we can do. We can slow the spread, and I'm all for slowing it, but you won't stop it.

 

[Pilchard]

I am no expert and have no dog in the fight but does anyone know how many dead deer have tested positive for CWD that didn't die of a gunshot wound or being hit by a car?

 

[AlabamaSwamper]

I've asked that several times. I never get an answer.

 

[Mike Belt]

Still kicking and reading posts daily. I didn't hunt last year nor this year. Health and family have stymied that for now. I tentatively plan on hunting next year. I do have 2 good backyard bucks that keep me occupied but elsewise I'm out of the loop as far as hunting this year. I also haven't heard much on CWD this season. Right or wrong I'm beginning to think that there's no point in killing for the sake of killing if I can't eat what I shoot because of CWD. We'll see.

 

[Crosshairy]

Still kicking and reading posts daily. I didn't hunt last year nor this year. Health and family have stymied that for now. I tentatively plan on hunting next year. I do have 2 good backyard bucks that keep me occupied but elsewise I'm out of the loop as far as hunting this year. I also haven't heard much on CWD this season. Right or wrong I'm beginning to think that there's no point in killing for the sake of killing if I can't eat what I shoot because of CWD. We'll see.

I'm with you on the killing aspect, Mike. Most of the areas I have hunted over my 18 years or so of adulthood have been in the CWD-dense zone. I just can't see myself doing all the work of getting one out and then finding out that it's infected, then having the "do I take the risk" talk with myself. I hate it... I miss deer hunting. Now that duck season has started I don't care, but November was a dreary month for me since there were some nice-looking days to be in a stand or on a stalk.

 

[Crosshairy]

So far all but one buck has come back positive for CWD.

Man, I had no idea it was that pervasive. That's awful.

 

[fairchaser]

Man, I had no idea it was that pervasive. That's awful.

So far, the rate on does is much less, I believe around 10%. I would say the reason for this is the older bucks are the ones being targeted.