IOWA BOW HUNTERS GEARING UP FOR DEER SEASON

Leading up to the Oct. 1 start to their season, Iowa bow hunters have been busy hanging

stands, trimming shooting lanes and checking trail cameras. There has been some activity in the woods and field edges, with youth hunters and disabled hunters getting an early start in the pursuit of Iowa’s whitetails. Some urban and park management hunts are also underway now.

However, most of the 60,000 deer hunters expected to buy bow season tags climb into their stands, or blinds, in early October. Dealing again with another dry summer, there will be some adjustments in the early days.  Deer will key in green food such as clover early as well as acorns as they begin to fall. Hunting food sources and along trails to them are very good early season strategies.

Scouting is helpful, especially as hunters pin down food sources. Some soybean fields were planted late, due to spring flooding and may still show a lot of “green.” With a bone-dry summer, many acres of corn were chopped for sileage. That has left fields bare that might otherwise have offered food and cover for deer and other wildlife. Fields planted to cover crops of rye or radishes might be a surprise bonus.

Acorns are also a primary source of food for fall whitetails.  There are mixed reports on oaks this year in portions of Iowa. If white oak acorns are on the ground, they are most preferred by deer.

Most early season deer activity is tied to food. Bucks are more sedentary, feeding and putting on winter weight. Warm temperatures would keep them lying low until rut activities escalate. Towards late October, however, deer movement increases, building to the peak of the breeding season in mid-November.

Stay Safe Up There!

Ahead of the season, hunters should check their gear, as well as their stands. Falls associated with tree stand use are the most common hunting accident during the bow season. Stands and ladders should be tested to ensure they are solidly in place. Straps on stands and restraints on hunting harnesses should be solid and free of fraying or other wear and tear. With the solitary nature of bow hunting, it is important to let someone know where you are and when you expect to return.

Report that Harvest…

Any deer taken must be reported through Iowa’s harvest reporting system by midnight the day after the deer is tagged. The process takes only a couple minutes. Log on to the DNR website; www.iowadnr.gov or call the toll free reporting number at 800-771-4692. You can also file that report at any license vendor in Iowa. Accurate reports of deer harvested play a vital role in managing deer numbers and future hunting opportunities.

Other Prospects?

More than 50 deer management zone hunts have been established across Iowa. Hunting is underway in some of them. They range from urban areas, county and state parks and rural perimeters around cities where deer numbers have been too high in recent years. The hunts target antlerless deer, to help reduce doe numbers. Most are bow hunting only. Some offer the chance for a mentored hunt, pairing an inexperienced hunter with one who can pass along his or her experience.

EHD potential?

The potential effect of epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD) in local areas may also come into consideration. About 235 EHD reports have been received in the past weeks by DNR officials across 30 counties in southern and eastern Iowa. The deer were found dead, frequently near water. More reports could come as more hunters and others head into the fields and woods. A wider outbreak of the drought-driven disease was noted last year. The suspected EHD cases are a concern, though they are just a fraction of those reported last year in Iowa.

Related articles

• Iowa's First Deer Hunting Seasons Begin Sept. 21 (midwestdeerhunting.blogspot.com)
• Michigan Deer hunters may now place ground blinds on public land earlier (midwestdeerhunting.blogspot.com)
• Wisconsin Archers can take up the deer hunt beginning Saturday, Sept. 14 (midwestdeerhunting.blogspot.com)
• Deer Season Debuts With Archery and Muzzleloader (kansas-outdoors.blogspot.com)
• Indiana Deer Seasons (midwestdeerhunting.blogspot.com)

Oct. 1 marks big opening day for Oklahoma archery hunters

 October 1 marks the opening day of archery hunting opportunities in Oklahoma. 

     Most popular and widely available is the deer archery season, which runs throughJan. 15 and offers the Oct. 1. 

opportunity to harvest up to six deer. Adventurous archers also have the opportunity to hunt for turkeys, antelope and black bears beginning

     "Oklahoma really is a land of opportunity for archery hunters," said Erik Bartholomew, big game biologist for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation. "Not only do we have several archery seasons opening Oct. 1, but they each provide ample time and opportunity for diligent hunters to go afield and harvest an animal." 

