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Archery harvest flat to slightly up for 2013

Lundy

Member
1,307
127
If you look at the weekly comparisons for the deer kill just published which includes the gun the 7 day gun season for both there has been a year to date reduction in the gun kill harvest of a little over 8,000 deer combined between the gun season, youth and early MZ. Next week that number will increase to over 22,000 less deer total killed by gun once the 14,365 kill form the "bonus" season is added in.

The archery harvest at this time last year was very close to 75,500, this year it is 75,900 range.

Shouldn't bowhunters play a role and have a vested interest in harvest reduction that so many believe is needed?
 

Fluteman

Senior Member
Supporting Member
7,094
146
Southeast Ohio
I honestly believe we have more and more hunters picking up a bow every year, hence the reason for the steady numbers. I realize it's just a drop in a bucket, but this year I saw more bowhunters around home and where I hunt than I ever have before. I believe part of the reason is because of the big buck craze and all the NR flocking to the state to hunt Ohio's quality bucks.

This is just my opinion of course...
 

cotty16

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
I honestly believe we have more and more hunters picking up a bow every year, hence the reason for the steady numbers. I realize it's just a drop in a bucket, but this year I saw more bowhunters around home and where I hunt than I ever have before. I believe part of the reason is because of the big buck craze and all the NR flocking to the state to hunt Ohio's quality bucks.

This is just my opinion of course...

And the popularity of it on TV now. I liken it to when Tiger Woods came on the scene in golf. All of a sudden, everybody was watching and more people started picking up clubs. This craze lasted for a few years until people started to realize that golf isn't as easy as it looks on TV and it's expensive. Now, golf courses aren't nearly as packed as they were.

The archery harvest remains about the same and there are a shit ton more bow hunters. Kids, women, more guys are getting into it. It will tail off once these newbies realize it isn't like it is on TV. The interest will drop off.
 

bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
48,879
274
Appalachia
And the popularity of it on TV now. I liken it to when Tiger Woods came on the scene in golf. All of a sudden, everybody was watching and more people started picking up clubs. This craze lasted for a few years until people started to realize that golf isn't as easy as it looks on TV and it's expensive. Now, golf courses aren't nearly as packed as they were.

The archery harvest remains about the same and there are a shit ton more bow hunters. Kids, women, more guys are getting into it. It will tail off once these newbies realize it isn't like it is on TV. The interest will drop off.

Very well said.

I was a bow hunter before being a bow hunter was cool. Now its en vogue. When there are no deer to kill and it is harder than it looks on TV, people will quit. Everybody and their damn brother is a bow hunter any more...
 

epe

Senior Member
6,113
93
Lancaster
Very well said.

I was a bow hunter before being a bow hunter was cool. Now its en vogue. When there are no deer to kill and it is harder than it looks on TV, people will quit. Everybody and their damn brother is a bow hunter any more...

And I was a waterfowl hunter before duck dynasty made it "cool".
 
The archery harvest remains about the same and there are a shit ton more bow hunters. Kids, women, more guys are getting into it. It will tail off once these newbies realize it isn't like it is on TV. The interest will drop off.

I think you nailed it there. Where are the total license sales for this year and how many are bowhunting?!?! Would venture to say quite a few more every year.
 

bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
48,879
274
Appalachia
And I was a waterfowl hunter before duck dynasty made it "cool".

Even though I'm a new waterfowler, I can say the same. Fortunately for duck hunters, it is much harder to casually hunt ducks than it is deer. But I'm sure it has added to the crowding on the shrinking number of hunting spots.
 

finelyshedded

You know what!!!
Supporting Member
31,856
260
SW Ohio
And the popularity of it on TV now. I liken it to when Tiger Woods came on the scene in golf. All of a sudden, everybody was watching and more people started picking up clubs. This craze lasted for a few years until people started to realize that golf isn't as easy as it looks on TV and it's expensive. Now, golf courses aren't nearly as packed as they were.

The archery harvest remains about the same and there are a shit ton more bow hunters. Kids, women, more guys are getting into it. It will tail off once these newbies realize it isn't like it is on TV. The interest will drop off.

