I wanted to share this report on Michigan Department of Natural Resources Officials concerning the outlook for the upcoming season… Enjoy!

The 2011 firearms deer season, which opens Monday, should be more productive for Michigan deer hunters than the last two deer seasons, state officials say, but it is still not going to be anywhere near as good as deer seasons when record kills were made several years ago.

Brent Rudolph, the deer biologist for the state Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, said last winter was not nearly as harsh as the two previous winters, when snow fell early and stayed on the ground until late spring in much of Michigan. Cold temperatures for days on end didn’t help the deer herd much either during those two winters.

The forecast for this season looks a little more promising in part because most Michigan farmers have nearly finished harvesting their cornfields this fall, Rudolph said, denying cover to deer who had plenty of cornfields to hide in last November.

There also are large numbers of acorns on the ground this fall, generating plenty of feeding opportunities for deer besides farm fields, Rudolph said.

Still, bucks likely won’t be as large and healthy in northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula as they have been in years past because of the impact of two bad winters back-to-back.

Hunters will see more bucks and does this November than the last two seasons, especially in the Upper Peninsula and the northern Lower, Rudolph said, but hunters  shouldn’t have unrealistic expectations about seeing huge bucks.

“It is going to take another year for bucks to look as good as they have in the past,” he said.

Southern Michigan remains the place to be for hunters who want to score big bucks or more than one deer this fall, Rudolph said.

Hunters can get multiple antlerless permits in most of southern Michigan again this year, he said, where the deer herd remains above the numbers the DNRE would like to see.

Some local deer hunters were skeptical about the DNRE’s forecast, while others are saying they have seen lots of deer, especially in southern Michigan.

John Bell, the instructor coordinator of the Genesee County hunter safety instruction program, said he thinks the deer kill this fall will be generally down and the DNRE will have “all kinds of excuses” for that situation.

“They will say it was too warm or too cold or too much corn or something,” he said. “I think they (the DNRE) have allowed too much of an overkill, especially of does in northern Michigan.”

Bell said he and his hunting buddies hunt near Gladwin and they have heard so few shots on opening day that “you could count them on one hand and still have some fingers left over.”

Bernie Bauman, a farmer in Saginaw County’s Maplegrove Township, said he didn’t see as many deer around his farm this year as last year. He said he also has been seeing more deer in the Houghton Lake area than five years ago, but nothing like years ago.

On the other hand, he said, he has been seeing plenty of deer just 15 miles south of Houghton Lake, in the Meredith area.

Dan Compeau, chief operating officer of Williams Gun Sight in Davison Township, said his store has seen a surge in sales of shotguns,  slugs and shotgun scopes in recent years, while rifle and rifle ammunition sales have been flat. He said those trends are a reflection of more hunter interest in southern Michigan where hunters are required to use shotguns or muzzleloaders.

Compeau said he doesn’t bother to hunt northern Michigan himself any longer. He said he was happy to take a nice 6-point with a crossbow in Mecosta County in mid-Michigan three weeks ago.

Bill Teer, who lives in Grand Blanc Township, said he is seeing as many deer near his farm this fall as he has ever seen. He agreed with Rudolph’s statement that there are plenty of acorns this fall, a good sign for the upcoming winter.

“I have never seen a mast crop this good,”  Teer said.

Don Baxter, of Fenton Township, said he has already killed two good bucks with his bow while hunting in Mundy Township near home. He also saw two good bucks while bear hunting in the Upper Peninsula in October. He is planning to hunt near Manistee in northwest Michigan during the firearms season.

“In general, (the deer population) looks about a good as it usually is,” he said.

Michigan generally sees at least 750,000 deer hunters take to the woods each November, which is three times as many American combat infantrymen who were on the front lines during the invasion of Germany during World War II.

After the successful hunt, after the messy field dressing, and after the campfire stories of a season well-ended, you take home your venison. Before you can reap the benefits of your harvest, however, the meat has to be butchered so that it can be cooked. You have two options. First and easiest: find a professional butcher to do the deed, then take the butchered deer home. Second and much more difficult: butcher the deer yourself. It is in no way an easy or pleasant task, and yet most hunters will have thought about doing it themselves at some time. Let me stress that field dressing before you even leave for home is very important, and should have been done before butchering the deer. This helps keep the meat fresh.

Correct tools are vital in order to correctly butcher the meat. First and foremost among these butchering tools is a good skinning knife. Some hunters prefer to have several, but one is all you really need. You should also have a wet stone so that you can sharpen the knife easily during butchering. Last, you may want a pair of rubber gloves to help keep yourself clean.

The first thing to do to begin butchering your deer is to cut the carcass in half along its length using your bone saw. Hang the carcass on a meat hook so it is top to bottom, and you should be able to make this cut along the spine. After the cut, clean out any bone fragments before you continue with butchering.

Removal of the front legs is the next step. Using your knife, cut deeply into the muscle around the front legs, and use some muscle of your own to remove them. This is a fairly easy part of butchering a deer.

The back strip or loin goes next; they are found at the top of the ribs, on either side of the spine. Make an incision at the side of the spine, and work the knife down along the vertebrae, from the base of the neck to the pelvis. Separate the muscle from the ribs and spine using your knife. Make sure you do not cut into the back strip itself.

