Apps out 2025

[Ruttin]

5 deer left in the state so let's issue 97 tags

 

[Tinesdown]

5 deer left in the state so let's issue 97 tags

Usually 21 to 24 th of June last so many years. It's been worse used to be around July week when tags had been plentiful.

 

[Tinesdown]

5 deer left in the state so let's issue 97 tags

Oh shit son deer doing good in my area. Old bucks are hard to come by as usual

 

[woodduck30]

Soon it will be the big 4. Moose, elk, sheep and deer.

 

[SDMF]

Soon it will be the big 4. Moose, elk, sheep and deer.

Ouch,

 

[measure-it]

Someone forgot to add pronghorn to the list....the big 5!

 

[Average_NDA_Member]

hmmm you fellas seem like yer real close to steppin on landowner rights better cut it out now

 

[8andcounting]

There’s going to be units where after the gratis tags are taken out there’s virtually no tags or very few available for the draw . Times are different , lots more deer being shot with archery than 15-20 years ago , I personally think we need to take a long look at a 1 tag system . Or at very least look at extending youth tags until kids are out of high school

 

[Obi-Wan]

There’s going to be units where after the gratis tags are taken out there’s virtually no tags or very few available for the draw . Times are different , lots more deer being shot with archery than 15-20 years ago , I personally think we need to take a long look at a 1 tag system . Or at very least look at extending youth tags until kids are out of high school

Buckle up you just ventured into sacred ground

 

[Trip McNeely]

There’s going to be units where after the gratis tags are taken out there’s virtually no tags or very few available for the draw . Times are different , lots more deer being shot with archery than 15-20 years ago , I personally think we need to take a long look at a 1 tag system . Or at very least look at extending youth tags until kids are out of high school

I don’t think a one tag system is the answer, but a resident lottery for badlands muledeer bow may be in order…… populations are decreasing, we know it’s mainly hunter harvest and winters taking the biggest tolls…. One we can’t control. The other we can. Decrease pressure on herds, as well as moratorium on killing does in areas that need a boost to the population.

 

[Icepirate]

I don’t think a one tag system is the answer, but a resident lottery for badlands muledeer bow may be in order…… populations are decreasing, we know it’s mainly hunter harvest and winters taking the biggest tolls…. One we can’t control. The other we can. Decrease pressure on herds, as well as moratorium on killing does in areas that need a boost to the population.

agreed. honestly that would be most of the state at this point.

 

[8andcounting]

agreed. honestly that would be most of the state at this point.

Well yeh but our great gf will
Keep selling doe tags . Horrible populations and less tags than ever yet still selling doe tags . Brilliant

 

[Obi-Wan]

I don’t think a one tag system is the answer, but a resident lottery for badlands muledeer bow may be in order…… populations are decreasing, we know it’s mainly hunter harvest and winters taking the biggest tolls…. One we can’t control. The other we can. Decrease pressure on herds, as well as moratorium on killing does in areas that need a boost to the population.

The G&F disagrees with the moratorium on killing does. Down in the Apple Creek WMA the deer have been nearly non existent the last few years. where we typically would see around 50 deer in a field we now see maybe 3 and the G&F still had depredation tags in the area last year and most likely will this year also.

 

[8andcounting]

The G&F disagrees with the moratorium on killing does. Down in the Apple Creek WMA the deer have been nearly non existent the last few years. where we typically would see around 50 deer in a field we now see maybe 3 and the G&F still had depredation tags in the area last year and most likely will this year also.

Yup gf says killing doe’s does nothing to the population. Just like open season in the spring on devils lake walleyes taking huge females does nothing . Brilliant

 

[Trip McNeely]

I definitely disagree with the game and fish on this. To me it’s purely logical the more animals you have going into winter the more likely higher carryover into spring……if you have a herd of 30 and no does are killed all fall then maybe 15-20 make it to spring. If you have 30 deer, kill 10 in the fall then what maybe 8-15 make it to the next spring. Obviously this is anecdotal but you get the point. How long will it take populations to rebound if 20 make it to spring as opposed to 10-15 honestly Im not sure why they’d be against a moratorium other than selling more tags and trying to wipe out Muleys in areas they want to push the cwd agenda…. If the logic used for deer was because winter mortality would equalize the population if we harvest or not…. Then why do we not shoot hen pheasants?

 

[Obi-Wan]

Yup gf says killing doe’s does nothing to the population. Just like open season in the spring on devils lake walleyes taking huge females does nothing . Brilliant

they are spot on as history shows that not killing pheasant hens has zero affect on todays pheasant population.

 

[Trip McNeely]

they are spot on as history shows that not killing pheasant hens has zero affect on todays pheasant population.

I don’t buy the pheasant idea either. Open up the season for 5 years for hen pheasant and let me know which direction the population goes…. Hunting hens would have a negative impact without a doubt…….Fish I can understand as they lay gazillion eggs so recruitment is high and females aren’t necessarily as valuable….An animal that has 1-2 young per year like deer the females are much more valuable to the population……

 

[Fester]

So is the whole state deer population down or just certain areas?

 

[Ruttin]

From my arm chair biologist seat the population is down state wide. There might be some small pockets of deer that are surviving well. The 2023 winter was devastating and they still issued a numerous amount of doe tags in 2024...smh

 

[8andcounting]

Winter of 2022-2023 took 60/70% of the deer in my area. The last 2 have been better but it’s gonna take a while to come back .