Hunters, Be Sure It’s a Deer in Your Gun Sights and Not A Protected Animal
November 21, 2008
MADISON – Hunters across the state will be looking to place a white-tailed deer in their crosshairs starting Nov. 22 with the opening of the 2008 Wisconsin Gun Deer Season. But with that privilege comes a responsibility to be absolutely sure of your target and to know what is legal game…and what isn’t.
Hunters always need to follow the four rules of safety when handling a firearm to make sure they do not endanger themselves, other hunters, or other people recreating in the outdoors:
- T= Treat every firearm as if it is loaded. Consider all guns are always loaded – until you determine the firearm is not.
- A= Always point the muzzle in a safe direction. Never allow the muzzle point at anything you are not ready to destroy – that means keeping your firearm pointed in a safe direction at all times.
- B= Be certain of your target and what’s beyond it. Make sure you know your target – what it is, what is in the line of fire and what is behind it.
- K= Keep your finger outside the trigger guard until ready to shoot.
In addition, they need to clearly identify animals they are pursuing in the field, and know what rules are in place where they are hunting. Mistakes in identification can be costly.
Coyote
Coyote hunting is closed in approximately the northern third of the state during the Nov. 22-30 gun deer season and the Dec. 1-10 muzzleloader deer season, remind wildlife officials. Check the 2008 Wisconsin Deer Hunting Regulations or 2008 Small Game Regulations for the southern boundary of this special closed area. This closure is in place to avoid hunters misidentifying a gray wolf for a coyote. Wolves were recently relisted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as endangered species in Wisconsin.
But wildlife officials caution there has also been an increase in wolf sightings in the southern third of the state, where they coyote season remains open. Officials caution that there could be wolves in any part of Wisconsin and hunters should be careful not to mistake a protected wolf for an unprotected coyote.
Elk
Hunters in the area of Clam Lake need to be certain they are pulling the trigger on a deer and not one of Wisconsin’s protected elk. The reintroduced herd has grown from 25 elk released in 1995 to a current estimate of 150 this fall. The herd’s current range includes portions of Bayfield, Sawyer and Ashland counties [http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/wildlife/elk/map.htm].
Elk are native to Wisconsin but were extirpated in the mid to late 1800s due to unregulated hunting and a rapid decline in habitat following settlement. Elk were last recorded in Wisconsin in the 1886 and historic records show elk once inhabited at least 50 of the state’s 72 counties.
Moose
Although numbers are very, very small, moose are now being recorded in Wisconsin with increasing regularity. The largest of Wisconsin’s native members of the deer family, moose are also a protected animal.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Tom Van Haren – - (608) 266-3244
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Missouri Opening-day Deer Harvest Dips Slightly
November 21, 2008
Blustery weather caused hunters to fall 2 percent short of last year’s figure.
JEFFERSON CITY—Cold, blustery weather may have cut into the opening-weekend harvest of Missouri’s main firearms deer season, but hunters still posted a two-day total of nearly 100,000.
Hunters checked 98,386 deer Nov. 15 and 16. That is down 2,049, or about 2 percent from last year’s number. The record for opening weekend of the November hunt was set in 2004, when hunters checked 133,136 deer.
High counties for the opening weekend were Macon with 1,992 deer checked, Benton with 1,967 and Callaway with 1,693. The top counties in 2007 were Callaway with 1,984, Benton with 1,962 and Texas with 1,817.
Resource Scientist Lonnie Hansen said he considers the opening-weekend harvest surprisingly good, considering the weather and a significant change in deer hunting regulations that went into effect this year.
“Opening morning felt colder than it really was, because the wind was so gusty,” Hansen said. “Lots of areas had snow flurries. That might have reduced the amount of time hunters spent in the woods on Saturday.”
Hansen noted that deer are more skittish in windy weather, because they can’t see movement or hear as well as on calm days. This probably made hunting more difficult.
Deer-kill statistics from the first two days of the season seem to confirm that hunting was tougher than usual. Hunters killed 52,131 deer on the first day of the season this year, compared to 64,206 last year.
The weather was much more favorable for hunters on the second day of this year’s season, with temperatures in the 50s and moderate winds. On that day, hunters checked 46,255 deer, compared to 36,229 last year.
