Indiana Deer News Podcast

21/07/2024

No late season antlerless qualifying counties this year.

Information from the Indiana Division of Fish & Wildlife about the 2020-2021 Special Antlerless Fi****ms season for deer.

05/04/2024

Positive CWD found in Lagrange County, IN is confirmed.

Lots of misinformation will begin circulating - IN.Gov has direct words from the response plans.

The link attached will take you to the write up and planned response.

https://www.in.gov/dnr/fish-and-wildlife/wildlife-resources/wildlife-diseases-in-indiana/chronic-wasting-disease-cwd/?utm_source=agency-website&utm_medium=&utm_campaign=&utm_term=&utm_content=

A State that Works. IN.gov is the official website of the State of Indiana and your place to find information, services, news and events related to Indiana government.

05/02/2024

Indiana’s Natural Resources Commission (NRC) has opened a public comment period for proposed changes to Indiana’s deer hunting rules before they vote on the proposed changes*. Most proposed changes are intended to make Indiana’s deer hunting rules to be easier to understand.

Public comments can be submitted at https://www.in.gov/nrc/rules/rulemaking-docket/ using the “Comment Period Open” link under the Deer Hunting Amendment Proposal section. The deadline for public comments is March 20. The public hearing will be held Thursday, March 20, from 4–8 p.m. ET both in person at the Garrison at Fort Harrison State Park in Indianapolis and online.

For more information on the proposed rule changes, visit wildlife.IN.gov/rule-regulation-changes/. Questions about the proposed deer hunting rule changes should be directed to 812-334-3795 or [email protected].

*Please note that comments on this post or messages submitted to the Division of Fish & Wildlife are not considered official comments. To submit an official comment, please visit https://www.in.gov/nrc/rules/rulemaking-docket/.

31/01/2024

For immediate release: January 30, 2024

Natural Resources Commission seeks input on proposed deer hunting rule changes

The Indiana Natural Resources Commission (NRC) has opened a public comment period for proposed changes to Indiana’s deer hunting rules before they vote on final adoption of the proposed changes. Most proposed changes intend to simplify Indiana’s deer hunting rules to make them easier to understand.


Public comments can be submitted online at IN.gov/nrc/rules/rulemaking-docket/ via the “Comment on this rule” link in the Rulemaking Docket for the Deer Hunting Amendments. Comments can also be mailed to:


Natural Resources Commission

Indiana Government Center North

100 North Senate Ave., Room N103

Indianapolis, IN 46204


The deadline for public comments is March 20. A public hearing will be held on March 20 from 4 to 8 p.m. ET at the Garrison at Fort Harrison State Park in Indianapolis; you can attend in person or online anytime during that timeframe. To attend the public hearing, starting at 4 p.m. on March 20, go to Microsoft Teams and enter Meeting ID: 296 491 887 327, Passcode: xTCuyW.


Sign up for updates online at wildlife.IN.gov/rule-regulation-changes.


Proposed changes include:

A statewide bag limit of six antlerless deer.
A newly created County Antlerless Bag Limit instead of season antlerless bag limits. Because of this change, the bonus antlerless license would be the multiple-season antlerless license that could be used in the archery, muzzleloader, and fi****ms seasons.
Hunters would not be able to harvest an antlerless deer on Fish & Wildlife properties with a firearm.
The use of crossbow equipment would be allowed with the archery license.
The minimum caliber for a muzzleloader would be reduced from 0.44 inches to 0.40 inches.
If a deer is unfit for human consumption, DNR staff would be able to issue an authorization to take an antlerless deer in its place that will not count toward the statewide bag limit or county limit.
Adding the deer Reduction Zones and County Antlerless Bag Limits.
Removing the Special Antlerless Fi****ms season.

For more information on the proposed rule changes, visit wildlife.IN.gov/rule-regulation-changes/


Questions about the proposed deer rule changes should be directed to 812-334-3795 or [email protected]

Administrative rule (regulation) changes proposed by the DNR to the Natural Resources Commission.

14/09/2023

Anytime you post a question on regulations - unless they are directing you to the regulation book or IC Code, trust me good chance they’re wrong.

Don’t believe what you read online, get a digital or tangible copy of the regulation book.

16/06/2023

Bonus Antlerless Quotas and explanations from Joe are now released.

