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About Herald and news. (Klamath Falls, Or.) 1942-current | View Entire Issue (June 22, 1958)
PAGE 4 C HERALD AND NEWS, KLAMATH FALLS, OREGON SUNDAY, JUNE 22, 1958 Oregon's Deer Picture Viewed By FG Group Editor's ' Note: The following news article and charts dealing with the 19S7 Oregon deer seasons Is a condensation from material presented in the June, 1958, Bulle tin of the Oregon State Game Com mission. Ttesults of the 1957 hunting sea son are available and offer a lot of food for thought. Let's take a close look at what Oregon big game hunters took home during the past year and consider the fu ture in the light of experience gained during recent years. Deer continue to be Oregon's most popular and productive game animal. The 1957 buck season ex tended from September 28 through October 18, followed by a three day period when those still having tags could take a deer of either sex. Table 1 summarizes the re sults of the general season. - The total kill of 114,515 deer is very close to the 119,741 taken in 1956. When we consider the weather problem on the opening date and the hunter's choice period being tnrec rainer man nine days in length, the comparison is very favorable. Yes, the 1957 season was most successful and represents the fifth consecutive year that the deer kill has exceeded 100,000. Of the 268,665 hunters who pur chased hunting licenses, 221,960 or 83 per cent, hunted deer. Individu al hunter, success averaged 52 per dent which is slightly above the 51 per cent over-all success expe rienced the past six years when similar seasons have been in ef fect. Klamath County produced the most deer for hunters with a total of 11,946 animals. The 1957 season was the fourth consecutive year In which the Klamath County kill has Jed the slate. On the basis of deer taken per square mile of area, Benton Coun ty was the most productive. Ap proximately three deer were har vested per square mile during the 1(157 season. Wheeler, Deschutes, Grant, Baker, and Klamath coun ties all ranked high last fall by producing more than two deer per square mile. The individual had the best chance of succes in Baker and Wallowa counties where 73 per cent of all hunters bagged a deer. While good numbers of deer are present in northeastern Oregon, the distance from centers of DoDula- tion and lighter hunting pressure are me main reasons for such high auccess. Nearly 70 per cent of all deer taken were bucks. A higher ratio o! bucks was harvested in 1957 than the preceding two years. Stormy weather during the season encouraged the early movement of deer which may account for the higher kill of bucks. Mule deer made up 71 per cent of the general season kill c o m- pared to 66 per cent in 1956. Antler less animals comprised 32 Der cent ol the mule deer bag and 23 per cent oi tne Diacktail harvest. Figure One illustrates the kill by date throughout the 24-day sea son. The opening weekend ac counted for 17 per cent of the total compared to 20 per cent the pre vious year. Hunting pressure in creased on the second and third weekends of the buck season but kill during the mid-week periods was low. Approximately 56 p e r i-i'iu oi an aeer were taken during me zi-aay duck season. An addi tional 14 per cent of the total were bucks killed during the three day hunter's choice period. Many hunters apparently delayed their trip until both sexes were leeal f 44 per cent of all deer were taken the last three days of the season. - Table Two compares the results of general deer seasons since 1948 when a separate deer tag first made records available. Prom 1948 through 1951, bucks only. were le gal. The average annual kill was 49,565 and the individual hunter had a 29 per cent chance of being successful. Since 1952, both sexes have been legal in specified areas of the state. The hunter's choice provision has been in effect at the end of the general season and applies only to those with unused tags. During the past "Six years hunters have averaged 110,121 deer annually. Individual hunter success has increased to 51 per cent. Controlled deer seasons continue to be necessary on certain prob lem ranges. Eight such hunts were held in 1957. The 4,300 tag holders bagged 1,894 deer for an average success of 44 per cent Table Three summarizes the 'results. Considering all seasons, includ ing archery, a grand total of 116, 589 deer were bagged during 1957. ihe thing most obvious is the high level of kill being maintained in recent years. Despite a much shorter hunter's choice period in 1957 ana a large closure in central Oregon, the general season kill al most equalled that of the previous year. The average annual kill has more than doubled since both sexes became legal and the indi vidual