     Last year, more than 89,000 hunters took to the outdoors during deer archery season, according to the Game Harvest Survey conducted by the Wildlife Department. 

     "That's the third highest ever," Bartholomew said. 

     Bartholomew has advice for archery hunters headed to the field this year. 

     "Hunters may not find deer in their normal feeding patterns during the early archery season this year because of the increased rainfall we've had in parts of the state," Barthomew said. "There's so many more natural food sources available to deer this year than in recent years when drought had deer concentrating around limited food and water sources. Hunters are going to have to get out there and scout a little more."

     Bartholomew also said the increased rainfall has resulted in heavier vegetation, which could also mean visibility could be lower for hunters. 

     "You may not be able to see deer as well this year as you could in recent years when drought has pretty much dried up much of the vegetation," he said. 

     Even with the challenges, the rain is welcomed by hunters and biologists, and wildlife is benefiting tremendously. 

     "Deer will be going into the winter in good shape this year," Bartholomew said. 

     With plenty of food and vegetation, deer stand a better chance of eating well and preparing for colder months ahead than they do when food is limited. 

     "I expect we'll have a great deer archery season this year as usual," Bartholomew said. 

     Deer archery hunters harvested over 23,000 deer during the 2012-13 hunting season, helping reach a total of 107,848 deer harvested last year across all methods. 

     While deer archery season is open statewide, antelope hunters must hunt in Cimarron Co. and that portion of Texas Co. west of state highway 136. Black bear season is open only in Latimer, LeFlore, McCurtain and Pushmataha counties.

     Archery hunters harvested 16 antelope and 66 black bears last season. Antelope populations are down this year from last year. Still, a greater availability of food and water sources should benefit antelope going into the winter while challenging hunters to look beyond limited watering holes and feeding locations that have proven successful in the past. 

     "The prepared archery hunter will have scouted, talked to several landowners, secured the required written landowner permission they need to hunt, and will be ready for action Oct. 1," Bartholomew said.

     Antelope archery season runs Oct. 1-14.

     Bear hunters in southeast Oklahoma should be prepared to hunt this year in areas with plenty of natural food sources as well. 

     According to Jeff Ford, southeast region wildlife biologist for the Wildlife Department, the region has a great mast crop this year, which could lead to good opportunities on public lands as well as private lands. 

     Ford suggests hunters should not rule out hunting on wildlife management areas simply because baiting is prohibited on those lands. About 25 percent of the total bear harvest last year was reported harvested from public lands. 

     The upcoming fifth annual black bear archery season will continue to offer ample hunting time and opportunity to sportsmen. Archery season will run Oct. 1-20 with no set quota (a muzzleloader season with a 20-bear quota will start Oct. 26 and run throughNov. 3). 

     Ford says the structure of the bear season secures better opportunities for hunters compared to the first few years when quotas caused bear season to end in a matter of days or less. 

     "You'll have at least two full weekends and 20 days to hunt," Ford said. "You won't feel the need to rush out and getting your hunting done the first day." 

     More time to hunt also allows hunters to be more selective about which bears they harvest, since they won't feel the pressure to harvest a bear before a season quota is reached. 

     Fall turkey archery season runs Oct. 1 through Jan. 15, 2014, and hunters may harvest one turkey of either sex, statewide. It's common for deer hunters to head to the field with the proper fall turkey license in case they get an opportunity to harvest a turkey while deer hunting. 

     Seasons on public lands may vary from statewide season dates. Complete details and regulations for each season - including hunter education and apprentice-designated license requirements - can be found in the current "Oklahoma Hunting Guide," available free online or in print anywhere hunting licenses are sold. 

     To learn more about archery hunting in Oklahoma, log on to wildlifedepartment.com. 

