I wont comment on how seasons before rut should go other than to say, we're killing too many before the rut. Our GC underestimates the efficiency of archers and their harvest numbers, no matter the season, are so far off its pathetic, IMO. Increased predation, not only during fawning season, renders their current model moot. Big changes are in order. Bad part of it all, they brag about being the nations leader in deer management and other states are actually following our footsteps. Plain crazy. Fortunately we have some fine folks at Purdue who undertook a 100 yr study on Eastern Hardwood Ecosystem. Unfortunately its a 100 yr deal. In the mean time we'll continue to have biologists guessing why oaks arent regenerating faster, or at all, and coming to the conclusion its all the deers fault. Hence continued low densities, and actual further reductions in some WMU's. Again, crazy!
Now, reason I quit hunting archery was twofold. I absolutely love hunting in the snow. Nothing like it. 2nd, tradition. As I said before, family is everything to me. When you have 12 guys or so that routinely hunt together, and all of a sudden, one two three what have you, harvest in archery, rifle just isnt the same. When I started to get proficient early in the season, I sat out the rest of the year. I missed out all those years on my favorite time of the year with family and friends. Its a very personal decision for me and I really cant explain how important the 3 weeks of bear and deer mean to me. Theres other reasons, much smaller, like actually enjoying early fall and scouting. That all leads up to the big climax in December that I love so much.
Understanding how important rifle is to me, I must realize how important early season is for other families who've made the switch to archery only years ago, or those who prefer to dabble in a little of every season. So more opportunity is a good thing in my book, though sundays are a no no IMO and to keep the thread civil I wont expand on that aspect. But the early season needs to be carefully looked at. Its my opinion that, in some areas, its having a detrimental impact on deer numbers. Getting everyone on the same page is never going to happen though. We have the old cloth battling the newer generation, a generation that IMO is filled with greed. The only conservation they know is QDMA standards as magazines and hunting shows schitcanned true conservation efforts that pertained to big hunting states in favor of shows based on highly commercialized areas such as Illinois and Iowa.
Sorry im rambling a bit. I just see a lot of negative with future wants and needs of the nex gen hunters. Carry on.
