APR 2013?

[TruthWalleyes]

Is SE MN Antler Point Restricted again?

[muskiemanAD]

I heard it was going to happen but have not seen it in writing yet. Where did you see it?

[TruthWalleyes]

I haven't. That's why i'm asking.

[tracker x-2]

Check out the reg book I'm pretty sure it is in place

[TruthWalleyes]

Yep, sure is. WOW.

Good news is that we can register over the phone/internet in 300 zones though.

[mntatonka]

Yep, sure is. WOW.

Good news is that we can register over the phone/internet in 300 zones though.

Because that makes it so easy to enforce the regulation :P

[TruthWalleyes]

Because that makes it so easy to enforce the regulation

At least the DNR realized that the registration centers don't look at the deer anyway so what's the point in bringing the deer with for ID.

It's always been enforced by peers or the random check by CO's. Nothing new.

[muskiemanAD]

Yep that 16 year old gas station clerk who is texting her BFF while registering your deer.... I agree there was no enforcement, the only police out there are fellow hunters who see a spike in a truck with no kid around might ask a question....

[Bear55]

This was way back in the day (60's-70's) but I heard a lot of the guys use to register their deer the Friday before season opened.

[psepuncher]

so ready to see it statewide

pretty sure since the density is below population goals

we really need to protect younger bucks for that fact alone.

I'm 100% trophy taker, but without a few doe in the area,

it makes my chances a little slimmer at having success.

@Bear55....that's prolly the same crowd that said-- deer taste just as good in August as they do in October.

[PurpleFloyd]

so ready to see it statewide

pretty sure since the density is below population goals

we really need to protect younger bucks for that fact alone.

I'm 100% trophy taker, but without a few doe in the area,

it makes my chances a little slimmer at having success.

@Bear55....that's prolly the same crowd that said-- deer taste just as good in August as they do in October.

[psepuncher]

y'all can still bang at anything where I hunt.

There's not much of a population though.

Not like there used to be or anywhere near it.

The tags are still available at about 5 deer per hunter, and without special permits, lotteries or APR regulations. You can party hunt, do a deer drive, rattle grunt, pee in a scrape stc..... but it sure ain't bringing deer around that aren't there.

bring it on, APR's please.

[PurpleFloyd]

y'all can still bang at anything where I hunt.

There's not much of a population though.

Not like there used to be or anywhere near it.

The tags are still available at about 5 deer per hunter, and without special permits, lotteries or APR regulations. You can party hunt, do a deer drive, rattle grunt, pee in a scrape stc..... but it sure ain't bringing deer around that aren't there.

bring it on, APR's please.

I have no problem with people in parts of the state passing APR if that is what the majority of hunters want. BUT. APR's are not a cure all and they aren't something that work in every part of the state and to try and force something that isn't practical in other parts of the state is stupid.

Where I hunt it is small parcels of crop land and the success of the hunt and the chance of even seeing a deer many times comes down to the number of acres of corn that has been harvested. If it happens to be an early harvest then you may have an opportunity to maybe see one deer of either sex walk by per year if you still hunt in a stand. The notion that we have so many deer running around that you can sit back and choose which one of the many deer you happen to see walk by is just fantasy. Something you see on TV. Yeah, there is always the odd chance you are in the right place at the right time and have several walk by, but then you might have 5 years of the opposite.

I like Venison. I could give a rip how many points the deer I harvest has. There is no imbalance that is threatening the herd in terms of health or survival. If you pass that type of legislation in this area you are going to have a further decrease in hunter participation and if your goal is to have fewer hunters so there are more running around for you to choose from then I guess your goal will be met.But not every area works like it does in other areas and it is a foolish idea to try and apply that type of hunting universally.

If you want less big deer shot and more of them in the herd then start pressing for leaving a portion of corn or other thick cover for them to hide in in every section of land. That would ensure that the mature deer can stick around and spread their genetics and have a chance to live.

[TruthWalleyes]

Oh boy, here we go again.

+1bazillion Floyd.

Horn Porn.

[mntatonka]

so ready to see it statewide

pretty sure since the density is below population goals

we really need to protect younger bucks for that fact alone.

I'm 100% trophy taker, but without a few doe in the area,

it makes my chances a little slimmer at having success.

@Bear55....that's prolly the same crowd that said-- deer taste just as good in August as they do in October.

Yup, the densities are below goals...which is why they're still giving crop damage tags in many places...

[psepuncher]

Yup, the densities are below goals...which is why they're still giving crop damage tags in many places...

deers gotta eat to right?

In certain parts of the state that were dramatically hit with an higher than average WSI and prolonged winter into most of April...

There's been an incinuated 40% fawn mortality and 15% adult mortality

just from that factor.

less deer right? just another factor in that part of the state

The other parts are from DNR allocations harvesting, couple vehicles etc.

Now the other hand with the same prolonged winter we had,

there's going to be no acorns statewide, farms not really going to have an average crop of hay, or alf. So there's some high competition there

for corn. It's the middle denominator that's going to funnel livestock and

wildlife.

wait a sec, did I say no acorns this year?

