By Louie Stout
Gun season opens this weekend.Let the countdown begin for this years gun season for whitetail deer.
Michianas most celebrated hunting season starts Friday in Michigan and Saturday in Indiana and runs for 15 days in each state.
So, what are the prospects for finding quality bucks?
Well, it depends upon whom you ask.
Bow hunters, who have been in the woods since Oct. 1, have been taking deer but successes have been sporadic. There have been a few quality bucks taken, but we havent heard of many that were bearing trophy-like racks.
Of course, thats normal and could change over the next few days. Crops are coming out and the leaves are falling fast, making deer a little easier to find.
More importantly, the rut (mating season) is in the early stages and will progress quickly. Once bucks start chasing does they become more vulnerable to hunter tactics and well see more mature bucks in the harvest.
The wild card, especially in Michigan, has been how badly the herd has been hurt by EHD virus that struck lower counties (especially Cass), over the past two years.
The good news is that the disease wasnt nearly as prominent this year in southwest Michigan, although there have been some reports of dead deer in Elkhart and Kosciusko counties of Indiana.
It definitely hurt some (Michigan) areas, but the impact is debatable, said Ken Kesson, wildlife biologist at Crane Pond Game Area in Jones, Mich. There are still plenty of opportunities out there.
Kesson said some of the areas hit by EHD are starting to replenish with transient deer moving in from other areas.
In Indiana, DNR District Wildlife Biologist Linda Byer said shes received a few calls about dead deer from Elkhart and Kosciusko counties but not in great numbers. Those areas also were hit by EHD last year.
I dont think its going to affect our harvest this year, she added.
Overall, both Michigan and Indiana expect the harvest to be down slightly. Byer said deer/vehicle collisions and agricultural damage complaints dropped this year, an indication of a smaller herd.
Southwest Michigan DNR Biologist Steve Chadwick said early check station reports indicate the harvest is similar to last year.
Bow hunters are seeing deer and I suspect the caliber of bucks and buck numbers is about the same as last year, he added.
Indiana deer check stations report similar numbers for mid-November as last year. However, its difficult to get a true handle on how the season is going because hunters can now check in their deer online or via a cell phone. This is the second year for online check-in and its gaining popularity because hunters dont have to take deer to a place of business immediately after they kill it. More than 12,000 deer have been checked in online throughout the state so far this season.
However local meat processors can offer a pretty good assessment of the hunting season because thats where hunters take their deer to be butchered and packaged.
Steve Gill at DC Meats in Osceola said his count is running with 2012s pace.
Weve seen a few bucks and a couple of nice ones, but not like we will when gun season opens, he said.
Jim Aldrich of Jaworskis Meats in South Bend said his numbers are low, although some hunters are telling him theyre seeing more deer than they have in recent years.
But then, some guys say they arent seeing any, he offered. I guess it depends on where you hunt.
DC Meats and Jaworskis are participating in the Hoosier Hunters Feeding the Hungry program this year. Deer hunters who want to donate their harvested deer to food banks can drop off the animals at either place and they will be processed at no charge to the hunter. To find a participating butcher in your area, visit www.hoosiersfeedingthehungry.org .
Regulations are similar to last year, although Michigan has reduced its southern Michigan deer management units into smaller sections. For example, Cass, Berrien and Van Buren make up DMU 311 instead of being a part of a much larger area.
In Indiana, the number of antlerless permits allowed per hunter has dropped in some counties.