Studying hunting pressure

[BSK]

Over the years I've used various techniques in an attempt to measure hunting pressure on a property. However, our very detailed hunting data made it difficult to compare our results to other properties because most hunters don't collect such detailed data. However, I've been looking at a new "measure" of hunting pressure that seems to providing comparable results between properties, and that utilizes simplistic data many hunters do collect. That measuring stick is "hunts per 100 acres per year." Basically, divide the total number of hunts placed on a property in a year by the acres of land, and then multiply that by 100.

For this, a "hunt" is any time a hunter climbs into a stand or blind. If 5 hunters hunt one morning, that's 5 hunts. If those 5 then hunt in the evening, that another 5 hunts.

For example, let's say a group of hunters (or a single hunter) hunt a 250-acre property 50 times in a year. The calculation is ((total hunts / acres) * 100), which comes out to ((50/250)*100) = 20 hunts per 100 acres.

For those who collect hunt data, I would be curious what your numbers would be for your hunting property, and whether you feel that number is excessive pressure or not.

 

[348Winchester]

Interesting.

 

[TheLBLman]

There is also a very simple spatial analysis method:

Simple note where other hunters are hunting, over a few days, or weeks, or most of the season.
You hunt where they haven't been hunting.
The older deer are very quick to gravitate where they are least disturbed.
This could even be a small patch of weeds in the middle of a large field,
but generally needs to be enough cover to hide a bedded deer.
However, it can also be some open hardwoods when no hunters are "disturbing" a particular area.

That said, there are certain activities that in one setting, might greatly disturb, but in another, don't disturb at all.

In some particular spots, certain types of low-impact "hunting" may not actually "disturb" those local deer (so long as nothing is killed around that spot).

It's always location specific.

As to how much a particular activity "disturbs" local deer, it has much to do with that activity's ongoing frequency. A farmer riding his tractor daily to check on cattle will not disturb the deer. Deer acclimated to cars driving down a road, will not be disturbed by those cars, even if they're bedding 75 yards from a busy highway.

But, it there are no humans coming regularly into an area (weeks, months in between), a hunter coming in one morning to hunt (or "scouting" can be more disturbing than actual hunting) will often displace local deer activity by several hundred yards, for several days. Just one intrusion of either scouting or hunting CAN do that, and often does.

 

[TheLBLman]

Basically, divide the total number of hunts placed on a property in a year by the acres of land, and then multiply that by 100.

For this, a "hunt" is any time a hunter climbs into a stand or blind. If 5 hunters hunt one morning, that's 5 hunts. If those 5 then hunt in the evening, that another 5 hunts.

For example, let's say a group of hunters (or a single hunter) hunt a 250-acre property 50 times in a year. The calculation is ((total hunts / acres) * 100), which comes out to ((50/250)*100) = 20 hunts per 100 acres.

I think this is good, and simple, but like I've heard you say many times,
"Everything is location specific."

I would add the outcomes can be greatly determined by the specific type hunting techniques and spots in or around the acreage.

For example, if you have 5 different hunters accessing 250 acres over the course of a deer season, even if each hunter only goes a few times, COULD be either very little hunting pressure (disturbance to the deer), or COULD be very excessive.

Excessive could be if all hunters "still-hunted" on the ground, and hunted all over the property, and each killed a single deer (or shot at them, etc.). Extremely light pressure could be if all hunters ONLY hunted within 50 yds of the property's outside perimeter boundaries, never really going more than 50 yds inside the acreage, and, then perhaps killing 0 to 2 total deer over the course of the season (and only around the perimeter).

 

[TheLBLman]

For many years, a common rule of thumb for QDM properties was to have no more than 1 hunter per 100 acres even having hunting access to the property, meaning, if all hunters showed up at once, there would be 100 acres per hunter.

Then we found out that what really mattered more was how many times a year those hunters actually hunted, and exactly what they were killing.

So your "new" simple method certainly seems better than most other rules of thumb.

 

[recurve60#]

Im just glad you say hunts instead of sits.

