Iowa Deer Harvest Nears 60,000; Second Shotgun Season Begins Dec. 8

Second shotgun season is Dec. 8-16.

The Iowa deer harvest is running about the same as last year near the end of the first season, with nearly 60,000 deer reported to the harvest reporting system.

The first shotgun season ends Dec. 5.More seasonal weather is in the forecast beginning this weekend, to welcome the estimated 65,000 hunters who will be out for the second shotgun season.

Hunter safety should be discussed as part of the hunting plan to help prevent injuries. Hunters are encouraged to wear plenty of blaze orange to increase their visibility to other hunters.

Five hunters were injured during the first shotgun season, of which, two had self-inflicted injuries. There were no fatalities.


Shooting at running deer and identifying the target and what is beyond the target remain the two primary causes of hunter injury and property damage.

Indiana Special antlerless season from Dec. 26 - Jan. 6

This season is only in effect for counties with a bonus antlerless quota of four or more. Any legal firearm can be used in this season. Only antlerless deer can be harvested.

There are restrictions at certain DNR properties on the use of bonus antlerless licenses. This applies no matter which license you are using. Please refer to the hunting guide for details.

A bonus antlerless license, lifetime license, youth hunt/trap license, or deer license bundle can be used to harvest deer in this season. Read More

Nebraska: Big Game Public Meetings Scheduled for December

Hunters and landowners are invited to attend a series of public informational meetings to discuss deer issues during the month of December.
Meetings are scheduled across the state, with at least one meeting in each Game and Parks district.
During each meeting, biologists from Nebraska Game and Parks will discuss and take questions on a number of topics, including deer management, deer damage and depredation permits, antlerless harvest, trophy management and diseases. Antelope and elk issues may also be discussed.
The meeting schedule is:
Monday, Dec. 3 in McCook
Red Willow County Fairgrounds, 4-H building, 1400 W. 5th St., 7 p.m.
Thursday, Dec. 6 in Norfolk
Northeast Community College, Lifelong Learning Ctr, 801 E. Benjamin Ave., 7 p.m.
Monday, Dec. 10 in Kearney
Yanney Heritage Park, Environmental Resource Center Bldg., 2020 W. 11th, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Dec. 11 in O'Neill
Cubby's, 204 E. U.S. Hwy. 20, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Dec. 11 in Gretna
Ak-Sar-Ben Aquarium, 21502 W. Neb. Hwy. 31, 7 p.m.
Thursday, Dec. 13 in York
Kilgore Memorial Library, 520 Nebraska Ave., 6 p.m.
Tuesday, Dec. 18 in Chadron
Chadron State College, Student Center, Scottsbluff Room, 1000 Main St., 7 p.m.
Thursday, Dec. 20 in Bridgeport
Prairie Winds Community Center, 428 N. Main St., 7 p.m.

Oklahoma Wildlife Department to open online public comment period for regulation changes Dec. 3

Starting Dec. 3, sportsmen have the opportunity to voice their thoughts online on a list of hunting and fishing related rule change proposals.
Most notable is a proposal to change the structure of the combined season deer harvest limit to include no more than two antlered deer, with only one antlered deer allowed during deer muzzleloader and gun seasons combined. Another proposal would prohibit transporting live bait from one body of water to another in the state.
"This public comment period is an important opportunity to comment on items that could lead to changes in our hunting and fishing regulations," said Nels Rodefeld, information and education chief for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation. "We feel strongly that our constituents should have every chance to provide their comments, which is why we are providing an online comment form for those wanting to be heard on these specific subjects. We encourage you to provide your comments through wildlifedepartment.com anytime during the open comment period."
To view a complete listing of proposed rule changes or to complete an online comment form, log on to wildlifedepartment.com beginning Dec. 3. The online comment period will remain open until 4:30 p.m. on Jan. 11, 2013.
If comments cannot be made online, written comments will be accepted by mail until Jan. 11, 2013, at the Wildlife Department's main office in Oklahoma City (P.O. Box 53465, OKC, OK 73152).
The Wildlife Department also will be hosting a public hearing on proposed rule changes at 7 p.m., Jan. 8 at the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation headquarters auditorium in Oklahoma City (1801 N. Lincoln Blvd).

Local organization to host meeting on proposed deer antler point restrictions May 24 in Cadillac

The Northwest Michigan Chapter of the Quality Deer Management Association, in partnership with Leelanau Whitetails, has proposed new antler point restrictions (APR) for the following 12 counties: Antrim, Benzie, Charlevoix, Emmet, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, Lake, Manistee, Mason, Missaukee, Osceola and Wexford.
This proposal seeks to require that all antlered deer harvested in the area have at least three antler points on one side. The statewide requirement that hunters taking two bucks must ensure at least one of those bucks has four or more antler points on one side would remain in place. The proposed regulations would be consistent with the current restriction in Deer Management Unit (DMU) 045, which is Leelanau County. The restriction will be considered for implementation starting with the 2013 deer season. Antlerless deer regulations within the proposed area would continue to be determined by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
The DNR supports the voluntary implementation of APR on private land. Under guidelines adopted by the Natural Resources Commission (NRC), mandatory regulations proposed by sponsoring organizations will only be implemented where a clear majority of 66-percent support among hunters in the proposed area is documented. Support will be determined by a DNR survey mailed to a sample of hunters who indicated on the 2011 DNR deer harvest survey that they hunted deer in one of the 12 counties. Surveys will be mailed starting in August.
"The Northwest Michigan Chapter of the QDMA proposal is our first since the moratorium has been lifted," said DNR deer biologist Ashley Hippler. "We are looking forward to seeing how the majority of northwestern Michigan deer hunters feel about antler point restrictions."
The Northwest Michigan Chapter of the QDMA will host local meetings to answer questions and provide explanation. The next meeting is scheduled for May 24 at 7 p.m. in Cadillac at the Cadillac Junior High School. Meetings have already been held in Benzie and Kalkaska counties. Additional meetings will be announced as they are scheduled.
Landowners in one of the 12 proposed counties who would like to offer input about the proposal may email their comments to DNR-wildlife@michigan.gov.
Payment by the Northwest Michigan Chapter of the QDMA will offset survey costs incurred by this proposal.
The NRC had placed a moratorium on accepting APR proposals in 2006, to allow the DNR to assess experiences with initial guidelines, which were implemented in 1999. The NRC assembled a stakeholder workgroup late in 2010 to provide recommendations regarding revisions to the process. The DNR is now evaluating proposals based on recommendations from this workgroup and other modifications to increase efficiency and cost-effectiveness. The NRC retains full authority over decisions to implement APR and other harvest regulations, but the proposal review process provides valuable information to inform those decisions.

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• Michigan Deer Hunters: Local organization to host meeting on proposed deer antler point restrictions May 17 in Kalkaska

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North Dakota: Nonresident Any-Deer Bow Licenses

The North Dakota Game and Fish Department will have 682 any-deer bow licenses available to nonresidents in 2012. However, pending the final proclamation, antlerless mule deer may not be legal to harvest within a large area of western North Dakota.
The deadline for applying is April 1. A lottery will be held if more applications are received than licenses available. If licenses remain after April 1, they will be issued on a first-come, first-served basis. Applicants can apply together as a party. A separate check is required for each application.
The nonresident any-deer bow application is available at the Game and Fish website, gf.nd.gov. The application must be printed and sent in to the department.
The number of nonresident any-deer bow licenses available is 15 percent of the previous year’s mule deer gun license allocation. The Game and Fish Department issued 4,550 mule deer licenses in the 2011 deer gun lottery.