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Wisconsin Deer Hunter Wildlife Survey – Share Your Observations

Wisconsin DNR

MADISON, WI --(Ammoland.com)- The 2011 gun deer season opener is just days away! Please consider helping the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources by reporting your deer hunting activity, even if no deer or other wildlife were seen during your hunting trip(s).

This survey provides wildlife managers with information on deer sighting rates and the relative abundance of deer and other wildlife in the state.

To enter your observations, click here. Have an enjoyable and successful hunt!

Preliminary Deer Hunter Wildlife Survey Results: September 17-November 14

A total of 575 Wisconsin deer hunters have reported 2,365 hunting trips via the online survey.

192 individuals have also supplied an email address to have a summary of their observations e-mailed to them at the end of the survey period.

Trips were reported from 71 of 72 counties in the state, and in 113 of 139 deer management units. DMU 64 has the greatest number of observations (109), followed by DMU 53 with 100 observations. Hunters reported spending 8,889 observation hours in the field, and averaged 3.8 hours per trip. Most trips and observation hours occurred in the Southern Farmland followed by the Northern Forest, the Eastern Farmland, the Western Farmland and lastly the Central Forest region.

Deer hunters have reported 1,154 bucks, 1,721 does, 1,193 fawns, and 458 unknowns. Statewide, hunters averaged 0.51 deer seen per hour. Deer seen per hour varied between regions with the high being the Eastern Farmland averaging 0.61 deer per hour and the low being the Central Forest averaging 0.30 deer per hour. The Western Farmland and the Southern Farmland both reported 0.57 deer per hour. Hunters in the Northern Forest saw 0.42 deer per hour.

The most frequently observed species other than deer were turkeys. Hunter sightings varied greatly by regions, with most sightings occurring in Wisconsin’s primary turkey range, the farmland and central forest regions. The next most frequently seen animal was ruffed grouse.

Please continue to enter your observations by clicking here.

Questions about the Wisconsin Deer Hunter Wildlife Survey, accessing the tally sheet, reporting your observation, or the results of the survey, can be referred to Brian Dhuey or Jes Rees.

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Pennsylvania Game Commission Posts Deer Aging Video On Youtube Account
Agency also offers free tools to estimate deer age and weight. Video Follows.

Pennsylvania Game Commission

HARRISBURG, PA --(Ammoland.com)- Two things many hunters want to know about almost any deer they take are its age and weight. The Pennsylvania Game Commission, through its website, is offering some free tools to guide hunters in determining their deer’s age and weight.

To help hunters learn how Game Commission biologists determine the age of a white-tailed deer, the agency has posted a link to a seven-minute and 38-second video on its “YouTube” account demonstrating the technique used to identify deer that are six months old, 18 months old and 30 months old or older.

To view the video, go to the Game Commission’s website (www.pgc.state.pa.us) and click on the “YouTube” icon in the upper right-hand column of the homepage, then select the link to “Deer Aging.mov.”

“Looking at the teeth is the best method of aging a white-tailed deer,” said Dr. Christopher Rosenberry, Game Commission Deer and Elk Management Section supervisor. “Antler points and amount of gray on the muzzle are not reliable methods of aging deer.”

In partnership with the Pennsylvania State University Department of Dairy and Animal Science, the Game Commission also posted a deer weight estimating chart in its “White-Tailed Deer” section. To find this chart, go to the agency’s website (www.pgc.state.pa.us), click on the “White-Tailed Deer” icon in the center of the homepage and select “Deer Weight Chart” in the “Deer Hunting” section.

By knowing the girth of the deer’s chest, which is measured in inches just behind the front legs, the chart will help hunters estimate a deer’s live weight and field dressed weight, as well as the weight of edible boneless meat. For example, a deer with a girth of 35 inches at the chest would have an estimated live weight of 126 pounds, an estimated field-dressed weight of 99 pounds and yield around 57 pounds of edible venison.

The agency also sells a deer weight tape, for 94 cents, which includes markings to enable a hunter to estimate these weights in the field. The tape includes a depiction of where to place the tape around a deer’s chest, as well as measurements that enables a hunter to convert that measurement in inches into estimated live weight, field-dressed weight and edible boneless meat.

To purchase the tape, go to the Game Commission’s website (www.pgc.state.pa.us) and click on “General Store” in the menu bar at the top of the page, then choose “Visit the Outdoor Shop,” choose “Merchandise” from the banner, select “Misc. Items” in the left-hand column and scroll down to click on “Deer Weight Tape.”

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