Eastern Deer Season data

DRS

Old Mossy Horns
.....and ?

I think this data shows that the doe limits in the east don't need revision. Let the people that own/lease the land decide how many deer they want.

Also, the percentage of 1.5 y.o. bucks is the lowest of the regions and the percentage of older age classes in the harvest are higher, so I don't see a need for the two buck limit.
 

CRC

Old Mossy Horns
Because some eastern NC counties are seeing real declines in the deer population and the WRC wants to stabilize the herd.

That is what you get with liberal antlerless seasons since 1997.

Now its time to back off a little.
 
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nccatfisher

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Because some eastern NC counties are seeing real declines in the deer population and the WRC wants to stabilize the herd.

That is what you get with liberal antlerless seasons since 1997.

Now its time to back off a little.
You do realize this is the portion of the state where depredation is widespread and farmers shoot them by the droves don't you? Maybe there is a reason why there is declines in some counties.
 

CRC

Old Mossy Horns
The WRC wants to stabilize the deer herd down east

Farmers can still shoot deer Nothing the WRC can do about that
 
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CRC

Old Mossy Horns
(1a) Depredation Permit. - Authorizes the taking, destruction, transfer, removal, transplanting, or driving away of undesirable, harmful, predatory, excess, or surplus wildlife or wildlife resources. Livestock or poultry owners shall be issued a depredation permit for coyotes upon request. The permit must state the manner of taking and the disposition of wildlife or wildlife resources authorized or required and the time for which the permit is valid, plus other restrictions that may be administratively imposed in accordance with rules of the Wildlife Resources Commission. No depredation permit or any license is needed for the owner or lessee of property to take wildlife while committing depredations upon the property. The Wildlife Resources Commission may regulate the manner of taking and the disposition of wildlife taken without permit or license, including wildlife killed accidentally by motor vehicle or in any other manner.
 

CRC

Old Mossy Horns
Right so whats your point?

That farmers still killing depredating deer are going to thwart what the WRC wants to do if it goes ahead with changes?
 

nccatfisher

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Right so whats your point?

That farmers still killing depredating deer are going to thwart what the WRC wants to do if it goes ahead with changes?
What is your point, that they should limit the harvest of deer when they are still being slaughtered in fields because there are still so many of them that the land won't carry them and they have to flock to the fields to eat? You don't think that maybe just maybe that all the mast bearing trees being removed and replaced by pines play a part in this?

Why cut back on hunter harvest and seasons when they still have to be removed because of depredation? How much time have you spent afield east of Raleigh?
 

CRC

Old Mossy Horns
What is your point, that they should limit the harvest of deer when they are still being slaughtered in fields because there are still so many of them that the land won't carry them and they have to flock to the fields to eat? You don't think that maybe just maybe that all the mast bearing trees being removed and replaced by pines play a part in this?

Why cut back on hunter harvest and seasons when they still have to be removed because of depredation? How much time have you spent afield east of Raleigh?

I'm not the one saying they should
I'm saying that is what the WRC wants to do

I dont care if farmers derail any changes down east
 

CRC

Old Mossy Horns
Oh, so it is the farmers fault?

The WRC is claiming its time to back off a little on killing does in eastern NC.

How do you think farmers like that idea?

They have a vested interest in keeping deer herds low or non existent around their crops.

So yeah I think farmers and hunters might be opposed to each other on this.
 
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DRS

Old Mossy Horns
It took us years to reduce the deer population on some of the property I hunt and that really didn't happen until the yotes moved in. The farmers couldn't go anything. This was not on just a couple hundred acres it was the couple thousand acres I hunted and the few more thousands that surrounded it. Now after EHD the population is having a hard time bouncing back. We didn't need the NCWRC to tell us to cut back on killing does and most other hunters that face the same situation don't either and if they don't heed the warning signs you want have to worry about them killing any deer. Unless hunters are complete idiots, of which I don't believe, it is a self rectifying situation. That is of course if they like to hunt deer. In a situation like this it is much better to shoot all bucks and no does. 4 doe tags, if filled are still to many does to be killing in some of the places I hunt and may not be enough in others. I hunt multiple leases and in two clubs. Totaling up somewhere around 13,000 acres. On all this property there are club request or by laws to have a much more restrictive doe harvest than the NCWRC. Then there are the other clubs around that are restricting the doe harvest as well that adds 10's of thousands of acres. My point is the NCWRC needs to leave harvest limits alone in the east. Hunting clubs and land owners/managers are smart enough to manage the deer on their property to have a deer population they desire. I would have to say they control enough land to have an impact.

A two buck limit is just a feel good regulation, I'm willing to bet just as many bucks will be killed.
 

