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Though it's early, deer season looking good |
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October 20, 2016 |
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| Deer season
is off to a promising start and harvest
is expected to exceed the 10-year
average. |
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Story and photo by Roger Phillips
IDFG Public Information Specialist
Judging deer hunting success a week into the
season is kind of like predicting a football
game after the first quarter when the score is
7-3, but so far, deer hunters are reporting
seeing plenty of animals and expressed general
satisfaction with their hunts.
Idaho Fish and Game check stations around the
state showed a mixed bag throughout the weekend
after the first week of the general, any-weapon
season. Most general season deer hunts started
on October 10, and many general-season mule deer
hunts will continue through the end of October.
However, there’s a wide variety of general and
controlled hunts remaining in the fall and early
winter with whitetail hunting typically peaking
in November.
Comparing results at check stations from year to
year is also a tricky proposition, especially
early in the season, because things such as
weather, hunter participation and timing of the
season opener (which was a Monday this year) can
affect results.
But out of 12 check stations, success rates
(percentage of hunters who harvested) at six
check stations were down from last year and six
check stations showed increase in success. For
number of animals harvested, six check stations
were down from last year, five stations were up,
and one check station had similar number of
animals as were checked as last year.
Geographically, the Panhandle stations were all
up. The McCall station was up slightly on
success rate with similar harvest (fewer
hunters, but better success), Southwest Idaho
stations were mixed (one up and three down),
Magic Valley was mixed (one up, two down), the
Southeast station was up for success rate and
down for overall harvest (fewer hunters), and
the Salmon station was down for success rate,
but double the harvest because of more hunters.
Check stations provide a snapshot of what’s
happening early in the season. Fish and Game
officials expect this year’s deer and elk
seasons to be above the 10-year average, just
like last year, which was well above average and
included an all-time record whitetail harvest.
Elk seasons are also diverse in terms of season
timing and include a mix of general and
controlled hunts, but most general, any-weapon
elk hunts start in mid-to-late October, many
hunts extend into November and some go into
December. |
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