Charlie,
Thanks for the links. I hope all this hard work yall are doing pays off in some sound recomendations to the decision makers.
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Georgias deer herd by the numbers and by those who know
- Thread starter Mako22
- Start date
Charlie,
Thanks for the links. I hope all this hard work yall are doing pays off in some sound recomendations to the decision makers.
pstrahin
Senior Member
Only been in Georgia since late October 2010. Last year was my 1st season hunting here. I saw a lot of deer, a lot of small buck that did not meet the county QDM rules, and several does. I hunted West Point, Big Lazer and once on a private farm in Talbot County. If the deer heard is in such a dire state, I would have loved to have seen it when it was booming. Try hunting the mountains of WV, you will have a greater appreciation for what you have.
JB0704
I Gots Goats
It just goes to show that we all base our opinions on personal experience. I know some folks who hunt in W.V., and they claim to be covered in deer. I think they hunt the eastern part of the state. I think the areas of Ga you hunted may not have been hammered as hard as the areas I am hunting. That's why I think the bag limits and seasons should be targeted regionally, not the "one-size-fits-all" approach we currently have.
pstrahin
Senior Member
We hunted the mountains of WV in Randolph County. Hard hunting but I loved it. We killed deer, just nothing huge. I about flipped when I moved here and learned the bag limit on does is 10. I agree that a blanket 10 doe limit is unreal. I know from hunting the mountains that the larger population of deer are not in the higher climates and should be taken into consideration.
Paint Brush
Gone But Not Forgotten
I'm on your side. Re-read my last two sentences.
Now I get your drift! Man I am so tired of trying to get someone at DNR to see how big our problem really is. They dont even belive thier own data. When you have a 4 day hunt on 13,000 ac. WMA last day either sex with 400 hunters checked in and kill less than 10 deer total it looks like someone could see a problem.
Mr.MainFrame10
Senior Member
You may be insinuating that "Rednecks" are guessing on the herd size. I personally have not seen this. What I do see is people voicing their opinions from what ever regions they have hunted over the years. One may be closer than the other on the guessing, but the point is, it is only a guess! There is no way it can be close to being accurate! For me personally, I have hunted and fished for over 30 years, and I know what goes on and what to expect. I will say this to folks, don't believe everything you read or hear!
P.S. I was under the assumption that anybody who hunted or fished was considered a "Redneck", even the Game & Fish Commission....., just saying!
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Mr.MainFrame10
Senior Member
Your joking right?
More accurate based on what?
Did someone actually go out in the field and verify a population?
Have they adjusted their program to include predators? (See this months GON on some data about Fort Rucker that verifies the work done at SRS)
If you know of something that backs up their computer program please provide it. This article is the same ol fluff we always see from WRD
I agree with the above 100%!
The truth is, there is no better "research" than an actual hunter who has lived in, and hunted an area for many years! These are the people that DNR should be listening to. Not from one of their so called "Professional" who is practicing his accounting skills on all these inaccurate stats that have been turned in!
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C.Killmaster
Georgia Deer Biologist
Yes, and it's evidenced by the reduced doe days in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Statewide, the population has been stable for 3 years resulting from self-restraint and active management from hunters. If that changes and the population trends from stable to decreasing, regulations will be adjusted accordingly. The population estimates that you see are always minimum estimates, true population size is always higher.
The reason we have a blanket approach to deer management is the result of public desire for more simplified regulations. The trade-off is a wider range of deer density across the landscape. That's why respondents on this thread report seeing too few deer and others report seeing plenty.
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C.Killmaster
Georgia Deer Biologist
I agree with the above 100%!
The truth is, there is no better "research" than an actual hunter who has lived in, and hunted an area for many years! These are the people that DNR should be listening to. Not from some so called "Professional" who is practicing his accounting skills on all these inaccurate stats that have been turned in!
I think you would be surprised how much professional research has positively impacted your hunting. First, there would be no deer to hunt, we killed them all before there was such a thing as a wildlife biologist. Second, everything we know about deer communication, behavior, vision, movements, scent detection, predator-prey interaction, habitat management, quality deer management, and disease surveillance and management are the result of professional research. Also, the several hundred deer management professionals that I know are all hunters too. I can't recall one that's not an avid deer hunter.
