# Where did the deer come from ?



## Bonemann (Jan 28, 2008)

I like allot of folks here wonder where the deer herd is going. What's killing them off ? Well it's us,it's disease,it's cars,it's coyotes and several other things.

My question is where did they come from ?

I started hunting in the late 60's (8-10 years old) you never saw a deer. In the 70's we saw sign and few rare sightings. Coming into the 80's the deer were here. 

Then in the 90's came the big boom in population, you couldn't walk in the woods without seeing deer. The 2000's it got crazy seamed we couldn't kill enough to keep the herd healthy and in check.

Now in the 2010's everyone is fearful that they are on their way back out.

How did the deer that were almost nonexistent in the 70's become the herd we are still hunting today ?


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## rangerpig250 (Apr 10, 2011)

They bred?


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## Lundy (Apr 5, 2004)

Information from studies.


_The most rigorous scientific study of white-tailed deer population growth occurred at a captive population called the George Reserve Deer Herd located in southeastern Michigan. The George Reserve is a 1,146 acre area enclosed with a deer-proof fence. No deer existed within the enclosure until 6 deer (2 bucks and 4 does) were introduced in 1928. Beyond everyone's expectations, the population grew to 222 deer in just 7 years! That's a deer density of 1 deer per 5 acres. The experiment was repeated in 1974 with 10 deer. This time the population grew to 212 deer in only 6 years. These experiments demonstrate the tremendous capacity for deer population growth when occupying good habitat._

_If this growth rate remained constant until year 10, the population would number about 900, or 1 deer per 1.3 acres. This growth trend depicted on the graph is called exponential population growth, which means the population grows without limits. Despite a constant growth rate, the deer herd increases at greater amounts each year because more deer are reproducing, which is what caused the line to be curved instead of straight. To maintain this rate of growth, reproduction and survival must remain constant. In reality, it's impossible for the deer population to maintain this rate of growth. At some point there is not enough remaining food and deer begin to die of starvation and reproduction is halted. To avoid this eventual population crash, deer populations have a self-regulating mechanism called density-_


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## Misdirection (Jul 16, 2012)

Check out this PDF by the state...

http://ohiodnr.com/portals/0/education/wilddeerherd/pdf/managingohiosherd.pdf


Sent from my DROID RAZR using Ohub Campfire mobile app


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## Fishingisfun (Jul 19, 2012)

Right there with you remembering how I saw no deer in the 60"s to seeing a first wild deer in the 70"s to the successes of taking a meat deer every year on my one tag to the multi tag years. I remember the first two tag year well. Deer hunting for me became a test to shoot something with nice antlers. Passed on small deer so they would grow up to bragging size in the years to come. As a result I harvested little and enjoyed the experience more. Seeing a big buck in the wild is better than shooting that button buck for me. I know a number of bow hunters that did the same thing waited and went with unfilled tags. I think age does that also makes taking a deer not a have too event. Some hunters would not shoot a antlerless deer ever. More does alive equaled more fawns. Multi tags and a different attitude of I can legally take multiple deer so why not harvest all you are allowed came along. I passed on some insight to a first year bow hunter on how and where to hunt and he filled two tags the first month in an semi rural area that was within a stones throw of a neighbors driveway. I advised him to leave some seed in the field so next year he would have a crop in the field. I don't know that he will be able to stop until he fills every tag he can buy. I believe the inability to restrain from overharvesting an area has lessened the deer sightings most of us are experiencing. If you see many deer while hunting an area then OK if you only see the same one deer once in a while just remember it may be the only seed in the area. So IMO the deer herd came from the restraint in harvests in the 70's, 80's and early 90"s became the 5 deer a season harvests of todays hunters. This season I hunted, saw few deer and took no shots. No nice buck crossed by and I did not see enough seed deer to take a doe. If we understand the past, market hunters took the deer herd to nearly gone thinking the supply could not be overharvested, taking deer for others over what the hunter needs may be the factor to reduced numbers. Ohio has cheap tags for non residents so coming here to hunt is a draw. When out herd is low they will find the next high harvest state. I hope it was an off year and I'm wrong but I really think overharvesting will make our remembering the past seem like the same fables of when deer were thick in the woods in the 1800's.


