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How Do You Feel About Gov. Walker Suspending Oct. Deer Gun Hunting?

Gov. Scott Walker says that hunters and legislators want Wisconsin to have a traditional gun hunt for deer. How do you feel?

 

Gov. Scott Walker suspended Friday the four-day gun hunt in October in Wisconsin’s south central Chronic Wasting Disease zone.

“Legislators and hunters have made it clear they want Wisconsin to return to a more traditional season, which includes the nine-day November gun deer hunt,” Walker said in a news release.  “Eliminating the four-day October hunt in the CWD zone is one of the most simple and most effective ways we can show hunters that we are listening.”

The first four-day hunt was held in 1996, but Walker’s legislation eliminated the hunt outside of CWD management zones in 2011, as well as the Earn-a-Buck regulation. 

Rob Bohmann, chairman of the Wisconsin Conservation Congress, told the Associated Press, that Walker’s decision was a good move for hunters.

"It's basically been a non-effective event,” Bohman told the Associated Press. “Those deer will still be there in gun season as they were in October."

Walker’s decision was made after a report by Dr. James C. Kroll that reviewed Wisconsin’s deer management practices.

“We feel an early doe harvest has negative impacts on deer behavior, resulting in a subsequent reduced buck harvest during the gun season,” said Kroll in the news release.

How do you feel about the hunting changes? Is it a good thing or a bad thing for hunters? Take our poll and tell us in the comments.

  • How do you feel about Gov. Scott Walker suspending the October gun hunt?

    (Voting has been closed for this question)
    • It's a good move for hunters.
        38 (74%)
    • I'm disappointed. I liked hunting in October.
        4 (7%)
    • Gun hunting should be outlawed.
        9 (17%)
    Total votes: 51
  • Your vote will only count once. This is not a scientific poll. View Results Vote!
Related Topics: October Gun Hunt, Scott Walker, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Wisconsin hunting, and deer hunting
How do you feel about Walker's decision to end October gun hunting? Tell us in the comments.

Steve ®

2:32 pm on Friday, August 24, 2012

WTF kind of question is this? ► Gun hunting should be outlawed. ◄

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Sarah Millard

2:44 pm on Friday, August 24, 2012

Steve - not everyone is going to agree with hunting and I wanted to include an option for them.

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Steve ®

2:47 pm on Friday, August 24, 2012

I don't agree with smoking but do not think it should be outlawed. Outlawing hunting wasn't even part of the article or the discussion in Madison about this issue. Not like you need an accurate poll on Patch but now this one is just pointless with a screwball option like that.

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GBlair

2:49 pm on Friday, August 24, 2012

@sarah - "not everyone is going to agree with hunting and I wanted to include an option for them." and "Gun hunting should be OUTLAWED" is that option? How about "I don't agree with hunting". The people who don't agree with hunting will not have an opinion on this hunt because they have never hunted. They wouldn't understand the logistics of this time period or what an early hunt does to the overall picture of hunting.

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Terry

5:17 pm on Friday, August 24, 2012

Sorry Sarah... can't agree on that one. There is an option for those that don't like hunting, and that is not to participate in the poll. No part of the article involved the question of the legitimacy of hunting. None of the above may also suffice.

If you were doing a packers bears poll, you wouldn't include a football should be banned option. If you were doing a Romney Obama poll, you wouldn't include should elections be banned.

This seems more a case of writer bias working its way into the article.

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Tansandy

5:45 am on Saturday, August 25, 2012

Steve- She has to get her anti gun agenda out there somehow.

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wiplayer

1:40 pm on Saturday, August 25, 2012

some will agree with you and some won't either way it's always been a part of life since the invention of firearms. I like the idea to suspend the early season because I think more deer will be taken as a result and it's the best way to reduce a deer population that is just too large. BTW I also think the "outlawed" question should have been stated as " I dont agree or like hunting". The way it's phrased opens up a debate that really isn't related to the article. Just my opinions. :)

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3393

3:37 pm on Saturday, August 25, 2012

Another option? Interesting how that option was completely irrelevant to the article. Was it rather an opinion of the writer? Why else put that in there?

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Sheepshead

9:47 am on Sunday, August 26, 2012

I agree. Its not even a valid option. Why would they put that choice on there?

