Zone 157 a lottery??

[Coach]

Last year it was still either sex, this year it is lottery? I know it was on the edge of the lottery last year but I thought with the pretty easy winter that we would not go to a lottery. What are your thoughts on this? Our group of four have only shot bucks the past four years and past on several does but I am surprised about this. Are people seeing less deer this year than less?? Thanks for the replies

[ozzie]

You can't try to justify or figure out what the DNR is thinking when they set up the map for deer hunting.  In the past 3 years in Princeton I have gone from being able to shoot 5 deer to either sex and now lottery!!!  To what I have seen on the property I hunt is that the deer population has not changed much in the past 5-10 years.

[MNice]

I like it.  We have been hunting my buddy's land up there since '89, and have seen ups and downs.  The last few years have been mainly down.  We have a self imposed bucks only rule for about 7 or 8 years, (except for kids under 16), and our area does hold more deer than even 2 or 3 years ago.  I think it's a proven way to help the herd.

[Neighbor_guy]

I have hunted a property in zone 157 just south of Onamia for the last 20years. Last year was the first in all that time that we hunted every weekend 3day weekends and never saw a deer. Not even a fawn. 

I personally feel the zone may be too large and what's needed for deer counts may be different based on where you are. I think the area was intensive and managed for too long. I think they killed too many deer. Where we were we had a neighboring land owner who abused the system and killed 5 deer per person in the party by any means possible including running bait and party hunting when the license holder was not in the field. The surrounding land owners only took a deer or two off their respective property knowing there just weren't that many deer in the area. Only to have the deer baited and shot by a person who felt that the DNR said he could shoot this many so he is going to do so. TIP was contacted several times. 

I applaud the lottery designation.