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## turkeyt (Apr 13, 2006)

Fishingisfun, I feel about the same as you. If I fill my tag nowadays that's a plus but to be able to get out and enjoy the hunt is what i crave. Now for some it is different. Some kill to supply the whole family of brothers, sisters, cousins, aunts, uncles, and such and use every tag available. Then there are the poachers of whom are still shooting within hearing distance around the area where i bow hunt. I here them shooting as I am getting my gear off and loaded in the truck on a lot of evenings when it is dark. With the food supply almost non existent this season the deer have camped out in the neighbors yard and near feeders. The deer and turkey have become neighborhood pets for some folks. They love them until they eat everything around the house and dig up all their flowers. The deer will adapt to any kind of pressure or lack of food. The hunters are the ones who don't want to adapt to the deer?? There are lot's of deer but they are in different areas than you used to see them in. 

They need to post the recipe for horn soup on this site.


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## leupy (Feb 12, 2007)

In years past I would shoot the first deer within bow range and give it to an eldery friend that could no longer hunt. He past away a few years ago and now I only take mature deer, I will shoot a doe but never a yearling. I think you need to take doe because the land can only support a certain amount of deer theirfor if you want big bucks you need to take some doe. I let a friend use one of my tree stands a few years ago during gun season and told him not to kill young deer. He killed two yearling and the stand came down and he lost his hunting rights. At 30-40 yards you can't tell if is a button buck or a young doe. Where I hunted in the past the Amish have moved in and they kill everything that walks filling every family members tickets almost no deer left now. I didn't hunt this year because of a knee replacement on the 1000 acres and several hunters only two deer were taken both mature bucks but not many were deer were even seen. In the past we would kill 30+ deer during gun season plus bow kills we would go to the check station with a pick up full, those days are gone.


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## weasel (Mar 25, 2007)

I believe as a hunter we over killed them. I sure would hate to have to hunt on public land as I would say the deer numbers are much lower in those areas. I am lucky to have some land that I bought in Guernsey co. a few year ago . and I have taken only a few off of it each year. and the numbers I see are pretty good . I think as hunters we just need to cut back on the numbers we take and we will see them come back. but if we keep taking several deer a year per hunter we will be back in the 70s . I think the ball is in our court it just depends what we as hunters decide to do. as I believe the odnr will not change the regs. enough to see the deer bounce back as they are being told what to do by the farmers and insurance companys


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## hopintocash2 (Aug 14, 2011)

don't worry, there are people on here that have huge private lands that are doing well, (they don't have a clue what's going on, on public land) but, because there managed land is doing good.... therefore the entire state is doing well.


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## Tritonman (Jul 4, 2004)

Even back in the 80s. In Parts of the state, you would be the talk of the camp if you saw deer. I've been talking to the guys I know that hunt in coal land that historically do very well. It's a large group. 2 years ago between the 2 properties they hunt they've found 26 deer carcasses all in creek bottoms. This year 7 carcasses of all mature deer. They contacted The WO. Simply put, boys that's EHD. And with yotes and if it's brown it's down. That can hurt. And through past experience public land is usually a brown it's down thing during gun season. I don't think everyone is concerned with letting them walk on public land. It's kinda like picking shrooms on public. It maybe small but you'd better pick it, cause it won't be there when you go back.


