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One doe on public

12K views 79 replies 28 participants last post by  hopin to cash 
#1 ·
From Ohio Wildlife....a submission for the Wildlife Council consideration for next year:

1 antlerless deer per license from public ground

No antlerless deer from public ground after December 2

Designed to grow the herd on public ground
 
#2 ·
So they can run onto the private baited property and get blasted. I like that idea and think it will work great...Not. My part of the state isn't a population problem it is available land to hunt problem how about fixing that. I do travel and hunt in Muskingum County and I don't think there is a population problem there either. Sounds impossible to enforce as well.
 
#6 · (Edited)
i like the idea. dang tough croud to please to say the least. people complained about too few deer left on public land and now here is a step to try to let the population rebound and people complain about that too.
I'm with you on this one. The only way the herds on public ground will increase is to leave the does alone.
Like you said, so many people complained about and then beat up the DNR for allowing such liberal limits which crushed the deer herds. Now they want to slow the kill rate down so the herds can rebound and now that's not good either.
I think managing public and private land differently is the only thing that makes sense. Acting like limited and unlimited hunting pressure is the same is not facing reality.
 
#8 ·
I'm suprised to see any negative reaction to this . I see nothing but good . It may be a little late , but it's definitely a step in the right direction .
Is it gonna be hard to enforce ? Yeah . But then again so are most other fish and game laws . They can only make the rules . It's up to us to follow them. You can't make laws to accommodate for people who aren't gonna follow them .
 
#9 ·
Now that's stupid after allowing 6 deer limit in southern counties they (imo) desecrated the deer herd with over harvesting now going to make up by allowing 1 deer off public land im not the smartest but that makes no sense to me what idiots o_O:confused::(
The real idiots are the hunters that aren’t / weren’t smart enough to realize what they did to the herd. Let’s just blame it all on the odnr.
 
#15 ·
I only take what the law allows
and that is the problem. The herd can't possibly hold up to what the current and past legal limit allows.
I've noticed a big decline in numbers on private ground since the 6 deer limit days. I can't imagine what the public grounds are like.

I would be interested in the number of antlerless deer that were taken on public after December 2nd of this season.
My bet is not many percentage wise.

IMO Ohio is good at setting unrealistically high limits. Look at the crappie limit at 30 fish per person. There aren't many people who even catch 30 crappie in a day much less 30 keepers.
A 15 fish limit would be more realistic.
 
#17 ·
http://wildlife.ohiodnr.gov/hunting...y-species/deer/deer-harvest-yearly-comparison
This Will tell you when, where and sex of deer killed but isn't broken down by public vs private

Personally I don't like or see the logic of the no antlerless after Dec 2 , makes it buck only for muzzleloader season on public and some years that's the only time I deer hunt, just making it 1 antlerless per season on public IMO would accomplish the same results.
Good luck and Good hunting !
 
#16 · (Edited)
My land, I don't think 3 is over harvesting.....especially when hardly any shooting is going on around me.....don't put out camera's any more , but the neighbors does and has many deer at his feeder (he doesn't hunt ) the past so many years.

it was 2 last year inmy county that I thought was too low...
for the big woods area and terrain, but 2 was what I harvested

I would like to see 2 bucks state wide to narrow down the does taken....that would help build the herd.....one buck can service many does that give birth....I would like selective harvest on 1 buck (deformed rack) and then be able to head hunt for a second....that would make for only taking 1 doe for me instead of 2 or 3.....increasing the herd around me that really doesn't need it so far
 
#25 ·
Some of the posts on here and other sites is crazy. Pics of truckloads and pallets of feed so they can "hunt" deer is unreal. It's only a matter of time before we do get a serious CWD outbreak. There are locals around here that put out 25k pounds of corn each season.
 
#26 ·
Why December 2nd? Do they realize how hard the hunting on public can be in December/January?

I have no problem with trying to limit doe harvest, but I think for that last part of the season, let the guys shoot either sex. Especially because you do get some antler drop in January which further reduces what would be available for "buck" harvest.
 
#27 ·
All this talk,I never or will I take more than I can use !!. Go back to doe tags per county as needed and BUCK ONLY FOR THE SEASON the odnr does a great job imo.I don't agree with all the rules but they are in place for all to enjoy the outdoors and its opportunities for all to use.I also agree with limited using of bait sites.I do know how to CONTROL THE TRIGGER.You may or may not agree with me and my opinion that's why we have free speech.We all as hunters need to combine our efforts and partake in efforts to introduce new hunters to the outdoors
 
#29 ·
Aren't there other options to consider before this drastic move? What about a bow-only and crossbow-only doe tags and a gun-only doe tag, with crossbow and gun being more expensive? Why not make non-resident deer hunting a lottery draw instead and make it much more expensive like some other states? I like the idea of no baiting on private too. Can't we limit it to 3 does and 1 buck per year and see where that gets us? Just seems like a steep shift to go to one doe on public when you have other options available. Lastly, why do the private land folks get all the breaks, and the public chumps like me take all the hits? I'm not happy with this proposal. I usually take a buck and doe per year on public land, and now I get the hose if I can't get my buck, which would be more pressured than ever on public land.
 
