# Cut in deer tags



## dakotashooter2 (Oct 31, 2003)

Talk about a drastic cut. 44 K less tags. Gonna be a lot of hunter left out this year. Gonna change how landowners apply also. There won't be any waiting on the gratis until they see if they get a tag in the drawing, if they want to be sure they get a tag.
I suspect people will be more unhappy that they didn't get a tag than that they have not seen many deer the last couple years.. I'd rather be out there and not see much than not get a tag at all. Guess we take the bad years with the good.... Can't be ideal all the time.


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## Gunny (Aug 18, 2005)

Just come over to MN. We have PLENTY of deer. Just make sure you bring a boat. Thats the only way to hunt them here... oke:


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## 6162rk (Dec 5, 2004)

think of all the gas that won't get burned up by the 44,000 not tearing around the sections to get a shot at a deer.


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## 9manfan (Oct 22, 2008)

6162rk said:


> think of all the gas that won't get burned up by the 44,000 not tearing around the sections to get a shot at a deer.


and all the roads that won't be getting rutted up.... :beer: ....


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## dakotashooter2 (Oct 31, 2003)

When I first started hunting the same number of tags were available. I remember I drew a buck tag the first year I applied and it was another 4 years before I drew another (even with bonus points).

The sad part is this isn't going to help with the guys that send in for grandpa and grandma and the kids just so there is a better chance of someone in the family getting a tag (which they will use). And it will just make it worse for everyone else. There will probably be a lot of "furbearer hunters" out there during deer season.. oke:


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## Duckslayer100 (Apr 7, 2004)

I predict a lot of people who get snubbed will be buying over the counter archery tags this year...


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## Duckslayer100 (Apr 7, 2004)

By the way, does anyone know where you can find a breakdown of licenses available in each unit? I know they have the total number for the whole state, but I'm more interested in how each unit fared individually.


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## huntin1 (Nov 14, 2003)

Duckslayer100 said:


> By the way, does anyone know where you can find a breakdown of licenses available in each unit? I know they have the total number for the whole state, but I'm more interested in how each unit fared individually.


This is where it will be: https://secure.apps.state.nd.us/gnf/onl ... tm#deergun

but the breakdown isn't available yet.

huntin1


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## wurgs (Mar 3, 2008)

Cut in tags came a year too late. I have worked all over the state in the last 6 months or so and hardly saw any deer.


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## dakotashooter2 (Oct 31, 2003)

http://gf.nd.gov/regulations/deer/pdf/licenses-units.pdf


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## AdamFisk (Jan 30, 2005)

This was a proposal that was made public a while ago...I'd say this is pretty accurate.


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## AdamFisk (Jan 30, 2005)

I think the tag cuts are necessary. I'd like to have concurrent doe tags again someday.

Should make for some peaceful bow hunting in the badlands this year anyways....


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## wurgs (Mar 3, 2008)

wow, still giving out 5500 tags in 2K2? Are they trying to get rid of all the deer?


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## fylling35 (Jun 15, 2007)

2K2 has had a large deer population over the last 10 years. It also does not contain or border many large communitities and therefore gets less pressure. 2K2 will probably get some more looks from people this year even though they'll have to drive.


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## wurgs (Mar 3, 2008)

From everything that I have seen and heard 2K2 deers numbers are way down. I agree in the past the numbers were too high but the winters from 2008-2011 were very hard on the numbers in that unit as well as the rest of the state. There may be some areas in that unit that have some larger herds but in most of the eastern half, deer numbers are way down.


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## Savage260 (Oct 21, 2007)

I haven't noticed the deer numbers being down all that much in the areas I work. I know that doesn't mean they are not down, but I put on a lot of miles and haven't noticed a drastic change in the number of deer I am seeing.


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## Hunter_58346 (May 22, 2003)

There are definitely NOT the deer that there were 5 years ago but a combination of things are the cause. By design the population in the N.E. units were decimated to prevent TB from the Minnesota herd. I can't really speak for the rest os the state. 2K2 has deer but open land to hunt(at least close to hiway 2) is hard to find. The recent winters have taken their toll. Everyone was complaing that the deer were on the roads getting hit. Insurance companies should now be happy. 
But the herd is back to what it was in the late 80's and will rebound as they have in the past. It is not all doom and gloom.


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## dakotashooter2 (Oct 31, 2003)

Hard winters ( resulting in winterkill and reduced fawn production) and high predator numbers have taken a toll. Many want to blame the G&F but they can't anticipate the harshness of winters. Particularly when we have been in a mild cycle for many years. Snow depth is often more devistating than cold, to deer. Not only in direct winterkillI did hear that one year they were not able to complete their winter survey and that probably put them behind the 8 ball. Reacting even a years soon may have made quite a difference. some people don't believe there have been significant winter die offs because there was little sign (carcasses) but the last few years I have seen carcasses disapear over night when the coyotes got to them. I'm pretty sure that is what was happening here. It was also very obvious that fawn production was way down. Many does appeared to have lost their fawns and very few twins were born, another sign of winter stress. The lack of fawns probably hurt the population as much or more than the winter kills.


