Mississippi mature deer harvests

[BuckNazty]

http://www.clarionledger.com/story/spor ... /79288846/

Saw this on a Facebook post and thought it was very interesting. I have noticed even more mature bucks being killed this year than last year in Mississippi.

 

[Vermin93]

...Mississippi topped the list for mature bucks, but neighboring states Louisiana and Arkansas both had impressive numbers and tied for second place with mature deer making up 67 percent of the total harvest for the 2014-15 season. Texas took third place with 62 percent and Oklahoma fourth at 60 percent. Based on Deer Management Assistance Program and check-station data, Alabama reported 41 percent of the take consisted of mature deer. In contrast to other southeastern states, Tennessee ranked among the lowest in the nation for mature bucks harvested at 19 percent...

:?

 

[AlabamaSwamper]

HUH?

Alabama at 47%?

Not a chance. Talk about some made up numbers. The other states I can agree with. Alabama wouldn't know what is being killed if it jumped up and bit them in the rear.

 

[Jbird22]

LOL!!! As a resident of MS, I'd love to know where those figures come from!

 

[tn24]

According to Chad Dacus, the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks Wildlife Bureau Director, the reported percentage came from DMAP and Wildlife Management Area data, but said other properties probably reflect similar numbers.

"I don't know if that data translates to private land, but I bet it's pretty close," Dacus said. "We are harvesting more older age-class deer than we were 10 years ago...............Key words I noticed- Probably and Close.

 

[TNDeerGuy]

I have no doubt their number is higher, because they have very restrictive antler restrictions in place, but I not many people actually believe it is that high--the law of probabilities will argue against those figures all day long and so would I.

 

[megalomaniac]

74% of the buck harvest in MS being 3.5 or older is correct. But you have to understand the caveat... the data is collected from intensively managed private properties (of which there are hundreds and hundreds in the state, NOT just a handful) plus the draw WMA hunts. The numbers are NOT statewide data, and extrapolating the results to the entire state is fallacious.

However, there ARE a lot of important conclusions which one can be certain of derived from the information. MS as an entire state HAS GREATLY shifted the majority of bucks killed toward the 3.5 y/o age classes and up. Also, the percentage of older bucks in the harvest has steadily increased each year over the past 10 years. There hasn't been an initial bump up, then a plateau seen like in TN's buck age harvest.

And as a state as a whole, MS does kill significantly more older bucks both in raw numbers as well as percentages than any neighboring state.

 

[Jbird22]

I have no doubt their number is higher, because they have very restrictive antler restrictions in place, but I not many people actually believe it is that high--the law of probabilities will argue against those figures all day long and so would I.

Outside of a few Delta NWR's/WMA's (15" spread or one 18" main beam), our statewide anter restrictions aren't that restrictive. Delta zone is 12" spread or one 15" main beam while Hill & Southeast zones are 10" spread or one 13" main beam. Those ar's may protect the majority of 1.5 yr old's you can bet a pile of 2.5 yr olds will meet the criteria for their respective zones. In the more restrictive Delta NWR's/WMA's, it's widely known that several illegal 2.5 yr old's get shot and left in the woods since they don't meet the criteria. So yeah, all of the deer that get checked in might be 3.5+ but that's not realistic data. IMO, I'd be SHOCKED if the statewide avg. of bucks killed would reach 50%, let alone 74%.