Interesting article written in Northern Indiana....... At least Don has the guts to put out ideas that should be considered. The only haters Don has are the ones that just want more weapons that make it easier to hunt bucks, and as many days possible to hunt bucks with a gun..... and they are many.

They are the same haters that undermined what the IDNR wanted to do with their first proposal to fix this situation......and were forced to choose a second plan due to the haters we all know so well.

The haters we all know well will show up on this thread too. Lets see how fast they can stink up this thread also......... LOL!!

Click here for Don's article........

Don\'s Article....Click here

Have at it........ the "sunset years" of the IDNR's "second choice plan" are upon us soon....and it makes the haters nervous......

......... 'cause they know what's a comin' round that corner.

Move back and SHORTEN the gun season, and cut waaaaay back on the antlerless allocations...make muzzeloader true primitive, sidelock only or inlines with out scopes ..... and get rid of the dam crossguns in archery..put them where they belong, in with the firearms or relegate them to late season for all...

I am in with the plan sounds good

Instead of worrying about Gun Season Lengths and shortening the dates, You should be more worried about how many guys are killing 2 and 3 bucks a season! We need to go back to having Check in Stations and the DNR being on the roads checking people.

Deer die of EHD, it happens every year so why is this big news?... Don acts like this has never happened before...

I've read of a few cases but nothing widespread as he claims... Wish he would have provided some info on his claim...

At the end of the day it is the hunter and not the rules that is the problem... Seeing less deer, then don't shoot... Could have blasted a doe the other day but chose not to... Easy decision to make but unfortunately there are some who cannot make that choice and blast everything in sight then whine when they don't see anything...

Deer will thrive the day when people go out to the field with the mindset that they don't need to harvest a deer to have a successful season... But until then, it will be the same thing regardless of what the rules are... Deer will still be dead and we will still be whining that we are not seeing deer...

IMO, all this article is, is yet another retread of what was rejected a few years ago. More anti-gun, anti-crossbow, anti-opportunity, anti-choice, anti-IDNR, anti-everything but trophy vertical bowhunting.

Like I said several years ago when this was argued endlessly, vertical bowhunters can't pay the bills or manage the herd. And since crossbow inclusion in 2012, @ least archery now accounts for a reasonable portion of the total deer harvest.

As a matter of fact, if people would look @ the data since the changes were made, they would find that in 2011 (the last year before the new regs kicked in) the firearms and muzzleloader seasons accounted for 77% of the total harvest while archery accounted for 21%.

After the new regs kicked in, the change was immediate and in 2014, archery (including crossbows) accounted for 29% of the total harvest, while the firearm, muzzleloader and late antlerless season accounted for 69% of the total harvest.

And while I'm sure there are some counties and/or pockets within counties that have been over hunted, if the herd was being slaughtered the way some claim it to be, how in the world could Hoosier hunters have averaged a deer harvest of almost 128,000 deer per year for the last 11 seasons? At some point that number would have dropped through the floor and stayed that way.

So contrary to the articles, posts and endless hand wringing....the sky is hardly falling.

Blah, blah, blah ... same crap, different day ... day

That's exactly what I thought when I read the article....

Talk to 100 different deer hunters... and you'll get 100 different answers and management fixes ...

That's true...

The DNR Plan was/is to reduce deer population. It was in black and white. Announced for all to see. The days of seeing 20 deer per sit are over. We might just have to hunt harder. Some will give it up but that is probably OK.

Mr. Mulligan's focus on deer as a product is a little too heavy for me. I understand what he is saying and it is certainly true but there are other, non-product, aspects at play. I help to run a business. I'd prefer that my focus is not on product development and margins when I am deer hunting.

I do not hate Mr. Mulligan.

SSDD


Don crying as always. Smh

Indiana's current deer management plan is a train wreck waiting to happen. Actually, it is happening now....just has not been fully realized yet.

Neighboring states with much less liberal opportunities are experiencing population/harvest declines. Why should we NOT expect a worse outcome here?

What gets me is all the hunters that say they are killing,or trying to kill multiple deer,to "do their part"to help the state reduce the deer herd.The deer herd in the areas I hunt in Ripley and Dearborn is way under 10% of what it was 20 - 25 years ago,yet they raised Ripley bonus tags to 8.The C.O.'S I know say that number should be zero.The park managers have no say in whether the parks get hunted or not.In respect to deer management-IDNR = Idiots Doing Nothing Right!

While far from being "scientific", the deer contest results on this site to date are a bit interesting.

One week into general firearms season, 44 participants have reported 5 buck harvests (11% success). Last year at this time 45 participants had recorded 14 buck harvests (31% success).

Seeing a significant drop of success photos on the Indiana forum of Bowsite compared to last year as well.

Probably just the weather...the crops...the moon...people too busy to hunt...people being more selective...etc...