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## People (Jan 17, 2005)

Where I hunt that blue tongue pretty much took care of the deer population. There are still plenty to be hit with the old pickup, but even the pickup kills are way down this year. By the count of dead deer on I94 from Bismarck to Fargo one would think there are plenty of deer out in those parts.

They were going to release a Chuck Norris edition of Clue, but the answer always turns out to be "Chuck Norris. In The Library. With a Roundhouse Kick."


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## BirdJ (Aug 24, 2011)

dakotashooter2 said:


> Hard winters ( resulting in winterkill and reduced fawn production) and high predator numbers have taken a toll. Many want to blame the G&F but they can't anticipate the harshness of winters. Particularly when we have been in a mild cycle for many years. Snow depth is often more devistating than cold, to deer. Not only in direct winterkillI did hear that one year they were not able to complete their winter survey and that probably put them behind the 8 ball. Reacting even a years soon may have made quite a difference. some people don't believe there have been significant winter die offs because there was little sign (carcasses) but the last few years I have seen carcasses disapear over night when the coyotes got to them. I'm pretty sure that is what was happening here. It was also very obvious that fawn production was way down. Many does appeared to have lost their fawns and very few twins were born, another sign of winter stress. The lack of fawns probably hurt the population as much or more than the winter kills.


ds2 pretty much nailed it! We here also had a drop with licenses west river for this coming fall with all the big game animals! The predators are really taking the toll of the new borns and adults also! Yotes, mountian lions, and possiable wolfs. We had the same problem when we had that bad winter here back in 96. Places I hunted antelope for years weren't coming back much at all for a long time after that. So I ask the ranchers what was going on even when we had decent winters and they all pretty much said that the Yotes were grabbing up the fawns as fast as the does were dropping them!!!! To bad the fur market went to S--t!


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## blhunter3 (May 5, 2007)

wurgs said:


> Cut in tags came a year too late. I have worked all over the state in the last 6 months or so and hardly saw any deer.


How do you look a rancher or a landowner in the eye who has deer damaging their feedlot and tell them, we are cutting the deer tags? Its a tough job the ND Game and Fish has, and there is no right answer. Hindsight is always 20/20


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## BirdJ (Aug 24, 2011)

blhunter3 said:


> wurgs said:
> 
> 
> > Cut in tags came a year too late. I have worked all over the state in the last 6 months or so and hardly saw any deer.
> ...


Can't they get depredation tags. New a farmer/rancher that was feeding around 400 deer during the winter and got depredation tags from the GF&P. He only let archery hunters hunt since his feed piles were to close to buildings and homes.


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## mntwinsfan (Oct 8, 2010)

blhunter3 said:


> wurgs said:
> 
> 
> > Cut in tags came a year too late. I have worked all over the state in the last 6 months or so and hardly saw any deer.
> ...


You tell them to put up a fence. Farming the in Dakota's is a risk. There is a chance that drought or hail will devestate your crop, but you plant every year. The same thing goes with deer and goose depredation. There is a chance that damage may occur and it's something you should have to live with. If farmers get sick and tired of deer and geese I am sure they can always find a job in the city.


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## blhunter3 (May 5, 2007)

You can get crop and hail insurance, not deer depredation insruance.


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## mntwinsfan (Oct 8, 2010)

Yea duh. What I am saying is that farming is a risk with, at the moment, high outputs. I can't give sympathy to people that at the moment are doing very good with the recent commodity prices. It's a part of life, deal with it.


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## blhunter3 (May 5, 2007)

A large majority of ranchers have very little to do with raising crops. So they do not benefit from the commodities prices. So grain farming and ranching are two different things, there for you cannot compare them. Yes farming is a risk, but with record deer numbers, and the deer herd is control by the state, ranchers and cattle owners should get help for deer depredation. Farmers get help with black birds in their sunflowers, so that's wrong? Same with problems with the geese, the state helps with that, so why shouldn't they help with deer and cattle?


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## mntwinsfan (Oct 8, 2010)

I am guessing if you would contact your local GFP office they will help you with deer depredation. In SD, there is a ton of work done by the GFP during the difficult winters to alleviate the deer issues. This is normally done by dumping shelled corn or hay in the path of the deer. With one of the mildest winters in recent history, there was not much deer problems this past year.


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## snogeezmen (May 28, 2012)

it seems to me the landowners who "*****" the hardest are the "last" ones to let guys hunt.


