kidd Posted December 15, 2004 Report Share Posted December 15, 2004 As I read the posts from the boys of Ill. I was wondering what are some of your opinions on our seasons? What should we change? Do we need to get rid of the "one buck rule"? Should we shoot does to get a buck tag? Should we have antler restrictions if you are a horn hunter? Should gun season be shorter or longer? Interested to hear your opinions. good tymes nate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magnatecsteve Posted December 15, 2004 Report Share Posted December 15, 2004 Re: Indiana deer seasons I live in Indiana and one thing that SHOULDN'T change is the one buck per season rule! The past couple of seasons, the amount of top quality bucks harvested has dramatically increased where I hunt. It makes people be more selective, so most guys let the smaller guys walk. It makes most hunters set their own antler size requirements. I think that the DNR should reduce the price of antlerless/bonus tags to get more hunters to shoot does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidd Posted December 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 15, 2004 Re: Indiana deer seasons what about the reductions of tag prices in general?? I think the IDNR getting rid of sales of the life time linsence (sp) will not help I do agree with the "obr" keep them coming Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AaronS Posted December 15, 2004 Report Share Posted December 15, 2004 Re: Indiana deer seasons We've also seen a great increase in the number of mature bucks killed in our area the last 2 seasons and I also credit the one buck rule for that happening. I'd like to see gun seasons shortened. I think 16 straight days of firearms season then a few days later you have 16 straight days of muzzleloader is too much for the deer. Maybe shorten them to one week each (9 days when you add the weekend.) I hadn't heard about changes in lifetime license sales. What are the changes? I'm glad I got mine when I did. This thing has paid for itself many times over since 1987. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoosierhunter Posted December 15, 2004 Report Share Posted December 15, 2004 Re: Indiana deer seasons Here's my views: KEEP the one buck rule..... SHORTEN the shotgun season to one week and keep muzzleloader the same......Move Shotgun season OUT of the rut.....Either a one week in late NOV or the first week of DEC........ Antler restriction to 4 points on at least one side for adult hunters, not minors(kids have no restrictions) and vary this from year to year...Like have it for two years then lift it for one then go back to it....... MAKE A DISTINCTION BETWEEN URBAN AND NON URBAN LICENSES....This is a HUGE problem in Allen County...Guys just buy two tags and kill two bucks and say one was shot in urban with no questions asked by DNR.....HUGE PROBLEM!!!!!!!!! The one buck rule has improved heard quality around us even though we have been practicing for about ten years it has limited our neighbors shooting two and three bucks..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoosierhunter Posted December 15, 2004 Report Share Posted December 15, 2004 Re: Indiana deer seasons I bought my lifetime licenses hunting and fishing in 2001 and the price went up the year after....It has almost paid for itself in that short amount of time for all the hunting and fishing I do....... The new rule is that they are getting rid of the lifetime licenses....... People that have them get to keep them, but you cannot purchase one now..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidd Posted December 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 15, 2004 Re: Indiana deer seasons as of jan 1 the sale of lifetime licenses will not be available to bad for me because i dont have one but as long as they dont do anything with landowner rule i should be alright, and no i dont break the law about this I often think we have to many rules that are so gray that even those enforcing them do not understand them I like what you are saying HH coming up with a plan is good!! keep them coming Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AaronS Posted December 15, 2004 Report Share Posted December 15, 2004 Re: Indiana deer seasons [ QUOTE ] as of jan 1 the sale of lifetime licenses will not be available [/ QUOTE ] Well just dang. I may have to do some scrambling to get one for my newborn then. I'm not sure if a 4 point rule is a good idea. For people like you and me it's great. You and I already do it, but not everyone is looking for a mature buck. Some people are just as happy with a forkhorn in the freezer. It may be better to start with point rules in certain zones as a test to see how they work out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoosierhunter Posted December 15, 2004 Report Share Posted December 15, 2004 Re: Indiana deer seasons My only arguement tl that would be this....IF someone is just as happy with a forkhorn for meat in the freezer, then they should just shoot a doe.....Actually a mature doe can be just as challenging as a mature buck(most people don't know that)If the buck to doe ratio was equal (1=1) then we would see probably over double the mature bucks being killed.....But in most cases this ratio is very out of whack....i.e. 4 and 5 to 1 in most areas and even greater in some other places.... But some people do get a kick out of just killing a buck b/c society has put a association with killing a buck and being a good hunter.......You hear a ton of people say they don't shoot does.....Well does are a HUGE part of herd management..... The point idea in certain zones is a GREAT idea and I hope Northeastern Indiana WOULD do it......The quality of deer up here is amazing flat out!