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## NoStringsAttached (Jun 4, 2013)

leupy said:


> In years past I would shoot the first deer within bow range and give it to an eldery friend that could no longer hunt. He past away a few years ago and now I only take mature deer, I will shoot a doe but never a yearling. I think you need to take doe because the land can only support a certain amount of deer theirfor if you want big bucks you need to take some doe. I let a friend use one of my tree stands a few years ago during gun season and told him not to kill young deer. He killed two yearling and the stand came down and he lost his hunting rights. At 30-40 yards you can't tell if is a button buck or a young doe. Where I hunted in the past the Amish have moved in and they kill everything that walks filling every family members tickets almost no deer left now. I didn't hunt this year because of a knee replacement on the 1000 acres and several hunters only two deer were taken both mature bucks but not many were deer were even seen. In the past we would kill 30+ deer during gun season plus bow kills we would go to the check station with a pick up full, those days are gone.


30+ deer during gun, PLUS bow kills. And now you're scratching your head wondering "Duhhh....where did all the deer go guys??" 

I don't feel bad for ya.


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## crjacob90 (Sep 27, 2013)

Hahaha i was waitin for someone to say somethin NoStrings, but yeah how can you blame the amish for filling all their tags when you used to kill em by the truckload, your the same except you have trucks to haul your kill instead of buggies.


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## treytd32 (Jun 12, 2009)

Lundy said:


> Information from studies.
> 
> 
> _The most rigorous scientific study of white-tailed deer population growth occurred at a captive population called the George Reserve Deer Herd located in southeastern Michigan. The George Reserve is a 1,146 acre area enclosed with a deer-proof fence. No deer existed within the enclosure until 6 deer (2 bucks and 4 does) were introduced in 1928. Beyond everyone's expectations, the population grew to 222 deer in just 7 years! That's a deer density of 1 deer per 5 acres. The experiment was repeated in 1974 with 10 deer. This time the population grew to 212 deer in only 6 years. These experiments demonstrate the tremendous capacity for deer population growth when occupying good habitat._
> ...


Similar enough.
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q...8F6DB044F6B7CA1E8D1BF668B9780&selectedIndex=1


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## sherman51 (Apr 12, 2011)

I started hunting deer here in Indiana back in 1981 at a public wildlife area. I seen several deer and killed my first buck, a nice little 10 pointer. I have hunted this property every yr since 81 at one time or other. when all the doe permits came out I moved my gun hunting to Brookville lake so I could take does. then they opened the wildlife area up to doe hunting so I went back to the wildlife area. and I took my share of does and bb,s during that time. I usualy took atleast 1 deer every yr and have taken as many as 4 per yr. I just never thought much about it. I always seen plenty of deer so why not. well after a few yrs they closed the doe season on this wildlife area so I started hunting Brookville lake again during the gun season. but I still hunted the bow and ml season on the wildlife area. but the deer had become very scarce at both places I hunted. but I was still blessed I got atleast 1 deer every yr except my second yr. but I did have my chances that yr. I missed a nice big 9 pointer at 50 yrds and my ml didn't fire at 15 yrds at a big doe during the ml season. you can still take any deer with a ml. but over the last few yrs the deer has been scarce. I only hunt the ml season now because of my health. last yr I only seen 1 deer and I couldn't get a shot that I would take. this yr im hunting the same area I've been hunting for the last 10 yrs and have taken deer every yr except the last 2 yrs. this yr all I seen was a few tracks in the snow. we asked at the check station whats happened to all the deer. we were told that they had a huge die off of deer from EHD I believe is what he said had killed them. then you take the yotes and hunting pressure and the herd is a lot smaller than back in the early 80,s. I plan to keep hunting the wildlife area and even the same area. but im going to lower my expectations.
sherman


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## Bubbagon (Mar 8, 2010)

When you look at Lundy's article and see the growth rate (6 deer to 222 deer in 7 years) and consider the exponential growth, it becomes clear how cyclical the herd numbers can be. Factor in wild weather, disease, the explosion of predators....it would be impossible to maintain the deer herd for an entire state within everyone's satisfaction.

That said, I have confidence in the Ohio DNR and their abilities to maintain a healthy hunting herd. Their previous track record with Ohio's deer herd has earned my confidence.


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