Where have all the deer gone?

[T-Bowhunter]

I have hunted for almost 50 years. I have chosen to be a meat hunter and I feel that no one should kill more Deer than their family can eat. My son and I usually kill two of three Deer each year and that provides my family with enough meat for the year.  There are hunters that kill every legal Deer they see,there is no way they can eat all of the meat.  In the area that I hunt you will hear of hunters killing 15 plus deer every year, what a waste.

[Real Buckmaster]

I had made some comments on deer in Iowa having lower number. I read an DRA article that finally states (if you are not seeing very many does it would be good to let them pass.) This is a little late after they took all the out of state hunters revenue!!!! Maybe this will wake some people up!!

[Mojostick]

State DNR's have been actively and aggressively been trying to lower deer herd numbers since the late 1990's.

With those high numbers came more crop damage, car accidents and then diseases like CWD and TB. Add falling hunter numbers and aging hunters and state DNR's now want to keep deer herds at a lower, but sustained number. Deer herds can double in size in about 3 years if allowed to, but it takes 15 years of aggressive harvest to cut herds in half.

State DNR's don't "give out" most tags, other than in extreme crop damage or disease zones. No, it's we the hunters that buy the tags and fill them.

States aren't going to allow herds to get big again, That era is over and came with some hard lessons.

I'm not sure even many hunters understand how fast deer herds can grow, unless you really keep your foot on it. For example, in 1926 the Manitou Island Association released 4 bucks and 5 does on North Manitou Island. Two of the bucks died the first day. But by 1943, there was roughly 2000 deer on the island. That's something!

[Bluefeather]

All the deer you guys aren't seeing must have have moved onto my place,I can hardly get down my driveway without have to move deer out of the way.