Unfortunately over the Thanksgiving holiday we didn’t harvest any does. I contacted our biologist and he has recommended extending the doe harvest until the quota is reached. Below are his comments:
Yes, you should extend the doe harvest opportunities into December until you reach the quota. For many reasons, it is always better to harvest does earlier rather than later. And actually between now and the actual rut (which will take place around Christmas and New Year’s) is the best opportunity to succeed at harvesting some does.
So, there’s your answer. Ragsdale will use the recommendations of our biologist and extend the doe harvest until our quota is reached. ( Now if we can only get the state legislature and the commission to do the same, listen to the biologists, that is!)
On a side bar, thank you for responding to my request to provide more information when logging hunting locations into the register book. I noticed everyone had added additional information as to road, hunting the food plot or not, direction from road etc. Good job; however, I did notice one sign-in that said simply “scouting”. Please pass the word, everyone needs to know where it is safe to hunt and out of respect for our other members, everyone wants to know where the woods may have been disturbed by scouting or stand placement activity as well. No one wants to hunt an area after someone has been walking all through it. At least I don’t.
Along similar lines, I would like to suggest, not a rule, but a “best practice” regarding scouting and moving stands. We would like to begin to limit the amount of human activity to help improve the hunting. I would like folks to NOT plan to move or place a stand somewhere and then in turn hunt another area. Please try to plan to hunt the area that you are scouting or moving a stand to the same day. That leaves another area undisturbed for someone to hunt as well as reduces the amount of ATV traffic, walking traffic, scent left in the woods etc.
Again, it’s a “best practice” recommendation, not a rule. Yes, I have had some complaints.
Thanks,
Glen
Ragsdale Hunting Club 