Oregon 2009 Deer Hunt Opening Weekend Report

[MattMan]

new to the site. thought i'd add what i found on the oregon dpt F&W site. not good news. but we all knew this already.

http://www.dfw.state.or.us/resources/hunting/big_game/docs/deer_opener_report_2009.pdf

 

[Damer]

Pretty sad! Looks like we need antler restrictions and cut back tag numbers, and hunting cats with hounds! That would take care of the problem.

 

[nvmuley]

In theory: hunters just take a small percentage of bucks. That does not affect the overall deer population. The breeding does are left in high numbers.
Take a guess at what is eating the breeding does and fawns and hurting the whole deer population?

----------------------------------------
Measure wealth by the things you have,, for which you would not take money.

 

[MattMan]

draw tags for central/eastern hunts are getting less and less appealing to some hunters i've talked too. they'd rather join the army of hunters in the western rifle area. more deer even though there are more hunters. i go camping with some hunting for entertainment. my party hunts fort rock. we didn't get drawn this season and hunted up 138 by Lomolo and Toketee. Mistake. No deer there at all. hunters in the area said it was the worst season they'd ever experienced. here's to hoping things get turned around.

 

[WapitiBob]

I didn't know we had CWD.

 

[KILLERBEE]

there is a pettition going around to get the hounds for lions legal in oregon again. it might not amount to anything but we all need to sign it!

 

[MattMan]

didn't realize that the cats were that big a problem. i just thought it was all the droughts, fires and harsh winters with no feed.
i've seen three new watering holes, i assume made by the ODFW. i also saw many roads closed to bring back wildlife habitat and decrease in maintenance costs i'm sure.
it looks as though they are attempting to rectify the situation, but i think it is too late. hunting will most likely never be the same.
just my opinion.

 

[Soregonhunter]

Here in southern oregon we have a problem with atv' going on these roads that are closed. The roads are closed to all vehicle traffic and scaring all the deer away before the people walking in can hunt them.Also there should be some kind of draw system for blacktail here in oregon.

 

[nvmuley]

QUOTE - "i just thought it was all the droughts, fires and harsh winters with no feed."

Mattman,
I think that is just what wildlife managers want you to think is the main culprit.
But think about this, we had fires, we had drought and we had nasty deep snow winters that killed a lot of mule deer prior to the last decade. Yet they still flourished. What is different today?
Look at deer harvest figures for 1988. Prior to the current major deer depression............ What is different today?
We older hunters have spent a lot of time outdoors and remember what once was. It is harder to BS us. We all probably have a pretty good handle on what has changed.
A recent morning hunt in fresh snow reveled 5 sets of coyote tracks, 3 sets of deer tracks and one set of lion tracks. Does that sound like a proper balance for maximizing hunter opportunity? For providing venison to the maximum number of family's?

----------------------------------------
Measure wealth by the things you have,, for which you would not take money.

 

[bull_n_rut]

LAST EDITED ON Oct-11-09 AT 08:25PM (MST)[p]>>>>there is a pettition going around to get the hounds for lions legal in oregon again. it might not amount to anything but we all need to sign it!


Where do I find this petition and how many times can I sign it?

 

[KILLERBEE]

ill see if i can get the guy to post a link

 

[MattMan]

I guess i did not think about it that way. Thank you for opening my eyes to a different point of view.

 

[Damer]

I'm a wildland fire fighter, and from what I have seen fires do nothing but help big game!

 

[MattMan]

true. the deer we did see this season were under the canopy in a burnt area. i guess using the old growth for weather protection and eating the fresh greens growing. just a couple does and yearlings.

 

[bhunter]

The coast range is hurting for deer as well. The Licking disease has taken its toll. Its now 2009 and the OFWD is now putting together a Blacktail plan no kidding where have they been for the last 10 years as hunters called regarding deer numbers. I don't know whats going on in Southern Oregon but the NW corner deer numbers are way down and they just keep selling doe tags and buck tags. I think its time I start to explore our other western states.


If there is any proof of a man in a hunt it is not whether he killed a deer or elk but how he hunted it.

 

[manny15]

LAST EDITED ON Oct-13-09 AT 12:36PM (MST)[p]Cats do the most damage but i do remember a few years back, blue tongue hit muleys and blacktails...?

but it seems Dept. G&F are more affraid of PETA then us hunters, they cater to them, where was the oregon hunter when it was on the ballet, to stop the use of multiple dogs for the big cats, are we that out numbered?......

 

[Hitchx]

Yup its likely cats.

We didnt see any cat tracks in Buluah but we noticed the dog trails and deer trails were roughly equal in mumber. This was the most coyote tracks I've seen since I started here in the 60s.