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## People (Jan 17, 2005)

snogeezmen said:


> it seems to me the landowners who "b#tch" the hardest are the "last" ones to let guys hunt.


I have seen that also. I have gone to a few farms where well over 100deer have been on the hay piles and when asking to shoot some does they say.

We do not allow hunting.
Sure it is 100 per gun per day.
We only allow family to hunt on our land.
Sure after the family is done hunting. (I have gone back up until the last day at 1200 and their family still is not done hunting)*
We like having the deer on our land.

That is all I can think of right now. I know there is more.

I know it is their land but if you get cash for deer degradation you should be forced to put your land in to PLOTS. You always have a choice. Allow hunting to make the deer know it is not safe there or deal with the degradation.

*In one case I watched most of their land from land I can hunt on read public and no one ever hunted on that land. I did get my deer it was one of theirs who crossed into the corner of land I could shoot on and it was mine. Yes they did come out to investigate the shot and what a$$holes they were. Now they are never to be found on during hunting season. For a couple years we hunted the fence lines and got some nice deer. Then last year they got theirs. All of THEIR deer were killed off. Sometimes you have to like bluetongue.

Chuck Norris' favorite cereal is Kellogg's Nails 'N' Gravel.


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## jpallen14 (Nov 28, 2005)

I believe at least in South Dakota if the landowner has a paid hunting operation the GFP will not conduct a deer dep hunt or suppliment feeding in winter months.


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## blhunter3 (May 5, 2007)

I agree if the rancher makes no real effort to thin the deer herd then they shouldn't get help, but if it is something out of their control then they should receive help. We took care of our deer problem with bow hunters. but sometimes that isn't v an option.


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## dakotashooter2 (Oct 31, 2003)

Add this to the list also. The guys who start dumping big piles of bait in late september to keep/draw deer to their land then cut it off after season leaving the deer to fend for themselves in an area that doesn't have adequate winter forage.


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## BirdJ (Aug 24, 2011)

jpallen14 said:


> I believe at least in South Dakota if the landowner has a paid hunting operation the GFP will not conduct a deer dep hunt or suppliment feeding in winter months.


Thats the way it should be!!! In my previous post that I forgot to add, the farmer/rancher wasn't doing that but the bowhunters were only aloud to take DOES ONLY! and he was up front with that! If he caught anyone taking a buck they would have to pay him $300.00 bucks, no pun intended. NO bucks were shot!


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## wurgs (Mar 3, 2008)

blhunter3 said:


> A large majority of ranchers have very little to do with raising crops. So they do not benefit from the commodities prices. So grain farming and ranching are two different things, there for you cannot compare them. Yes farming is a risk, but with record deer numbers, and the deer herd is control by the state, ranchers and cattle owners should get help for deer depredation. Farmers get help with black birds in their sunflowers, so that's wrong? Same with problems with the geese, the state helps with that, so why shouldn't they help with deer and cattle?


Record number of deer? maybe a couple of years ago but not now.

Can I ask for money when the deer eat all the plants in my vegetable garden?


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## Chuck Smith (Feb 22, 2005)

> Can I ask for money when the deer eat all the plants in my vegetable garden?


How about an Insurance company get $$ from the state for every deer/vehicle hit they pay for?

Does that sound crazy? but it is one industry getting $$ for deer problems over another.


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## wurgs (Mar 3, 2008)

Actually yes that is really dumb. There are ways to help with the deer problem. As mentioned there is depredation hunts and programs to help farmers put fences around feed supplies. Whether farmers want to utilize them is up to them but there are options.


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## People (Jan 17, 2005)

Chuck Smith said:


> > Can I ask for money when the deer eat all the plants in my vegetable garden?
> 
> 
> How about an Insurance company get $$ from the state for every deer/vehicle hit they pay for?
> ...


Getting cash from the Game and Fish for hitting a deer is funny. I actually called and asked for just that. They told me that is what insurance is for. Then they wanted to know all the details of the incident. I gave them all the info and again asked for a modest amount of cash to fix my car. They said that is not what we do and that is why I have insurance. So I asked if it was a criminal offence to hit a deer. I was told no but it is to leave them on the road. I then asked if it was to shoot one in June with a rifle. YES!!!!! Was the instant answer to that question. What if it is on the road and I put the body in the ditch afterward. We all know the answer to that one.

My next question was who owns the deer? No one owns them but they are tasked with managing them. So what is the difference between shooting one and hitting one with my car? I love this answer. Shooting one will result in a criminal offence and the other will just cost you money.

So I started hunting with my junker pickup. I will not say how many I have gotten this year so far but I will say it has killed more deer than all the rifles I own put together. Doe are stupid they usually just stand there. Fauns are scared of everything and are hard to hit, but tend to fly the farthest. Bucks they do not seem to like the road too much.


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