2020 Deer Regulations

The NRC meeting was scheduled for this morning at 9 AM.
Anyone have any news about what was approved or not approved?

 

I’m wondering if any commissioners even showed up


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Is the law of averages always the appropriate protection level for low density populations? Are stop signs in sparsely populated areas unnecessarily onerous too?

 

Of course they are! How is a guy supposed to look out in the fields for shooters and strutters if he has to worry about stop signs or stop lights every mile or so?

That's why I've come to appreciate the roundabouts that caused such a stir a few years back -- best way to handle 'em? Just don't ever stop...

 

What??? That is what is happening with the shortened proposed ML season for the lower! That's right, no more ML season on their proposal statewide to agree with the ML rules in the CWD areas.

 

If we are really concerned about safety, a flag could be an option, but the fickle nature of the wind might negate its advantage. Being as how we cannot count on the wind, how about a slowly rotating light not only on blinds but on our caps too? If we were required to have something that alerted deer to our presence the NRC could make the seasons much longer and not be concerned about substantially increasing the harvest. FM

 

Orange surveys tape costs ~$6.00 per roll. That’s enough for one ground blind. It’s much cheaper than raising your ground blind up on 6”x8” timbers.

 

Items were discussed with some rationale given by Stewart. Some other suggestions were made but probably they will not be voted on this year and maybe not this cycle. Vote will be held in June or July. The June meeting is scheduled to be virtual.

All four were there on line. John resigned because he took a job in Colorado until his retirement. Eichinger said that he is working with the Governor to find new candidates to nominate to the Commission.


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It has to be 144 square inches of solid hunter orange on every side (4) of a portable blind.

Stewart said the intent was for portable blinds but whether the final vote will be for all ground blinds or portables was not clear to me. Elevated blinds are not to be included. One commissioner asked about someone pushing up 4-6 feet of dirt under a blind. Was that then an elevated blind and excluded? I did not hear an answer given to that question. It seemed as if there were a lot of holes and unanswered questions with this reg. It also seemed to have the most hunter push back at least for private land.

 

I completely agree...perfectly stated as creating a solution to a problem that does not exist. I may not be the most knowledgeable when it comes to the statistics regarding injuries or deaths attributed to hunting, but I cannot say I have ever heard of a case that a hunter was killed or injured sitting in a ground blind. Seems like falls from tree stands tend to occupy the most space allotted to hunting injuries with an occasional stalker getting shot by a trigger happy hunter with buck fever sitting in a blind...Didn't realize it was the exact opposite.

 

Amen...

 

I don't think we need more regulation about orange on blinds but enforce the laws on wearing orange. When I was a kid and red and black plaid was the color to wear. We watched the news to see how many were shot that day. The bright orange does save lots of lives.

 

I did some quick on-line research. There may be more or better data available, but this is what I found for hunting accidents/incidents in 2 states that do not require orange on blinds. I did not search for hunter accident/incident data from the states that DNR references that have orange on blind requirements. Perhaps someone else here can do that research.

I found Michigan DNR hunting incident reports from 2016-2019 and news reports for 2014 & 2015.
There is 1 incident reported of a hunter in a blind being shot in these 6 years
https://www.mlive.com/news/2016/04/no_michigan_hunting_deaths_in.html
https://www.wndu.com/content/news/M...fatalities-during-2015-seasons-374521191.html
http://www.michigandnr.com/PUBLICATIONS/pdfs/Law/2016HuntingRelatedIncidentSummary.pdf
http://www.michigandnr.com/PUBLICATIONS/pdfs/Law/2017HuntingRelatedIncidentSummary.pdf
https://www.michigan.gov/documents/dnr/2018hntngrltdincidentsmmry_611395_7.pdf
https://www.michigan.gov/documents/dnr/2019_Hunting_Related_Incident_Summary_642641_7.pdf

Minnesota has incident reports from 2002 - 2018. I found 1 incident in 2010 where a hunter in a blind was shot by a hunter outside of the blind. 1 incident in 17 years.
https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/enforcement/incidentreports/index.html

1 reported incident in Michigan between 2014 and 2019. 1 incident in 6 years based on the web pages above
1 reported incident in Minnesota between 2002 and 2018 1 incident in 17 years based on the web pages above

If someone has other data, please share it with the group. Perhaps a larger data set would show a problem. Perhaps there has been a State with a greater number of 'shots fired into hard to see ground blinds during a firearms deer season'. If there is, then let's look at the circumstances of those incidents.

I'm not anti-hunter orange. I agree that hunter orange clothing makes it easier to see hunters in the woods. I am anti-mandate if the regulation does not solve a real, common, frequently occurring, safety problem. Michigan DNR has not demonstrated that there is a common or frequently occurring safety problem that they are trying to address with this very broad proposal.

 

#me2

 

Thank you very much for all the research you did...I really appreciate that and again, I am not an expert at anything, much less hunting blind fatalities, but it does seem a little excessive and not really aimed at solving an existing issue or even one that was ever really there. As you said, I am not anti-orange and have even wore a bit of orange when bow hunting in more populated areas, but if there has not been a trend of injuries to blind sitters from other hunters, why adopt mandates that just adds more to the mix? Sometimes it reminds me of our management team at work...I swear they all sit around thinking of what corny policies they can adopt or procedures they can add to complicate an already simple, efficient process. I believe they have to come up with something to justify their paycheck and position and just use the poke and hope theory to create policies. If I was in a position of authority in the DNR, I would consult with my top people as well as those out in the trenches to find out what are the top 5 most important and relevant issues regarding hunting and the deer herd and work on those exclusively. If blind sitters getting killed or maimed is in the top 5, spend time addressing it...if not, move on to something more worthwhile.