Zone 4 hunters?

[riverrat56]

Does anyone else feel a 9 day season would directly improve deer quality in the area?

I hunt season 4A and thats all I do for deer hunting, I feel that if I don't shoot or attempt to shoot the first legal deer that I see, I might not get one for the year.

If I had 7 more days I would very likely pass up a fawn or spike in hopes for a bigger buck or doe (if I have a doe tag).

Maybe I'm just thinking selfishly, but with two days to hunt you and I are limited in the deer we can pass up and the deer we can take.

I know it comes down to personal choice to shoot a small deer or not to, but I like venision and when a legal deer shows it's sometimes hard not to shoot.

[lawdog]

I've said it a hundred times, with a two day season, "if its brown its down" wil always be the way it is. I don't know if 9 days straight is the answer as there were supposedly reasons to not have a solid season here, but the current system definitely promotes the shooting of the younger bucks and makes it hard to manage for bigger more mature bucks.

[Eric Wettschreck]

I'm with dog.

An alternative would be to make the multi season license affordable for a regular working class Joe. That way more of the if it's brown it's down mind set can go away.

[Scott K]

You could always hunt 4b and then you have 4 days to hunt. I too hunt 4a, but then I spend the 9 day hunting trip in wisconsin 2 weeks later. And I also hunt the early season in wisconsin, so I get plenty of days in the woods.

[McGurk]

Well, I'm one of the lucky ones that had his zone changed from a Zone 4 to a Zone 2, and it was nice. I was passing on deer that I likely would have taken previously. The fact that you can do a 2-3 day 1st weekend, work a few days (swapping stories of the hunt, of course), and have options for the 2nd weekend, worked out great for our party. Put in some requests to the DNR, and if the numbers allow for it you may be in luck too. Although 9 days straight does seem like a bit much for a 2 day-er like me.

[chucker34]

I'm all for trying it if its smart management wise by the DNR. Perhaps someone could offer why its not so great even if the tag limits are the same?

My personal observations are that the way things are now - if its brown its down, open fire on any deer you see cause it may be your only shot - the first weekend I see a lot of deer. The second weekend, I see some deer Saturday morning but then once the deer realize the pressure is on again, they go nocturnal for the next month or so and the remainder of the 3 1/2 day is a wash. So I would't call it six days to hunt where I am. I'd call it 2 1/2 max.

[mechanictim]

One of the reasons for the split season and seperate licenses in zone four is to avoid overcrowding on opening day. Most of the zone is agricultural land with limited habitat for deer. If everyone had the same opening weekend the likelihood for for someone getting shot would go up, and the competition for good spots on public land would lead to some people not having a good hunting experiance.

A single season could lead to even more of a "if its brown its down mentality." The DNR has been very reluctant to implement any type of QDM in zone4. The DNR seems to believe that most hunters are happy with what they get. Like most serious deer hunters i would like to see more mature bucks, but the dnr does surveys that they say indicate the majority of people who buy a license just want to shoot a deer regardless of what they get.

[jigging-matt]

Would there even be that much overcrowding anymore? I hunt always hunt 4a with the in-laws and just seems like every year the number of hunters is becoming fewer and fewer. Used to be able to sit in the stand and see trucks driving all over the country side, deer would be running all over. Now your lucky to find a deer and if you do you can hardly afford to pass it up. Never know if you will see many more. Seems like all you see is little yearlings and few basket rack bucks.

[Jameson]

I do most of my deer hunting in 428. I do not think a straight 9 day season would improve the quality of the deer herd. Hunters still have to be selective in their shooting. 9 days or 2 days. Getting a large group of land owners to agree to be selective in their kills is the main way we can improve the quality of the deer.

[riverrat56]

Well 9 days would mean 2 weekends, I guess thats kinda what you are stuck with if you still want two weekends to hunt, otherwise, it's a split season like we have already.

The all-season license is an option, but I just don't find it practicle to pay $73 to hunt 6 days.

My thinking was it would help eliminate the "if it's brown, it's down" theory. Also I don't know a whole lot of people who only hunt 4B, I know some did, but when I hunted it, (my first two years of hunting) there were very few hunters in the woods. So I don't think crowding would be a huge problem, at least not in my imediate area, 440.

I have talked to land owners around me, some would like more big bucks, some only want to bring home some steaks and don't care if its a doe, a wall hanger, or bambi, who am I to tell them I they are wrong?

Maybe a longer season wouldn't prevent strickly meat hunters from taking a small buck on opening morning, but if it's legal that is their right. I think a longer season would allow hunters the choice to pass up a few deer and make a choice to best help the deer population.

[Scott K]

when people use the " if its brown its down " that only leaves more bigger deer out there doesnt it? If people were more selective wouldnt that actually take more bigger deer out of the woods? I can see the theory of being selective and then not ending up with a deer help because then there are more deer. I will let people I know hunt my land, they can shoot all the doe, and little bucks they want, but if I hear they took one of "my" big deer, they wont hunt it any more. Thin out the herd some to leave food for the others. But my land there is an over abundance of smaller deer. So that may be a different story.

[Jameson]

How about getting a muzzleloader or taking up a bow to have more days to hunt with the all-season license?

The all-season license allowed me 2 days of early-anterless hunting, 16 days of rifle/shotgun, and 16 days of muzzleloader. I do not bow hunt, yet. I ended up hunting 28 of those 34 days. 15 of those days in Zone 4. I live in the metro and have to travel for all my hunting, so maybe I favor the all-season license more than someone who hunts "in their backyard."

Toward the end of muzzleloader season I passed on a 8-pointer, because I already had venison in the freezer. I wasn't going to shoot a buck unless it ended up on the wall.

A longer season could allow people to be more selective, and thus lead to better deer in the future. It would still be up to the individual hunter to hunt more than one or two days, and the hunter needs to be willing to pass up shots.

[riverrat56]

wanderingeyes, that would make sence, but there is alot of small spikes and button bucks taken out and that doesn't allow a chance for deer to get bigger.

I had to put down my bow two years ago because of a shoulder injury, I just had a second surgury on it or I would still be using a bow. I can't stay at full draw for more than a few seconds though and I already tried shooting left handed and my arm couldn't hold the bow up long enough or steady enough.

Muzzelloaders are looking like a better and better option but Me picking up a smokepole isn't going to help the overall deer herd.

I guess maybe it's just a bad idea.

[firebug]

I TOO FEEL WE SHOULD GO TO A LONGER SEASON. I WAS PART OF THAT DEER GOAL GROUP. IT WAS OVER WELLMING A BIG INCREASE IS NEEDED. THEY NEED TO DO SOMETHING OTHER THAN JUST DECREASE THE DOE TAGS. YOU KNOW THE TROUBLE IS THE DNR IS WORRIED THEY WILL LOSE REVENUE.