Aroostook Basser and I have put together a poll of 5 questions that can help him and others in Aroostook County in obtaining information about ways to increase the deer population in that area.
The poll has been posted at Maine Hunting Today and we ask that if you fit the following citeria, assist them and take the survey. All that is asked is that you be a resident of Aroostook County. If you are a property owner or hunt there often, you may also fill out the survey to assist in overall opinions but only residents will be counted toward any referendum information.
I made some changes to the survey which will address issues of residency, etc. AB has pointed out that if you don't complete this information, the data is unusable.
If hunters these days hunted for meat, we wouldnt have to limit buck harvests, but everyone is hung up on the racks cause they want the right to bragg. Yes, I like to shoot bucks, especially big one's, but if a big fat doe walks by first, its in the freezer. Too many guides killing off the bucks up north, and many doe's dont get bred is my theory. I say limit the buck kill, guides will hate it, some will loose their businesses, but we will sleep better at night knowing their is a possibility that it will work out for the deer herd if the weather, coyotes, and law breakers dont mess it up, right AB?? That will put us on the map!!
Hey BD....... love it when I see a new convert developes a sense of humor. Still enjoying the good writing and grammar too. As far as putting guides out of business..that's your idea not mine. A buck restriction wouldn't hurt them all that bad. In fact the increase in coyote hunting as a result of the changes in management plans would increase business and not lesson it.( ask Capt.. Duggins about out of state coyote hunters.)
Never have I put the blame in anyones lap ...or tried to say the deer issues here in Aroostook were anything but "ours". As a county boy through and through.... I know the answers to my questions lie here and not in Augusta. It is up to us to solve them. That makes me sleep better at night.
The fact of the matter is our deer will put us on the map. As some have already seen from Mooseguide07's pics, we still have huge deer here. My idea was not to reduce hunting or guiding... but to choose to leave the best to breed. If it meant hunting in another county for that buck to give our County deer a break.... so be it. The part you failed to understand is all my plans are temporary field studies. A three year moratorium would only insure a rest period for the herd. After which we would be back to normal. If it worked the biologists would now have data to support more permanent changes... like a slot limit. To preserve the little guys and the Grand Dads. It has to start somewhere...
What would you sacrifice to preserve your heritage ...... I just offered up my deer seasons for three years...... how about you?
I know I probably sound angry to some who read this post..but I'm not. I took a jab at BD for posting here in some kind gibberishy slanguage. But I truly meant it when I thanked him for suddenly posting in english. If you think I am going too far... go back and read all of his "tracks" as he calls them. Then tell me if you think what I thought, that he is a reasonably literate man trying to sound just "*******" enough to fit in here. Personally I find it insulting when people "talk down" to me and my country kin.
If I was wrong I apologize......now honestly how many others out there were thinking the same thing but chose not to say anything. That's the difference... I call it as I see it and stand by my convictions right or wrong.
BD remember...if you pull a chain..check to be sure you know what you grabbed a hold of.
Hey guys I am way out of the loop here I live in Texas and have never hunted deer in your state, but if I could make some suggestions on this, weather I’m right or wrong so be it. I think your interest in getting on the map is wrong take it from some in a place were we are “on the map” and the hunting has gotten WAY out of control, I mean take for instance I used to be able to hunt just about any were I wanted to 5 yrs ago and now that we are ON THE MAP the common man can’t afford to hunt here any more, we are not like you guys we have almost no public hunting land so if you don’t pay you don’t hunt so watch the whole on the map thing. I think your idea AB on an antler restriction is right on, there are some places here that put a restriction on what you take by it has to have at least 4 on one side or it has an inside spread of over 16in, I am not sure how this would work for you guys but in the areas that they have done this it made a major change in the herds just my 2 cents probably makes no difference but I said it any way.
Sounds like a threat to me!! Ive already been warned about you from others, so Im not going to explain myself to you anymore, it's fruitless. If anyone else has a concern, they know how to reach me, and it has'nt happened yet.
TX, our hunting is alot different than your's, dont take me wrong, we have dense cover to hunt in, so the chances to be able to count point's is out the window in most cases. We cant use feeders to entice them to range for selection, so how would the "average" hunter do it effectively. Maine has big deer no doubt, but I know they were here long before we started with permit systems, and use to see more when I was a kid before the Biologists started screwing around with our deer herd. It all goes back to what I said before, it's a trophy thing built on bragging right's. Im guilty, I like to bragg it up when I kill a big deer, but I dont plaster it all over the papers and the internet, I keep it to a few local buddies, so my hunting area is not infested.
Sure I have some big racks, a few would surprise most, but I keep it low key and my areas produce well, but I dont limit myself to the big one's, so the seed is always there, and my boy get's first whack at them, after he get's it out of his system, he will appreciate hunting for what it is supposed to be.
Man I have no idea what to say on this issue, with us here it is all about the rack and not very many people shot doe’s but every year I see just about all my lady’s with little ones so I don’t think that only harvesting bucks effects it all that much cause I have seen bucks in action and they will hit many doe’s in one night that is one of the benefits for were we are at we can see for miles and with a good spotting scope you can see all this take place so with limiting the hunters to say a particular size of deer may not be all that helpful, but when I was there it seems that all the hunters there care mostly about is weight and if it has a rack then good so does it really matter the size of rack there if not hunt away and enjoy the ability to do so and hope you guys don’t end up like we are and have hell ever year trying to find a place to hunt, try passing on that to your kids, instead of showing them how to hunt animals we have to show them how to hunt for land first, so be grateful for what you do have big or small thanks.
TX, maybe the yotes are eating the young, Im not 100% sure, but you dont see many single doe's in Central Maine, and there is plenty of yote's. Weight is a big thing here, 200 plus, but now people are rack happy. I have a family member that use to live near me, great hunter, him and his buddies pretty much wiped out his hunting areas for big bucks, so he moved to Northern Maine, He kills a good buck every year, and lets many pass, hell I hunted up there 3 years with him, saw plenty of big tracks, and spotted many big one's during pre-season, but never killed one. It's big country, plenty of places to hide, and most hunters are'nt skilled enough to venture miles from roads to find them. There is plenty of deer, but go hunt around a Guide services areas, not so plentyfull, too much pressure on the trophy!! If we were to limit buck hunting, it would need to be in those areas, then listen to the guides howl. They would move into other areas and do the same damn thing, cant beat it, just got to make do.
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