Hansen said expansion of the area where hunters could only take antlered deer if they had at least four points on one side also played a role in the slight drop in deer harvest.
“The doe harvest was up on opening weekend compared to last year, and the buck harvest was down,” said Hansen. “The fact that hunters in 36 new counties had to pass up shots at younger bucks could account for the entire difference in last year’s opening weekend harvest and this year’s.”
The November Portion of Firearms Deer Season runs from Nov. 15 through 25. The opening weekend harvest typically accounts for approximately half of the total November portion harvest. The November firearms deer harvest usually accounts for approximately 70 percent of all deer taken by hunters throughout the various firearms and archery hunting seasons.
The Conservation Department recorded one firearms-related deer-hunting accident during the opening weekend. The nonfatal accident was classified as self-inflicted.
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2008 Firearm Deer Season Opens This Week in Illinois
November 20, 2008
Firearm hunters in the field Nov. 21-23 and Dec. 4-7
SPRINGFIELD, IL – The 2008 Illinois Firearm Deer Season, the state’s most popular hunting season, begins this week with hunters in the field Friday through Sunday, Nov. 21-23, followed by four days of hunting on Dec. 4-7. Nearly 350,000 permits have been issued to hunters for the firearm season.
“As hunters take to the field this week, we hope for a successful harvest and encourage hunters to make safety a priority,” said Illinois Department of Natural Resources Acting Director Sam Flood. “Hunters need to take extra care, especially with firearm and tree-stand safety.”
Hunters in Illinois harvested a preliminary total of 117,425 deer during the seven-day firearm deer hunting season in 2007 and 114,835 deer during the 2006 firearm season.
The legal hunting hours for the firearm deer season are one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset.
Hunters successful in taking a deer during the firearm season in most counties must register – or “check in” – the deer they harvest by going online at www.dnr.state.il.us/vcheck
or by phoning 1-866-IL-CHECK (1-866-452-4325). Hunters using the online or phone-in system must register their harvest by 10 p.m. on the day they take the deer. It is recommended that hunters using cellular phones to register their harvest wait until they are out of the field and have a clear cell phone signal before attempting to make the harvest report phone call.
Hunters in nine northern Illinois counties where IDNR is conducting chronic wasting disease (CWD) sampling must take deer they harvest to a deer check station by 8 p.m. on the day they take the deer. The check stations in counties where CWD sampling is provided are listed below:
- Boone County – Boone County Fairgrounds, half-mile north of Rt. 76 and Business Rt. 20, Belvidere
- DeKalb County – Shabbona Lake State Park, 4201 Shabbona Grove Rd., Shabbona
- Grundy County – Gebhard Woods State Park, 401 Ottawa St., Morris
- Kane County – Shabbona Lake State Park, 4201 Shabbona Grove Rd., Shabbona
- LaSalle County – Buffalo Rock State Park, 3 miles west of Ottawa on Dee Bennett Rd., 1300 N. 27th Rd, Ottawa
- McHenry County – Moraine Hills State Park McHenry Dam Day Use Area, east of McHenry on River Road (2.2 miles south of Ill. Rt. 120)
- Ogle County – Nov. 21-23 at Castle Rock State Park, 1365 W. Castle Rd., Oregon; Dec. 4-7 at Lowden State Park, 1411 N. River Rd., Oregon
- Stephenson County – County Fairgrounds, Rt. 26 and Fairgrounds Rd., Freeport
- Winnebago County – Rockford Speedway, Hwy 173 at Forest Hills Rd., Rockford
Hunters who participate in the CWD sampling can check the status of their deer through the IDNR web site at http://dnr.state.il.us/cwd/. Hunters who provide samples from deer that test positive are notified by the IDNR.
While not believed to be contagious to humans or livestock, chronic wasting disease is known to spread from animal to animal among deer and elk. The disease affects the brain of the infected animal, causing them to become emaciated, display abnormal behavior, lose coordination and eventually die. Illinois expanded its CWD surveillance effort in 2002 following the discovery of the disease in neighboring Wisconsin.
Hunting quick facts:
- Illinois law requires that anyone born on or after January 1, 1980, must successfully complete a hunter safety course before a regular Illinois hunting license is issued.
- The number one cause of hunting accidents in Illinois is falling from a tree stand.
