For those who think a low number of deer is a bad thing..
Considering most hunters have been complaining about the smaller (matter of opinion, I guess) deer herd, I thought I would share these photos.
A few (4 or 5) years ago, the property I hunt was LOADED with deer. If you hunted any 3-4 hours of the day, you would see deer.
I noticed that the impact on new growth was considerable. It got to a point were there was little or NO new growth in most areas at all.
The ferns were taking over and the deer population (and size I might add) were in for a bumpy road ahead.
You could walk for miles and not find a SINGLE young oak or any tree for that matter.And don't blame it on a dense forest ceiling. That wasn't the issue because there is penty of sun light needed to start new growth.
The problem in PA is clear, the deer population was headed in the wrong direction. If you take a small body of water for instince, you can't sustain a healthy population of fish if there are TOO many fish. The same goes for any habitat.
Here's a pic of what my woods used to look like....
Now here is what my woods look like now....
Clearly you can see a differance.
As far as I'm concerned, I would rather only see 3 or four deer this year, than see none in ten.
So get out in the woods and hunt harder. If you kill a big buck now, it will just be that much rewarding.
post edited by mikeg - 2007/11/29 13:48:17