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AaronS Posted December 15, 2004 Report Share Posted December 15, 2004 Re: Indiana deer seasons I agree with you whole heartedly that they should shoot a doe instead of an immature buck, but like you said some people mistakenly believe killing a doe makes you a lesser hunter. As far as experimental trophy buck zones....I'll volunteer my area! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidd Posted December 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 15, 2004 Re: Indiana deer seasons it is interesting to read what your saying i practice QDM on my hunting grounds i try to take a least 2 doe for my buck what if we thought of a doe before buck rule (ie WI) i will visit my local check-in on opening day of shotgun and am amazed of not only small bucks but small deer people shoot i understand youngsters getting their first deer but i ponder the thought of grown men shooting 60 lb. deer i would not consider myself a horn hunter but i want to see the herd meet their optimal potential. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lil hunter Posted December 15, 2004 Report Share Posted December 15, 2004 Re: Indiana deer seasons For you boys that like the one buck rule, I beleive it is gonna end here in a year or two. When they started it, they only planned to run it for 5 years.(from what i've read n heard) But they may extend it. I don't really know whats gonna happen. I think the only thing we should really do, is lower the cost of tags. They shouldn't have raised them a couple years back when they did. Maybe also get rid of part of the late ml season, and put it during the early season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hangunnr Posted December 15, 2004 Report Share Posted December 15, 2004 Re: Indiana deer seasons Remember, you asked........ Instilling a antler restriction would allow the inferior bucks to thrive. I witnessed this first hand in Penn. this year. The county I was hunting is a four to one side to be legal area. In the course of one week I saw around 15 different bucks. ONE was a legal deer. Now if that legal deer gets whacked the ones left to breed the does are the inferior bucks. There is an enormous 6 point running those hills. He's big enough to run off the smaller bucks and would make a fine trophy but because of antler restrictions he's off limits. This is where I find fault with antler restriction laws. I've seen no increase in size of the harvested bucks around here. The state land I hunt is pummeled by guys that shoot whatever they see. Most hunters I know don't have the luxury of having private land or unlimited time to pass a legal buck in hopes of seeing something bigger. They simply shoot whatever is offered. I don't hold this against them. I feel that if they are happy with what they've done just who am I to impose a more stringent law on them. As far as the one buck rule........ Since this was inacted there has been NO decrease in the number of bucks killed on the state land I hunt. The percentage of hunters that actually kill two bucks has to be very small. I can recall many years in the past when I didn't even harvest one buck much less two. I will be happy to see this restriction lifted. In response to the statement made about guys taking two bucks and claiming one deer was an urban deer. There will always be cheaters. You can't pass a law that some idiot won't side step. There was one CO up here that on occasion would have the guy checking his "urban" deer take him (the CO) back to the hunting spot and show him the gut pile. Several were caught. The word got out........ One thing that makes me cringe is when I see hunters wanting shorter seasons. What you're not taking into account is that most hunters aren't able to hunt the entire season. They may only be able to get out one or two weekends. I have a friend that can only get out on sundays during the gun season. If the season was shortened by one week you'll be taking away a full third of his hunting season. Are you willing to have your season, whatever it is, shortened by one third??? I know I'm not. The only real solution to having bigger bucks is to not shoot any. If the state game commisions really wanted to have more trophy opportunities and level out the buck / doe ratio then they should eliminate buck hunting for one year. Think about that for a moment. All the dink 1.5 yr old deer that commonly get whacked would be 2.5 yr old and so on. If they would institute a cycle where every 5 or 6 years bucks would be off the ticket I feel it would do more for the quality of the herd than some of the other methods. hangunnr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoosierhunter Posted December 15, 