- Last year in Illinois, there were 29 reported hunting accidents; 12 were the result of tree stand falls. 28 hunting accidents (2 fatalities) were reported in Illinois in 2006.
When using a tree stand, remember the following:
- Check ladder stands before you climb to make sure they are secure.
- Wear a safety harness when climbing a tree and when in a tree stand.
- Use a haul line to raise an unloaded firearm or bow into a stand.
When hunting with a firearm, sportsmen should remember three primary rules of firearm safety:
- Point the muzzle in a safe direction.
- Treat every firearm as if it were loaded.
- Know your target and what is beyond your target.
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What’s Open For Hunting in Arkansas - 11/19/2008
November 19, 2008
Current and approaching seasons in Arkansas:
Deer:
Archery - All zones: Oct. 1, 2008 to Feb. 28, 2009.
Modern Gun - Zones 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 10 and 11: Nov. 8-30.
Zone 5: Nov. 15-16.
Zone 4A, 5A, 13, 14 and 15: Nov. 8-Dec. 7.
Zones 4B and 5B: Nov. 8-16.
Zones 9 and 12: Nov. 8-Dec. 14.
Zone 16, 16A and 17: Nov. 8-Dec. 25.
Muzzleloader- Zones 1, 2, 3, 4A, 5A, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14 and 15: Dec. 13-15.
Zones 9, 12, 16, 16A and 17: Dec. 29-31.
Zones 4, 4B, 5 and 5B: Closed.
The statewide Christmas holiday modern gun deer hunt will be Dec. 26-28.
Duck:
Nov. 22-Dec. 1,
Dec. 6-Dec. 24
Dec. 26-Jan. 25.
The youth waterfowl hunt will be Jan. 31-Feb. 1.
Statewide Canada goose season:
Jan. 10-Feb. 1 (bag limit two).
White-fronted goose season:
Nov. 15-Dec. 1, Dec. 6-Dec. 24 and Dec. 26-Jan. 30 with a bag limit of two.
Snow, blue and Ross’ goose season:
Nov. 8-Dec. 24 and Dec. 26-Jan. 30 with a bag limit of 20.
Snow goose Conservation Order:
Feb. 2-April 25 with no bag limit.
Dove:
Dec. 13, 2008-Jan. 2, 2009
Virginia and Sora Rail:
Sept. 13-Nov. 21
Spotted Skunk, Weasel Hunting:
Closed
Fall Turkey:
Archery: All Zones: Oct. 1, 2008-Feb. 28, 2009.
Bear:
Archery: Zone 1: Oct. 1-Nov. 30
Zone 2: Sept. 15-Nov. 30
Zones 3, 4, 5, 5A, 6 and 7: Closed
Modern Gun: Zones 1 and 2: Nov 3-30
Zone 5: Dec 6-14
Zone 5A: Nov 29-Dec 14
Zones 3, 4, 6 and 7: closed
Furbearers:
Trapping (other than coyote, beaver, muskrat, nutria): sunrise, Nov. 15-sunset, Feb. 22.
Coyote trapping: sunrise, Aug. 1-sunset, March 31.
Beaver, muskrat, nutria trapping: sunrise, Nov. 15-sunset, March 31.
Gray fox, mink, opossum, red fox, striped skunk hunting: sunrise, Sept. 1-sunset, Feb 28.
Raccoon day or night hunting: sunrise, Sept 1-sunset, March 31.
Raccoon night hunting: sunset, July 1-sunrise, Aug. 31.
Bobcat hunting: sunrise, Oct. 1-sunset, Feb. 28 and from the first day of spring turkey season through June 8.
Coyote hunting: sunrise, July 1-sunset, Feb. 28 and from the first day of spring turkey season through June 14.
River otter hunting: sunrise, Nov. 15-sunset, Feb. 28.
Muskrat, nutria, beaver hunting: sunrise, Sept. 1-sunset, March 31.
Badger, spotted skunk and weasel hunting: Closed.
Elk:
Zones 1, 2, 3, 4, A and B: Dec. 8-12.
Quail:
Statewide: Nov. 1-Feb. 8.
Rabbit
Statewide: Sept. 1-Feb. 28.
Squirrel
Statewide: Sept. 6, 2008-Feb. 28, 2009 and May 16-June 14, 2009.
Crow
Statewide: Sept. 6-Feb. 23.
