Hunter Density

[Hoosierhunting]

I'm curious to know what kind of hunter density you guys see in your areas. With crossbows now, the hunter density is about the same for archery and gun in my area, North Central, IN. I'd guess that we average at least a hunter every 40 acres. We have a lot of small fields and small woodlots and small landowners which is what drives the numbers in my area. Hunting/human pressure is probably the number one consideration for my land management. What's it like in your neck of the woods?

 

[Tap]

Extremely high in our area. Hard to put a number per square mile on it, but I can make note of how many homes around me have blinds/treestands/targets in the yard, feeders, several hunters living there or friends/relatives driving in. I can easily count 50 hunters within a mile of me, and that's just the ones I know of...I'm sure there are more that I don't know about. Bow season used to be somewhat low pressure before all the stupid gadgets invaded.

 

[Deadeye]

Here if your planning on hunting in a WMA you better either expect lots of company or get so far back in that no one else will do that.

 

[j-bird]

I'm curious to know what kind of hunter density you guys see in your areas. With crossbows now, the hunter density is about the same for archery and gun in my area, North Central, IN. I'd guess that we average at least a hunter every 40 acres. We have a lot of small fields and small woodlots and small landowners which is what drives the numbers in my area. Hunting/human pressure is probably the number one consideration for my land management. What's it like in your neck of the woods?

Are you basing your numbers on acres of deer habitat or actual physical acres?

Reason I ask is that in my area we have few hunters based on physical acres, but most of those acres are wide open corn and bean field. I think the DNR says my county is like 24% deer habitat. I think my area may be a little bit better than that so I will say 30%.....So in a square mile (640 acres) only 190 acres is worth hunting..... during firearms season I have 5 hunters - hunting that (my property and beyond)....so we can get roughly a hunter every 40 acres of deer cover or so during firearms season. If your considering total acres - then my area is roughly 128 acres per hunter. Archery season and muzzleloader seasons are far better. As most don;t mess with a bow or x-bow and many don't mess with the cold and smokepole.

 

[Charleston Treeman]

QDMA has us at 5-8 hunters per square mile. When I hunted the WMAs here in around Charleston from the late 80s to early 2000s I used to pretty much had the woods to myself most years cause I would hunt early when the season first opened. Its not a whole lot of fun sitting in 90 degree heat in the swamp with the mosquitoes and moccasins but I worked outside so it didn't bother me. About 2005 or so I started seeing a lot more trucks in the woods even in the early season. It got to the point where I didn't feel very safe out there anymore. Lately we have been hunting a lease in the midlands. We have 5 members and pretty much only 3 of us hunt it with any regularity so I know exactly is hunting in the 430 acres we have. On two sides of us are family owned parcels with low hunting pressure and one of those doesn't deer hunt. One side is a 500 acre clear cut. The back side is where we have all of our issues. There is a dirt road with 2-3 acre parcels lining the area and every one of them has a stand in the backyard. Pressure from there is immense.

 

[Hoosierhunting]

Are you basing your numbers on acres of deer habitat or actual physical acres?

Reason I ask is that in my area we have few hunters based on physical acres, but most of those acres are wide open corn and bean field. I think the DNR says my county is like 24% deer habitat. I think my area may be a little bit better than that so I will say 30%.....So in a square mile (640 acres) only 190 acres is worth hunting..... during firearms season I have 5 hunters - hunting that (my property and beyond)....so we can get roughly a hunter every 40 acres of deer cover or so during firearms season. If your considering total acres - then my area is roughly 128 acres per hunter. Archery season and muzzleloader seasons are far better. As most don;t mess with a bow or x-bow and many don't mess with the cold and smokepole.

Actual physical acres. We lack the big wide open fields you have down your way J-Bird.


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[Hoosierhunting]

Extremely high in our area. Hard to put a number per square mile on it, but I can make note of how many homes around me have blinds/treestands/targets in the yard, feeders, several hunters living there or friends/relatives driving in. I can easily count 50 hunters within a mile of me, and that's just the ones I know of...I'm sure there are more that I don't know about. Bow season used to be somewhat low pressure before all the stupid gadgets invaded.

I really miss old bow season before crossbows were legalized for everyone. It’s no different than gun season now.


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[j-bird]

I really miss old bow season before crossbows were legalized for everyone. It’s no different than gun season now.


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I didn't see much of a shift, but that's because you have to be crazy to hunt here. Hunting gets far better not a county away..... As for the wide open.....I wish my place was 180 degree different. I wish I had about 30% open vs 30% cover. But it is what it is and I try to work with what I have.