Originally posted by jbwhttail: [b] So what is the question? It seems some are claiming the lower harvest is due to less deer and others are saying it is weather related. Is there a smaller deer herd or not.....
In some areas there are less deer and some areas it was weather. I think it is tough to manage such a diverse state as ours. The majority of public land and best deer habitat are in the south while most of the population is in central and northern Indiana. So it makes it very difficult to balance hunter opportunity and nonhunter opinions on deer human conflict. The DNR is in a no win and probably has to keep the entire state in a reduction mode even if the northern half is below capacity and the southern half the pressure is not spread out enough making pockets look like there are less deer. [/b]
Js2397, I think you are on the right track, and I look forward to seeing the county harvest data so as to compare the numbers from last season to the current season.
I'll take it a step farther....I think that if not for the lousy weather on the opening weekend of firearms season, we might have have topped last season's total harvest, this season. What do I base that on? The rough data posted so far...
Early archery was up by roughly 5,000 deer over last season.
The last 14 days of the firearms season was up roughly 8,500 deer as compared to last season.
The muzzleloader season was up by roughly 2,000 deer over last season.
Will the late antlerless be up? I don't know, as there are fewer counties eligible this year, but it will be interesting to see what happens.
Does that mean I think that every county will be higher or that there aren't any problems in any counties throughout the state? Of course not....
But if lower deer numbers were as WIDESPREAD an issue as some feel they are, I can't see how the overall harvest numbers would have climbed to the levels they have @ this point of the season after several years of herd reduction.