Projected opening dates for the 2009-2010 deer hunting season.
Archery:
Oct. 1, 2009
Muzzleloader:
Oct. 17, 2009
Modern Gun:
Nov. 14, 2009
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Countdown To Deer Season in Pennsylvania Has Begun!
November 18, 2008
HARRISBURG – The state’s biggest draw for hunters is set to begin the Monday after Thanksgiving, according to Pennsylvania Game Commission Executive Director Carl G. Roe, when the two-week firearms deer season opens.
“When hunters begin to mobilize for the start of our traditional firearms deer season, there’s an unmistakable change that sweeps throughout Pennsylvania,” Roe said. “Fluorescent orange and camouflage clothing instantly become as common as denim. The crack of firearms being sighted in at rifle ranges can be heard in the distance. Cars are parked on the shoulders of roads that bisect or border most forested areas, as hunters scout for deer sign and look for the perfect stand locations. Newspapers advertise hunter breakfasts and write stories about mom-and-pop butcher shops that process deer for hunters.
“Deer season has a dramatic effect on the Commonwealth. It provides recreation to hundreds of thousands of hunters, and for those who take a deer, dozens of meals of tasty venison. It also provides an economic surge that local businesses and national chain stores count on annually. Hunters buy everything from clothing and equipment, to fuel and food. Their economic impact is substantial.
“Deer season also is an important tool that the Game Commission has used for more than a century to manage Pennsylvania’s whitetails. The efforts of hunters are far-reaching, and they help to keep deer populations at levels to meet deer management goals.”
The Game Commission manages deer for a healthy and productive deer herd that provides recreational opportunities within acceptable ecological impacts and human conflicts. It’s a never-ending job, and one that will always be influenced by Pennsylvania’s changing landscape and the varying viewpoints of its residents. But, the agency is committed to providing sound deer management.
One of the biggest changes in deer season this year is the new five-day, antlered deer-only season in Wildlife Management Units (WMUs) 2D, 2G, 3C and 4B. It starts the Monday after Thanksgiving and concludes Dec. 5. It is followed immediately in these four WMUs by seven days of concurrent, antlered and antlerless deer hunting beginning Dec. 6 and continuing through Dec.13. The rest of the state follows the two-week concurrent, antlered and antlerless season – Dec. 1-13 – that has been in place since 2001.
The changes to these four WMUs will pave the way for the Game Commission to investigate the relationship between antlerless allocations and season length. These WMUs were chosen because: WMUs 2G and 4B have ongoing deer research in them; WMU 2D is an area where antler restrictions are set at four points on one side, and is where the agency previously had deer research conducted; and WMU 3C is an area where antler restrictions are set at three points on one side, and is a physiographic area of the state where no extensive deer research has been conducted so far.
The Game Commission will use a four-year study to determine the impact and effectiveness of the proposed five-day antlered/seven-day concurrent season before additional WMUs may be considered for this season configuration. It also will assess hunter satisfaction with the modified season structure in the four WMUs.
Hunters must wear 250 square inches of fluorescent orange material on the head, chest and back combined at all times while afield durin
g the seasons. They also are advised that it’s illegal to hunt, chase or disturb deer with a firearm within 150 yards of any occupied building without the occupant’s permission.
All hunters who take a deer must fill out their harvest tag and attach it to the deer’s ear before moving the carcass. The tag can be secured to the base of the ear with a string drawn very tightly, if the hunter plans to have the deer mounted. Cutting a slit in the ear to attach the tag will require additional work by a taxidermist.
A harvest report card – which is provided with every license sold - must be mailed to the Game Commission within 10 days after taking the deer. Hunters who lose or misplace a deer harvest report card are urged to use or copy the big game harvest report card found on page 33 of the 2008-09 Pennsylvania Hunting and Trapping Digest, which also is provided to all license-buyers.
Deer hunters with an unused bear license also are reminded they may take a bear in the state’s extended black bear season. The extended bear season will be held in WMU 3C, and portions of 3B and 2G, from Dec. 1-6. In WMUs 4C, 4D and 4E, the extended season will run Dec. 3-6. Bear licenses must be purchased prior to Dec. 1 to participate in these hunts.
