WOW...... First off I want to say that i've been hunting for over 30 years and know how to read sign and the woods. With that said I can comfortably say there isnt much of a deer population left in the southern zone. Yes there are pockets of deer mostly near human habitation but for the most part the population is way down. The bottom line is if you can't find an abundance of droppings there isnt many deer... I cannot believe that some "hunters" are going to make igronant statements blaming the two day youth season and crossbows.... REALLY!!! First off the youth hunters are the future of our sport and actually thinking a percentage of children hunting for two days is the cause of the population decline for over tens years is obsurd! And let's leave the archers alone..... I strongly feel that novice archers with a crossbow is more ethical and humane being accuracy is greatly improved and would result in less wounded deer. The problem is simple. PREDATORS!!!! Coyotes....Humans...and how about Bears.... No one in this thread has mentioned bears... Bears kill just as many fawns as coyotes... 20 years ago no one ever saw bears in the souther zone and now there all over. Hell, I have harvested three bears in the last six years. And the DEC issueing doe tags like candy on halloween for the last 20 years is probably the largest factor. My father taught me when I was a child not to shoot does because by shooting one doe you just killed up to four deer for the following season. Do this math.... how many deer would one doe be able to create over three years including the deer her offspring would create..... The number is between 20 and 30 deer. By killing one doe one hunter just removed 20-30 deer over a three year span. Just because you have a doe tag dosnt mean you have to fill it... Throw them away! Also the harsh winters don't help but we cannot control the weather.... We can stop shooting does.... and we can start shooting every predator we see. Buckle up boys... the good ole days are gone.