 

[Ski]

However, I've been looking at a new "measure" of hunting pressure that seems to providing comparable results between properties, and that utilizes simplistic data many hunters do collect. That measuring stick is "hunts per 100 acres per year."

Interesting. Out of curiosity what is a typical number of hunts you record on a given 100 acres in a season?

 

[Hillbilly Hunter]

Hunt numbers are one of the many things that dictate Pressure, as you know. I am not sure this info would help much with so many other variables at play.

 

[BSK]

As others have pointed out, one type of hunting pressure on one type of property may not be relatable to another type of hunting on another type of property. But there needs to be some sort of measure of hunting pressure on a given property, even if that doesn't relate to other situations. And that measure can't be something that requires extremely complex computations.

I work with a lot of clubs, and clubs usually have similar types of hunting set-ups, where hunters choose either a designated "Hunt Area" or a club stand for that hunt. From what I'm seeing, hunters hunting in that manner produce similar pressure on the deer. I think in that particular situation, pressure numbers are comparable between properties. However, a single hunter or small number of hunters being very careful how they hunt a property, and constantly being mobile with climbing stands, may be able hunt far more often without producing the same level of pressure.

But that's what I'm looking for. How comparable are these numbers? At current, I don't know, because most of my data comes from "similar" hunting styles.

 

[BSK]

Interesting. Out of curiosity what is a typical number of hunts you record on a given 100 acres in a season?

Considering many of the clubs I work with use a "Hunt Area" reservation system (hunters sign up to hunt a section of the property with clear boundaries) and can choose any stand in that area for that hunt, pressure numbers appear to be similar. As a general rule, I start to hear from hunters that deer are starting to react to the hunting pressure at the point of 15 hunts per 100 acres. And deer are seriously reacting to the hunting pressure once hunt pressure gets into the 20-25 hunts per 100 acres range.

 

[deerhunter10]

Very interesting.

 

[backyardtndeer]

Honestly not sure what this math accomplishes, there are so many variables that contribute to actual pressure. Did you bump deer on the way in or out, did you get busted in the stand, did you kill something, so many factors that play into actual pressure. If you hunt a particular stand 20 times and never bump deer and never get busted, you may apply less pressure on the deer than if you get busted on a couple hunts. Makes for flawed data just punching in those numbers.

 

[BSK]

Honestly not sure what this math accomplishes, there are so many variables that contribute to actual pressure. Did you bump deer on the way in or out, did you get busted in the stand, did you kill something, so many factors that play into actual pressure. If you hunt a particular stand 20 times and never bump deer and never get busted, you may apply less pressure on the deer than if you get busted on a couple hunts. Makes for flawed data just punching in those numbers.

I couldn't disagree more. Getting busted in stand or busted going to-from stand applies little extra pressure. It's the fact you were there, and you scent has covered the area, that applies the pressure.

Now killing something from the area, THAT is a huge level of extra pressure.

 

[DeerCamp]

The stand my wife and kids hunt primarily is 170 yards behind the house. It's a souped up box blind with closeable windows. They used to bump deer walking down to it, but the deer learned and moved their bedding to a different spot. But they still use the property in much the same way, they just didn't like being bumped out of bedding so they shifted about 150 yards (does).

I think our presence here at the house desensitizes the deer anyways. We play loud music in the summer at pool parties and the kids are always playing in the yard.

Our sightings do not really change based on the number of hunts. The real pressure around here is the actual killing part.

As I pointed out in another thread, the public land I hunted this year had a harvest rate of about 2 deer per square mile.

The bottom where my property is located is probably closer to 20 deer per square mile. Nothing we do is going to trump that.

 

[Popcorn]

it there are no humans coming regularly into an area (weeks, months in between), a hunter coming in one morning to hunt (or "scouting" can be more disturbing than actual hunting) will often displace local deer activity by several hundred yards, for several days. Just one intrusion of either scouting or hunting CAN do that, and often does.

This wit a foot note.
A KY property I oversee shuts down over a hunter that is overly intense like above but will absorb a lot of casual attention.
Another property in Tn couldn't be disturbed if the 101st had maneuvers there.