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Hunters Should Harvest Female Deer in High-Density Areas
November 17, 2008
Frankfort, Ky. – As the first week of modern gun deer season winds down, many hunters have already taken their antlered deer for the year. If you are hunting in a high-density area like Zone 1, you shouldn’t stop there. Harvesting plenty of female deer in high-density areas is essential to maintaining a quality deer herd – and a quality hunting experience.
“Female deer are the drivers of herd growth,” said Tina Brunjes, big game program coordinator for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. “When you have too many deer, you want to stop growth. Even if you don’t have too many, you want to control growth. The way you do that is through does.”
One female deer can quickly increase a deer population, since a doe gives birth to an average of two fawns a year. That’s why harvesting bucks doesn’t help thin the deer herd, while taking enough female deer can keep a deer population in balance with available habitat.
“If you’ve got fewer deer, they’ll be in better condition,” said David Yancy, a biologist in Kentucky Fish and Wildlife’s big game program. Yancy said ideal deer densities are less than 30 deer a square mile.
“If you think of habitat like a pie, then cutting the pie into 25 pieces instead of 45 means everyone gets more,” he said. “At 25 per square mile, deer have fewer ticks, less intestinal parasites, higher weight and better fat reserves to get through the winter.”
While mountainous habitat in the eastern part of Kentucky can’t support 25 deer a square mile, that is the department’s target deer density for other regions of the state. Counties with ideal deer populations are classified as Zone 2 for deer hunting, and make up 34 percent of Kentucky.
“Our big buck producers – Ohio, Butler, Muhlenberg, Hopkins, Grayson, Breckinridge – are all 25 deer per square mile counties,” said Yancy. “These areas have good habitat, but implicit in this is good deer numbers.”
However, 33 percent of Kentucky counties have too many deer, and fall under Zone 1 hunting regulations. Hunters may harvest unlimited antlerless deer with the proper permits in these counties. Brunjes said it’s important for Zone 1 hunters to take female deer, not only for herd health but for a quality hunt.
“By quality, I’m not just talking about big antlers,” she said. “I’m talking about improving the quality of your hunting experience. When your buck-to-doe ratio improves, you see more rutting behavior. You see deer doing what they do, not just standing in a food plot.”
Brunjes said that ideally, there should be fewer than three does for each buck in a deer herd. In areas with too many female deer, breeding season may not be as intense.
“You hear these things like ‘They’re not rutting, they’re not breeding where I am,’” said Yancy. “First of all, they are. But what that could be is there are so many females there’s no competition among bucks. If you want a good two-week period with fighting, lots of rubs, lots of scrapes, you need fewer does and more competition.”
After you bag an antlered deer this year, take a doe if you’re hunting in an area with too many deer. You can help improve the herd with your hunt.
Modern gun deer season is open statewide and continues through Nov. 17 in Zones 3-4 and Nov. 23 in Zones 1-2. For complete deer hunting regulations, pick up a copy of the 2008-09 Kentucky Hunting & Trapping Guide, available wherever hunting licenses are sold.
Author Hayley Lynch is an award-winning writer for Kentucky Afield magazine, the official publication of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. She is an avid hunter and shotgun shooter.
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Wisconsin’s 9-Day Regular Deer Season Runs Nov.22-30
November 13, 2008
MADISON –Wisconsin’s regular nine-day gun deer season opens Saturday, Nov. 22 this year and runs through Sunday, Nov. 30. The traditional season always opens the Saturday prior to the Thanksgiving holiday.
Even after a pretty tough winter in parts of the state, and a harvest of more than 520,000 deer in the 2007-08 seasons, the deer herd is still a good deal larger than established population goals in much of Wisconsin. Department of Natural Resources wildlife biologists estimate that the herd numbers between 1.5 and 1.7 million animals going into the fall 2007-08 seasons, a slight decrease from last year.
Because of this, most of the deer management units across the state, with the exception of some areas in the northeast, are under either herd control or earn-a-buck structures. In deer management units designated as earn-a-buck (EAB), hunters are required to shoot an antlerless deer in order to “earn” a sticker allowing them harvest an antlered deer. In units designated as regular or herd control, hunters do not need to first shoot an antlerless deer in order to shoot a buck. A free antlerless tag will come with each archery and gun license that is valid in herd control, EAB and CWD units. Additional antlerless tags can be purchased anytime after the license is purchased for $2 each.
Gun hunters who wish to