Deer harvest dips

Buxndiverdux

Old Mossy Horns
I only shot one Doe in NC. That is the fewest amount of deer I've ever shot in a season. I could have killed a 18 wheeler full if the law allowed, but I just didn't feel like messing with them.
 

Jlewis74

Old Mossy Horns
I only shot one Doe in NC. That is the fewest amount of deer I've ever shot in a season. I could have killed a 18 wheeler full if the law allowed, but I just didn't feel like messing with them.

I actually never got one this year, like you I could have taken plenty just did not.
 

TravisLH

Old Mossy Horns
Saw plenty of does, we (my family) only took 3 if I recall correctly. It wasn't due to any low numbers, and the main reason for it was that we had targeted bucks in the same areas.


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5 Shot

Ten Pointer
Deer numbers are definitely down from what they used to be in my area. Nowhere near the number of deer there used to be.... not sure the reason.
 

Southern

Ten Pointer
Where I hunt, the bears and coyotes are wearing them out but only have the farmers have killed them by the hundreds in each field. Not bashing farmers as I own farms and come from a family of farmers but this killing them by the thousands with d permits has got to stop.
 

jug

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
I think the dip is just aggravated by the massive acorn crop. True there are coyotes working on the herd and counties like Northampton and Halifax have increased their permit hunting during the summer. Compound that with the planting of more cotton instead of peanuts has hurt those counties. With that said our dog club in Scotland county had a much better year this past year. We saw and jumped a lot more deer . I know the local dog club also had a better year of jumping and seeing deer. On the other hand they had tough luck still hunting. T
The NCWRC are contemplating adjusting the seasons from what I hear.
 

GSOHunter

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
2015 was horrible where I hunt and last year was great. Other people on here that hunt 10-15 miles away said it was horrible.
 

UncleFester

Old Mossy Horns
I killed four, could have killed more, but didn't feel like making my wife drag many more. Wasn't because I didn't see them though.
 

jug

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
I think a lot of it is people changing how they hunt.
I hope so but I personally don't know anyone who is doing so. Several of my neighbors didn't see jack this past season here in Harnett. I heard less shots in Rockingham county but we { Albemarle Hunting Club } had a good season down in Scotland county .
 
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treestock

Four Pointer
I've laid off them the past few years because of a noticeable decline in herd size around the house. Think it's just balancing out between the yote explosion and more people being more selective

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hunthard2

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
Less habitat for them, way more hunters and predation. Less deer.

Been singing that tune for quite a few years now but was laughed at by people who knew more...


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Mike Noles aka conman

Administrator
Staff member
Contributor
I'm not sure about other areas, but the 5 county "red wolf" recovery area that is under coyote control also has been significantly impacted by the hybrids and coyotes. There's not enough "red wolves" left to have any impact, and the bears may get an occasional fawn, but the coyotes are completely over running these counties. These stats show just how stupid this coyote protection program has been for the game population of these 5 counties :mad:. The good thing is, it's wild canid breeding and denning season and the bastards are easier to kill now than any other time. Set ups are simple with pup squeals and fawn distress calls ;).
 

stiab

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
Vance County is struggling to recover from the EHD outbreak. Those posters on NCH&F who proclaimed that the deer would suddenly "reappear" when all the acorns got eaten were wrong, of course.
 

TravisLH

Old Mossy Horns
Vance County is struggling to recover from the EHD outbreak. Those posters on NCH&F who proclaimed that the deer would suddenly "reappear" when all the acorns got eaten were wrong, of course.

I also hunt Vance and I don't think it was as bad through out the county. One of our farms was definitely hit but the others it was scarcely noticeable. Another problem is that on one tract we have a substantial bit of acreage of dedicated AG land, there thanks to the depred permits you'll not see many if any does. Once the rut hits the bucks disappear too.


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oldest school

Old Mossy Horns
We are down 20% from the peak. what exactly is the magic line for adjustments in regs or seasons?

and remember that is with additional days of opportunity. Sundays should have seen numbers increase all things being equal.

i am asking those of you with more than layman's knowledge of wildlife bio.

or is it too political to even bother?

or is three years worth of regression from the high just statistically insignificant?
 
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ABolt

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
I'd agree with that. Lots more hunters leaving young bucks to grow.

