deer numbers

270WIN

hi everyone,

my first post!!:D...i shoot deer in tipp/clare and definitely notice deer numbers are down this year.the farmers even say it and they are not ones to admit that! I believe myself that there are too many deer licences being issued and poaching with dogs is rampant..the npws couldnt care less because coillte had their hearts broke for years to keep the deer under control and now they are. Got that off my chest!!! anyone agree?

PCPhoto

actually - you might be able to assist me.

is there a quota on the amount of deer that can be shot ? I was recently driving from Cork to Dublin (last week)...anyway ... as I was driving I spotted a van ... you know the type ...cant remember the name.... but the back part is open (like a truck) .

Anyway - I'm going off topic - the back of the jeep/suv type vehicle had a number of deer piled on each other, two guys in the front.

so.... my question.... is there a quota ? and is it enforced !...... I did take pics of the jeep type thing...so can post it up if required.

meathstevie

If you're thinking about quotas as in certain continental countries where rangers and hunters and rangers agree numbers to shot during the season the answer is short : no.

PCPhoto

meathstevie wrote: »

If you're thinking about quotas as in certain continental countries where rangers and hunters and rangers agree numbers to shot during the season the answer is short : no.

im talking in Ireland.... I know absolutely nothing about shooting/hunting.

meathstevie

No regulated quota or population management is done on private land in Ireland unless it's done voluntarily by hunters. National parks as far as I know have population management in place and the hunting/culling is done by NPWS rangers.

PCPhoto

so essentially ...its get gun licence ...go shoot !!

(thankfully the vast majority of licence holders have some degree of common sense)

270WIN

i wouldnt put up any pictures PC...in any case you can shoot as much as you want in this country

meathstevie

PCPhoto wrote: »

so essentially ...its get gun licence ...go shoot !!

(thankfully the vast majority of licence holders have some degree of common sense)

Deer is not that straightforward. You need a rather powerful rifle for them and as a consequence the Gardai will be looking for proof of permissions and secure storage before they'll consider issuing a cert for a deer legal rifle. And a firearms cert for any other firearm isn't easily obtained either. Bottom line is if you have any conviction for offences involving violence or are even known as being a bit of shady or bad tempered caracter by your local Gardai you may just as well forget about it.

.243 express

I think stag numbers are down but loads of does and fawns around.

kakashka

Lots or Deer here @ PCPhoto-are you sure you seen hunters?did you check it out? and do you by any chance know the OP!!

sixpointfive

I think his time of year they are always harder got, i have been out the last couple of mornings around some good deer ground and didnt even see an animal, but i do agree that there are alot of people hunting them now, i think another factor is the weigh and pay man in clane, alot of handy money being made there this season, it has to be taking its toll, another thing i have noticed this year in wicklow is the lack of 8 pointers about the place, i have only seen a handfull this season, only saw one worth shooting and so far have only seen one very good one shot around my ground.The last really bumper season i can remember for good sika stags was around 2005, every other animal shot was a very good 8pt and saw alot of medal class heads that season. Im parking the deer shooting till the new year and the cold snap is gone.

kakashka

sixpointfive wrote: »

The last really bumper season i can remember for good sika stags was around 2005, every other animal shot was a very good 8pt and saw alot of medal class heads that season. Im parking the deer shooting till the new year and the cold snap is gone.

Hey sixpointfive,maby that has something to do with lack of good animals now!!??

BoarHunter

i just think at one stage that there should be an organization regulating the culling of deers. And i don't mean only number of animals but also the sex ratio, and most importantly the trophies for the stags.

To have a healthy population you need to give the hinds a bit of balance and stability. You should leave the dominant stag doing his business until there are a good few promissing pretenders pushing him. If you kill all the good stags around the females will be covered by weak males and therefore your population is going to weaken down progressively. So only one good Stag should be given to a certain surface of land depending on the concentration of deers. So to be fair i don't think that should be to the landowners or the stalkers to decide of the cull but to some people who are scientificaly graduated in the matter, who are on the field and know their business.

Having a Deer licence and a Rifle licence is given to any ignorant around who has a good connections with landowners.