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Mike Knight

12:39 pm on Sunday, August 26, 2012

Just because we have a modern society with chemically processed foods at stores doesn't mean we should outlaw the freedom to acquire fresh meat from the wilds as our ancestors have done since the dawn of humankind. Animals are going to die one way or another so as long as people eat meat. In addition way too many things are unconstitutionally outlawed in what is supposed to be the freest nation on Earth. Those who believe in banning things should probably go live in the hundreds of other nations that were not founded as Constitutional Republics with principles of maximum freedom. All that said I've never hunted a day in my life, and have no interest to do so. However I know the incremental way the government has eaten away at our rights for centuries. You take away one persons right to do something and eventually the government will get to your rights. Everyone must respect each others freedoms so we can all keep our preferred way of life intact.

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SANDRA SHAW

9:20 am on Monday, December 3, 2012

I am in full agreeance that gun hunting should be outlawed.

Steve Ebbie

2:35 pm on Friday, August 24, 2012

What amazes me is that so many ran in 2010 on jobs, jobs, jobs.

What we get is Voter ID, Act 10, abortion restrictions, abstinence only education, voucher school expansion, law that prohibits workers from collecting damages in employment discrimination cases, repealed the equal pay enforcement act, concealed carry and now this.

Quite the laser focus on jobs.

The only deer hunting I do in October is bow and arrow.

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Steve ®

2:50 pm on Friday, August 24, 2012

You conveniently left out all the pro business action and focus on jobs and named things that were also on the list.

Why this is included in an article about hunting? There are other things to get done that do not allocate a lot of time. Hunting for one creates jobs and is a huge part of the Wisconsin economy.

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sparky

10:45 pm on Friday, August 24, 2012

I don't think abstinence only is part of the bill, I believe that abstinense must be taught along with other methods. Correct me if I am wrong.

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Dave Wolford

3:09 pm on Saturday, August 25, 2012

To Steve Ebbie, It is clear that you are a narrow minded liberal with tunnel vision, & have a lack of understanding of all things you mentioned. 1. Voter I.D., You need some form of a picture I.D./ a legal D.L. from another state with your picture, a S.S. card, not just a #, and a utility bill/ something similar to prove your address to even get a Drivers license.The same/ a legal D.L. to apply, and receive any form of credit, purchase alcohol, cigarettes get a library card, Purchase a weapon for a felony check, to rent a post office box, to receive a job, to cash a check, to get a mortgage, in most cases to receive medical care, and even test drive an automobile. Illegitimate Voter fraud steals elections, plain and simple.

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Dave Wolford

3:12 pm on Saturday, August 25, 2012

To Steve Ebbie 2. Act 10 fixes have been reluctantly reported by Liberal news papers in Milwaukee Madison, and other major news media outlets throughout the state to be working, and even acknowledged to have saved many communities, school districts $10's of millions, and even the state from fiscal ruin. These same media groups have acknowledged that more teacher, and government jobs were saved than were lost, or many more would have been lost through forced budget cuts. Unlike the Fed. states cannot print their own money.

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Dave Wolford

3:14 pm on Saturday, August 25, 2012

To Steve Ebbie Act 10 also put a stop to teacher union members (public tax payer employees) being forced to participate in a single only 1 option health care system, opening the door for competitive health care provider Ins. Co's. at almost 1/2 the cost the Union owned Ins. Co. was charging. This has now proven to save communities throughout the state close to a $ hundred million $ in the 1st year alone. The Union Ins. Co. has since been forced to cut their rates close to in 1/2 with keeping the same coverage. It is now estimated that the state taxpayers as a whole over past decade has overpaid this union close to a $ billion $. My personal opinion as a 26 year tax payer in this state, is that our state attorney general should start a Class action law suit against this union to recoup this money. Seeing the writing on the wall with what Gov. Walker was proposing in fixing the states perennial budget deficits approaching 3 $ billion $ If elected.