EHD Antlerless Bonus Quota Reductions Fish & Wildlife Fish & Wildlife Resources Wildlife Diseases In Indiana Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD) Current: EHD Antlerless Bonus Quota Reductions County bonus antlerless quotas reduced for 2023-24Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD) is a common disease in...

18/02/2023

03/02/2023

Check your junk/spam folder. Due to email settings mass mailings are often times shoved into them.

If you care at all about deer management in Indiana take the time to do the survey!

02/12/2022

Depredation permits are not a secret folks.

14/11/2022

Fi****ms this year vs last year are up, while total Archery type harvests are down 99.

Lot of season left to play out, however those predicting a large decrease in harvest at this point at least it seems to not be occurring.

Time will tell where we fall total wise.

12/10/2022

Archery is impressive. Sighting numerous wildlife in their natural habitats is also impressive. So why not do both and be doubly impressive? 😎

If you are planning to hunt deer with archery equipment in Indiana during October and November, please consider becoming an Archer’s Index volunteer!

The hours that bowhunters spend sitting quietly in the field provide great opportunities to see a variety of wildlife. There are currently 14 species reported through the Archer’s Index, including wild turkeys and pheasants, and mammals such as gray squirrels, cottontail rabbits, coyotes, bobcats, and white-tailed deer.

These data allow researchers to track wildlife trends over time. The information can then be used to manage and conserve wildlife for future generations.

If you are interested in becoming even more impressive (it’s almost impossible, we know), please fill out the form here: https://bit.ly/ArchersIndex

27/09/2022

For the second year in a row, we are recruiting licensed taxidermists in Indiana to participate in our CWD Taxidermist Incentive Program!

The Indiana DNR and the National Deer Association started this program in 2021 to collect samples as part of our surveillance for chronic wasting disease (CWD). The DNR will pay taxidermists $10 for each viable sample they collect. The DNR will also provide sampling supplies and training to all participating taxidermists. Once laboratory testing is complete, hunters will be able to look up the results of their deer’s CWD test online.

Each year, a limited number of taxidermists from select counties will be able to participate. The program will then rotate counties throughout the following years. Visit on.IN.gov/cwd to see the participating counties for 2022 and for details about signing up!

Photo Credit: Jason Yoder

17/09/2022

Amendment to quota figures for an area experiencing EHD at an intense level.

https://www.eregulations.com/indiana/hunting/bonus-antlerless-deer

20/07/2022

If you’re curious about reports of possible or tested EHD cases, the IDNR has a tracking page:

Information about Epizoonotic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD) and Indiana DNR monitoring efforts.

06/06/2022

Joe reached out with an update on Annual Deer Report (delayed) and harvest data (accessible now). Portion of message below:

“The on-line data is now updated and available with information from the 2021-22 Harvest Season, the results of the 2021 After Hunt Survey, and with the results of the 2022 Annual Deer Survey. This is the same data that myself, the district biologists, and our Fish and Wildlife and Law Enforcement administrators use to make recommendations for the next season's regulations. It includes results of the harvest, the population trends, deer vehicle collisions, deer damage permits, what hunters and others desire from the deer population as well as other useful information at the county and statewide levels.

Annual Deer Survey - https://www.in.gov/dnr/fish-and-wildlife/wildlife-resources/animals/white-tailed-deer/deer-management-survey-results/

Deer Management County Data - https://www.in.gov/dnr/fish-and-wildlife/wildlife-resources/animals/white-tailed-deer/county-data/

Harvest Data - https://www.in.gov/dnr/fish-and-wildlife/wildlife-resources/animals/white-tailed-deer/deer-harvest-data/

As for the full deer report, we usually have 2 biologists in the deer program, myself and an Assistant. A big portion of the Assistant's job was organizing the deer report, writing part of it, and working with our Communication office to get it published. But, the Assistant Deer Biologist has recently moved on to another job and currently we are down to one person(me) in the deer program until that position is refilled. I will be working on the report as I get a chance, but all of the other work that the deer program is doing this time of year (data analysis, responding to baby deer and other deer-related calls, EHD calls [later in the summer], rule changes, etc.) also has be completed.

Therefore, the annual deer report will be later this year than normal.”

Many thanks to Joe for a continued open line of communication and updates to us deer hunters.

