This topic came up on another thread. Found this old guide in the lockbox. Thought some of you might be interested in the history:

Early archery season: October 10th - November 13th
Bag limit - one deer either sex.

General Firearms/ML: November 14th - November 28th
Bag Limit - one antlered deer only

Late archery/ML: December 5 - December 13th
Bag limit - one deer either sex *if* you still had a tag. (i.e. statewide annual limit was two deer)

Special antlerless permits were available by draw only in five Indiana counties (Perry, LaGrange, Steuben, Noble, DeKalb).

*First year deer licenses included temporary transportation tags.

**Spotlighting deer law takes affect.

Pretty Cool. Thanks for the post. Wonder if guys would be willing to go to that now! LOL!

Thanks!!!!!

About $10 a tag back then and most checkin stations where F&W offices

...and if you bought a ML tag to hunt the general firearms/ML season...and you didn't kill a deer...that same license was good for late ML season. No additional cost....

I don't see nothing wrong with it... I think muzzy and gun season should be combined since you can use both during the regular firearm season....

Now during early bow season, you couldn't use a bow during the gun season, cause that is the way I'm taking it? Back in 81 I was 3 years old...lol

The reason why our herd peaked in the early 90s. I can remember goin spotlighting after evening hunts in Jefferson co and if we didn't see 50 plus deer it was a bad night. Remember shining one field and counting 70 plus with multiple shooters then sayin hey wonder what's in the field across the street and seein the same amount and 2 bucks that would be pushin 200. Oh the good ol days and I was just a kid

I would definitely be willing to go back to that. I do know some people though that literally live off of deer meat though, which means at least three deer a year. But if we did go back to this or deer herd overall would be much better off in a few years. Unfortunately nowa days hunters are pretty spoiled with what they've had for the past several years, so it would p off allot of hunters that are used to taking pretty much as many deer as they want. But like everything else in life, what's good for you isn't always what's best for overall big picture. If we as hunters can actually do that on our own, it doesn't matter how our seasons are configured or what weapons we use, if we do what we all know is right, our deer herd will get back to what it was and stay that way. Politicians, legislators, special interest groups, none of them have an effect on our deer herd. No matter what they pass or put into law, be it prop 1 our 2, we are the ones that dictate what happens with our herd. So people can complain all they want about crossbows and gun season timing or lengths, if we as hunters do our part, we will be fine. It's easy to pass blame on seasons and propositions, but they alone don't do anything but give people the opportunity. We just need to use that opportunity to do the right thing while out in the field. Only problem is is that some hunters are like little kids, you can put a plate of cookies in front of a kid and tell them they can eat all of them if they want, our they can be responsible and just eat a few and save the rest for later. Allot of hunters, when given the option, will shoot the county limit just because they are allowed to, even though it's not the right thing to do if they want to continue having a good herd to hunt. I might be beating a dead horse, but there's been allot of posts on this, some ugly ones too, and this thread pretty much proved what can happen if hunting is done responsibly. Back in the 80s hunters were forced to be responsible, but just because our regulations now are so lax doesn't mean we can't hunt the same way, no matter what the regulations are, our what weapons we are allowed to use, or for how long we are allowed to use them. Best thing we can do now is educate our young ones and hope they understand the true meaning of conservation.

It would get my vote.

I remember deer hunting in the 70's and 80's, shot my first buck in 1969. The rules were a lot tighter back then, but the deer hunting was just as much fun as it is now. Maybe more fun back then, I was just a young buck then!

I also remember at some point in the mid-80's counties were allotted so many over the counter doe permits (quota). When they were gone, they were gone. You were allowed one. I remember driving down to Bear branch to get a doe tag down there from a little hardware/grocery store. Does that sound right???

Quota system is how it needs to be in some of these low density counties now…….

I don't recall that. I do recall putting in for a doe tag,,then waiting to get notified if you were awarded one. You had to select the County you wanted to hunt. Each County was allotted just so many.

'81 I was still in the Marines, about ready to exit ...started gun hunting deer when I got home and killed a nice buck with my 20ga and open sights....The mid Oct. opener was still in effect in 1987 as that is when I started with a bow, and that pretty much spoiled me...I still gun hunted, but archery was my passion.....still is....I could hang up the gun for deer and be super satisfied, I'd still used a firearm, but it wouldnt be for deer....I pretty much do that now....my park deer was the first gun kill and gun used in several years....

That is how I remember it also. If you got drawn for an antlerless permit, you had to take the notification with you to buy a license. You had to buy a buck tag before you could apply for an anterless permit. Not all of the counties even allowed deer hunting. Shelby County was one of the last counties to allow deer hunting. Not a lot of bow hunters in the 70's. I shot my first buck with a bow in 1981

Ah HAH!!! That was it. I did remember about having to have your general firearms tag first. I do remember the draw now. But I also seem to remember going into the Western Auto in Rushville and buying a doe tag over the counter. Would there have been "leftover" tags if they weren't all spoken for during the draw??? Rush county was on of the last to get doe tags also…..

I think the "first-come-first-served" tags came towards the end of that era that I referred to.

You could buy the Doe tags over the counter, but you had to have the notification letter with you to buy them. I don't remember any Doe tags being left over, they were like gold nuggets