Let's take Chaparral, which is probably the most popular draw hunt for deer. Between general, archery, and youth hunts, there are 246 permits available on 15,200 acres. That's one deer per 62 acres if every single permit holder kills a deer. Now, the success rate on all of those hunts is probably no more than 50%, so it's probably a take of one deer per 120 acres. To put that in perspective, on our ranch of 930 acres, the state biologist recommends that we take between 30 and 50 deer annually. Now this is the hill country with higher deer density, but still, that equates to one deer per 19-31 acres. We probably take on average 90% of that quota. You have to ask yourself, why aren't they dolling out more permits or who is shooting the excess deer that aren't accounted for to keep the population within what available forage can handle?
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Those deer disperse, some on ranches do not- high fence.
I bet they are managing for good numbers and quality, I hope.
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I read somewhere on here a few months ago that on one deep south texas wma that has nilgia, they have come in and shot nilgai from helicopters to keep the population under control. Its unreal.Comment
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How many are shot and not recovered?
You may be surprised.Comment
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The Chap doesn’t have the population to support the type of killing you are recommending. Look at the current success rate. It’s not like they are covered in deer. No feeding program. Maybe there are other WMAd that could support that but the example of the Chap you picked isn’t one of them.Comment
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I'm not recommending anything. I asked my state biologist and a game warden, and neither could give me a good answer.Originally posted by buck_wild View PostComment
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Kind of the same question...... if they are trying to get rid of the Sambar at Powderhorn, which has been said is the case many times here, then why limit the permits and/or why limit the take to 1 per hunter.Comment
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1. The WMA is nowhere close to capacity
2. You can’t base success rate on …. Anything. Truth is 50% of drawn couldn’t kill a deer if they were locked in a room with it. 25% probably have non recovery (things happen). A large percentage pass opportunity looking for a certain caliber of animal that may or may not present an opportunity
I bet if they added TWO more hunts to the chap the number of mature bucks taken would be less than 2 and deer numbers would drop quickly due to pressure, doe harvestComment
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Success rates depend solely on the hunter! Some hunters absolutely suck at it when it comes to actual hunting and not just picking the animals from a feed pen. Some of the best WMAs in Texas have decent to good deer density but those animals are much smarter than the average hunter, so they don't get killed let alone even get shot at. As LOW FENCE stated, the biggest reason success is always a low number is the times people pass up a shot because they are wanting a monster to step out. The Chap will always hold that perception so hunters will pass a 130 thinking a 160 is going to come out behind him. Plus, just think if half of the given applicants wound and don't recover an animal then shoot another one so they could have potentially taken 2 from the herd instead of just one. Success numbers are so skewed it ain't even funny.Comment
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Did you see all the small bucks that get shot even on the Chap? It’s mind blowing. Dudes wait years and years then pop a baby. THAT is why they set rules. And why they don’t do anymore hunts. Lots of folks would hammer on em if allowed.
They also do not feed like you do on your lease.Comment
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Didn't they discourage hunters from taking does at the Chap this season due to poor range conditions over the spring and summer?
IMHO the state biologists know what they are doing and have done a great job managing the Chap over the years. Same probably holds true at most WMAs.Comment
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Perhaps they are considering other mortality factors, such as weather, drought, predators, natural death, etc. for what will take the balance of the needed quota.Comment
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