Southern Wisconsin. Colorado. Wyoming. Western Nebraska. Any place that's ever had cwd?
CWD a hoax?
- Thread starter Remington700
- Start date
If the herd has died off like that then what makes you continue to pay a high membership fee to hunt there?
Do the other places have the deer density that Ames/Fayette/Hardemen have? The whole reason these counties went to unit L was because of density and overcrowding.
I don't hunt Ames, but close by. If I could find a lease that was better and close enough, I'd jump.
I would guess so looking at density charts. Even if they are slightly behind, those other herds should be extinct by now.
I can't find an up to date map, but every map I've looked has other areas with a higher density, and it's really not even close.
fairchaser
Well-Known Member
That's a great question! In spite of low sightings and fewer good buck opportunities, there's always a few good bucks to keep you motivated. That and it's part of me now. It's hard to say goodbye not just to the place but the people. Until something better comes along, that's where I'll be.
fairchaser
Well-Known Member
With maybe the exception of Wisconsin, non of those deer herds have anything near the deer density of Fayette/ Hardeman Counties.
fairchaser
Well-Known Member
I wouldn't jump to extremes. CWD won't cause extinction. Does can reproduce with CWD for a couple years at least depending on when they contract CWD. The herd can shrink to low levels but as there are fewer numbers, there are less chances to catch it and it doesn't spread as easily.
You guys make it sound like no one else has any deer, besides Ames lol. But I'm glad you acknowledge cwd won't kill off your herd like what's being claimed
Totally understandable. Good bunch of guys there. That would probably be the hardest part to leave. And it's always a chance at a good deer still there.
megalomaniac
Well-Known Member
I wonder... how much of the population decline was due to CWD and how much was due to the 'gloves off', kill everything management approach?
With CWD, animals are not going to live as long... which means annual mortality from the disease will approach 10 to 15% (I'm assuming 10 to 15% have had the disease 2 to 4 years and therefore die of it). If annual mortality from hunting increases due to regulation changes (ESPECIALLY IF AGE STRUCTURES OF KILLED DOES IS DECLINING), the population will decline and perhaps even collapse.
In herds with CWD, since it's impossible to eradicate CWD, it becomes even more imperative to selectively harvest only the oldest animals... allowing the younger (esp does) to reproduce.
fairchaser
Well-Known Member
Mega, I don't have the specific evidence but it's been my belief that killing over 250 does one season just before the CWD outbreak was discovered helped to hurt our deer herd for several years. Sometimes it's hard for management to change directions from killem, killem all mentality. I think it was a one, two punch that will impact us for years, especially now with CWD so prolific. I personally wish we could lay off does for a couple years and see if the herd can bounce back. It's easy to go back if you have too many does.
megalomaniac
Well-Known Member
That makes sense... if you have 900 deer, and you kill 250 does in a season, population is going to crash when CWD is taking out another 90 to 100 before next hinting season .
Stop shooting any does except those with yellow faces and large briskets... then your population will rebound despite cwd
As I have always believed, with CWD- "the cure is worse than the disease". Its been here for a very long time. Implement laws against certain transport and baiting and then let nature takes it course. Educate hunters on how to slow the spread. But eradicating deer herds is not the answer
On our lease/area, we weren't really hammering the does like Ames. I think we saw the population declining even before TWRA put up the red flag. But everyone is worring about TWRAs "kill em all" attitude. We're not really trying to, but with sightings down so much, it would be hard to do, unless you just shot every deer you saw.
fairchaser
Well-Known Member
We've got a couple meat hunters who shoot everything but add to that the earn a buck program where you must kill a doe first and you get too many deer killed. Maybe next season, they let us lay off the does some.
We probably killed 5 or 6 does this year. I think it was less the year before.
fairchaser
Well-Known Member
I killed one buck. I didn't even kill my doe and paid the fine instead. We had one hunter and his daughter kill 15 deer between the two of them. They are really good hunters. I couldn't have even killed that many if I wanted to but of course I don't. The club killed 80 deer, 5 less than the previous year. I don't understand how some hunters here say they have the same deer as before and see no difference from CWD. I guess it really depends on location.
Even where I live I have seen drastic decrease in sightings. While some of it can be attributed to other factors, the number of deer in this area has been reduced significantly.