Well said Mike!:smiley_clap:
 

epe

Senior Member
6,113
93
Lancaster
Even though I'm a new waterfowler, I can say the same. Fortunately for duck hunters, it is much harder to casually hunt ducks than it is deer. But I'm sure it has added to the crowding on the shrinking number of hunting spots.

Yeah we have been talking ducks well before this phase. It was quite humorous at Dicks though the Friday before the firts split opener....
 

Jackalope

Dignitary Member
Staff member
38,841
260
You're not accounting for gun season being on a different week this year. Antlerless archery harvest is about -9% this year. Gun season is always the Monday after thanksgiving. Last year thanksgiving was Nov 22nd and gun was the 26th-2nd. This year thanksgiving was on the 28th and gun was the 2nd -8th. So when looking at the report from the DNR for weekly numbers. You're comparison is a week off. Nobody bow hunted last week so the archery numbers stayed pretty stagnant. But last year last week was an archery week and those numbers had been added.
 
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Ohiosam

*Supporting Member*
11,708
191
Mahoning Co.
You're not accounting for gun season being on a different week this year. Antlerless archery harvest is about -9% this year. Gun season is always the Monday after thanksgiving. Last year thanksgiving was Nov 22nd and gun was the 26th-2nd. This year thanksgiving was on the 28th and gun was the 2nd -8th. So when looking at the report from the DNR for weekly numbers. You're comparison is a week off. Nobody bow hunted last week so the archery numbers stayed pretty stagnant. But last year last week was an archery week and those numbers had been added.

I posted this in the "comparison" thread before Lundy posted this.
The latest #s have us down only 4.9% for the first 74 days. http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/LinkClick...3d&tabid=24154

If you go back 2 weeks (to get before either year's gun season) we were down 11.6%. http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/LinkClick...3d&tabid=24154

To close the gap by 6 percentage points when gun week was off 16% there had to be a huge bow kill the week of thanksgiving this year.
 

Lundy

Member
1,307
127
No, the numbers are right and include both gun seasons and youth season and the early MZ season and the 3 special area MZ last year. It is a real apples to apples comparison. I have been waiting on this latest report from the DNR to be able to run a number on the archery harvest YTD
 

Jackalope

Dignitary Member
Staff member
38,841
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No, the numbers are right and include both gun seasons and youth season and the early MZ season and the 3 special area MZ last year. It is a real apples to apples comparison. I have been waiting on this latest report from the DNR to be able to run a number on the archery harvest YTD

The numbers are right the comparison is off. Here.

Nov 27th. 43,280 vs. 39,078. -9.7%
Dec 4th. 43,650 vs 43,066 -1.34%

See what happened there? Last year for that week archery went up by only +370. But this year it jumped by almost +4,000. that was last years gun season. If we're comparing week to week the numbers this week were allowed to catch up with last years week.

Dec 11. 44,111 vs 43,561 -1.25%.

Now the situation is flipped. See how this years numbers for last week increased by only 494. Gun season. And last year increased by 461. Week after gun season. Who bowhunts the week after gun?

So while the amount of weeks are the same. And they are both all inclusive. The data set comparison is being taken at different times in the season due to the differences in gun season.

Last year.
+370 +461

This year.
+4,000 +494.

Gun season was a week later this year. That's where the +4,000 comes from this year, as last year that was gun week. This year archery hunters had an extra week before gun to put up another 4k number.
 
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reo

Junior Member
484
68
N.E. Ohio
If you look at the weekly comparisons for the deer kill just published which includes the gun the 7 day gun season for both there has been a year to date reduction in the gun kill harvest of a little over 8,000 deer combined between the gun season, youth and early MZ. Next week that number will increase to over 22,000 less deer total killed by gun once the 14,365 kill form the "bonus" season is added in.

The archery harvest at this time last year was very close to 75,500, this year it is 75,900 range.

Shouldn't bowhunters play a role and have a vested interest in harvest reduction that so many believe is needed?

Yes...