WTH IS GOING ON!!

https://www.channel3000.com/dnr-board-to-gauge-reaction-to-deer-hunt-changes/

Thoughts on this?

Ice fishing that is a great comparison. I never thought of it that way I guess I always hoped for most people to be guided in following the law but when you think of the violations for fishing no doubt that the hunting violations are increased.

badgerstatehunter, I couldn't agree with you more about the tags.

I keep reading that "95%+" of hunters follow registration rules. I can't really comment on that, as I don't see too many people actually harvesting the deer.

However, I am on the water/ice 100+ days a year. If you told me 90% of the people fishing in Vilas follow the regulations fishing, I'd laugh in your face.

Based on my experiences fishing, I can't believe the claim that "95%+" people are properly registering their deer.

"Doyle, in defense of the proposal and being “too old” they clearly state anyone 60 or older or with medical conditions would be exempt. "

Yes, the preliminary drafted question does state that.  However, it appears that the NRB/DNR does not have the legal authority to incorporate those stipulations. It has been stated that would have to be a legislative change in law.

jkb-- I found your comment very interesting and surprising.  I agree with you about the messed up late season.  I do have a question for you... Do you have any wolves on trail camera???  Or are you just covering ground and finding the pockets without wolves?? I have about 30,000 acres within a 25 miles public radius of my house.  I scout and camera as much as I can and there is a 130 to 140 inch buck on almost every single property i scout. BUT I am down south. 

"Many of you must have forgotten what happened during the gun season in the state.  Southern half of the state- 58% of corn still standing., rain on virtually every day and extremely late start so little movement due to rut.   Northern Wisconsin- late start so little movement , Wed, blizzard that dropped 12-15” on most of northern Wisconsin effectively stopping hunting.  Hunters could not pull off the road to park or they would get stuck.  Logging and back roads weren’t plowed so hunting areas were inaccessible. "

I think this is copied from page 112 of the DNR "Public Statements" book.

I get the standing corn in the south/central, but I don't get how counties in the north where little ag is available had the greatest decreases in harvest.  The weather was perfect in the north through Wednesday, and opening weekend was stellar.  Opening weekend numbers were sharply down.  Many counties in the north had a decrease of 30-50% in harvest numbers where standing corn is not common compared to around 15% decrease in the south.  Everyone forgets the record setting snows the last two months of winter in the north in 2019, and obviously predation is playing a large factor.  When multiple counties have more deer killed by wolves than rifle hunters, it is not a small impact anymore.  

agree with JKB, over 1 million acres of standing corn, weather, late start. Our farm had changes this year one third of the acreage was in CREP, tall nasty thick habitat,the rest in corn, sitings were way down bowhunting, corn was harvested the week leading up to the opener. Although siting's were way down I had to drive slow leaving because of the deer crossing the road into the neighbors fields. I talked with several friends who weren't even able to access there property due to high water. I totally get though that there are areas in the state that have issues.

Doyle, in defense of the proposal and being “too old” they clearly state anyone 60 or older or with medical conditions would be exempt.

Warden force is so thin that if you're in an area where their never seen , why even bother buying a license if you process your own ?

I agree with at least having to tag deer.  On a selfish level, I miss the registration stations, and the fun that came with them.  It was fun to stop, even if we didn't have any deer.  I used to love seeing what other people harvested.  This year I barely even saw a deer on a truck in passing.  But I get why we don't have them at least.

But the tag, if there is something to be suspicious about, will tell the story.  The way it's set up now, if I was trying to not tag a deer, I could get away with it even if the DNR asked as long as it was no later than the day after harvest and I had a tag for that county.   Will using physical tags stop poaching?  No, nothing ever will, but it will at least help investigations of poaching.  If someone is seen with an untagged deer, it's an automatic violation.  I like the laws in some states where it's a violation to even move a deer for a picture or to field dress without a tag.  Leave no doubt it was a properly harvested deer.  Right now, if I get the deer home and processed before the end of next day, I could say the heck with it and not even punch tag.  I personally won't ever do this, but I can see how easy it would be to do.