#30 ·
Some of these comments are ridiculous. To think that I as an individual have any control or influence over the collective that harvest deer off of public land is absurd. Hunters didn't create this problem. ODOW did. Period!

The only people, in my opinion, who would not like this are private land owners who lease the deer hunting rights and/or the Ohio Farm Bureau. A healthy population of deer on public land hurts demand for their lease which means the lease prices won't keep sky rocketing.

This is a very small and conservative step in the right direction. Anyone calling this drastic, really doesn't understand wildlife management principles.
 
#32 ·
IMO the ODNR have not a clue what the deer herd is. I've said this for a long time now that its too easy for an out of state hunter to hunt Ohio. we need a lotto system. I remember reading once that out of state hunters do take a lot of deer every year! keep Ohio deer in Ohio!!
and as far as hunters need to help...yes its up to the hunter on how many to take. but the laws are in place and if a hunter takes 6 then so be it. there's no reason to chastise that hunter...they are WELL within their right to take 6! and I always hear "just because you can doesn't mean you need to". that's just BS!!! I say to those people do you take your limit of fish??? again, if you're with in the law then by all means do it. if you only want to take 1 or 2 a season then do so..
I've stopped posting on how many deer I get just because I'm sick of the chastising. I have a family that eats every bit of the meat! last season was a bad bad season. its not that I didn't see any...seen plenty. but noting came in and plus a few missed shots. I can tell you....my body feels different because of eating beef for a year.. so with that being said this season was a good season for me and my family!!
but the ODNR is going in the wrong direction.. and they have been for years.
this "new submission" is only going to hurt the sport\way of life.
ODNR need to get their heads out of their wallets and look at the bigger problem.
just my .02 cents!!! :)
 
#34 · (Edited)
Those saying the ODNR can't manage the deer herd really need to take a look at the facts.

The ODNR said there were too many deer and announced the need to reduce the population. They increased bag limits and and reduced cost of antlerless tags. The deer herd was reduced substantially.

They then said the population was nearing the reduced population goals and they decreased the bag limit, eliminated the reduced price antlerless tags and implemented revised zones and managements areas. Population has been maintained fairly stable at lower population levels.

Now they are trying to balance the populations across private and public lands with initiatives to grow public land populations while maintaining the reduced population goals achieved. This was a high priority from hunters responding to the hunter surveys.

All of this was announced prior to and achieved without having control of the vast majority of the hunting properties(private) and having not pulled the trigger to kill all of the deer to reduce the population to desired levels. Hunters participated gleefully.

You may not like the management of the deer population but to say they can't manage the population is an absurd statement. They have clearly demonstrated that they can easily control the deer population through willing hunter participation
 
#36 ·
I guess what I struggle with is I haven't seen the analysis in the numbers or the statistics beyond the number of legally harvested deer. There's a host of things I'd like to know what these numbers tell us because that diagnoses the reason for the population problem and the reason for the proposal to limit us to one doe on Public Land before December 3rd. There's probably a good reason, but dang it, tell me why other than the ODNR is trying to increase the herd on public land. What, why, how and who are causing these populations to drop? I don't want to see a lift on the one doe rule in say 5 years from now without knowing why this recently happened. What is the ODNR going to implement to avoid this issue in the future? Without this analysis, we're left to our own uninformed conclusions. I've left a message with the ODNR, and if they give me some basis, I'll share with the rest of you.
 
#39 ·
Hate to say it, but the management goals are being achieved as planned. Insurance and agriculture also have a say on what size the deer herd should be. Hunting was the tool to decrease deer numbers and these low numbers are here to stay.
Unless hunters are willing to hunt bucks only or go fishing, everything will go as planned and the deer herd numbers will remain low.
 
#40 ·
We still kill a lot more deer every year lately than what the total deer population was when I 1st started hunting. It's not like every deer has a number and we know exactly what were dealing with from year to year and then throw in and ehd break out or really good or bad weather during fire arms season crazy amounts of variables. I like when I get my odnr surveys in the mail or emails these days I always take the time to fill them out and write my comments on them I feel like they do want to hear from everyone and try and balance things as best they can. I'm sure they don't get a lot of people calling them to just say "hey good job" it's a thankless job and everyone they talk too is an expert and their ideas are the best ones. I will continue to pay for my Very reasonably priced licenses and permits and hunt and fish in one of the most target rich states in the union with a big ole smile on my face.
 
#41 ·
Some of the responses in this thread are unbelievable. No wonder public land is shot up all over the state. Seems many are only worried about themselves.

Great proposal imo.
Reduces doe harvest opportunity where needed most
Takes pressure off public land as season progresses
Saves shed bucks and buttons late season
Saves does that will help maintain stronger populations.

I hope it’s enough. I think it’s a good start. Having hunted 9 counties on both public and private land in Ohio this year. Our public land hunting quality is no where close to private these days. This wasn’t the case in the past and I’d like to see more regulations that aim to maximize opportunity on public land. I know a lot of hunters only have public land and them sticking with the tradition is weighing on properly managed game populations.

Would have liked to see this enacted when they decided to reduce deer numbers across the state 10 years ago. Given hunter densities we never needed to reduce public land deer numbers in the first place.
 
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