Where did all the whitetails go

[bigben]

A petition is going around about the liberal doe season and being out there for the last month it is been a strange year hunting whitetails here in the kootenays sighting have been less and hard to find them We have scientific proof that there are alot of them out there just wondering are hunters from here and afar having the same problem as I am hearing here in the streets that harvesting a whitetail has become like looking for a needle in the haystack

[Stone Sheep Steve]

So they disappeared from last year to this year?

[Stone Sheep Steve]

Forgot to ask... how are the mule deer doing in your area? Have they improved??

[Wild one]

Forgot to ask... how are the mule deer doing in your area? Have they improved??

Elk numbers being down and elk being documented as the MD top competition and have the largest impact on MD numbers they should be improving in the koots

[bigben]

Forgot to ask... how are the mule deer doing in your area? Have they improved??

Did you come down and hunt them in the kootenay you tell me and will both know thanxs

[Stone Sheep Steve]

Did you come down and hunt them in the kootenay you tell me and will both know thanxs

No I haven’t but the main reason why the East Koots ‘had’ a two whitetail doe limit was to reduce their numbers. While some hunters may long for the days of seeing a hundred whitetail does before lunch, it wasn’t good for the habitat.... or mule deer.
’Apparent competition’ with mule deer was an issue.

That population reduction was met and the whitey doe limit was reduced to one.

If the whitetails did take a hit last winter, stay on them. You won’t keep them down for long but it will benefit the mule deer.

Maybe re-read that mulw deer thread that I bumped not long ago. So much good info in there from knowledgeable people that are no longer with us.

My whitetail season here lasted a total of 45 mins...but I don’t put a lot of weight in my personal observations.

SSS

[LBM]

No I haven’t but the main reason why the East Koots ‘had’ a two whitetail doe limit was to reduce their numbers. While some hunters may long for the days of seeing a hundred whitetail does before lunch, it wasn’t good for the habitat.... or mule deer.
’Apparent competition’ with mule deer was an issue.

That population reduction was met and the whitey doe limit was reduced to one.

If the whitetails did take a hit last winter, stay on them. You won’t keep them down for long but it will benefit the mule deer.

Maybe re-read that mulw deer thread that I bumped not long ago. So much good info in there from knowledgeable people that are no longer with us.

My whitetail season here lasted a total of 45 mins...but I don’t put a lot of weight in my personal observations.

SSS

That was one of the reasons on the doe season that they put out along with it was for hunter recruitment or the one it was to starve out wolves and cats, lots of stuff throwing out there too try and justify it.
It did back fire some what on some ways and may cause issues in others since the wolves and cats had to move on to something else to eat, such as sheep and since they seem to be way more important
to some then deer they can justify killing off more predators.

[Pauly]

That was one of the reasons on the doe season that they put out along with it was for hunter recruitment or the one it was to starve out wolves and cats, lots of stuff throwing out there too try and justify it.
It did back fire some what on some ways and may cause issues in others since the wolves and cats had to move on to something else to eat, such as sheep and since they seem to be way more important
to some then deer they can justify killing off more predators.

No shortage of whitetail around my area our group filled all our tags but one and never mind lost opportunities. The two deer season hasn’t made a dent I hunt my area hard and have shot a pile of whitetail and yet every year their seems to be more. Nothing like mule deer hunting once I figured it out holly crap did I find the whitetail. One cagey animal. They love to bed along roads in the thick stuff and watch traffic drive by. Kamloops has always been mule deer country and I’d like to keep it like that so I’m all for hunting them hard. However; I’m not sure that’s slowing them down.

[Everett]

Forgot to ask... how are the mule deer doing in your area? Have they improved??

\

Mule deer are doing great showing up areas were they have been absent for years.

[Wild one]

I don’t hunt the koots but when it comes to whitetail I don’t judge a population on physical sightings or hunter success. They react to pressure and disappear turning nocturnal. If you are running lots of cams and getting a big decrease or no longer seeing tracks in the snow there maybe an issue

Most of the WT areas I am hunting this year in Alberta I have not seen a whitetail on the road or any nearby openings. But the sign is there, cam pics, and when sitting in the bush I see them everyday.

Like I said I don’t hunt the koots and numbers could be down but I have had a lot of hunters tell me there is no WT well there is 20 different sets of tracks behind them in the snow lol