I will be attending a spring meeting to object to eliminating crossbow hunting after 10/31. This will almost completely eliminate the opportunity to hunt the rut for crossbow hunters.I am too old and don’t feel strong enough physically to use a compound bow safely anymore. The article I read gave a simple reason for it. There is an opinion that too many bucks are being harvested prior to the traditional gun season. i think I am a good example of an older generation of bow hunter who has been given a chance to hunt deer during the best time of the season to see and harvest a mature buck. It’s a shame that any hunter has to sacrifice that chance for the sake of license sales or disgruntled bow or gun hunters. 

You could get duplicates of the old green tags. One year I went to deer camp and forgot mine at home. 

I like the tag we get from Wyoming, very durable. Must be validated at the time of kill. I know poacher will poach. Having a 'tag' at least gives enforcement a chance. If your hunting you better have a non validated tag. If you poses a deer you better have a validated tag. The former paper/printer tag was a joke as previously posted. I spoke with Emil Diel owner of Diel tap in Plain Wi. Cant remember the exact dollar amount, but it was staggering what he lost in sales over deer season registrations.

" If one really wanted to violate it still wouldn’t be that hard (get a duplicate tag for instance). One difference I guess is if a warden watched you shoot a deer and not validate your tag you’d probably get a ticket or at least open yourself up to greater scrutiny. "

That is why I would like the old green "tag" that was issued years ago which would have to be placed on an antler/ear.  It was waterproof and durable.  The paper tags failed because there was no chance they stayed on - stupid anyway as all you had to do was hit "print" on your computer to generate another one.  With a one-time use tag like we had, you had to slit date of kill etc.  Once slit, the tag was basically toast starting the next day.  

For registration-I like the call in/online process.  I hated having to hang a deer (registration stations close early by me), lower a deer, drive to a registration station, and rehang the deer.  I know some guys that actually register their deer now because of that - especially local farmers who shoot deer behind their house and live 10 miles from the nearest registration station.

I did a cursory survey of neighboring natural resource agency and a few others and all pretty much have some sort of telecheck/online reporting or it’s not required at all but you are required to fill out a survey if you’re chosen or something similar. Some western states have check stations they set up along highways and you are required to stop if you’re engaging in a hunting/fishing activity regardless of whether you’ve been successful or not. It happens but I really don’t believe non-registration rises to a level of concern. 

I get both sides of the physical tag issue. It does allow for some level of self policing amongst hunters. If you’re contacted by law enforcement they’ll figure out pretty quick if everything is legit either way. I myself never found it overly burdensome. If one really wanted to violate it still wouldn’t be that hard (get a duplicate tag for instance). One difference I guess is if a warden watched you shoot a deer and not validate your tag you’d probably get a ticket or at least open yourself up to greater scrutiny. 

Squeezer, found this from an article (I believe 2018) showing which states require a tag, but nothing on in-person registration (I do not know if any state requires that anymore for whitetail deer???).  I do think we need a one-use tag that needs to be slit (like the old days, not a paper copy that can be reprinted), but I think in-person registration doesn't seem to be warranted.

Carcass Tag Required

Some states require a carcass tag of some sort to be placed somewhere on the deer. In this case, the tag is usually placed on the ear, antler, leg, etc. Some of them require the tag to be notched, while others don’t. Some even have to be written on. Furthermore, some require the animal to be tagged before it’s moved, before it’s transported, before it’s processed, etc. And finally, some require the animal to be checked in, too. Nonetheless, as of the reporting date, these are the states that require some at least some level of tagging.

States: Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming

Carcass Tag Not Required

Some states do not require a carcass tag to be placed on the deer. That said, many of them do require a tag if the deer is left in someone’s possession other than your own. Read state laws to see exactly what your state requires.

States: Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee, North Carolina, Kentucky, Wisconsin, New Mexico and Nevada.