The deer’s hind legs will be slightly more difficult. What you want to do is to cut along the pelvis, to the sides and back of the leg. Your cut should be as deep as you can manage from center-line to hip socket, and then around it. Then sever the ligament, in order to separate the legs from the pelvis.

If the animal is large enough, you can use your knife to remove the neck. You may want to consider this only for large animals, however, as the effort involved may not get much from smaller deer. If the animal is large enough, the neck will be good for soup and stews. Do not be afraid to use the bone saw again to remove the neck bones.

Patience and a little muscle power are required to butcher a deer properly. While it can be difficult for a beginner, it can be satisfying knowing the meat on your table was worked on by your own hands.

Wow, imagine my excitement when I learned that Oklahoma would bear season! I learned when I picked up the new brochure of regulation of flora and fauna in translating to about two weeks ago. I realized that the Oklahoma bear season would coincide with black powder season and gave me a planning mode. I was making plans to head down to the mountains and do a bit of hunting deer, hoping to get one of the first bears black in Oklahoma.

Last week end, I had a barbecue for family members. My cousin and I came to talk about the new season hunting black bear in Oklahoma.I caught off guard when said that it is not hunting bear negro.Pregunté why and he said that he was not going to pay the $ 101 for bear label.

“But you have a license for life, you don’t have to pay these fees” I said

“Better go to read the regs, licensees are not exempt of life”, said

So I entered the House and grabbed my regulations.I couldn’t believe it! I was right!

I just couldn’t believe that Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation Department was to make the license of lifetime holders of pay to hunt bear. Hell, some of the public land that is open to bear hunting was bought with money of hunting funds of life! How dare they!?

Needless to say, my plans for a trip of camping, hunting deer/Bear quickly disappeared. Not that I can’t afford the $ 101, is that I am not going to pay!

My father bought my combined license for a lifetime of hunting & fishing for my birthday 16.puedo honestly say that have paid many times for his car. $ 225 Paid you at the time. A bargain by any stretch of the imagination.

Over the years, I’ve been a supporter of Wildlife Department. Use to buy the Atlas of WMA and buy still Habitat patches.Each year that stop by their stand on the boat of Tulsa and travel show and buying cookbooks, and other items for gifts for family and friends. I have done many donations over the years.

I think have done an excellent job in the management of the resources of our estado.Pero during 10 years or less, I noticed a change in the policies and the mentality of the Department.More and more, it seems that they are concerned with income generation. It seems that all of them have been doing in Oklahoma City for a while is to sit back and dreaming of ways to increase your income off the backs of the sportsmen of Oklahoma.

I understand that times are difíciles.Pero increased income out of people who you with where you are today is not the way to do it! Funds for the life of hunting and fishing license is suppose to be a repository to help buy more tierra.Así that each licensee of life can say they helped the ODWC buy many of the public lands of the State.In return, we get these tags or fishing and license of life, where we have to buy a caza.O unless that is the way in which it was originally created and how it has been for many, many years.

My cousin wrote the Department stating that I thought making a lifetime license holders are to purchase a license of black bear was unfair.In short, his response was that “told us when he bought the license of life it would be good for.”We even have increased bag limits and added other game animals to leave do these licenses more valuable “Yes, you said what would be covered, but 25 years ago, hell, just 10 years ago you still said no there was no significant populations of black bears in Oklahoma! why, the Department said the same about mountain lions!”

If you ask me, the Charter had some major attitude to it.

Still, a whole life does a lifetime is not true?Apparently not for the Oklahoma Department of wildlife conservation.

As I said before, I think the ODWC has been taken by bureaucrats and Bean.No counters has happened during the night, but gradually over a period of time to not raise suspicion.

Time was when our license of covered life trapping, but now have an additional license “trapping”.We now have a host of permissions and the rates we pay us we were excluded once or another or simply did not exist in the year pasado.Este began licensing guides and hit them with a large license fee as well as require them that carry liability insurance (thank its secure this lobby) network.your we have that buy a license of bear hunting outrageously precio.Y the kicker that closes the season after they have been collected 20 bears.

If you close the Oklahoma bear season after a week since the quota of 20 bear met, make those who you’ve purchased a license of bear get cashback since the season was closed to principles?

I do not believe it.

It is time that we begin to put people back in the ODWC who have our best interests at stake, not line the bottom or stakeholder especial.Es time to get rid of pencil pushers and Bean counters and get some people who know what the hell are haciendo.Si the ODWC needs revenue, then raise the price of the license of lifetime! is still only $ 775 for a combination. most of the neighbouring States that I am aware of Texas, Arkansas, and I think to Kansas, begin at $ 1000 to your license of life.

Do your income off of the backs of people that brought him to dance!

If even a percent of all funds life hunting were used to purchase or manage the property and Habitat for black bear then license holders of Oklahoma life should be exempted from the bear hunting license fees!

I would recommend noone buy these overvalued oso.Si license really want to have the opportunity to kill a decent bear, go to Arkansas.De this way, you don’t have to worry about the season closes on you, leaving the holding of a piece of paper that you paid $ 101 for if you are a resident or $ 506 for if you’re a non-resident, even if you are a licensee of life!

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Tagged with bear hunting, take the season odwc, oklahoma, oklahoma bear hunting season bear of oklahoma, oklahoma Department of wildlife, oklahoma Department of wildlife conservation

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