Agreed. Where I hunt (Mecklenburg) the annual harvest is quite consistent, yet the number of antlered bucks per square mile has more than tripled from 1.56 in 2005 to 5.28 in 2017. Oddly, that gives Mecklenburg county the highest density of antlered bucks per square mile in the state...
 

2boyz

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
We are down 20% from the peak. what exactly is the magic line for adjustments in regs or seasons?

and remember that is with additional days of opportunity. Sundays should have seen numbers increase all things being equal.

i am asking those of you with more than layman's knowledge of wildlife bio.
__________________________________________________________________

NC herd managers are not expressing the concerns about herd size that are coming from Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and Mississippi. In NC, the size of the acorn crop plays a major role when explaining a drop in the total kill. This acorn factor has not been noted in the numbers coming from other states including the 36% drop in South Carolina's herd size.

Coyote populations have significantly increased during the period that the other states have expressed concerns about herd size. The attached article is a summary of research projects in the SE US dealing with fawn predation and is written with no obvious bias....simply states the research and quotes the researchers in layman's terms. https://gameandgarden.com/sustainability/land/do-coyotes-affect-deer-populations/

The research notes a consistent climb in fawn survival when coyotes are removed pre-fawning. NC's research at Ft Bragg showed low fawn survival due to predation and poor fawning habitat has been offered as a contributing cause. Conversely, NOTE that the habitat factor has been addressed in other research and habitat differences were not a factor in fawn survival.

ALL research has shown predation to be a significant factor in fawn survival......and as was noted with wolves/moose calves, learned behavior is playing a role....meaning that as the coyote is a recent arrival, we may not have reached the peak of fawn predation.

POINTS:
1. NC herd managers have not yet stated that the herd has seen a statistically significant population drop to the point that we should be concerned.

2. Research in AL, SC and NC has consistently shown that the coyote has a very high impact on fawn survival and two of these states are expressing deer population concerns.

3. Pre-fawning predator removal resulted in increased fawn survival in every trial.

NOTE: A $1,000,000 coyote research project in SC, GA, and AL will conclude in early 2018.
 
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stiab

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
I think the NCWRC is at least soliciting deer input, they keep sending surveys asking my opinion. Last one about two weeks ago.

Edited to add: Told them I thought 2 bucks state wide was enough.
 
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2boyz

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
how is the herd size estimated in NC?

is reported kill not a factor in the estimate?

I do not know how herd size is estimated in NC. The acorn crop comment was a jab at NCWRC's insistence on attributing reduced kill to the large acorn crop while failing to publicly note research associated with fawn predation and the potential impact on herd size.
 

oldest school

Old Mossy Horns
I do not know how herd size is estimated in NC. The acorn crop comment was a jab at NCWRC's insistence on attributing reduced kill to the large acorn crop while failing to publicly note research associated with fawn predation and the potential impact on herd size.

gotcha.
i thought you were saying that the NCWRC didnt think the herd was going down just our ability or desire to shoot them.
 

GSOHunter

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
I'm not sure about other areas, but the 5 county "red wolf" recovery area that is under coyote control also has been significantly impacted by the hybrids and coyotes. There's not enough "red wolves" left to have any impact, and the bears may get an occasional fawn, but the coyotes are completely over running these counties. These stats show just how stupid this coyote protection program has been for the game population of these 5 counties :mad:. The good thing is, it's wild canid breeding and denning season and the bastards are easier to kill now than any other time. Set ups are simple with pup squeals and fawn distress calls ;).

They still around in late june? ;)
 

bertienchunter

Twelve Pointer
I think the dip is just aggravated by the massive acorn crop. True there are coyotes working on the herd and counties like Northampton and Halifax have increased their permit hunting during the summer. Compound that with the planting of more cotton instead of peanuts has hurt those counties. With that said our dog club in Scotland county had a much better year this past year. We saw and jumped a lot more deer . I know the local dog club also had a better year of jumping and seeing deer. On the other hand they had tough luck still hunting. T
The NCWRC are contemplating adjusting the seasons from what I hear.

Cotton acres planted are way down compared to the late 90s and early 2000s due to low prices. Also, the farmers have been shooting them in the fields long before the permits ever existed. EHD, predation and liberal deer harvest are killing the deer herd numbers.

Bertie County is down as well. I have never seen Bertie out of the top three in the state in deer harvest.

In my experience I have had some good kills over the last 5-7 yrs but I have seen way less deer than I used to. Maybe that is a plus but I know for fact deer numbers are down where I hunt.
 
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