Fawn crop

[laker1]

Just wondering if you think your seeing as many fawns this year,or are you seeing lot of yearling does with no fawns,which so far is my observation,visual and on my game camera. Mille lacs area.

Just wondering if the winter had a effect on fawn production.

[smsmith]

Last year's doe fawns are all without fawns of their own this year around me. I also have one older doe (no idea on age) that is without a fawn. I have only seen a single fawn with another older doe on trail cam and what I believe is the same fawn/doe with my own eyes.

Next year isn't going to be much better than this given the poor recruitment of the last two years. We're at least 3 years away from any return to "normal" for total deer harvest IMHO. And that would be dependent on getting two mild/moderate winters and continued antlerless tag reductions for 2015.

[fr0sty]

I'm seeing twins and singles on my cameras. Been told of triplets in the area, so that's good news.

[laker1]

Frosty,what area of the state?-just general area is fine.

[Swiftswamper]

I have a doe on my place with triplets and have seen multiple sets of twins.

[ANYFISH2]

Stu, do you have high numbers of coyote near by your place?

Just a few miles northest of you around me, I am seeing quite a few fawns now that they are taller and the grass is getting cut + deer/horse flies are terrible keeping them in the open more.

[fr0sty]

Zone 240 by NYM.

Frosty,what area of the state?-just general area is fine.

[bowhunternw]

Been seeing good numbers of fawns this year, 50-50 mix of singles and twins.

[smsmith]

Stu, do you have high numbers of coyote near by your place?

Just a few miles northest of you around me, I am seeing quite a few fawns now that they are taller and the grass is getting cut + deer/horse flies are terrible keeping them in the open more.

I wouldn't say so, I've been running 4-5 cams since March and have only a few pics of yotes. None for the last 6 weeks+ or so. A group of guys near Swanville pound the yotes hard every winter in this area. Deerflies are indeed terrible

[smsmith]

Zone 240 by NYM.

Some of the highest densities in the State around NYM and Perham...be watchful during the next round of public stakeholder meetings. In SE MN Leslie McInenly stated that the habitat cannot support 18 dpsm. Your area is well above that...and you get "real" winter there.

[hockeybc69]

smith speaks truth.... Whats the DNR going to say about that Perham area if the SE cant handle deer numbers like that(so they claim)?

People need to start really thinking about this and get more involved.

[PurpleFloyd]

I am seeing a lot of fawns in this area while driving for work. Hopefully the cams will be going out this weekend around the hunting grounds as my relatives told me it looks like the numbers are higher this year than the last several.

[BuckSutherland]

Was up at my land in 172 all last week. Pathetic or abysmal come to mind when describing the fawn population.

[BLACKJACK]

I've been seeing quite a few fawns in my area, singles and twins, they're starting to come out into the soybean and alfalfa fields. I'm also seeing quite a few young does with no fawns, been watching one group of four, seen them together multiple times, including this morning, no fawns. Also have another doe and fawn, with a third deer always with them, I'm assuming last years fawn. So I think the tough winter did have an affect on the young does, it didn't kill them, just made them absorb or throw their fawns.

Just got my cameras out, will be interesting to see what I get for bucks, they say that in a tough winter the fawns and rutting bucks are the first to go.

[smsmith]

Just got my cameras out, will be interesting to see what I get for bucks, they say that in a tough winter the fawns and rutting bucks are the first to go.

So far, none of the 3 bucks over 1.5 years old I had on cam in December have shown themselves on cam this year. That obviously doesn't mean they aren't around...but I did have them on cam at this time last year. I don't think I had any fawn mortality (unborn fawn mortality...absolutely) last winter, but I'm starting to be concerned about mature buck mortality.

[SmellEsox]

What mature bucks smsmith? The winter can't kill what isn't there in the first place.

[smsmith]

What mature bucks smsmith? The winter can't kill what isn't there in the first place.