The reason the ones seeing too few are seeing too few is because they couldn't restrain their club members and they killed all the deer in their local area.
Those same people want to tell the rest of us who have plenty of deer we shouldn't believe our lying eyes because really and truly the entire state's deer population has been decimated.
shakey gizzard
Senior Member
Do you expect to see a regulation change in 2014 ?
JB0704
I Gots Goats
I truly believe you have a lot of deer on your lease. I believe DWR about his lease. But I also believe Jeff Phillips, and myself, and many other folks who know how to hunt, and also know there are not as many deer as there used to be.
Thanks for your response. I was just using the numbers from the article. I will not even pretend to understand how they are arrived at, but will take your word for it.
I understand the public desire for simplified regulations. I am not included in that group. I guess the trade off isn't worth it for fellas like myself. I enjoyed hunting when there was a 50% chance of actually seeing a deer. Back then, folks said "we need to kill more does." Now, there are a lot fewer does, and folks still believe they do a good "management" act by shooting every doe that walks by. Like I said, WMU's, or something similar could address the varied deer densities. It seems to work elsewhere, from what I have read and heard.
C.Killmaster
Georgia Deer Biologist
It depends on what happens with the population between now and then. Plus, at that time we'll be entering a new statewide, 10-year deer management plan which includes a tremendous amount of public input. That process will have a huge bearing on any potential regulation changes as it incorporates all the most current data and science with public desire to drive the general approach to deer management in Georgia.
shakey gizzard
Senior Member
Where can I learn more about these! And thanks for the links above!
C.Killmaster
Georgia Deer Biologist
When entire regions are below an acceptable level, it's a regulation or law issue (barring major habitat or disease issues). On individual properties, poor site-specific management is an issue no regulation or law can solve.
Regulations and laws are designed and intended to protect populations on regional and statewide levels, not on individual properties. Short of regulating the number of hunters per square mile, any season or bag limit is flexible enough to over-harvest a single tract of land. That's why the state provides biologists, free of charge, to assist you with setting harvest goals for your land.
C.Killmaster
Georgia Deer Biologist
Here's the current plan we are operating under:
http://www.georgiawildlife.com/site...uments/Hunting/Deer Management Plan Final.pdf
We'll begin the public input process for the next plan in the near future.
To receive email notification of upcoming opportunities for public input like the deer management plan process and other DNR news, use this link to subscribe:
https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/GADNR/subscriber/new
shakey gizzard
Senior Member
Jeff Phillips
Senior Member
I was at several of the meetings 10 years ago and the result was no where close to what was expressed in the meetings I attended.
I really hope ya'll will listen this time around...
Nastytater
Banned
I'd like to know what the statistics are for "the people that are opposing this system to calculate the herds,just how many of them have recieved tickets at some point and time from a DNR officer"...Now that would be an arguable statistic.
JB0704
I Gots Goats
I know there are a lot of people out there who will kill their limit every year. It is a lot worse when that limit is 12 instead of five. Site specific management is impossible if you have a collection of smaller tracts in one area. You can only manage what you control. Regulations can solve many things. If they couldn't, why have them? The deer are a collective resource.
For one, harvest goals for a 100 acre tract are meaningless. In theory, shooting two does will reduce the herd. So the harvest goal should be "shoot one doe every two years." I think the current practice is geared towards large landowners and leasholders. That is not what the average Georgia hunter is. Most of 'em are rednecks like me who didn't have family land, or the means to purchase it, and can't justify the cost of gaining access to a high-end property.
It seems that the general thinking is that those of us who see a problem are either bad hunters or are not as good at controlling our neighbors. We can talk all day long about specific properties, but the deer on my lease will not stay on my lease. They move around. Once they cross the property line I have zero say in what happens to the deer, even though the deer belongs to both me and my neighbor.
Thanks for taking the time to respond to my questions. I will recognize your insight, but maintain that the current practice which was implemented to reduce the deer herd will continue to work that way. We have a 10 year history here where the deer population has been reduced by 1/3. I see no reason why that would change.
