Are there any places that still do the "pen & paper" and metal band check in for deer/turkey? If so, is there a phase out?

Or….do retailers that still check in deer do it on-line as a "service" just like me as an individual does?

Last question, if everything is electronic now, basically all the data is up to date at any one point in time. Would it not be possible to get periodic updates on the harvest #'s?

You can still get a Metal tag at some places now....Next year that may change if the proposal passes

312 IAC 9-3-4 and requires check station operators to check-in deer using the DNR’s electronic harvest reporting system. Changes to the licensing system are in the process, and retailers will be able to check-in deer and turkey for hunters through a system similar to the current licensing system

Check stations still exist. My buck was checked in at a small retailer in Cross Plains last month.
No idea regarding any phase out of that process?

If it ever goes 100% electronic check in, one would assume data could be easily tracked during hunting season. That said, I hope they never phase out check stations.

Not sure what periodic harvest reports would gain. I just can't envision a county by county quota system?

KY and MO do it, why can't Indiana?

http://app.fw.ky.gov/harvest/DeerByWeapon.asp

since IN went to telecheck I have not used a physical check in station and cannot forsee ever visiting one again to check in an animal. I find the online process much easier and efficient and I can be confident no errors are made which might result in problems for me.

There is no reason we could not, or should not, have real time harvest info available online.

I thought telecheck was suppose to wipe out the deer herd with all the poaching it was going to allow.

Doing my own processing The on line check is a well accepted thing for me most never leave the farm Field to Tobbaco barn to freezer to table to septic love it

I thought I read they will phase out the metal bands and the check-in station will just have to provide you with a number, don't know what form that would be in, but probably something printed or hand written on paper and attached like the temp transport tag.

In theory, if every deer legally taken were checked in electronically, either by punching it in on the phone or typing it in a computer and it required details such as the hunter's license number, date (maybe even estimated time), county it was taken in, antlered or antlerless and weapon, they wouldn't have to wait on any check in station to submit written records and for someone to enter all that info. Then the data (harvest numbers) could be pulled up fairly quickly and easily at any time and they could do a lot of analysis with those data points. Dual use; purely administrative and in-depth research.

The time would be interesting if it was time the shot was taken. It wouldn't be hard for them to write code that could pull the weather conditions, moon phase, etc. for the time and location and add that to the data for insight into deer movement.

Tele check will always create a less confidence in numbers reported but I don't really think anyone really cares. There were imperfections in the local man and pop process. Most game agencies have a supposed factor, or at least used to, for the number that aren't checked in. That factor is probably reasonably the same year after year once tele check was implemented. It would be interesting to hear what Indiana thinks that factor was before and after implementation. If everything can be electronically performed and then updated to a website, it would interesting I guess but with costs being cut at the agency it would be a waste to have time and effort to any manual effort used to provide updates, in my opinion.

The answer is it would be very simple to provide real time numbers. Whether or not they decide to do this or release the numbers is up to the agency.

IF telecheck led to cheating....the reported numbers would go down....they have not. Just the opposite has happened.

Sorry, but that is just poor logic. It only makes sense if you know what the checked deer numbers would have been without telecheck. We have absolutely no way of knowing that.

Saw someone post a similar statement on the HPR thread. Truth is, if HPR's are approved and we kill the same or fewer deer the following season, it does not mean HPR's were irrelevant in the equation. In such a scenario, HPR's might have significant impact...low impact...or somewhere in between...and we are left guessing.

We have no idea what the harvest numbers are going to look like year to year....or how a rule change or two affected those numbers. Why on earth would we trust such an unknown as a gage?

But…..haven't the reported numbers been going down?? Not saying it is because of telecheck…..but they have, because of reduced deer #'s. So, how would one even know??

I'm not sure the reported numbers would necessarily go down because of a telecheck system. Instead, the real question is whether folks feel a greater "security" of being able to continue to hunt and possibly not report when they are down to their last tag or such.

PAV, I didn't ask the questions to get any of the other "stuff" started. Its just been so long since I've had the opportunity to check a deer, I haven't followed it, and honestly didn't know. I DID enjoy sitting at the supper table on my laptop checking in a deer. Very easy, and simple.

The leading question was based on the possibility (dream) of a quota system on counties. Maybe not so much on the higher density counties, but ones that really need more control. But, I'm assuming that would involve some extra effort on the DNR's part and knowing how many deer are there, and them actually SAYING where they want the population to be at………..

I still know of one station that never had the 2013 harvest records picked up and he said there was another nearby as well that never got picked up. I love telecheck and don't see using anything else in the future.