Deer Management Survey County Data from the Indiana DNR Division of Fish & Wildlife

26/05/2022

Heard from some saying the After Hunt Survey needs to be easier to find, locate or know about.

I am not sure anymore obvious tactic can be taken by the IDNR, short of literally clicking the button for you…

24/05/2022

Indiana Deer Hunters Prove They Don’t Care

Fresh off the presses is the latest podcast where we unpack the fourth year hunters across the state prove they don’t care about deer management in Indiana…

Got your attention good, now give the episode a listen and help change this in the future!

Episode should be populating on all major podcast platforms shortly if not already.

In this episode we discuss why Indiana deer hunters prove for the fourth year running they simply don't care as much as they claim when it comes to deer management and assisting in it for the State of Indiana.

29/03/2022

In the discussion with Joe, overall harvest trends were briefly touched on. Here are two graphs, one illustrating the harvests since 1987 and the other just since 2000.

The trend line as you can see has really flattened out over the last 20 seasons or so. If you did just the past ten it would be even more so.

This isn’t shared to indicate anything other than illustrate the discussion some.

Is this good? Is this bad?

Those thoughts will vary amongst deer hunters across the state.

25/03/2022

Episode #13 - Deer Discussions With Joe Caudell just got uploaded live. Should start showing up on all the main podcast platforms within the hour.

22/03/2022

Report sick or dead wildlife to IDNR.

Report sick or dead wildlife animal to the Indiana DNR Division of Fish & Wildlife

22/03/2022

19/03/2022

Will be chatting with our state deer biologist Joe Caudell this coming week.

What are some things you want to hear discussed?

22/02/2022

So I appear to not have tracked the same data as shared yesterday in older years. Will see if I can get ahold of it when possible.

However, let’s look at two more charts and trends they indicate over the last ten years or so.

The first is the harvest percentage by seasons, and illustrates from 2011 to 2020 (2021 Report not out yet and online data filters by weapon type but not season just yet). The percent contributions of the seasons has been very consistent over the years with no sharp changes or even trending directions; with them flattening out especially over the last four seasons reported.

The next is a chart of the weapon specific harvest percentage totals. While many would guess the answer if I posed the question, “What are two weapon types have been growing in use” I doubt many would be able to guess just how sharply that growth has been.

Rifle has grown since 2016 nearly 13% and actually this last year (2021) eclipsed 50% of the total deer harvested. Something a weapon type hasn’t been able to say in a very long time.

Crossbows are the only other weapon type trending upwards, and they have grown in harvests 6.1% since 2016.

Another observation which many caught last year was shotguns for the second year were less than Bow & Arrow, BUT it would appear we are trending towards a time where muzzleloaders may take a larger percentage of deer than shotguns even.

Can anything major be drawn from these figures or charts in your opinion?

Should the amount of ascending harvest figures for the two “easiest” harvest weapons in their respective seasons (crossbows and rifles) be of any concern, or possibly a good indicator of something?

What do you think these indicate or tell us about Hoosier Deer hunting in general?

22/02/2022

Many have asked for some history or trends of harvests information. So in the coming days/weeks I’ll be sharing some graphs and figures for all with nothing but non-subjective observations or no observations at all.

Below you’ll see four harvest types and their percentage of total harvests for each year.

Many find it hard to believe that in the past five years doe harvests haven’t eclipsed 50% of the total harvest for that season. However, since this time frame corresponds with the ending of a reduction plan model for deer harvesting statewide is this surprising?

Has this always been the case?

Tomorrow I’ll share the same information but over a ten and also fifteen year span.

Later in the week I’ll share weapon specific information and the percentage of harvests for observations.

Often times we can ‘feel’ something is the case but numbers don’t always substantiate our thoughts. It is important for us to constantly be observing non-subjective data and then see if any subjective data agrees or disagrees; which can then lead to crucial questions as to why they might agree or more importantly disagree.

12/01/2022

Newest episode just went live...it should begin showing up on all main podcast platforms shortly...

In this episode I touch on some Indiana Deer News updates and house keeping items. Discuss the topics and potential guests that are ahead of us all in 2022...and much more.

07/01/2022

Coordinating numerous guests and topics for 2022 on the podcast. Have an idea or topic you desire to hear or believe deer hunters need to hear comment below or shoot the page a message.

24/12/2021

Merry Christmas to all of you! Pray it is a blessed one for you all.