Show us your hunting photos, videos, tips, thoughts and stories

My thoughts on the deer population and predators

If you believe there's only 662 wolves in this state your drinking too much kool-aid. Try around 1500 or more. The DNR and wolf advocates low ball the number so it doesn't sound so bad while blowing smoke and mirrors covering up what wolves do.Wolves require roughly 3000 lbs. of meat yearly,that could equate to roughly 25-27 deer a year. With that in mind we have a high bear population which the DNR finally admitted and issued over 3000+ tags than usual,then you have the coyote population. With these 3 predators running around needing big groceries I find it silly that over hunting is taking the blame for it.How many bambi's do you see come deer season or does with no fawns with them. WI has a serious predator problem that no one seems to want to address because you'll have to address the wolf issue as well , or they are just failing to see. You cannot stock pile wildlife,like the wolf,it'll destroy the natural balance of the ecosystem. I live up north and believe me there's plenty of wolves around and soon there's going to be a need to hunt them to keep them in check, and in my opinion that time is now. All the pro-wolf sentiment and how their endangered is a fairytale thats been shoved down our throats since we were kids,the truth is wolves were never endangered then and their not now,the U.S. is just the fringe of their home range just like anything else,the US/Canada border doesn't mean anything to the wolf only to people and groups like the HSUS grabbed onto that to help brainwash the ignorant into believing they were endangered.

Mother nature gives prey an edge in reproduction because the predators need there share, but when the predator base exceeds their carrying capacity it over runs the prey base and it's a mess. Mother nature has a way of taking care of it's self and it's not pretty.This year we had a die off of coyote pups due to either distemper or parvo,don't know just found dead pups throughout the are and ones I've trapped this fall the young of the year were deathly sick,seriously. Talked to other trappers and some said they found the same thing in their area.

Just to throw turkeys in as well,it doesn't make sense to me on the turkey issue,turkeys here have exploded,and I don't understand why everyone that applies for a tag can't get one. I think it should be you buy a license you get 1 tag,there are plenty of turkey's out there. I wish the DNR would listen to what sportsmen and women have to say in what their observing in the field,you know most of the DNR guys aren't out there except wardens and a few wildlife bioligists. Right now we're working on getting a state wide bobcat season or atleast open more areas to it,there are getting to be more cats south of the line. But what does the DNR do.Well when the kill numbers come in and the kill is higher than what they expected,they reduce the number of tags the next year and they keep doing this. Has it ever occurred to them that maybe the bobcat population is on the rise as well, I mean when you have a high deer kill it's because there's more of them and I'd have to say the same goes for everything else,more wolves hit by cars= more wolves must be around,etc. I don't know I'm losing more faith in the DNR as time goes on,it's like there not seeing the whole picture and not putting the pieces together. Like looking at each issue with blinders on.

Comment

You need to be a member of ShareYourHunt to add comments!

Join ShareYourHunt

Comment by Matthew Puma on March 3, 2010 at 12:23am: I know it's a extreme stretch, but I think to make a huge come back for the whitetail population the DNR should cancel the 9 day gun hunt for one or two years. Still have your bow, youth, and muzzleloader seasons since the success rate is lower. Extreme measures for extreme results, but that's what this state needs.

Comment by Ted Steinert on February 8, 2010 at 10:55pm: Duane,you have hit nail on the head,Wis, Dnr isnot listening to the people up here,Bears and Wolves are out of control,in Northern Wi.Our Deer herd is decimated because of that and over hunting propicated by the Dnr by license sale,and bonus tags to line there pockets.The reason they dont address Wolf hunting is because they feel theres not enough intrest in to generate any money to fill there pockets,Thats why they let everybody apply for a Bear tag for aproximatly 7 years,at 3 dollars a try and then another 55 or 60 you pay when your picked ,God only knows what a non resident pays they think nobody wants to hunt wolves!

Comment by Joe on January 6, 2010 at 6:21pm: Duane, I think you hit it on the head when you say it's a combination of things. We hunt up norht, and a few years back, everyone in our camp could get a an antlerless tag. Guess what, we shot a lot of anterless deer. Follow that up with two cold and snowy winters, throw in more wolves and bear than the dnr would like to admit and big surprise, the population is lower than expected.

Comment by Duane Fronek on December 30, 2009 at 12:59pm: To add to that I've called in while predator hunting 3 to date in the past 4 years. Just couldn't shoot them.

Comment by Duane Fronek on December 30, 2009 at 12:58pm: I know guys that have held them. I've had 2 get caught over the years but couldn't hold them,they were caught in fox traps at the time.They can destroy a small trap.lol

Comment by ShareYourHuntGuy on December 30, 2009 at 12:42pm: Duane, I wonder how long until you get one in a trap of yours? Maybe you already have, but wouldn't that be something?

Comment by Duane Fronek on December 28, 2009 at 10:00pm: Jared,it's a combination of all things put together.I think the DNR fails to put the predator equation in there and goes by what hunters harvest then kept issuing more tags because their only looking at one aspect. They also failed to listen to hunters telling them their not seeing deer and the DNR blaming it on weather conditions. Now the deer numbers are down and it's blamed on over harvest,which is true in a sense because the DNR in my opinion failed to take into account the predator equation and handed out more tags than what they should have because they where only looking at the hunting aspect and going by previous years.It'll be interesting to see how this all plays out.

Comment by Jared Heinz on December 28, 2009 at 6:37pm: I agree, With the amount of predators, and the ignorance of the DNR with the chronic wasting frenzy just handing out tags. WI white-taile population has plummeted. So whoever thinks that the dnr is not to blame, well I have to disagree with you. Oh and I'm not wining bc of this years record low numbers of deer taken, I am in Iraq and was for gun and bow season both. Its been a on going problem for the past few years, remember when you could go out spotlighting and see 150 deer in an hr - well your lucky to see 50 now it seems. They need to do something fast!

Comment by Duane Fronek on December 28, 2009 at 5:47pm: I agree with you silvergoldsmith.

Comment by silvergoldsmith1 on December 28, 2009 at 12:10am: I saw a sick looking wolf peeling a frozen roadkilled deer off of hwy 70 and he did not look like he was in any pack. He must have been an Ex-dominant male. He had bite marks all over him and he was skinny. I pulled over and watched him for 35 minutes. There were no other wolves around or they would not come out on the hwy. This one will be lucky to make it through this winter. It is not a nice thing to see an animal starving. The animal rights fanatics will look the other way. Treat the wolves with the dignity that they deserve and allow hunting, a quick death is better than starvation. This wolf was bigger than a full grown German Sheppard and real skinny. The deer he was eating must have been run over 20 times and was flat. The problem is when people see healthy animals in a zoo and they think the wild ones are all like that too. It is time to allow hunting wolves in Wisconsin.