2004 Report Share Posted December 15, 2004 Re: Indiana deer seasons antler restriction creating a inferior deer herd......... I feel this is incorrect for the following reasons: First saying only bigger bucks being shot will result in inferior bucks being harvested might be incorrect b/c of this....Now hunters know that they have to kill a decent buck so if they don't see one right away they might crack a doe and be done thus helping the herd ratio and not spending as much time in the woods to kill those bucks! Second only inferior deer will do most the breeding b/c big boys are shot...... Those inferior bucks might have good genetics but they just aren't old enough to show it off yet.......Thus by letting them wise up and bust some hunters in their first year like that will allow them to get woods savvy if you will and thus make them even harder to get for the next season!!!!(I like that Idea) Only saying big bucks will be shot is somewhat off too b/c those big boys are gonna get shot no matter what despite restrictions or not b/c no hunter will let a good buck walk, but not many hunters let little bucks walk unless forced to........ Just some thoughts on that...... I really aree with the gut pile theory or blood trai ltheory for COs..... True that shorting a season would hinder some peoples ability to get out and hunt during GUN season....All the more reason to turn them on to bowhunting......I truly feel that bowhunting is a lesson in humbleness of your hunting ability amonst other things..........It teaches hunters so much more about the sport and nature in my opinion....People can't just shoot the first thing they see, b/c most times it isn't in range..It gets them to observe the animal in it's natural habit and study it, thus hopefully creating a greater respect for the animal....Second Humbleness..You WILL miss as a bowhunter. It's inevitable and it teaches you about precision of your shot, preparation, and some other little things.........I really believe that bowhunting can do those things...You always will have those bad apples out there in every sport, but I believe bowhutning limits it a lot more than gun hunting, b/c all those people don't have the patience for bowhunting......granted a lot of gun hunters are great guys and do the right thing and respect the moment to the fullest, but then a lot of times people think just b/c they have a gun they should hunt.......... Just a little soapbox for the day... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buffett1 Posted December 16, 2004 Report Share Posted December 16, 2004 Re: Indiana deer seasons I think that the one buck rule should stay. I too have seen better bucks being taken since its introduction. I think that price of tags in Indiana are getting to be too high. I don't know how much they are in other states, but if they continue to rise people won't be able to afford to hunt in Indiana. This dismissal of the Lifetime license is news to me. Is there someplace this is stated? Where is that information comming from? Now I might have to go out and get one before the first of the year. Oooff... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magnatecsteve Posted December 16, 2004 Report Share Posted December 16, 2004 Re: Indiana deer seasons I think the one buck per year will stick, many of our surrounding states (ILL and Ohio) are well known hot spots in the Midwest for trophy bucks. Indiana has everything that these other states do, but the other states have long since went to a one buck law. Illinois has been the #1 state for big bucks, but now Indiana is on its heels. Thats going to make the IDNR happy, so I think it will stick. I do have my lifetime liscence, but I have heard directly from a DNR officer that they will no longer be selling them, the state has been loosing too much money. They have been in a financial crunch since shortly after Bush took office. Don't get me wrong, I like Bush, but he's really cutting funds to wildlife management. Indiana used to have some of the cheapest liscence costs around, we just caught up to many of the other states. Not saying it is right, but like I said, they're not getting the funding from the government like they were, so they had to raise their prices. I am relatively pleased with the job our state does with management...could you imagine if we had no game law enforcement around? There goes management out the window! I live in a kinda "Redneck" district, so almost every good ol' boy hunts, and the officers keep busy I tell ya! After all fellas, for $25 today, you MIGHT be able to take your gal out to a nice restaunt. But you can also take a deer and eat for a month or so... