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Archery deer hunters must create own expectations

Madison - How are the state's archers going to fare when the 2009 bow deer season opens on Saturday, Sept. 12?

As well as they can.

How many deer are they going to kill?

More or less than last year.

 

How many deer are they going to see?

That depends on where they hunt, how they hunt, how long they hunt, and how well they scouted before hunting.

Those have not been the types of answers hunters have heard from DNR_wildlife managers in the past - and, just to be clear, those are not the exact words returned to similar questions for this story - but hunters are going to hear different kinds of responses from the DNR's wildlife staff this year.

In the past, DNR "wildlifers" would talk about herd "projections" heading into a deer season, with the herd "estimates" calculated after all of the dead deer were counted in January.

Last year, the DNR offered deer herd projections of 1.7 to 1.8 million deer being in the woods heading into September.

No such numbers are being offered this year, according to Keith Warnke, DNR deer ecologist.

"Hunter expectations need to be considered on a regional basis," Warnke said, adding that deer densities vary widely across the state.

He said that if the DNR offers a statewide projection ahead of the season, hunters in areas of lower deer densities might set their expectations at levels that can't be met by the deer herd where they hunt.

Warnke didn't say the DNR is changing any kind of policy this year because hunters might feel that the DNR missed its mark last year. Warnke said the DNR has been thinking about doing away with preseason projections for several years.

In fact, the DNR informally polled a number of media members three or four years ago to see how news outlets would feel about not having a preseason projection.

"There is no projection, and it's not a number we ever put a lot of stake in," Warnke said. "There is no official policy change, it's just that a projection creates the wrong kind of expectation for hunters.

"The one thing that is safe to say is that archers and gun hunters will kill fewer antlerless deer this year - there are fewer antlerless tags available and fewer earn-a-buck requirements. We only have earn-a-buck in CWD units," Warnke said.

"Deer numbers vary by region. In the far northeast, deer numbers are down, and bonus permits are limited to none. Archers can kill a deer of either sex, but deer numbers are down in that area," he said.

"In the farmland regions, prospects are great - there are strong deer populations in those areas.

"Fawn production, on a statewide basis, is about average, which is better than last year," Warnke said.

"We could see a lower archery harvest than last year, partly a result of there being fewer antlerless deer tags this year. The buck harvest could go up in units that had earn-a-buck last year but don't have earn-a-buck this year. In other units where deer populations are low, the buck kill might be down. There are indicators pushing it both directions, depending on where you hunt," he said.

Warnke said the more hunters do their scouting, get to know deer patterns, and the more they put into scouting and hunting, "The more you'll get out of it."

The 2009 archery deer season will run Sept. 12 through Nov. 19, then open again Nov. 30, and run through Jan. 3.

The archery season framework in the CWD zone is the same as last year, with unlimited earn-a-buck, according to Jason Fleener, DNR assistant deer ecologist.

There is one change that hunters should note.

"In the units from last year that were earn-a-buck, hunters may use their buck stickers from those units in CWD units this year if they wish to hunt down there," Fleener said.

There also are a number of "regular units" this year. Extra antlerless tags in those units will cost $12 for residents this year.

"Archery hunters will get one free antlerless tag with their license that is valid statewide, plus one extra antlerless tag that is valid in herd-control and CWD units," Fleener said.

"Gun hunters will get the same tag - the one that is good in herd-control and CWD units."

There are 13 units that have no antlerless quota, and thus, no antlerless tags, but bowhunters may use their statewide antlerless tag in those units because bowhunters are allowed to shoot a deer of either sex.

Fleener noted that the December four-day antlerless hunt is not technically closed in those 13 units - hunter education graduates, some disabled permit holders, and certain military personnel are able to use their gun buck tag on a deer of either sex statewide, including those 13 units.

Last year, state bowhunters shot 99,284 deer statewide.

That number included 34,662 bucks, 63,759 antlerless deer, and 863 deer of unmarked sex.

Hunters from the state's six Chippewa tribes claimed a total registration for gun and bow of 1,595 deer.