Donate Deer to Sportsmen Against Hunger

The North Dakota Game and Fish Department is reminding deer hunters to keep in

mind the Sportsmen Against Hunger program this fall.

While this year’s deer proclamation allows only one deer gun license per hunter, families with more than one license might want to consider donating a deer to this worthy cause. In addition, hunters with an archery and muzzleloader license can help as well.

The list of participating processors is available on the Game and Fish Department website atgf.nd.gov, and at the North Dakota Community Action Partnership website, www.capnd.org.

Sportsmen Against Hunger is a charitable program that raises money for processing of donated goose and deer meat, and coordinates distribution of donated meat to food pantries in North Dakota. It is administered by NDCAP, a nonprofit agency that serves low-income families across the state.

For more information, visit the NDCAP website, or contact program coordinator Sarah Hasbargen at 701-232-2452.

Related articles

• Macomb County food pantry seeks donations from hunters (macombdaily.com)
• Changes made to Hunters Sharing the Harvest program (triblive.com)

Landowners Seek Doe Hunters

The North Dakota Game and Fish Department is currently working with 18 landowners

in 14 hunting units across the state who would like to host hunters with antlerless deer licenses in 2014.

Participating landowners are located in hunting units 2C, 2G2, 2I, 2J2, 2K2, 3A4, 3B3, 3C, 3D2, 3E1, 3E2, 3F1, 4B and 4E.

The program is not intended for buck hunters, but designed to direct hunters with antlerless licenses to specific areas to reduce deer populations.

Interested hunters can get their name on a list of possible participants by accessing the Game and Fish Department’s website at gf.nd.gov. Hunters who do not have Internet access can call the department’s main office in Bismarck at 701-328-6300.

Hunters will provide their address, hunting unit(s) where they hold valid antlerless licenses, and if using rifle, muzzleloader or bow. From this list the department will select the number of hunters landowners have agreed to host. These hunters will be sent the landowner’s name, phone number and any information relating to the landowner’s specific situation.

Hunters must have a valid 2014 deer gun license – the Game and Fish Department does not provide a hunting license with this program.

Not everyone who signs up will end up with a new place to hunt, because not everyone’s schedule will match up with a landowner’s, and more people will likely put their name on the list than there are openings. Currently, participating landowners have openings for about 200 doe hunters.

North Dakota’s 2014 regular deer gun season runs from Nov. 7-23. In addition, the archery season extends through Jan. 4, 2015; the youth season is Sept. 19-28; and muzzleloader runs from Nov. 28 – Dec. 14

North Dakota Deer Management Meetings Announced

The State Game and Fish Department has scheduled eight public meetings in February

to discuss deer management in North Dakota.

Department officials will present an overview of the current deer population and prospects for the future, and look for input on possible options for changes in the way deer licenses are allocated.

“We’re all aware that the state’s whitetail and mule deer populations have declined considerably in recent years,” said Game and Fish Department wildlife chief Randy Kreil. “In 2013 we had approximately 40,000 hunters who applied for a deer gun license and didn’t get one. We’re looking at some ideas that might help get more hunters in the field if deer populations remain similar to what they are now.”

In the long term, Kreil said Game and Fish’s strategy is to build deer numbers to a point that would provide a reasonable chance for anyone who wants to hunt to be able to get some kind of license. “Right now we have a high public interest in deer hunting in North Dakota,” he said. “We’re hoping to come up with some solutions to help us maintain that.”

Each meeting will begin at 7 p.m. local time.

• Feb. 17 – Devils Lake, Lake Region Community College Auditorium
• Feb. 17 – Casselton, City Fire Hall
• Feb. 18 – Dickinson, Ramada Grand Dakota Lodge
• Feb. 18 – Anamoose, Community Center
• Feb. 24 – Tioga, Farm Festival Building
• Feb. 24 – Fordville, Community Center
• Feb. 25 – Bismarck, North Dakota Game and Fish Department
• Feb. 25 – Jamestown, The Bunker

Related articles

• North Dakota Nonresident Any-Deer Bow Licenses
• North Dakota Mule Deer from 3F2 Tests Positive for CWD
• Hunters check 11,967 deer in alternative-methods hunt

Oklahoma Youth deer gun season offers young hunters first shot

Youth hunters and their mentors have been heading to the woods for the youth deer gun season for an

entire decade now, and over the years this hunting opportunity has become an important part of Oklahoma's outdoor heritage. This year, the unique chance for youth to hunt deer with a firearm before anybody else runs Oct. 18-20.

     The youth deer gun season made its debut as a three-day antlerless hunt in 2003. Since then it has grown in popularity and has also become an opportunity for youth to hunt both bucks and does in the same season, enjoying a limit of two deer (no more than one of which can be a buck). Last year, youth gun season hunters harvested almost 5,000 deer.
     The youth season is open to hunters under 18 years of age who are accompanied by a hunter 18 years or older. 

     "The youth deer gun season is a win-win for Oklahoma," says Erik Bartholomew, big game biologist for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation. "It provides an opportunity for youth to go hunting and emphasizes mentorship in the sport of hunting. It's also good practice for the regular deer gun season because if they don't harvest a deer, they can use their unfilled youth deer gun license during the regular deer gun season in November."

     Hunters who do harvest a deer during the youth deer gun season may purchase another youth deer gun license and harvest a deer during the regular gun season. Complete details and regulations for the season, including information about the apprentice-designated hunting license that allows certain youth to hunt without having first completed the Oklahoma hunter education course, can be found online atwildlifedepartment.com or anywhere hunting licenses are sold.   

     A detailed guide to participating during the youth deer gun season is printed in the current issue of Outdoor Oklahoma magazine, and a link to the article is provided at the end of this report. Outdoor Oklahoma magazine is the official magazine of the Wildlife Department and focuses on information pertaining to hunting, fishing and wildlife conservation in Oklahoma.

     "Along with getting the annual "Big Game Report" article, subscribers get a lot of other news and details about Oklahoma's outdoors from Outdoor Oklahoma magazine, which makes it a great gift for any youth hunter you might be mentoring during the youth deer gun season," said Michael Bergin, associate editor of Outdoor Oklahoma. "It's just $10 a year."

     Subscriptions to Outdoor Oklahoma magazine are available by calling 1-800-777-0019. 

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Click here to see the article in the current issue of Outdoor Oklahoma magazine that guides youth hunters and their mentors in how to participate in the youth deer gun season.

Click here and scroll to page 16 to see full regulations for the 2013 youth deer gun season in the current "Oklahoma Hunting Guide."

Related articles

• Passing on Young Bucks Now Means Bigger Bucks Later (midwestdeerhunting.blogspot.com)
• Iowa's First Deer Hunting Seasons Begin Sept. 21 (midwestdeerhunting.blogspot.com)
• Oct. 1 marks big opening day for Oklahoma archery hunters (midwestdeerhunting.blogspot.com)
• Oklahoma deadline for youth bonus antlerless deer hunt applications August 16th (midwestdeerhunting.blogspot.com)
• Youth and Disabled Deer Season a Great Opportunity for First-time Hunters (kansas-outdoors.blogspot.com)
• North Dakota Deer Season for Young Hunters Opens Sept. 20 (midwestdeerhunting.blogspot.com)
• Iowa Bow Hunters Gearing Up for Deer Season (midwestdeerhunting.blogspot.com)
• Hunters Can Process Deer in Field With Electronic Registration (kansas-outdoors.blogspot.com)
• Wisconsin Archers can take up the deer hunt beginning Saturday, Sept. 14 (midwestdeerhunting.blogspot.com)