Michigan Deer hunters may now place ground blinds on public land earlier

The Department of Natural Resources today announced that ground blinds for deer hunting

purposes now may be placed on public land beginning on Sept. 1.
Previously, deer hunters were not allowed to place ground blinds on public land before Nov. 5. This change makes placement dates and opportunities for ground blinds consistent with those for raised platforms/scaffolds (often called tree stands), which also can be placed on public land as early as Sept. 1. 
The Natural Resources Commission adopted this regulation change at its August 2013 meeting - after the 2013 Hunting and Trapping Digest was printed, so the new ground blind placement date does not appear in the printed version of the digest.
For more information about hunting rules and regulations, see www.michigan.gov/dnrdigests.   

Related articles

• Michigan Antlerless deer application results now available; remaining licenses go on sale Sept. 10 (midwestdeerhunting.blogspot.com)
• North Dakota Deer Archery Season Opens Aug. 30 (midwestdeerhunting.blogspot.com)
• Changes abound in Michigan deer hunting regulations (midwestdeerhunting.blogspot.com)
• Deer Season Debuts With Archery and Muzzleloader (kansas-outdoors.blogspot.com)
• Deadline to sign-up for Wisconsin disabled deer hunt September 1 (midwestdeerhunting.blogspot.com)

South Dakota GFP Offers Free Archery Training to Educators

The South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks is pleased to announce upcoming training

opportunities through the National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP).

The NASP program provides the opportunity for schools in South Dakota to safely incorporate archery in their school curriculum at no cost to the local school district. Home school parents are also encouraged to bring their children to attend this training at no charge.

Trainings are currently scheduled for Rapid City on Sept. 30 and Oacoma on Oct. 2. Each day-long training session will begin at 8 a.m. and end at 5 p.m.

Upon successful completion of the training, new schools to the program will be eligible to receive free archery equipment provided by GFP. All participating schools will have the option of entering their students in the 2014 NASP state tournament.

Teachers wishing to introduce archery into their schools must pre-register for training by email atoutdoorprogramming@gmail.com or by phone at 605-220-2130. Space is limited, so registrations should be made as soon as possible.

Second Deer Lottery Held in North Dakota, Remaining License Sales Suspended

North Dakota’s second deer lottery has been held and individual results are available on the

State Game and Fish Department website, gf.nd.gov.

While slightly more than 1,000 antlerless deer licenses were still available after the second lottery, all of them are in units 3F1, 3F2 and 4F in the southwestern part of the state, where Game and Fish is receiving ongoing reports of white-tailed deer mortality caused by epizootic hemorrhagic disease.

As such, Game and Fish administration has decided to not issue those remaining licenses. “The decision is based on previous years’ experience where moderate to significant white-tailed deer losses were documented in situations similar to this year,” said wildlife chief Randy Kreil.

In addition, Kreil said the likelihood of an extended fall, and possible continuation of EHD losses was also a factor in the decision. “While we first received reports of isolated deer deaths in August, loss of deer to this disease appears to have extended into September, and depending on the weather, may continue into October,” Kreil added, noting that the area of reported white-tailed deer deaths to EHD covers Bowman to Bismarck.

In 2011, deer deaths from EHD occurred well into October, and prompted Game and Fish to offer refunds to license holders in several southwestern units. Kreil said it’s too early to tell whether this year’s EHD episode is significant enough to warrant a similar action, and the agency will wait until after opening weekend of pheasant season to determine whether refunds would be an option. “In the past,” Kreil added, “it has been helpful to gauge the scope and intensity of an EHD situation when there are thousands of hunters in the field in EHD areas, who might observe dead deer along waterways.”

EHD, a naturally occurring virus that is spread by a biting midge, is almost always fatal to infected white-tailed deer, while mule deer do not usually die from the disease. Hunters do not have to worry about handling or consuming meat from infected deer because the virus that causes EHD is not known to cause disease in humans. In addition, the first hard freeze typically kills the midge that carries and transfers the EHD virus which will slow or halt the spread of the disease.