Well, for starters the contest is a big buck contest......so why would most post up if their buck is smaller than one already posted? Duh

For a diminished herd we sure are killing a bunch...81500 and counting

Plenty of activity on Woody's contest
http://hunt-indiana.com/thread/54258/annual-hunting-indiana-contest-check

THE SKY IS FALLING, THE SKY IS FALLING...NOT

Back in the late 1800's there were some record breaking numbers of bison kills also.....

A spin I would expect from you jjas...^^^^

I however see it as another reminder of what was rejected due to FORCED change by those that simply couldn't swallow having more weapons to hunt bucks and as many days possible to hunt bucks........and due to that FORCED change that was promoted by jjas types that killed off the IDNR's FIRST CHOICE has

1)now divided this state from top to bottom more than any other time EVER in Deer hunting history.

2) we have a reduction in our deer population at a more rapid rate over the last few years than at any other other time in our Deer Hunting history in Indiana

3) we have a record number of people getting out of deer hunting.

4) we have a record number of people encroaching on borders with deer left....which has created a WHOLE HOST of Law Enforcement strains

5) CO's are frustrated with their positions more than any other time (and a record number of CO openings in the state as the word on the street is the "job stinks" due to many reasons....and dealing with "customer dissatisfaction" like those associated with our current messed up deer rules.....just doesn't make the job appealing anymore) Not to mention not being listened to by the IDNR as they see WAY FEWER deer and are reporting such.......but counties alotments for antlerless stays WAY HIGH!! Nothing like being hired to be heard....and then not listened too!!

6) Significant drop in HRB entries coming out of this state

But the BIGGEST lie in your post jjas is that to change things for the better does not mean the state is Anti-gun, Anti-Crossbow, Anti-Choice, Anti-DNR, or "Anti-Everything" as you suggest....LOL!!!

It just simply means that as changes are made in the future to fix this mess.......the state is not being Anti-Responsible.

Many surrounding states that have many happy deer hunters aren't labeled with "Anti" with the list you've provided. It's actually YOU that says the sky will fall if you don't have as many weapons possible to hunt bucks and as many days possible to hunt bucks with a gun.

Get real.........YOUR selfishness is now exposed.......You're afraid YOUR sky will fall.....

.....and it will.


And in the meantime......Legit people like Don that put out good ideas, is hired by one of Northern Indiana's News Groups, has a "medium" you WISH you had, but YOU are not credible enough to hold that type of position. He also holds a readership that likes his views and ideas....or he would have been fired LONG time ago. People LISTEN to him, like him, and AGREE with him and his ideas.

I know all that grinds you to an early grave Woody/jjas...... as you're just stuck stirring up a website you have that anyone can put up for free, and is considered "entertainment reading" on just a "good day".

Carry on Haters.......... you are correct........ YOUR sky is falling.... and YOU started it.

Sounds good Dew ....... couldnt have said it better ......

Well them raising Ripley County to 8 probably has to do more with car-deer accidents/ farm damage then hunter harvest...

When insurance companies start complaining then the number is increased to shut them up...

From 1987/93 the average deer harvest was 82,000.

The DNR instituted herd reduction and the harvest from 1994/1997 climbed to an average of 115,000 deer per year.

Here's a quote from the 2000 harvest report...

The decrease in harvest is the result of the
Division’s effort from 1994 - 1997 to reduce the statewide deer population and the effort
in 1998 - 2000 to begin stabilizing the population by slightly reducing antlerless harvest.

Sound familiar?

I wonder how many people were screaming about the sky falling then and is it really falling now?

Hardly....

If the herd was decimated how would it be possible for Hoosier deer hunters to be able to post harvest numbers on average of 128,000 deer per year like we have for the last 11 years? And if the herd was decimated how could Hoosier deer hunters have harvested 83,000 deer so far this year?

Wouldn't happen, as you can't kill what isn't there....

Where will this season's numbers end up? Will they be higher than the last couple of years, lower than the last couple of years or will they level off?

That's what tells the IDNR where they are on herd reduction as it certainly doesn't come from anecdotal reports or personal attacks posted on a facebook page, forum or in articles.

And as far as the accusation of me being a "hater" goes....I just consider the source and don't worry much about it.

Good luck the rest of the deer season to all who have yet to fill their tag(s).

Almost two thousand more added since this morning
83170 and climbing

You're absolutely right, you couldn't have...

Meh .....

Now that's funny right there.

Fix Indiana's deer hunting?

If youre into killing big bucks its better now than it has ever been.

Add another 1300 in the last four hours


Someone is seeing plenty of deer

Saw 11 on opening day and 6 the next morning... I have since seen two bucks and 4 does...

whoopee doo .... proud now ??

:rolleyes:

Lots of nice bucks posted on this page.

https://m.facebook.com/BucksOfIndiana/