NASCAR88
Active Member
- Messages
- 249
Just looking for some opinions on a few of the questions I have on why the starkey exp forest has been producing such low harvest numbers in the last few years. Our group hunted the SEF the first year they allowed hunting and we went 7 for 7 with four of them being 4-points nothing huge 20-24 inchers. Between our group there was a couple bucks seen that went 28-30+. One by myself on our way out that ran across the road not far from the headquarters he was a toad. The first few years I believe they allowed 100 tags.
Looking back on the stats for the last few years there has been only 4 or 5 bucks harvested by hunters out of the 25 tags allowed. I know a few hunters don't even show up. A couple years ago I talked with the game guys at the entrance and they only checked in 15 of the 25 tag holders.( way to blow eight points). Here are a few of the questions I have
1. Wouldn?t you think that a deer population that has as much or less hunting pressure than deer living on private land would have, would produce better numbers?
2. Shouldn?t the SEF just be loaded with does since they are never hunted that I know of?
3. This deer population probably experiences very low if no poaching even though the predators do climb over the fence posts into the enclosure.
4. Is the ODFW letting deer out of the enclosure to control the numbers? I know the first few years during the start of winter the deer where standing up by the game fence on the West end because the fence had blocked their natural route to their wintering grounds and ODFW had to release some until they could get them to head East to the enclosures winter feeding area.
I know the main reason for the SEF is for elk studies and deer are just a small part of the big picture but don't you think that a deer herd that has light pressure and is fed during the winter would be doing better. And if a deer population can't flourish in the fenced in area then how can it in the national forests?
Looking back on the stats for the last few years there has been only 4 or 5 bucks harvested by hunters out of the 25 tags allowed. I know a few hunters don't even show up. A couple years ago I talked with the game guys at the entrance and they only checked in 15 of the 25 tag holders.( way to blow eight points). Here are a few of the questions I have
1. Wouldn?t you think that a deer population that has as much or less hunting pressure than deer living on private land would have, would produce better numbers?
2. Shouldn?t the SEF just be loaded with does since they are never hunted that I know of?
3. This deer population probably experiences very low if no poaching even though the predators do climb over the fence posts into the enclosure.
4. Is the ODFW letting deer out of the enclosure to control the numbers? I know the first few years during the start of winter the deer where standing up by the game fence on the West end because the fence had blocked their natural route to their wintering grounds and ODFW had to release some until they could get them to head East to the enclosures winter feeding area.
I know the main reason for the SEF is for elk studies and deer are just a small part of the big picture but don't you think that a deer herd that has light pressure and is fed during the winter would be doing better. And if a deer population can't flourish in the fenced in area then how can it in the national forests?