Help feed the hungry with donation to Michigan Sportsmen Against Hunger

Venison Steaks. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Department of Natural Resources has made changes to the license sales system, making it easier for hunters and anglers to automatically add $1 to their license purchase as a donation to Michigan Sportsmen Against Hunger (MSAH) - a program that supports the processing and distribution of venison to food banks and kitchens in Michigan.
Anyone can be a part of this ongoing effort to help those in need. Last year more than 26,000 pounds of donated venison was processed using funds provided through this donation program. The ground venison was then passed on to local food banks and food kitchens throughout Michigan. “It was enough venison to supply over 100,000 meals with a source of nutritious protein,” said Raymond Rustem, DNR contact for Michigan Sportsmen Against Hunger. “With the new system, if just one out of 10 hunters each donated $1 this year we could easily double or triple that amount.”
Donating is easier than ever. When making a license purchase, interested hunters and anglers should let the license agent know that they would like to donate $1 to help Michigan Sportsmen Against Hunger. The license agent will automatically add $1 to the license purchase total. If making the license purchase online, the buyer should click “Yes” when asked to donate to Sportsmen Against Hunger.
“Today, we have the opportunity to continue a tradition started by hunters before us, who hunted to provide food for early settlements in Michigan," said Dean Hall, president of Michigan Sportsmen Against Hunger. "Hunter donations of funds or venison can help those who are experiencing hard times.”
To donate a deer, get more information about the program or find the nearest processor, visit the MSAH website at www.sportsmenagainsthunger.org.
Individuals who do not fish or hunt can also support this program. Visit the Michigan estore www.michigan.gov/estore, click on “Tax deductible donations” and then on "Help Feed the Hungry" and fill in the information about the donation.
Donors are reminded to save any receipts or forms. Donations to Michigan Sportsmen Against Hunger can be used when itemizing income deductions on federal tax forms.

"Many people continue to struggle in this economy," said Rustem. "Donating to this important effort is a simple way to help."

Since 1991, Michigan Sportsmen Against Hunger has been working to create linkages among donors, wild game processors and charities that feed needy individuals. MSAH is an all-volunteer organization and is led by sportsmen and women concerned about making a positive difference in the community. Together, they have assembled a network of processors and charities across Michigan to help channel wild game donations into the hands of those in need.

IOWA’S FIRST DEER HUNTING SEASONS BEGIN SEPT. 21

The first two Iowa deer hunting seasons begin September 21, when the youth season and disabled hunter season open statewide. The youth season is an opportunity for a mentor to

provide a positive, one-on-one experience without competition from other hunters.

Mentors should strive to make the time in the field a positive, enjoyable experience. Harvesting a deer is actually a bonus and should not define if the hunt was ultimately successful or not. Mentors should keep in mind that the youth will not likely have the patience, stamina or skills of the mentor.

Hunters should focus on areas like clover fields, soybeans that are still green, timber with oak trees dropping acorns or along trails connecting bedding areas to food or water sources to increase their chance of seeing a deer.

Hunters should also be prepared to deal with warm weather. This means having something to drink and being prepared to process any deer quickly by getting the deer to a locker or skinning and boning the deer out and getting it in a cooler and on ice. 

Iowa residents who are younger than 16 on the day they buy their license are eligible for the youth season.  If they turn 16 prior to using the youth license, they must buy a hunting license and habitat fee. All Youth season hunters must be accompanied by an adult mentor.  Only one youth may accompany each adult mentor.

In 2012, nearly 9,700 youths and 290 disabled hunters harvested more than 3,900 deer. Youth hunters may hunt with a bow, shotgun or muzzleloader. Blaze orange is required for hunters using firearms. Hunting hours are from one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset.

Any deer taken must be reported using the harvest reporting system by midnight the day after the deer is recovered.  Accurately reporting the kill is an important part of Iowa’s deer management program and plays a vital role in managing deer populations and future hunting opportunities.  Hunters can report their deer on the DNR websitewww.iowadnr.gov, by calling the toll free reporting number 1-800-771-4692, or at any license vendor.  For hunters with Internet access, the online reporting of your harvest is the easiest way to register your deer.