where are the deer

D

dogger1

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been hunting hard using the muzzle loader and shotgun,no tracks no sign, last year they were everywhere.Even the game warden says they dont see many deer in the camps, we only got 5 by wednesday and usually were at that on opener.
quintebuck.jpg
this is one of the bucks we got,hint theyre in the swamps
 
Well - Here in Central Ontario, the count was way down. Asking around (camps, butchers, CO's..), we figure the population is down to 30% of last years numbers. This is attributed to the harsh winter and predation. We also noticed that the majority of deer seen, and harvested, were mature bucks (ie the most likely to survive)
It will be interesting to see what the doe tag allocations are next year.
 
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Is the population actually down?

I was in Manitoba again this year. there seemed to be lots of deer as usual. But they did seem to be holed up in big bush. Also, with the amount of water laying on the ground under the snow, it was not an easy task always to get to the deer.

On my way back through Saskatchewan and Alberta, I have never seen so many deer killed on the highways. The numbers sure don't appear to be down in the west. Anybody else find this?
 
Most of the shotgun groups in the Nov. season in our area did not fill all tags? Most of the doe's taken were dry. We drove some our our best spots and for the first time in the Dec muzzleloader season with snow there were no tracks and no deer? Our yards do not have the deer they once had?
First we had a bow only season in our area, then a 3 day shot gun season that was changed to a 6 day season, then a 6 day muzzleloader season and additional tags for the bow, shotgun and muzzleloader season? I can buy 7 deer tags a season? MAYBE we are taking more deer then are being reproduced? This is a cash grab only now? Some areas may hold their own but our area the numbers are down?
 
joe-nwt said:
Is the population actually down?

I was in Manitoba again this year. there seemed to be lots of deer as usual. But they did seem to be holed up in big bush. Also, with the amount of water laying on the ground under the snow, it was not an easy task always to get to the deer.

On my way back through Saskatchewan and Alberta, I have never seen so many deer killed on the highways. The numbers sure don't appear to be down in the west. Anybody else find this?
Click to expand...

I was hunting just north of you the deer were there but moving at night and then heading the the thick bush during daylight hours and staying there till after legal shooting time.
 
Heavy snow and predation

Numbers way down in my areas--wet Spring didn't help bring fawns through.

We have more than 40 billion coyotes or so it seems around here and they don't help things, much.

So far, the Winter this year looks a lot like last year. So, do we ask to be invited to hunt out West???
 
Out in Manitoba we were all allowed to shoot a coyote on our deer hunt.

I guess they are learning coyote is a vermin, just as we've known here in Ontario for many years.

No trappers license required.($5.00)

Tells you that Manitoba's on the right track in keeping the vermin numbers down to at least slow predation.:)

All in all, I think it's been a freaky year for deer hunting. With the early Nov season being warm and the sudden early winter, has thrown them into a sort of shock and they aren't behaving as usual.:confused:
 
7mm-08 said:
I was hunting just north of you the deer were there but moving at night and then heading the the thick bush during daylight hours and staying there till after legal shooting time.
Click to expand...

Hey 7mm! I forgot you now have hunting land. Next year I'm gonna look you up for a beer.
 
Very poor year, I heard from butchers in the area that guys are not getting deer like last year.

Also heard 3rd hand someone was told by a CO they already plan for no Doe Tags next year.
 
I haven't seen many at all this year and I hunted for 2 weeks straight (gun season). I know they are there from my trail-cam and sign.....but they are nocturnal bigtime.

I'll tell you where the deer where this morning (bow hunting) .......they where busting me in the dark as I walked to my stand :mad:. I was 1/2 km from the fields they were coming from and it was easily 30-40 mins before you could think of shooting at them. I've got them on my trail-cam and they come and go long before and after daylight.

After the mini-blizzard and a couple hours in my stand......I found the tracks of the deer that busted me 10 ft. from the base of my stand........:runaway:. I guess that's why they call it deer hunting and not deer shooting :).
 
dogger1 said:
been hunting hard using the muzzle loader and shotgun,no tracks no sign, last year they were everywhere.Even the game warden says they dont see many deer in the camps, we only got 5 by wednesday and usually were at that on opener.
quintebuck.jpg
this is one of the bucks we got,hint theyre in the swamps
Click to expand...

Where are the deer? If you got 5 well they are out there. Based on the subject of this topic I was expecting to read you got nothing. I don't know where you live but you must be spoiled. Anyways out here in Alberta they were all over the place this year, whitetails and mulies. Seen lots of moose as well.
 
I heard the same as a lot of people who have posted so far. I didn't go out this year myself, but a few co-workers have told me they didn't see any deer at all and their local butcher said the numbers brought in to process were half what they were last year (this is Eastern Ontario/Western Quebec). The consensus seems to be last year's heavy snows and the coyote population.

I've also heard the same rumour as that posted about cancelling all doe tags for next season.
 
7mm-08 said:
Sounds like a plan.how did you guys make out hunting this year?
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I only had the opening week for time off. I decided I would only hunt until Friday as I was planning to be on the road again on the Sunday. After seeing a few does and fleeting glimpses of deer I took a small buck(3x3) on the friday afternoon.

How about yourself?
 
I hunt Northwestern Ontario and the rut was late this year. The 8-pointer I got was hanging around a doe with two other bucks but he must have just started going into the rut as his tarsel glands weren't black at all. The same with my son-in-law's 8-pointer which he got just east of Winnipeg.
 
joe-nwt said:
I only had the opening week for time off. I decided I would only hunt until Friday as I was planning to be on the road again on the Sunday. After seeing a few does and fleeting glimpses of deer I took a small buck(3x3) on the friday afternoon.

How about yourself?
Click to expand...

We (my dad & I) hunted 6 days up on the property.3 days 1st week 3 days the 2nd.My wife and daughter only hunted opening Mon.-Tues. Together we seen a total of 6 deer up there in that time.I ended up shooting a spike and a good sized lone doe.That was it out of 5 tags.
 
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