[psepuncher]

Oh boy, here we go again.

+1bazillion Floyd.

Horn Porn.

two have missed my point, totally

I hope they pull out ther general season during the rut just for you guys

If you think that, then I think you are after anything with four hooves and a brown coat...kidding. As I said with the lowest density I've seen it's hard to even find a decent mature doe around here.

this is not a joke though. With the 2012 season having one of the lowest harvests in about 12 years, does that sound effecient as to having satisfactory population levels? not to me.

September 1, 2012 Minnesota, Minneapolis Star Tribune ...

... Steve Merchant, Department of Natural Resources (DNR) wildlife programs manager, says his agency is distributing significantly fewer antlerless permits this fall in order to grow the state's whitetail herd in coming years... " Our deer modeling efforts on harvest rates indicated our deer numbers are down, and to rebuild the herd, we need to closely regulate antlerless harvest." ...

[TruthWalleyes]

I get your point...rable rable rable bigger horns.

[BRULEDRIFTER]

I get your point...rable rable rable bigger horns.

Exactly!

Blah, Blah, Blah, Belch, Blah, Big Racks, Blah, Blah, Belch, Herd Health, Belch, Blah, Blah, Big Horns......

Repeat.

[monstermoose78]

+ 1 for Truth and brule

[PurpleFloyd]

If the debate is that you should let a deer with a small rack walk because you need deer with bigger racks for a healthy herd then the big ones are the ones they should let walk so they can keep the herd health balanced instead of shooting them and sticking their head on the wall where they are doing the herd no good at all and they should be culling the fork horns and the deer with poorly developed racks to get them out of the breeding population.

[flipper]

Somebody gets it!

[Scott K]

I am not an antler eater, I like meat. I will start the season off, and my goal is to shoot anything that isnt a yearling, but towards the end of the season, bigger yearlings taste better then tag soup. In fact I would much prefer a 4-6 point, 2 yo buck to an old tough smelly 3-4 yo buck for the table. As for the racks, I have shot several nice ones in my days, none of them ended up on my wall, they all ended up laying around, until I threw them out.

For those of you that want big racks, by all means, let the younger tastier deer walk to me, I will take them. Then you can sport hunt the ones that get past me in a couple years, and put them on your wall.

[Bear55]

[TruthWalleyes]

I'm OK with selective harvest. I practice it myself. I don't force it on others. Shoot whatever deer you like, it's your hunt.

Keep whatever fish you want, it's your limit. I'll practice selective harvest.

I'm not ok with HORN PORN LEGISLATION.

I'm with Scott K. Horns stay attached to the carcass and they all get tossed.

[psepuncher]

I think in certain times like these days, it needs something to protect young deer.

People think of deer on an individual scale,” DelGiudice says. “But wildlife managers have to think of them on a population scale and landscape-wide. That’s why these {population}data were so important.”

mast crops are next to nothing this year, hay, alf included.

This is not good at all for alot of areas that support the habitat for deer. I'll bet I see alot of young ones not make the winter, or older ones at that rate too.

pretty sure the emergency plan to harvest grass/hay from WMA's this season won't help deer etc.

time will tell

[TruthWalleyes]

Nobody is protecting those young does. Just the deer with antlers...

[PurpleFloyd]

I think in certain times like these days, it needs something to protect young deer.

People think of deer on an individual scale,” DelGiudice says. “But wildlife managers have to think of them on a population scale and landscape-wide. That’s why these {population}data were so important.”

mast crops are next to nothing this year, hay, alf included.

This is not good at all for alot of areas that support the habitat for deer. I'll bet I see alot of young ones not make the winter, or older ones at that rate too.

pretty sure the emergency plan to harvest grass/hay from WMA's this season won't help deer etc.

time will tell

Are you referring to a statewide or a region specific problem?

[TruthWalleyes]

The DNR manages deer by allowing unlimited licenses on bucks. They allow does to be harvested in areas and by lottery, and they heavily rely on low hunter success.

Deer tags fund DNR.... don't expect much change besides more and more lottery in the future.

Unlimited buck harvest with respect to tag purchases doesn't support a bigantler state, but in the mean time the DNR is doing it's usual political feel good by passing a few zones into APR to make you few loud mouthes happy. In the mean time more an more zones go lottery and increase small buck harvest.

[Jameson]

If the debate is that you should let a deer with a small rack walk because you need deer with bigger racks for a healthy herd then the big ones are the ones they should let walk so they can keep the herd health balanced instead of shooting them and sticking their head on the wall where they are doing the herd no good at all and they should be culling the fork horns and the deer with poorly developed racks to get them out of the breeding population.

Yep, but they'll say it's not about the rack. It's about having a deer population that has a greater percentage of bucks then we currently have. IMO just give us a buck lottery then, anyone with a license could shoot any buck and it would have a bigger effect on the herd.