Owen Co Harvest Decline
- Thread starter Rut-n-Strut
- Start date
Hoene
10 pointer
KYhunter is correct the war on does has caught up with us. Some in Owen Co have 12 and more kills per person.
WildmanWilson
12 pointer
I think they accomplished what they wanted. The Fish and Game Dept. wanted to reduce the population. Its good to keep the population at a healthy level. Its never perfect, with some areas probably over harvested and others not enough. At some point we may see them cut back unlimited does.
Hoene
10 pointer
Wondering how many deer get killed but not checked.
WildmanWilson
12 pointer
With such liberal bag limits I would think most does get checked. Its the greedy people that shoot multiple bucks that don't get checked. I would say 20% more bucks are shot that don't get checked in. Just a guess.
Cornpile
12 pointer
According to maps ,Owen county has 351 square miles of land area.
If you divide the number of deer killed in 2022 which is 2228.
Does and bucks about 50/50,so that would work out to three bucks
and three does killed in each square mile more or less......
If you divide the number of deer killed in 2022 which is 2228.
Does and bucks about 50/50,so that would work out to three bucks
and three does killed in each square mile more or less......
Rut-n-Strut
8 pointer
I wouldn't argue that the lower numbers are unhealthy, but it does make me curious as to the reason for it. If numbers are lower due to habitat issues or disease, then it's certainly healthier having a lower population. If it's hunter/predator related, then perhaps higher numbers are still healthy.
Personally, I don't believe it's a hunter issue. Hunter numbers seem to be down somewhat. Likewise, the shots I've heard over the last 5 or so years are down significantly. Harvest numbers have also trended down over a handful of years. It would stand to reason that the deer population would be stable or higher for that reason. I haven't seen evidence of widespread EHD, so I'm a little skeptical about that being the issue.
I would hypothesize the decline to be either habitat related or predation. On the habitat end, I can't think of a reason that this county would see such a trend downward while the state harvest totals appear to be stable to a steady increase. Predation may explain it, but I'm not sure if predator numbers are actually that much higher than they were 5 or 10 years ago to explain that either.
Personally, I don't believe it's a hunter issue. Hunter numbers seem to be down somewhat. Likewise, the shots I've heard over the last 5 or so years are down significantly. Harvest numbers have also trended down over a handful of years. It would stand to reason that the deer population would be stable or higher for that reason. I haven't seen evidence of widespread EHD, so I'm a little skeptical about that being the issue.
I would hypothesize the decline to be either habitat related or predation. On the habitat end, I can't think of a reason that this county would see such a trend downward while the state harvest totals appear to be stable to a steady increase. Predation may explain it, but I'm not sure if predator numbers are actually that much higher than they were 5 or 10 years ago to explain that either.
I hear ya. Some guy over around my parts has telechecked 22 so far.......smh
rockhousehunter
12 pointer
I just want to hunt a farm that has plenty deer, not found one in 2 decades.
Les Whalen
Fawn
Fewer hunters as the deer are there and also in Grant. Look out your window driving during gun season and you’ll see no orange like we did in the 90’s.
Lady Hunter
12 pointer
- Jan 12, 2009
- 5,356
I noticed that here in Anderson this year as well. Used to you'd see orange all thru the woods during gun season (and in trucks on the roads as well). Didn't see ANY AT ALL in the woods this year & darned few on the roads.
Hoene
10 pointer
I drive 56 miles to hunt in the morning and evening 2 to 3 days a week during all of Bow season and gun season never seen a deer on the side of the road this season. Did see dead ones on 71.
Teach Deer
8 pointer
Several factors at work here...
1. Fewer hunters are mainly due to the access vs lease issue and the simple cost of leases...hunters paying big money for those leases are mainly focused on big buck harvests (and assuming multiyear leases willing to let 120-140s walk)...if any does are harvested, it is for public consumption on a variety of hunting shows (so they can claim to do their part)...
2. Habitat...deer are extremely efficient creatures...they are going to locate where the best food, water and shelter presents themselves to be...even to the point of densely congregating in small pockets of river bottom cover near agricultural areas even when large acreages with little to no "easy" food is available...a lot of the public WMAs are great examples of this...deer deserts surrounded by highly productive private land...
Undergrowth cover is also an issue...while heavy undergrowth can be beneficial to a large number of species, once that undergrowth that once provided great forage reaches 8-10' tall, it is no longer a relevant food source...many areas, especially the WMAs, need controlled forestry work and burning to restore lower lying undergrowth...large numbers of dead ash trees need to be removed and those still standing need to be dropped (as they pose a risk to anyone nearby)...the problem is that this is expensive work that will not be publicly flashy (unlike buying new WMA properties) and any significant bumps in deer (and turkey) populations will be met with pressure from insurance companies (who would prefer deer to not exist at all)...
