Harvest numbers down

[deerchaser007]

I really don't care about the ethics of the debate. I have never seen any element of hunting skills coming into play sitting on a field over a bait pile. You may get to test your shooting abilities, but it has very little to do with ANY hunting skills.

I hunt for the challenge of it. The results are very secondary for me. I'd rather be considered a hunter than a master baiter.

Do you hunt over a food plot that you have no intention of harvesting for personal consumption?


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No, I don't, but I do see a great deal of difference in a grown food plot and a bait pile.

But, fortunately in TN we have laws that make baiting illegal. And as such, those that do it are poachers in the same category as spotlighters and other violators. I'll be there to fight any change to such laws.

But unfortunately in TN we have laws that allow some to bait and others not bait. The law should read no bait on property, period! When it was changed to a hunter cannot hunt within or shoot within a 250 yard radius of bait,it was a mistake. That is still baiting! The law makes it possible for large land holders to attract and hold deer on their property with said bait, preventing deer from free ranging for food sources. That's baiting IMO.When the neighbor next door has 500 acres with spin feeders going off every hour in the middle of that property, the guy with 50 acres next door don't have a prayer. Either make it legal for everyone, or illegal for everyone.

 

[Buzzard Breath]

I will be a lot more interested to see if the percentage of harvested 4.5 and 5.5 yr old bucks go up in the next 2-3 yr along with say 145 or better class bucks. Maybe then we will see a better picture as to whether the 2 buck limit is working.

I suspect that anybody looking for a dramatic increase in the harvest of 4.5 and 5.5 year old bucks is going to be very disappointed. Deer in those age classes are beyond the ability of most hunters to kill on a consistent basis (me included). There may be more of those deer in the herd, but most won't show up in the kill. If there is a difference, the most realistic chance of seeing it will be an increase in the 2.5 and 3.5 segments.

Yep. And those thinking we are going to see an increase in 145" deer are going to be even more let down.

 

[gladeshunter]

EHD hit the deer pretty good in Lincoln and some in Giles. 2 of the highest deer harvest counties. I haven't seen near the deer as last year in these 2 counties.

 

[Matador]

I will be a lot more interested to see if the percentage of harvested 4.5 and 5.5 yr old bucks go up in the next 2-3 yr along with say 145 or better class bucks. Maybe then we will see a better picture as to whether the 2 buck limit is working.

I suspect that anybody looking for a dramatic increase in the harvest of 4.5 and 5.5 year old bucks is going to be ver y disappointed. Deer in those age classes are beyond the ability of most hunters to kill on a consistent basis (me included). There may be more of those deer in the herd, but most won't show up in the kill. If there is a difference, the most realistic chance of seeing it will be an increase in the 2.5 and 3.5 segments.

Yep. And those thinking we are going to see an increase in 145" deer are going to be even more let down.

I agree we wont see a big increase in the harvest of 3.5 and 4.5 yr. Old bucks. I agree with SCN just not very many hunters capable of killing them on a consistant basis. They wont see many over 145 either, but for some reason a lot of the. 2 buck crowd are already bragging the two buck limit is working.

 

[Good time Charlie]

I suspect that anybody looking for a dramatic increase in the harvest of 4.5 and 5.5 year old bucks is going to be ver y disappointed. Deer in those age classes are beyond the ability of most hunters to kill on a consistent basis (me included). There may be more of those deer in the herd, but most won't show up in the kill. If there is a difference, the most realistic chance of seeing it will be an increase in the 2.5 and 3.5 segments.[/quote]
Yep. And those thinking we are going to see an increase in 145" deer are going to be even more let down.[/quote]
I agree we wont see a big increase in the harvest of 3.5 and 4.5 yr. Old bucks. I agree with SCN just not very many hunters capable of killing them on a consistant basis. They wont see many over 145 either, but for some reason a lot of the. 2 buck crowd are already bragging the two buck limit is working.[/quote]

I am just using common sense here if given enough time and the chance ,the bucks are going to get bigger and older. There will be more of them , granted a 4.5 year old buck is hard to kill , but when you have twice as many running around your odds are much better.

 

[scn]

Unfortunately, natural mortality factors prevent the stockpiling of those deer. Studies of totally unhunted populations have shown that the percentages of those age classes is pretty low. There is not going to be a big buck behind every tree.

 

[Good time Charlie]

This is a wait and see kinda thing, I see good things for tennessee hunters .

 

[scn]

I hope you are right.

I see a lot of very disappointed hunters due to totally unrealistic expectations.

 

[Land Between the Lakes]

It could be a result of a lot of factors. But in many areas there are simply less deer. A lot of this has to do with people taking too many does, a growing coyote population, and maturing forest.

 

[redblood]

Could be lots of people like me not getting to go hunting?



Sent from the barrel of a model 70 at 3300 fps

yep, some folks have 2 work

 

[Bobs8pt]

There could be a lot of factors that play into this number
- TWRA decreased the number of bucks to be taken this year... The reason this is done is because deer numbers are down in the state... so less deer... less deer taken
- Weather... it has been a warm season so far keeping the deer in there beds longer
- License increase... I have not seen the official numbers but I am curious if the number of hunters have decreased as well this year due to the increase in license fees.
-on the piece of property I am hunting I have seen an increase of young buck over last year but I am not seeing too many doe or mature buck this year. Wind has been wrong all year and if it's not raining it is too warm... It will be interesting to see the end of the year numbers.

