Oklahoma Bowhunter Observation Survey.

OkieKubota

OkieKubota

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Got an email today from ODWC about bowhunters signing up to participate in an annual bowhunter observation survey. Seems bowhunters signed up for this will need to record the date, county, number of deer, wild turkeys, and furbearers observed during our hunt and they said this survery is to help staff make harvest management decisions.

I know the Harvest on deer definitely needs an adjustment because the online checkin continuously shows our deer harvest getting to be less and less even though we have more and more seasons added including another 10 day doe only rifle season around the Christmas Holiday. Deer numbers are definitely down in our area of the state!
 
In NC we have something similar. I have participated for the last several seasons and figure worse case, gives me something to else to focus on when things are slow.
 
I just got Missouri's in the mail today. Interesting to look at the previous years result each fall.
 
Yeah I signed up for it. Personally I think no one is checking in deer. You have to remember, a good percentage of " deer hunters" aren't even thinking about deer season yet. They aren't like us. Nothing particularly wrong with that but they just like to hunt the opening weekend and thats probably about it. I dont really like the self check in, i think it just lends it's self to letting people blow off checking in their deer. But when State biologist make a decision based on flawed data everyone suffers. I wish they would bring back check stations.
I hunt in Texas too and they dont have check stations either, I just wonder how they manage their herd without good harvest data. Maybe they done really need that info. But i'm telling you I know people that have not checked in a deer since they changed the law, and the only way to know if they are over harvesting is check their freezer.
 
Cap'n said:
Yeah I signed up for it. Personally I think no one is checking in deer. You have to remember, a good percentage of " deer hunters" aren't even thinking about deer season yet. They aren't like us. Nothing particularly wrong with that but they just like to hunt the opening weekend and thats probably about it. I dont really like the self check in, i think it just lends it's self to letting people blow off checking in their deer. But when State biologist make a decision based on flawed data everyone suffers. I wish they would bring back check stations.
I hunt in Texas too and they dont have check stations either, I just wonder how they manage their herd without good harvest data. Maybe they done really need that info. But i'm telling you I know people that have not checked in a deer since they changed the law, and the only way to know if they are over harvesting is check their freezer.
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I have to believe they have already figured in the amount of people not checking in deer. Sure it's a "guestimate" but I'm confident that they have a number that's worked into the equation.
I had a friend that owned a couple gas stations years ago. His budget included the theft of merchandise and I remember him saying that it was astonishing how consistent that number was from month to month.
I'm no accountant but when my job requires me to look at numbers that are historically trending I always learn something new and surprising.
 
I'm in on this. We really have no hunting pressure around us however the coyotes are at an epidemic level. The only neighbor that hunts in an area of over 1200 acres is a trophy only hunter and he won't hear a kill a doe strategy. We used to take trophies on a consistent basis, now we do not. I can tell you it's frustrating as hell to watch 50 deer go through in a morning and all we have are junk racks that need to be culled. I still kill a cull buck a yr but its frustrating to know it could be the way it used to be if the neighbor was not a head hunter and a land manager instead.
 
I've been doing this for the state of Virginia for quite a while now. It actually helps me to keep a log of where I hunt and what I see and when.
 
OkieKubota said:
LOL - Have your wife do it...
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haha---she can't cock it. I got my; daughter out this weekend and she pulled on one side and I pulled on the other side and get it done. I ended up shortening the cocking pully and was able to get it cocked on my own. I'm not too optimistic on this weekend bc the area I will be hunting I haven't had too many buck pics. All my buck pics are coming from the boggy bottom plot and I want to stay out of that till youth weekend.

todd
 
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