Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Birth of a deer camp

So the MN DNR Big Game Coordinator is about a year or so into her job. She is NOT a deer hunter. Never has been. That doesnt give me confidence. Doesnt mean she cant do it, but it does throw up a red flag.

i talked to her at the Roundtable one on one. She didnt grasp what I was trying to say. I kept telling her to manage the deer herd for the overall health of the deer herd and the deer hunters will be happy in the long run. In other words, chop off the tops of the peaks and fill in the valleys of the deer population.

Some of the problem lies in the bellyaching of the average deer hunter. It is a subtle difference, but we shouldnt be screaming for just "more deer". It shouldnt be about numbers. It should be about a healthy herd for the carrying capacity of the area. If you manage to this, you dont get the wild swings like we are now seeing.

Now IMO part of a healthy herd is a decent age structure throughout. If an area slaughters the bucks, and only young bucks are out there as a result, we need to slightly put the brakes on the buck harvest to get into a better ratio. Not over 1 or 2 years, but just tap the brakes a little so as not to get a wild swing (and big opposition).

How to do this? Here is my thunk. How about a modified antler restriction where there is a lottery that results in 75% of the people can shoot any buck. Or maybe 50%. i dunno, someone smarter than me can figure out the number. A preference point to the people that have to shoot 8 points or bigger. The next year they get to shoot any buck. Tapping the brakes. Maybe only 1 in 4 years do you have to have antler point restrictions. Would the meat hunters go for this? I dunno, but I bet they like it better than antler restrictions for everyone across the board.

Oh, and get rid of party hunting. At least for adults. If a kid wants to fill an adult tag, fine, but adults should be content with filling only their license(s).

For the does, when we get back to a little more stable population, you ease back into extra doe permits and stay away from each hunter shooting 5 deer each.

If you have a healthy age structure, the herd will be able to withstand more of mother nature's winters and our hunting pressure.

Sorry for the long post. But just like ND, the DNR (mis)management of the deer herd really bugs me. Fire away boys and girls at my idea. Maybe someone can make them better.