 

[Boone 58]

3 does ytd for me, above last year, and I missed a dandy 8 pt at Laurel Hill wma during the MZ hunt. :?

 

[TboneD]

It could be a result of a lot of factors. But in many areas there are simply less deer. A lot of this has to do with people taking too many does, a growing coyote population, and maturing forest.

I know all those factor in where we hunt. The state forestry service hasn't had ANYTHING cut in Cedar Forest in a long, long time. Probably over ten years. It could have some good hunting if they cut a lot more often, and if the state did away with the 3 does a day nonsense on public land.


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[tndfs]

I quit archery hunting this year due to the license price increase. Just not worth it. Take a tag away and raise the price. Sounds like some obamanomics to me.

 

[Matador]

This is a wait and see kinda thing, I see good things for tennessee hunters .

I hope you are right also but I think SCN is right about the mortality factors. Plus I don't think we are going to get a whole new group of super hunters. Most of them still have to work.

 

[Land Between the Lakes]

Sometimes I wonder if states like Tennessee, Kentucky, and other local states that have large areas of forest are likely to see a large DECREASE in deer numbers in the future. These states have millions of acres of forest that is maturing. One day each one of these states including TN is going to have a tremendous amount of mature forest that lacks quality food, cover, and habitat for deer and other species.

It could be a result of a lot of factors. But in many areas there are simply less deer. A lot of this has to do with people taking too many does, a growing coyote population, and maturing forest.

I know all those factor in where we hunt. The state forestry service hasn't had ANYTHING cut in Cedar Forest in a long, long time. Probably over ten years. It could have some good hunting if they cut a lot more often, and if the state did away with the 3 does a day nonsense on public land.


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[ImThere]

I hope you are right.

I see a lot of very disappointed hunters due to totally unrealistic expectations.

I believe that. Myself

the one and only "ImThere"

 

[gat51]

License fees up, 2 buck limit, fewer deer, 3 does per day, fewer bucks, lot of concerns on Tennessee's deer herd. But keep it in perspective. For those of you that have been hunting for may years, you can remember 30 years ago when it was exciting to see sign and confirm you had deer using your property. Now you can hardly go anywhere in the state and not find deer. The TWRA has done a great job of growing our deer herd. There have always been people disagree with the policy along the way, but the hunting opportunities continue to grow. TWRA has a great track record on deer as I see it. We should trust they know what they are doing.

 

[TX300mag]

License fees up, 2 buck limit, fewer deer, 3 does per day, fewer bucks, lot of concerns on Tennessee's deer herd. But keep it in perspective. For those of you that have been hunting for may years, you can remember 30 years ago when it was exciting to see sign and confirm you had deer using your property. Now you can hardly go anywhere in the state and not find deer. The TWRA has done a great job of growing our deer herd. There have always been people disagree with the policy along the way, but the hunting opportunities continue to grow. TWRA has a great track record on deer as I see it. We should trust they know what they are doing.

TWRA deserves a lot of credit for bringing our deer herd to where it is. Unfortunately, the commission is now ignoring the agency's recommendations in favor of the loudest special interest group at the time. Many are jumping for joy right now because they are happy that others are being limited in favor of THEIR wants, but I imagine the time will come when the commission changes something they don't want changed because another group was louder at the time.


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[TboneD]

License fees up, 2 buck limit, fewer deer, 3 does per day, fewer bucks, lot of concerns on Tennessee's deer herd. But keep it in perspective. For those of you that have been hunting for may years, you can remember 30 years ago when it was exciting to see sign and confirm you had deer using your property. Now you can hardly go anywhere in the state and not find deer. The TWRA has done a great job of growing our deer herd. There have always been people disagree with the policy along the way, but the hunting opportunities continue to grow. TWRA has a great track record on deer as I see it. We should trust they know what they are doing.

TWRA deserves a lot of credit for bringing our deer herd to where it is. Unfortunately, the commission is now ignoring the agency's recommendations in favor of the loudest special interest group at the time. Many are jumping for joy right now because they are happy that others are being limited in favor of THEIR wants, but I imagine the time will come when the commission changes something they don't want changed because another group was louder at the time.


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Yes, unfortunately I feel there's some merit to this. I really didn't feel strong one way or the other on the buck limit change because I feel it might mean more does get shot where we need more deer. But take the deer limits in Unit L for proof. How do you reconcile that one can't shoot a doe past juvenile at Cheatham WMA with the Unit L three does a day nonsense? Cheatham WMA wasn't the only area hit with EHD. The three doe a day bit is just an attempt by some to keep guys with happy trigger fingers preoccupied so they won't kill bucks, under the guise that the herd is at or near carrying capacity in Unit L. Right.
I'm not trying to vilify anyone. I understand that there are lots of ground that have plenty of deer and many that perhaps have too many. However, like CHEATHAM WMA, again, where they STILL won't allow any does to be killed past juvenile, there's a lot of ground where we could have more deer. So how can the 3 doe a day "limit" be justified for so much of the state?

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