hunter has nearly twice as great a chance of being successful. Have more liberal regulations affected total deer numbers? We are reminded that the objective of the hunter's choice season was to reduce wintering populations of deer in eastern Oregon and con trol agricultural damage problems west of the Cascades. In recent years most mule deer herds had reached the' saturation point as far as winter range food supplies were concerned. Annual reproduc tion has been balanced by winter aie-ott and other losses. An im portant effect of excessive shrub use on winter ranges has been redaction in the ability of such ranges to support deer. By har vesting some females it was planned to relieve the heavy pres sure on the winter ranges and utilize the deer crop more effi ciently. The effect of recent bunting seasons has been less than ex pected. It is emphasized that mild weather the past several years has encouraged the maximum survival of deer. Winter losses have been light, thus minimizing the effects of hunting on total numbers. Mule decline but remain above the av erage for the past 10 years. Deer living on the most, open ranges have .supported the heaviest kill but these animals represent only a portion ol each herd. Those deer which summer in dense cover and do not reach the open winter ranges by the end of hunting sea son are lightly hunted. Western thrive in dense cover despite hunt ing and crop damage remains c serious problem. As far as the hunter is con cerned, more effort and skill has become necessary since the first year or two of the hunter's choice season. Deer have an amazing ability to take care of themselves and the doe has become a good game animal. Fewer deer have the habit of standing along roads during tne hunting season. Curi osity has been replaced by the sense of self-preservation. This is most desirable from the standpoint of both the deer and the hunter. Deer have indicated an ability Formers! Ranchers! Stockmen! SEE JUCK (or Your Truck.' Jucktlwid Track Salet ond Service Your Inttrnationol Dealer 11 Hi t Klamath Ph. 2-2581 Table 1 County 1957 GENERAL DEER SEASON Number of Hunter Baker Benton Clackamas Clatsop Columbia Coos Crook Curry Deschutes Douglas Gilliam Grant Harney Hood River Jackson Jefferson - 8,893 - 4,014 3,851 3,031 2,516 5,324 6,862 1,555 17,887 9,210 994 .16,962 9,790 1,947 7.052 2,964 Josephine , 2,335 Klamath 19,309 Lake 16,842 Lane L14.606 Lincoln 2,634 Linn 5,860 Malheur 5,964 Marion Morrow Multnomah Polk Sherman Tillamook . Umatilla - Union I Wallowa Wasco Washington Wheeler Yamhill TOTALS & AVERAGES 3.181 3,515 294 3,421 1,008 4,275 7,245 6,344 5,863 4,894 1,670 7,738 2,110 221,960 County Deer Kill Per Cent of Area In Harvested Hunters Square Pr Square Bucks Antlerless Total Successful Miles Mile 4,569 1,947 6,516 73.3 3,084 -. il 1,079 774 1,853 46.2 647 2.9 598 333 931 24.2 1,890 0.5 674 674 ' 22.2 - 820 0.8 349 339 688 27.3 646 1.1 1,736 470 2,206 41.4 1,611 1.4 2,740 153 2,893 42.2 2,980 1.0 703 200 903 58.1 1,622 0.6 5,153 2,880 8,033 44.9 3,041 2.6 3,997 817 4,814 52.3 5,062 1.0 443 226 669 67.3 1,211 0.6 7,684 3,579 11,263 66.4 4,532 2.5 4,681 1,475 6,156 62.9" .10,132 0.6 321 108 429 22.0 529 0.8 . 2,573 281 2,854 40.5 2,817 1.0 1,180 189 1,369 46.2 1,794 0.8 694 135 829 35.5 1,625 0.5 8,037 3,909 il,946 61.9 5,973 2.0 ' 6,690 4,264 10,954 65.0 8,270 1.3 3,497 2,125 5,622 38.5 4,494 1.2 843 398 1,241 47.1 1,006 1.2 1,338 747 2,085 35.6 2,294 0.9 2,938 981 3,919 .. 65.7 9,870 0.4 509 v 316 825 25.9 1,173 0.7 1,322 884 2,206 62.8 2,059 1.1 55 18 73 24.8 424 0.2 965 317 1,282 37.5 739 ' 1.7 363 202 565 56.1 830 0.7 1,039 1,039 24.3 1,115 0.9 2,327 1,138 3,465 47.8 ' 3,231 1.1 2,547 1,199 3,746 59.0 2,032 1.8 3,187 1,074 4,261 72.7 3,178 1.3' 1,409 906 2,315 47.3 2,387' 1.0 246 115 361 . 21.6 716 0.5 3,179 1,642 - 4,821 62.3 -1,707 2.8 446 263 709 33.6 709 1.0 80,111 34,404 114,515 96,350 51.6 1.2 . Table 2 SUMMARY OF GENERAL "DEER SEASONS Kill Year Tags Issued Mule Deer Black-tailed Deer Bucks Antlerless Bucks Antlerless Total Per Cent of Hunters Successful 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 166,618 163,628 173,429 171,252 188,250 204,808 215,047 230,585 233,842 221,960 .23,141 36,865 26,471 '37,850 32,366 39,916 54,357 51,933 47,155 54,829 20,426 24,652 22,384 35,570 . 32,309 26,044 16,644 20,395 17,580 19,312 19,657 27,623 27,702 30,203 26,937 25,282 5,210 13,045 8,043 13,385 13,340 8,360 39,785 57,260 44,051 57,162. 77,659 105,236 112,486 131,091 119,741 114,515 23.9 35.0 25.4 33.4 41.3 51.4 52.3 56.9 51.2 51.6 (Continued en Page S-C) BEEF or Our Low Meot Prices Will Moke It Worth Your Whilo To Investigate NOW1 BIG Y MARKET TU 4-4420 4710 So. rh rTr Bale Twine Bale Quality Products Satisfaction Guaranteed wsm Wire mm ,Ph,