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AaronS Posted December 16, 2004 Report Share Posted December 16, 2004 Re: Indiana deer seasons [ QUOTE ] I live in a kinda Redneck district [/ QUOTE ] You must live close to me then. I think the one buck rule is here to stay. It doesn't make a difference for me because I never killed more than one buck per year when it was allowed. Most years I don't take a buck at all because I don't have an opportunity at one that meets my personal standards. I'd rather put a doe or two in the freezer than to remove a buck from the herd before he reaches his potential. It sounds as if most of us are seeing more mature bucks in our areas since the one buck rule went into effect. One thing to consider is that QDM has also became more popular in that same time. It would be interesting to find out if we are seeing more mature bucks because more hunters are practicing QDM or because of the one buck rule. I'm sure it's some sort of combination of the two, but I'd bet the QDM has a bigger effect than most realize. No matter what rules are passed you will never make everyone happy. The challenge is to please as many people as possible. You will have some people that will complain no matter what you do. I call these "the ones that would complain if they won the lottery then found out they had to split it with someone else." Their glass is always half empty. As stated above, our neighboring states are producing some eye-popping bucks yet we lag behind. We have the same potential that they do, so what are they doing that we are not? I don't know what kind of seasons KY has although I'm sure I could find out with a quick google search. I do know that IL and OH produce a higher percentage of world class bucks than we do, and their difference from us is shorter gun seasons. I'd be happy to give up 2 weeks of gun season in exchange for 2 additional weeks of bow season, but I understand that this wouldn't work for everyone. Just my 2 cents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoosierhunter Posted December 16, 2004 Report Share Posted December 16, 2004 Re: Indiana deer seasons In my area the QDM has been in practice by my father, myself, and a few other people.....The main difference for us is the one buck rule b/c we still have way too many yahoos shooting whatever walks...Even with the one buck rule we still had a guy shoot two bucks in the same night with a bow and lost BOTH of thems....GRRRRRRR...they weren't even big deer......This same gentlemen and his buddy have consistently and literally wounded at least one deer a year and for the past three years they have wounded at least two....I hunt the same property he does and have ripped his rear end several times but he continues to screw up..As for having him kicked off the land....Nope his father owns it and doesnt really care about that kind of stuff....Very unfortunate..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoosierhunter Posted December 16, 2004 Report Share Posted December 16, 2004 Re: Indiana deer seasons RAKATAK, those public hunts are great. I hunted on the Jefferson Proving Grounds and it was nuts about the big deer that came out of that area...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoosierhunter Posted December 16, 2004 Report Share Posted December 16, 2004 Re: Indiana deer seasons Ratatak, Also if you get a chance take a trip down to Minnehaha in Sullivan county.....It is 8600+ acres and it's incredible for bow season!!! We have seen so many quality bucks while hunting there for the past three seasons....I didn't get a chance this season b/c im up in Minn for a job, but while I went to ISU we saw some studs down there...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidd Posted December 16, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2004 Re: Indiana deer seasons If you look at some of the above post you will see some solutions to our problems. I have always been a solution guy. Instead of always complaining and looking at the negatives, atleast be part of the solution. I know we will not make everybody happy but so be it. Here are some of the changes I would make for the hunting seasons (these ideas are not all mine, some have come from just listening to others.) 1. Move shotgun season to the Thanksgiving weekend, maybe start that Wednesday-Sunday (possible chance to take a kid hunting and start a new tradition.) 2. Have a late season muzzleloader starting first saturday in dec. through the second sunday in dec. (1 full week) 3. Keep bow season the same oct.1-jan.4 4. Keep the "one buck rule" 5. i also am pondering the doe before the buck tag, but i am not sure yet. (the doe tags would not be as much as the buck tags ie $6.00 doe tag, $12.00 buck tag) I think these ideas would serve the state well and make our deer herd healthier and make our buck population more mature. What do you think???? nate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billkay Posted December 17, 2004 Report Share Posted December 17, 2004 Re: Indiana deer seasons Shortening the gun season would surely not be a problem for me. I have no problem with the OBR either. I have heard that there will no longer be an (Urban Zone) buck allowed in the urban zone. You'll only get one unless you attend a special hunt. That bothers me since it seems to be caused by too many people trying to cheat the system. Seems the better solution would be to increase the enforcement of the "Zones" rather than penalize the people that hunt there legally. There isn't a lot of incentive for a person to hunt an urban zone for just does. The extra buck was a huge bonus as far as I was concerned especially where there was enough of an overpopulation for the DNR to take action. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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