Originally posted by pav:
[b] This is exactly where the argument of 1.0 versus 2.0 falls apart. Stewards of the resource will tell you proposal 1.0 was indeed the more reasonable approach...and proposal 2.0 was/is entirely too aggressive.

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What if the late antlerless season had replaced the last seven days of general firearms season? We don't know for sure, but we do know more firearms days equals more dead deer, right?

Last year's numbers look like this:

Last seven days of general firearms: nearly 16,800 total deer harvested, 11,700 of which were antlerless

Late antlerless season: Less than 4,200 deer harvested.

That's roughly 21,000 total animals. Would the late antlerless season have produced such numbers if combined with seven fewer days in November? Count me as skeptical on that....

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As for weapons, there are two choices on the rise despite declining harvest totals...those being rifle and crossbow.

The rifle percentage is basically replacing a shrinking shotgun percentage. The combination of the two percentages are holding steady since 2009 (three years before 2.0 and three years after).

The crossbow percentage is climbing quickly, but the archery percentage is holding relatively firm.
The combination of those two percentages from the same time frame results in roughly a 50% harvest increase...more than 10,000 animals...all crossbow.

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I don't have any data on bundle licensing, but would be shocked if bundle licenses do not represent the majority of license sales. This means more tags in more pockets. I'll leave it at that.

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Deer hunting generates millions of dollars in this state, yet money spent on deer research is a joke. We can't even keep a deer biologist. Chad was not the first professional to bail on Indiana. Like it or not, politicians are running the IDNR. Our deer herd is ultimately being "managed" by people that care more about money and votes than the resource. Not a good recipe for success if you ask me....

Going to climb off the soapbox now. Right now, I consider myself very fortunate to be hunting a large tract of land in the company of... and surrounded by... like minded individuals. If that ever changes, I'll find somewhere else to spend November vacation time....probably beyond the state lines.