The key is, lots of area's in the NLP still have really good deer hunting and some area's don't.
We're not taking about large parts of Michigan producing "big bucks" or "trophy bucks", we're talking about Michigan producing a more natural age class of otherwise run of the mill 100 class basket 8pt's, which were common in the NLP prior to the 1970's and are common in most other states with similar less than great soils for antler growth. They only are uncommon in much of northern Michigan because of hunter attitude and regulations. We've made the bucks unnaturally "small" in the NLP. The problem is, so many have only that experience in their lifetime that they think it's normal. It's not. We've stunted the NLP herd. The problem is man made.
I'm sorry that some of you are in pockets with such poor deer hunting. I just did a random search and quickly found some nice buck poles. The main reason small town buck poles don't exist much anymore is because guys don't have time to hang a deer in a public space and hang out for a day. In todays go-go world, when a guy kills a deer he's usually headed home. I owned a store with a buck pole, I speak from experience. Anyone else here own a northern sport shop with a buck pole? Time is among today's biggest problems with hunter participation. It's also why we need Saturday openers for everything, fish, small game, deer, turkey, etc. But that's for another thread. LOL
Some don't want to accept the data, but that's their cross to bear. The reality is, lots and lots of deer are still being killed in the NLP. More now than just a few years ago. Now, sightings may be down more than 50% in some places, but that was by design. The bottom line is, we have to grasp that the days of seeing 50 deer a week are over in much of the NLP and we may only see a dozen deer in a week. But as far as killing deer, we're still killing a pile of them.
How many here have actually spent time or volunteered at a deer check station?
One can stomp their feet and pretend the numbers are way off, but they aren't. I'm sorry for those who'd rather live in a fantasy world, but they are flat out wrong if they think the data has no merit.
In the giant year of 1998 and 2.2 million deer, we had our first year of unlimited antlerless tags and the first year of the combo tag, where lots of guys bought two tags for the first time.
In 1998, NLP archery hunters killed 32,000 antlerless deer. However, by 1999, that number fell to 23,000 antlerless deer. In 1998, NLP archers killed 27,000 bucks and kept up the pressure in 1999 and also killed 27,000 bucks. However, by 2002, those numbers in the NLP fell to 18,000 antlerless deer killed by archers and 18,000 bucks.
Now bear with me here.
In 2005, as antlerless quota's were lowered, NLP archers killed only 13,000 antlerless deer and 17,000 bucks. In 2006, NLP archers killed 16,000 antlerless deer and 21,000 bucks.
In 2010, NLP archers killed 15,000 antlerless deer and 15,000 bucks.
Anyone starting to notice that on average years, the ratio of antlerless to bucks killed is in the 1:1 ballpark?
Now, here's where the tinfoil hat is going blow off of some heads, in 2012, NLP archers killed 22,000 antlerless deer and 23,000 bucks.
This internet notion that all the deer in the NLP of Michigan are gone is completely nuts.
Now, if we want to talk about parts of the UP being nearly void of deer, that's a whole other subject. With the forest reverting back to old growth status in many places of the UP, the deer herd in the UP is going to get really thin over the next 30 years in many places.
From the Deer and Deer Hunting article, here's another quote from a top biologist that sums up what many are experiencing in the NLP. He's discussing how states manage by larger deer units...
"Well, as hunters, we don't hunt at the unit level. We hunt at the property level. Within a unit, you can have very good numbers of deer. But on specific properties within that unit, that can equal lots of deer, few deer or zero deer. So in the very same unit, you'll have hunters who are very happy to down-right upset."
Topic: Michigan deer (Read 2975 times)