3. Predators...need to be hunted and trapped to a much greater extent...but re-enter the access debate...I generally do not see a large number of predators on the WMAs where I frequent as they become the purpose of the hunt upon sight...truthfully, there is not a large reason beyond caring for game species numbers to hunt predators...a bounty, even a small one, might well increase interest in that area... I have an open invitation to predator hunt one farm but that is due to coyotes preying on the owners cattle (new calves primarily)...
4. Telecheck numbers are valuable sources of information...WMAs in central KY except for Taylorsville seemed to see a BIG drop off this year...COs talk about how there are way too many does on many of these areas but the harvest numbers do not support that...DBNF in Rowan Co has so many acorns on the ground that a population of deer and turkey 10x their numbers would hardly dent them...one is lucky to see a harvestable deer there every two years...there is very little interest among hunters there now...
1. Fewer hunters are mainly due to the access vs lease issue and the simple cost of leases...hunters paying big money for those leases are mainly focused on big buck harvests (and assuming multiyear leases willing to let 120-140s walk)...if any does are harvested, it is for public consumption on a variety of hunting shows (so they can claim to do their part)...
2. Habitat...deer are extremely efficient creatures...they are going to locate where the best food, water and shelter presents themselves to be...even to the point of densely congregating in small pockets of river bottom cover near agricultural areas even when large acreages with little to no "easy" food is available...a lot of the public WMAs are great examples of this...deer deserts surrounded by highly productive private land...
Undergrowth cover is also an issue...while heavy undergrowth can be beneficial to a large number of species, once that undergrowth that once provided great forage reaches 8-10' tall, it is no longer a relevant food source...many areas, especially the WMAs, need controlled forestry work and burning to restore lower lying undergrowth...large numbers of dead ash trees need to be removed and those still standing need to be dropped (as they pose a risk to anyone nearby)...the problem is that this is expensive work that will not be publicly flashy (unlike buying new WMA properties) and any significant bumps in deer (and turkey) populations will be met with pressure from insurance companies (who would prefer deer to not exist at all)...
3. Predators...need to be hunted and trapped to a much greater extent...but re-enter the access debate...I generally do not see a large number of predators on the WMAs where I frequent as they become the purpose of the hunt upon sight...truthfully, there is not a large reason beyond caring for game species numbers to hunt predators...a bounty, even a small one, might well increase interest in that area... I have an open invitation to predator hunt one farm but that is due to coyotes preying on the owners cattle (new calves primarily)...
4. Telecheck numbers are valuable sources of information...WMAs in central KY except for Taylorsville seemed to see a BIG drop off this year...COs talk about how there are way too many does on many of these areas but the harvest numbers do not support that...DBNF in Rowan Co has so many acorns on the ground that a population of deer and turkey 10x their numbers would hardly dent them...one is lucky to see a harvestable deer there every two years...there is very little interest among hunters there now...
Kylongrifle32
6 pointer
I wonder how many Crop deprivation tags are issued during the summer months? I live in Owen Co. but hunt with family on a 300 acre farm in Pendleton Co. The land owner hates deer. He doesn't even grow crops but have gotten 15 deprivation tags every August for the last 5 years. State did an evaluation this year and did not issue him any tags this year.
This makes me wonder what's going on. We still managed to get 10 deers between 6 hunters but that was taking almost every deer that was seen. This farm would be covered with well wore trails everywhere. Hardly any sign of deer at all this year.
A 3 year old 8 point was take and when it was field dressed it had a large yellow sac of pus on the inside of the rib cage. Several calls were made to the CO but we never heard back from them. Maybe they know what is up and were not concerned with the risk of disease.
My Uncle talked to another hunter in Pendleton county and they weren't seeing any deer the first three days of gun season. On the fourth day they decided to do an afternoon drive. They found 2 dead bucks and 3 does. No visible sign of injuries on any of them. They contacted the CO for the county and he told them that the deaths were due to Covid.
This makes me wonder what's going on. We still managed to get 10 deers between 6 hunters but that was taking almost every deer that was seen. This farm would be covered with well wore trails everywhere. Hardly any sign of deer at all this year.
A 3 year old 8 point was take and when it was field dressed it had a large yellow sac of pus on the inside of the rib cage. Several calls were made to the CO but we never heard back from them. Maybe they know what is up and were not concerned with the risk of disease.
My Uncle talked to another hunter in Pendleton county and they weren't seeing any deer the first three days of gun season. On the fourth day they decided to do an afternoon drive. They found 2 dead bucks and 3 does. No visible sign of injuries on any of them. They contacted the CO for the county and he told them that the deaths were due to Covid.
DocPain
6 pointer
Now what the hell would a CO know about covid unless he had all these deer carcasses taken in to a lab and tested.