ScottyB

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
It took us years to reduce the deer population on some of the property I hunt and that really didn't happen until the yotes moved in. The farmers couldn't go anything. This was not on just a couple hundred acres it was the couple thousand acres I hunted and the few more thousands that surrounded it. Now after EHD the population is having a hard time bouncing back. We didn't need the NCWRC to tell us to cut back on killing does and most other hunters that face the same situation don't either and if they don't heed the warning signs you want have to worry about them killing any deer. Unless hunters are complete idiots, of which I don't believe, it is a self rectifying situation. That is of course if they like to hunt deer. In a situation like this it is much better to shoot all bucks and no does. 4 doe tags, if filled are still to many does to be killing in some of the places I hunt and may not be enough in others. I hunt multiple leases and in two clubs. Totaling up somewhere around 13,000 acres. On all this property there are club request or by laws to have a much more restrictive doe harvest than the NCWRC. Then there are the other clubs around that are restricting the doe harvest as well that adds 10's of thousands of acres. My point is the NCWRC needs to leave harvest limits alone in the east. Hunting clubs and land owners/managers are smart enough to manage the deer on their property to have a deer population they desire. I would have to say they control enough land to have an impact.

A two buck limit is just a feel good regulation, I'm willing to bet just as many bucks will be killed.

The last line says it all......The limit will keep the honest folks to 2 bucks.....then there are those that are gonna do whats they want!!! I will make sure they get reported if I see the violation......just the way I roll!!
 

DRS

Old Mossy Horns
The last line says it all......The limit will keep the honest folks to 2 bucks.....then there are those that are gonna do whats they want!!! I will make sure they get reported if I see the violation......just the way I roll!!

I was not referring to illegal kills.
 

TravisLH

Old Mossy Horns
I was not referring to illegal kills.

Unfortunately outlaws will still do the same old crap, and it's not like illegal kills are figured into the harvest numbers. I do agree with DRS that a 2 buck limit won't drastically alter things, the guys that kill 4 every year are offset by plenty of hunters that take 1 buck a year or every other year. In some cases it's due to a personal decision, but in quite a few it's cuz they simply don't see a buck every year.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

ScottyB

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
You do realize this is the portion of the state where depredation is widespread and farmers shoot them by the droves don't you? Maybe there is a reason why there is declines in some counties.
I have hunted in Halifax county for 40 years and we have never had a farmer "shoot them by the droves". I think there is a misconception of how many farmers actually stay up late to go shoot deer......most of them are in bed by dark thirty and up before the sun.....they aint got time to focus on deer if they have any decent sized operation.
 

bertienchunter

Twelve Pointer
I have hunted in Halifax county for 40 years and we have never had a farmer "shoot them by the droves". I think there is a misconception of how many farmers actually stay up late to go shoot deer......most of them are in bed by dark thirty and up before the sun.....they aint got time to focus on deer if they have any decent sized operation.

There are plenty of farmers that do it. I had a small farmer next to our land that killed 30-40 in one field every year. Sounded like a dang war every evening. Unfortunately the herd has not rebounded from that and the EHD. I killed the first deer that had been killed on that farm in 8 or 10 years last year.
 

ScottyB

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
There are plenty of farmers that do it. I had a small farmer next to our land that killed 30-40 in one field every year. Sounded like a dang war every evening. Unfortunately the herd has not rebounded from that and the EHD. I killed the first deer that had been killed on that farm in 8 or 10 years last year.
I never said that there weren't any doing it........just a lot of BS guesses on the fact they are all over doing it.....I gots to see the numbers before I believe it!!!
 

bertienchunter

Twelve Pointer
I never said that there weren't any doing it........just a lot of BS guesses on the fact they are all over doing it.....I gots to see the numbers before I believe it!!!

There are no numbers as it is not tracked. Any number you see will be just an estimate as you stated. We will never know how many get killed that way. If farmers want to kill all 40 deer using their peanut fields in July/ August they will.

I will say the farmers aren't shooting as many as they were, mainly because there aren't near as many deer. Let the numbers get back like we all want and you will start hearing the long barrell going off again in August.
 

Buxndiverdux

Old Mossy Horns
There are no numbers as it is not tracked. Any number you see will be just an estimate as you stated. We will never know how many get killed that way. If farmers want to kill all 40 deer using their peanut fields in July/ August they will.

I will say the farmers aren't shooting as many as they were, mainly because there aren't near as many deer. Let the numbers get back like we all want and you will start hearing the long barrell going off again in August.

I agree. The deer numbers in Bertie have been down for a while, but I don't really consider it to be a bad thing. We had too many. However, the farmers are still shooting. They have just changed their quarry. The Black Bear is a nuisance for farmers in the peanut fields. They do damage in the corn, but are impossible to see doing it.

I hope the NCWRC will loosen the conservative nature of the Black Bear season so hunters that want to shoot them can actually do it, instead of letting them over populate and getting gut shot and left to rot.
 

hog&deerhunter

Ten Pointer
Bux, I think we are headed in that direction as far as bears are concerned. The WRC seems to be taking that route one step at a time, which is a good approach for the resource.
 
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