The Outdoors

By Scott Rall, Outdoors Columnist

With the pheasant season underway it is pretty easy to get so concentrated as to forget that the firearms deer season opens on November 9th and runs through Sunday, November 17th. October is pretty much shot and November will be here before we know it.

I was reading some research results of a white tail deer fawn study that was released recently, and the numbers are pretty eye opening. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources collard 103 deer fawns in the spring of 2023.

By September 23rd of the same year 66 of the 103 had perished. Of the 66 that died 51 were killed by coyotes. I knew that coyote predation was high, but I was surprised it was that high. I often see does with a fawn or two and several weeks later that momma doe is all alone. I can only surmise that the young were predated and eaten.

Minnesota has some of the most interesting deer regulations of any state that I am familiar with. In our great state (with very few exceptions) every single person who purchases a license for any season gets the opportunity to shoot a buck. Archery, firearms and muzzle loader hunters can all shoot a buck.

I live and hunt in deer permit unit number 237 which is in the very southwest part of the state. What follows I cannot provide a specific source for, but after following the trend for about 3 decades and talking to as many resource professionals as I can it seems to be agreed upon that about 70% of all the bucks in this unit get harvested every year.

This makes it hard for a deer to get very old. We live in such a flat land that is almost impossible for a deer to stand in the open anywhere and not be able to be seen from a road in some direction with binoculars.

Our hunting seasons correspond to the rut. The rut is when deer are most active in chasing does for the next round of reproduction. Bucks in the rut only have one thing on their mind and that is finding as many willing females as they can. This can make even a seasoned older deer act like a 16-year-old with a new car at a high school dance. Not always making the best choices when they are so signally minded on getting their natural instinct job completed.

Other states hold their gun seasons on dates that do not correspond to the rut. This makes filling a tag more difficult. Many states also require you to enter a lottery to shoot a buck. In Minnesota, everybody gets a chance at a buck—in other states you have to be drawn by lottery to shoot one. We also allow youth under 16 years of age to receive an automatic doe tag. This is done in order to generate excitement in the next generation of deer hunters and is very wise. Nothing much like success to get a new hunter imprinted for a life in the outdoors.

One interesting question I do have though. In areas where anyone can shoot a doe, different deer permit units have different rules. 11% of youth hunters shoot a doe. In areas where adults have to draw for a doe tag and youths get an automatic doe tag, those youths’ have a 75% success rate. How do you explain that? The youth doe tag can only be filled by the youth. Are the youth in adult hunter doe lottery areas just that much better shots then other youth in other parts of the state?

You can answer that question yourself.  Make sure that all of the hunters in your party understand that a youth doe tag can only be filled by that youth. Another interesting fact about doe permits. Every archer in the state, at least for now, gets a doe tag. Archery season lasts for months and archers get may more days afield then gun hunters because the harvest rates are lower for archers.   Add to this the fact that archers can now shoot a cross bow during the bow season and might very well change the landscape for archers. A cross bow with a telescopic scope on it is as deadly as any weapon out to about 60 yards. Some would say more but let’s just say 60 yards. They were available for persons with handicaps before, but now are legal for everyone. I won a crossbow in a raffle and just for fun I shot it a few times and in a matter of minutes was zeroed in at 50 yards with little effort. Bow hunting takes skill and patience. Hunting with a cross bow takes much less time and practice.

Will the success of archers rise high enough where there might need to be some season lengths adjustments?  Might the automatic doe permits for archers be a thing of the past?

I hope I was successful in getting you to think about a few things about the upcoming deer season.  I want to leave you with these points. Remember that only the youth can fill their youth doe tag. If you love white tail deer and don’t coyote hunt, consider taking up coyote hunting and lastly, plan now for a safe and successful deer hunting season and do your best to take a youth along with you. Set a great example of what kind of hunter you would like her or him to develop into. Let’s all be the best sports men and women we can be.

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If you have any questions, reach out to me at scottarall@gmail.com.