Well, I was going to stay outa this one.....
BUT, I have to TOTALY agree with non-typical!!!!!
Sorry my friends,but some of us have seen with our own eyes the effects of deer herd "mis-management". Here in the Northeast we have a SEVERE coyote problem. I have to side with my good friend Shawn Leonard when I say that all of the management practices instituted by the respective state agencies fail to include the one factor that they absolutely CANNOT control. That would be "non-hunting" related mortality.(i.e. cars,coyotes,starvation,etc.) I have seen the Wild Turkey population DEVASTATED in Schoharie Co. N.Y. where my father lives by coyotes years ago. One fall,there were HUGE flocks,20-30 birds in a field,the following spring,NOTHING!!!!! You would see a bird here,a bird there. As most of you know,when the flocks break up in the spring,birds are everywhere you look. The best Turkey hunters in the county were all in agreement..... They could hardly FIND a Gobbler,let alone call one in. The birds were just not there!!!!! The coyotes have done the same with the deer. Each summer,you see does with 2 and even 3 fawns,in the fields every evening. In the early spring,(march) you only see a single adult deer or 2 in a field. Before anyone even thinks it,let me say that the N.Y.S.D.E.C. has issued practicaly NO antler-less permits for over the last 10 years. Both WMU's 4H and 4G are listed as "low" meaning that less than 1/3 of the applicants will receive a permit,and preferance credits are required. Meaning that you must have been turned down at least once,(many hunters I know have been turned down 2-3 times) before being issued a permit. There are NO 2nd permits issued,NO non-resident permits issued,and NO "crop damage" permits are issued to any landowners(farmers). This is a mountainous agricultural area in the nothern Catskill Mountains of N.Y. not a vast "big woods" area like the central Adirondacks. Due to the high elevations of some of the mountains and the temperature changes between the bottom of the mountain and the top,there are drastic changes in the weather conditions. A "couple inches" of snow down in the valley could be a foot or more at the top. People are always heard to say "I have NEVER seen any proof of starvation in N.Y."(or any other state you'd like to add) BUT I HAVE!!!!! I've seen it with my own 2 eyes!!!!! I'll tell you a story.....
Years ago,about 1998 or '99 we had a terrible ice storm here in the notheast the day before the gun season opened. Normaly,I would drive up to my Mom&Dad's the evening before to hunt opening day. While eating dinner I was whatching the weather channel and there was a wide band of "pink"(ice)extending from just north of my house up to the Mohawk River valley. Schoharie Co. lay right in the middle of that pink band. I called my Dad to check the weather,hoping that it was snowing up there. "No, it's raining" my Dad said, I'll call back in a couple hours I told him. Several more calls over the next few hours confirmed my worst fears..... It was still raining,the temperature was in the 20's,and everything was a sheet of ice. I was going to miss opening day,this would only be the 4th one I had missed in over 20 years. I woke up the next morning and the notheast was in the news!!!!! "The Worst Ice Storm In Years" trees and wires down,thousands without power..... I called my Dad that morning,They had fared pretty well,they lost power for a while and he started the generator,but it was back on. I told him I was going to head up later in the afternoon to hunt wed.(the 3rd day) When I finally got up there,a 2 hour trip took me almost 4 hours. I helped make sure everything was in good shape,then we had dinner and I hit the rack early. The next morning I got up,had a big,hot ham & eggs breakfast,pulled on my wool,and headed out. It was still overcast,but the wind had died down some. I decided to walk the field edges,looking for sign that the deer were up and feeding after the storm. As I got to the upper edge of the 3rd field something caught my eye. It was a brown "lump" on the edge of the field next to the woodlot where I usualy sit. I watched it for a while and it didn't move. Probly sound asleep I thought to myself,I slowly walked,one crunchy step at a time,waiting for it to stand up. About 40 yards away,I thought..... It must REALLY be out!!! About 20 yards away I thought,something's not right..... When I was standing next to that little deer,a button buck,it was all too clear. He was frozen solid. He had been eating in the field,for as long as he could trying to load up before the storm. Then he had lay down and curled up in a ball to wait out the storm,and had become totaly encased in ice. The truely sad thing,is that if he had gone 200 yards down over the bank into the woodlot,he would have been in the thick pines,under cover,and most likely have lived.
The old "Lead Does" are smart,they know how to survive. They sense danger,like man,coyotes,and cars,and they know how to elude them and escape. In the vast north country with severe winter kills,the old does lead their groups to the "deer yards" for the winter. As the other does mature and become "Lead Does" they in turn lead their groups to the yards as they were taught to do when they were younger. Even in populated areas with cars. With the exception of during the rut,you rarely ever see a mature doe hit by a car. It's always the little ones,Momma says "let's go" he who hesitates..... Is lost.
The young fawns are just coyote bait, If they make it through thier first winter,then they have a good chance of growing to be a mature buck or doe. But,survival instincts are a learned process. By shooting the old mature does and leaving the fawns to fend for themselves..... You are only helping to breed "stupidity" into the deer herd.
I'll get off my soap box now.
Topic: Button Bucks (Read 4363 times)