THIS IS NOT ENOUGH- i'm talking here to give a bit of credit to the sport. But i think having such people on the field would mean paying them, would mean the hunters to pay for a shooting licence and most hunters don't want that... most of the people still want to have the right to do what they want in their corner. this is not what i call wildlife management i'm afraid.

Boyle243

l agree with boar hunter that there should be some better regulation of irish deer stocks. maybe a tagging system where each hunter is given four or five tags a season to shoot four or five deer. Now this might not be popular with some hunters as a lot of lads shoot far more than this a season but something should be done to maintain numbers and quality.

Now saying all that in the areas where i shoot there's four herds of fallow each numbering between 12 and 30 deer. There is also at least one group of Bucks numbering about 7 bucks. Im sure there's more Bucks than this but i havent seen them yet:D l also know of a group of reds of about 15 that nobody has access to so hopefully they will thrive...

sixpointfive

BoarHunter wrote: »

i just think at one stage that there should be an organization regulating the culling of deers. And i don't mean only number of animals but also the sex ratio, and most importantly the trophies for the stags.

To have a healthy population you need to give the hinds a bit of balance and stability. You should leave the dominant stag doing his business until there are a good few promissing pretenders pushing him. If you kill all the good stags around the females will be covered by weak males and therefore your population is going to weaken down progressively. So only one good Stag should be given to a certain surface of land depending on the concentration of deers. So to be fair i don't think that should be to the landowners or the stalkers to decide of the cull but to some people who are scientificaly graduated in the matter, who are on the field and know their business.

Having a Deer licence and a Rifle licence is given to any ignorant around who has a good connections with landowners.

THIS IS NOT ENOUGH- i'm talking here to give a bit of credit to the sport. But i think having such people on the field would mean paying them, would mean the hunters to pay for a shooting licence and most hunters don't want that... most of the people still want to have the right to do what they want in their corner. this is not what i call wildlife management i'm afraid.

agree totally with you but the problem is that (most)shooters over here cant see the bigger picture and the shoot him before the next lad does mentality takes over, i have hunted ground in the west that have been properly managed and culled selectivley for fallow and the quality of deer is superb and also the dedication of the stalkers is remarkable, the only problem is there are always guys lurking on the fringes to wack the big bucks during the rut and vanish into the mist, have also hunted in Europe where the regulations are much much stricter, having said all that there are stalkers out there with the right approach but they are the minority, the other bit is that it will never change here, it will only get worse coz nobody in the positions that can regulate this type of thing gives a fcuk, sadly like so many other things in Ireland its a half arsed system that we can do nowt bout. :mad:

Deerspotter

sixpointfive wrote: »

agree totally with you but the problem is that (most)shooters over here cant see the bigger picture and the shoot him before the next lad does mentality takes over, i have hunted ground in the west that have been properly managed and culled selectivley for fallow and the quality of deer is superb and also the dedication of the stalkers is remarkable, the only problem is there are always guys lurking on the fringes to wack the big bucks during the rut and vanish into the mist, have also hunted in Europe where the regulations are much much stricter, having said all that there are stalkers out there with the right approach but they are the minority, the other bit is that it will never change here, it will only get worse coz nobody in the positions that can regulate this type of thing gives a fcuk, sadly like so many other things in Ireland its a half arsed system that we can do nowt bout. :mad:

Slightly defeatest?

.243 express

Was out this morning looking for deer.Loads of deer about got 2 yearling does and must have meet over 30(mostly does)..Cold weather really keeping them out,,,

jellybaby21

Plenty of deer around me,out this morning after a few pheasants, and while driving from one place to another.
We saw 3 stags in a field just in off the road so stopped to have a look, and saw one stag had only 3 legs, one back leg was gone.
I'm going to go back tomorrow see if I can get a closer look see if it has healed or is it fresh. If it has we'll let him get on with things if not we'll do whats rite and shoot him, but on first look he looks in good condition.
He went off with the other 2 and they were 3 big stags.

So plenty around but I do think some people are shooting too many, and some of the problem is the farmers blaming the deer for TB in their cattle.

