C.Killmaster
Georgia Deer Biologist
As a follow-up to Lindsay's article, take a look at this thread:
http://forum.gon.com/showthread.php?t=784159&highlight=surveyed
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Whitetail State Harvests, Georgia in Top 5 for Buck, Doe, & Highest Fawn %, Jan. 2015
- Thread starter BornToHuntAndFish
- Start date
As a follow-up to Lindsay's article, take a look at this thread:
http://forum.gon.com/showthread.php?t=784159&highlight=surveyed
ALB
Senior Member
With the Georgia current tagging system, there is no possible way Georgia can know how many Deer are killed. They make an educated guess.
Throwback
Chief Big Taw
C.Killmaster
Georgia Deer Biologist
No tagging system on the planet will change that. While we are moving towards a harvest reporting system, the purpose is to obtain harvest distribution information at a finer scale and temporal distribution of harvest. This system will not yield a more accurate statewide estimate of harvest than the survey currently employed.
Luke0927
Senior Member
I believe it I saw several fawns, little does and button heads shot early in the season then folks wonder where the deer are hiding......
Old Bart
Senior Member
Georgia also hasn't had any reported cases of CWD or EHD which couldn't be factored in. We have a large state with a lot of hunters so these numbers don't really "mean" anything.
To me this just means that we have a dense deer population and that we as conservationists should be conscious of our actions in and out of the woods.. Because if EHD or CWD hits GA we are screwed.
To me this just means that we have a dense deer population and that we as conservationists should be conscious of our actions in and out of the woods.. Because if EHD or CWD hits GA we are screwed.
DeoVindice
Senior Member
I ignored this thread yesterday when I first saw it because I was afraid to look. I can't ignore it any longer.
The good news is we have a good population. The bad news is we will not have a good population if this continues. No matter where we hunt, if the does and fawns continue to be decimated by trigger happy hunters we will eventually see a decline in numbers. I hunt in a good area and see a good many deer, but I still do not see as many as I was seeing 5 years ago. I haven't shot a doe in over 5 years, probably closer to 10, but that's me. I'm the last guy in the world to tell others what to kill or what not to kill. That's your business and none of mine. All I'm saying is if you kill fawns and does consistently and everyone around you does the same, you can fully expect to see declines in the population in the near future.
As for harvest rate data, I am certain game wardens keep track of deer processors, check in stations, etc. So they have that much data. I am also certain there is a good number of harvested deer that are never counted, so these numbers listed are probably a low estimate, and that is unfortunate.
The good news is we have a good population. The bad news is we will not have a good population if this continues. No matter where we hunt, if the does and fawns continue to be decimated by trigger happy hunters we will eventually see a decline in numbers. I hunt in a good area and see a good many deer, but I still do not see as many as I was seeing 5 years ago. I haven't shot a doe in over 5 years, probably closer to 10, but that's me. I'm the last guy in the world to tell others what to kill or what not to kill. That's your business and none of mine. All I'm saying is if you kill fawns and does consistently and everyone around you does the same, you can fully expect to see declines in the population in the near future.
As for harvest rate data, I am certain game wardens keep track of deer processors, check in stations, etc. So they have that much data. I am also certain there is a good number of harvested deer that are never counted, so these numbers listed are probably a low estimate, and that is unfortunate.
I've seen that said several times in this thread so far but you said it best so I'll quote you... It's easy to say that, but when you go out and spend $150K on 100 acres of property to hunt and enjoy for yourself and family and the neighbors decided when they saw 10 does could be killed to shoot EVERYTHING they see to get those 10 to the point where you can't see a deer AT ALL, you would be singing a different tune.
I think that's a LOT of the problem right there... people don't care, they just shoot anything they see, who really would care when you can just swap to another club next year if you dont see anything anyway right?
Educated being the key word in that sentence.
Sometimes the more educated you are, the more ignorant you are to reality...
shdw633
Senior Member
I would rather have an educated guess from an expert on the deer herd as a whole making the calls for the state, then from someone who only has their head stuck in the sand on one little piece of it making the call.
C.Killmaster
Georgia Deer Biologist
Here's how harvest is estimated, it's not done by counting deer taken to processors.
http://www.qdma.com/articles/how-do-state-wildlife-agencies-estimate-deer-harvest
C.Killmaster
Georgia Deer Biologist
You are correct that we have not detected CWD in Georgia, and that the impacts would be awful. However, we have had EHD in Georgia since before we even knew what it was. Fortunately, EHD occurs so frequently in Georgia that there's a high level of herd immunity. It does kill deer in GA, but no where near to the extent of northern states. Our heaviest year for EHD in the last decade had under 400 reported/documented cases of EHD related morbidity and mortality. During that year, several northern states documented tens of thousands of cases.
660griz
Senior Member
Biggest state east of the Mississippi.
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