I get your point...and in most areas of the State support it. However, I'm fortunate to live and hunt next to about 400 acres where the owners practice an 8 point or better rule. I follow a "shoulder mount" rule here, so very few bucks are getting taken in the immediate area. I had at least 2, 2.5's last year and 1, 3.5+ on cam a number of times last year...I felt pretty good about that in the State of MN. On my old place in southcentral WI, I'd have anywhere from 5-7 2.5+'s every year on cam...and that was on 13 acres (87 here)

[fmhoyt]

Up in my area in north central Mn we have poor fawn crop this year. A few twins and some singles and allot of dry does this year. I have some cams out and one has 4 dry does and one with a single fawn.

[PurpleFloyd]

Saw 3 sets of twins with mamas between St Peter and Kato tonight taking the backroads to the west of 7 mile creek. Looks like they are growing well this summer with the nice temps and fewer bugs now that the monsoon season ended.

[laker1]

I think you get north of Little Falls a lot of yearling does did not have fawns this year.

[smsmith]

I think you get north of Little Falls a lot of yearling does did not have fawns this year.

I have zero yearling does with fawns this year.

[laker1]

We can look at the hard winter as cause for no fawns in the yearlings,

but maybe we should also look at how many 2.5+ and older does in the population. With too many licenses in many areas we are shooting off are breeder does that have the potential to produce fawns yearly and often at least twins.

[PurpleFloyd]

We can look at the hard winter as cause for no fawns in the yearlings,

but maybe we should also look at how many 2.5+ and older does in the population. With too many licenses in many areas we are shooting off are breeder does that have the potential to produce fawns yearly and often at least twins.

That can also be attributed to years of QDM/APR supporters telling every hunter that would listen to let small bucks pass and to fill the freezer with does.

[smsmith]

That can also be attributed to years of QDM/APR supporters telling every hunter that would listen to let small bucks pass and to fill the freezer with does. [/quote

Don't forget to pass some of that blame to the DNR who has handed out antlerless tags like candy for a decade. As well as the message that Intensive harvest gives to people..."deer are vermin...they all need to be shot."

Deer are a valuable asset to this state and they need to be treated as such. They aren't rats.....

[fmhoyt]

Up here they have let to many does be shot followed by two bad winters in a row. It's not just yearlings that don't have fawns this year there are allot of big mature does that are dry this year. Most of the areas that have fawns are in areas that people fed the deer all winter so they had a easy winter.

[Farmsfulltime]

Sounds like feed and high quality feed and habitat are whats needed then, maybe the adult does would have been barren no matter how many were in the area , The DNR cannot control the weather yet , if there had been twice as many how many of those would have starved

[Early Riser]

We were up at our cabin in the Grand Marais area over the first week in August and I saw a few deer with fawns, including twins and one fawn that kept coming down to the river bank where I was fishing early one morning. Every time I caught another fish, it would get curious about the splashing and other noises, and walk back to within about 30 feet of me. Later I heard it bleating to its mother as it must have stayed too long in my area while mamma wandered away.

I saw very little deer sign in most areas greater than one mile inland, including on our trails and along the road. Most sign and deer sightings were down by the lake where a number of folks were feeding them during the past severe winter.

[laker1]

You get Brainerd and north it was just a hard winter controlled by mother nature,that is just the way it is,nature rules. Happenned before and will happen again.

[PurpleFloyd]

They were handing them out like candy for longer than a decade and the population was fine. Lots of this is just knee jerk because we had weather that has had an impact on their ability to recover but rest assured, they can and will recover and can get back to the levels they were at before on their own god willing and if he gives them the weather they need.

To be honest I think this came along at just the right time because it made everyone step back and rethink their priorities and in the end i believe the sport and the deer will benefit. As far as the comment that they are not rats- yeah, they are a living creature and we do owe them respect. In fact we need to respect all of them and not just the big ones. they are all a goft and when they are provided to us we need to be glad no matter what size they come in. He doesn't always give us what we want, but he always gives us what we need.

[smsmith]

The sport and deer will be better for it...if and only if deer hunters and our DNR learns something. If not, the days of harvesting 200-220K are gone forever in this state.

Two bad winters in a row are not solely responsible for our current situation.