I know the farmer where I saw the 3 this morning wants them all shot and its not even his land, and he is looking for someone to shoot them all.
I know some lads that shoot 30 or 40 in a season and thats far to many if you ask me.

Sorry for going on a bit.

kakashka

jellybaby21 wrote: »

Plenty of deer around me,out this morning after a few pheasants, and while driving from one place to another.
We saw 3 stags in a field just in off the road so stopped to have a look, and saw one stag had only 3 legs, one back leg was gone.
I'm going to go back tomorrow see if I can get a closer look see if it has healed or is it fresh. If it has we'll let him get on with things if not we'll do whats rite and shoot him, but on first look he looks in good condition.
He went off with the other 2 and they were 3 big stags.

So plenty around but I do think some people are shooting too many, and some of the problem is the farmers blaming the deer for TB in their cattle.

I know the farmer where I saw the 3 this morning wants them all shot and its not even his land, and he is looking for someone to shoot them all.
I know some lads that shoot 30 or 40 in a season and thats far to many if you ask me.

Sorry for going on a bit.

Personally I'd put that stag down regardless,he may not appear to be suffering now but he will,as for numbers shot-depends on area etc,cant just say 30/40 is too much without details of acreage and geography? IMHO

jellybaby21

You are entitled to your opinion, just like everybody else.

But if everyone with a deer license went out and shot 30-40 deer every season, the deer population in Ireland wouldn't be long about dwindling.

And that is just my opinion.

natdog

kakashka wrote: »

Personally I'd put that stag down regardless,he may not appear to be suffering now but he will,as for numbers shot-depends on area etc,cant just say 30/40 is too much without details of acreage and geography? IMHO

you would do well to eat 30 to 40 deer a year i know they are tasty but thats a bit much so i reckon these lads are selling the meat which i think is totally wrong but thats just my opinion

kakashka

jellybaby21 wrote: »

But if everyone with a deer license went out and shot 30-40 deer every season, the deer population in Ireland wouldn't be long about dwindling.

And that is just my opinion.

Of course Not Everyone shoot's that number,but some ppl have to,if it's necessary then it has to be done,how much feeding and care do you give your deer during the year?(i'm not trying to be smart jellybaby)

jellybaby21

Well it sounds like you are trying to be very smart and they are not my deer they are wild. I have had my say on it so ill leave it at that. You have your opinion and I have mine.

kakashka

jellybaby21 wrote: »

Well it sounds like you are trying to be very smart and they are not my deer they are wild. I have had my say on it so ill leave it at that. You have your opinion and I have mine.

No i'm not and dont mean to be,but someone has to feed them, a fact that most seem to forget,anyway there are lots of Deer and will be IMO

jellybaby21

I did say there are lots around me and well done to you for going out and feeding them. But I do know some people near me are only in it for what they can get out of it without putting anything back. They would just keep taking till there are no deer left in one place and then move to another. So again well done to you for getting out and feeding them.

thelurcher

natdog wrote: »

you would do well to eat 30 to 40 deer a year i know they are tasty but thats a bit much so i reckon these lads are selling the meat which i think is totally wrong but thats just my opinion

I shoot nowhere near that number but people are always looking for venison - I could easily give away that amount and more - I'm sure most lads here would be in the same situation.

I've seen people in pickups with carcasses on display in the back as well - no need for it - you'd buy a tarp for €5.
What's the thinking behind it I think there's definitely a bit of bravado involved - and for what - especially when most of the public think we're a bunch of inbred hillbilly simpletons - why reinforce that view.

poulo6.5

what is a good number of deer to take in a season ? this is my first year and i'v taken 3 prickets and 4 doe's so far , and i intend to get a couple more if i can for the freezer. i'v bin curious as to how many deer are around and weather the stock is healthy and so on . any one know where i can find out.

iwsf

Personally i cannot see the point shooting 30 or 40 deers in a season.
Got one hind this year, intend to get one or 2 more but this is it. I enjoy very much stalking and enjoy VERY much eating venison (with a good bottle of red wine ) but shooting so many deers :mad:
Anyway this is only me and respect what others do for as long as the deers population is not in danger.
There are still many deers arround but for how long ?