 

[backyardtndeer]

I couldn't disagree more. Getting busted in stand or busted going to-from stand applies little extra pressure. It's the fact you were there, and you scent has covered the area, that applies the pressure.

Now killing something from the area, THAT is a huge level of extra pressure.

Disagree all you want, collecting data without considering other factors makes for flawed data. I get your idea of scent profile, but there is so much more to pressure on deer, and not everyone practices the same scent reducing practices which can also factor in. Too many variables to be a one size fits all mathematic equation/solution.

 

[megalomaniac]

Lease in south MS is 950 acres. Right at 450 hunts this year.... now our season just closed yesterday, so there is more time to spread out those 450 hunts.

I think it's excessive. We ended up killing 5 bucks and 2 does for the season. A state legal 6pt was killed yesterday on the last day.

 

[Antler Daddy]

The stand my wife and kids hunt primarily is 170 yards behind the house. It's a souped up box blind with closeable windows. They used to bump deer walking down to it, but the deer learned and moved their bedding to a different spot. But they still use the property in much the same way, they just didn't like being bumped out of bedding so they shifted about 150 yards (does).

I think our presence here at the house desensitizes the deer anyways. We play loud music in the summer at pool parties and the kids are always playing in the yard.

Our sightings do not really change based on the number of hunts. The real pressure around here is the actual killing part.

As I pointed out in another thread, the public land I hunted this year had a harvest rate of about 2 deer per square mile.

The bottom where my property is located is probably closer to 20 deer per square mile. Nothing we do is going to trump that.

170 yards...seekone got nothing on your family!

 

[Ski]

Considering many of the clubs I work with use a "Hunt Area" reservation system (hunters sign up to hunt a section of the property with clear boundaries) and can choose any stand in that area for that hunt, pressure numbers appear to be similar. As a general rule, I start to hear from hunters that deer are starting to react to the hunting pressure at the point of 15 hunts per 100 acres. And deer are seriously reacting to the hunting pressure once hunt pressure gets into the 20-25 hunts per 100 acres range.

Have you considered other possible scenarios besides pressure that could explain a reduction of deer sightings? Have you placed cameras to watch stand sites continuously to monitor the ebbs & flows of movement to see if they could be correlated with hunting? That would seem a reasonably easy experiment for anybody wishing to test their hunting pressure theories. I've done it. In fact I have cams running at several of my common stand sites that run 24/7/365.

What I see is that deer are there at times & not there at times regardless if I hunt or not. Some of the sites I've not hunted in years. And not all the cycles of movement are predictable like mineral sites being hit hard during summer or doe bedding areas being visited by bucks during rut. Most cycles are seemingly random, or at least random inside a single season. Then it hit me. Deer are nomads who travel following the food, and by far & large their staple food is browse. Not food plots, not acorns, not fruit trees. Their diet is nearly entirely comprised of browse and all that other stuff supplements it. They eat until an area is depleted and then they move. When they do they don't only stop walking in front of that stand site but they quit using those trails and pinch points or anything else until they come back around again.

If you were sitting a stand and each consecutive day you saw fewer deer it would be easy to blame yourself for over hunting the spot. But the reality is that those deer would be shifting in then out whether you were there or not. I think this is exactly how a lot of hunters interpret what they see. And to be fair I believe human presence could accelerate the process, especially if the deer saw you on stand. They may leave the area sooner than they would have, but they would have left regardless.

Being selective browsers they can deplete an area fairly quick. And it accelerates as the season progresses. In early season there's still a lot of green so they can stay in one area for awhile. But as season progresses and green turns brown, they are forced to move more often and stay in any one spot for shorter periods of time. There are an awful lot of parallels between what deer already do naturally and what we hunters blame ourselves for causing. I really believe what hunters blame on hunting pressure is nothing more than the natural nomadic nature of deer. I don't completely discount hunting pressure as a factor for a stand site going cold. I just don't buy that it's nearly the major factor we tend to think it is.

 

[DeerCamp]

170 yards...seekone got nothing on your family!

At least it's MY backyard