Indiana needs to fix seasons for hunters and deer alike | PHIL POTTER COLUMN» Evansville Courier & Press

Last year, the political buzzword was “change.” Perhaps “change” in deer regulations and permit fees should be advocated in Indiana this year. Consider tweaking the firearms segments which many hunters consider over-the-top.Hoosier hunters have firearms seasons set for the peak of the rut. The argument is that it brings most bucks out of hiding, allowing anyone wearing an orange hat a crack at them. But is encouraging hunters to target bucks of all sizes the best way to “manage” deer? The correct answer is not in the slightest.Buck hunting success dramatically drops off after the first weekend and continues to slide the rest of the season. Due to hunter numbers and shrinking habitat, someone somewhere will bag a trophy buck the last second of the last hour of the season, but for most, the next 14 days are futile.Resting deer for seven days then opening a 16-day muzzleloader season makes no sense, either. Most hunters still want to kill a big buck and wall hangers didn't grow whopper racks by being stupid. By then, a vast majority of bucks and does have learned to be nocturnal.Not long ago, Indiana had a shorter muzzleloader season from mid-December until the end of the month. This gave the southern end of the state a chance to hunt when there was snow cover and deer had re-grouped. Compare that to now when most guys are swatting mosquitoes while peering through green leaves hoping to spot a deer.Once, Indiana was rated as one of the top states to bag a trophy buck or trophy doe. Now, Indiana ranks below Kentucky, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin and Ohio in terms of trophy bucks and total harvest.State deer managers defend long seasons, saying more of the does need to be taken, but not all agree how. They need to examine Illinois management strategy especially, regulating the amount of deer licenses per county in terms of buck and doe permits and start-stop season segments.Illinois has a three-day firearms season in November that doesn't open on a weekend and permits taking a buck and a doe on a single license. They follow up with a four-day firearms season in early December, opening on a week day and allowing license holders to tag a buck and a doe provided they didn't get a buck in November.There is a three-day December muzzleloader season with the same bag limits. Illinois also has two late December-January hunts for does only if the hunter has unfilled tags. Each county sells bonus doe tags prior to the seasons for $5 for residents and $15 for non-residents.Kentucky has tried various changes and for the 2009 modern firearms season extended it to 16 days and immediately took flack from many resident hunters who asked for split seasons and late December doe only seasons. Some Kentucky deer hunters also requested that non-resident hunters pay higher fees.Obviously deer hunters have mixed ideas on what makes a better hunt even if it means restricting the number of licenses being sold. If you think Indiana needs to change deer tactics, contact the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.

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