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Dave Wolford

3:16 pm on Saturday, August 25, 2012

To Steve Ebbie The teachers unions pushed 3 school districts in the state, Kenosha, Elkhorn, and MPS Milwaukee Public school's to rush through binding contracts that left these three Districts once Act 10 passed with only a few alternatives. Either cut programs, employees, or raise property taxes, which the latter was prohibited by Act 10. Therefore these 3 Districts were the only 3 in the state which were bound until the end of these contracts to choose the 1st two alternatives. And when they approached the union members to renegotiate these contracts, they refused resulting in many layoffs, firings,and program cuts. Act 10 also put restrictions on unions rights to negotiate ridiculous rules that allowed them to double dip on their pay through retiring at 55, with full pay, benefits, and quite often being allowed to return to the same job making the same salary as before they retired. WI prison guards could call in sick with pay on their scheduled shift, then show up on the next shift and were required to be payed at overtime 1,1/2 for that shift.These are provable facts.

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Dave Wolford

3:18 pm on Saturday, August 25, 2012

To Steve Ebbie 3.There has been a Fed. law prohibiting the use of Tax payer dollars from being used to pay for Abortions for quite some time now, but that law has been continually circumvented through organizations such as planned parenthood who applies and gets billions in federal $ for so called other forms of women's health care. But yet this allows them PL. PHD., to divert millions in private donations to perform abortions on demand. Sorry Pal, but I, and am sure the majority of the population don't agree with the use of our hard earned tax dollars being used to commit murder of the innocence in the name of pro choice. That fetus has no choice period!

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Dave Wolford

3:24 pm on Saturday, August 25, 2012

To Steve Ebbie 4. There are still equal pay enforcement laws prohibiting sexual, and racial discrimination that have been in effect for years on the Fed. level. All this repeal did was limit multiple nuisance lawsuits, and absorbent amounts of penalty's that juries can burden small businesses with. 5. Conceal carry, come on man It has been proven time & time again through state by state crime stats that every state that has passed concealed carry has seen a drop in violent crime. Who were most of these crimes committed by & against? Common repeat offenders, usually against weak unsuspecting women, and elderly. All states with the exception of IL. currently allow some form of C.C. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concealed_carry_in_the_United_States>;

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Steve Ebbie

7:34 pm on Saturday, August 25, 2012

Steve,

I am an avid hunter/fisherman, small business owner and lifelong resident of the state.

DW,

Wow you really have lots of time on your hands.

To Steve Ebbie, It is clear that you are a narrow minded liberal with tunnel vision, & have a lack of understanding of all things you mentioned.

You must have read the book "how to make friends and influence people"

It just seems to me that when we are bleeding jobs in the state the last thing we should worry about is whether or not someone gun hunts in October.

I also don't think that any of the laws passed that I mentioned created one job, unless of course you count the lawyers.

Sparky,
They have limited sex education to abstinence only.

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/state_edwatch/2012/04/walker_signs_abstinence-only_sex_ed_bill.html

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Steve ®

1:36 pm on Sunday, August 26, 2012

►Steve,

I am an avid hunter/fisherman, small business owner and lifelong resident of the state◄

So why ignore reality then? Oh right, to be liberal is to ignore all reality

Vic

10:37 pm on Friday, August 24, 2012

the 3rd option is just ignorant, at least now we know how the author feels about hunting.

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$$andSense

10:52 pm on Friday, August 24, 2012

@ Steve R

Read the article. It is about the October southern CWD district hunt being suspended. Not eliminated. Apparently Walkers WDNR appointed secretary is not doing her job that Scotty needs to hire outsiders and second guess his own people. Then why not fire all your department heads and just become a dictator? That would save a lot of money.

Ignore the questionnaire. That is just journalistic license trying to drum up controversy. No offense Sarah, but you are guilty of slipping in this nonsense about outlawing gun hunting with little relevance on the topic of your article. Nice try.

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Terry

6:32 am on Saturday, August 25, 2012

Wow... the bias was so obvious that even both sides of the isle saw it. Impressive.

jbw

11:49 pm on Friday, August 24, 2012

Are there any actual deer hunters with an opinion relevant to the article willing to weigh in on this? I was kind of curious to know what it actually means to somone affected.

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wiplayer

1:43 pm on Saturday, August 25, 2012

the early hunt makes deer more "skidish" so when the later hunt happens, it becomes more difficult to hunt those areas. If the plan is to reduce the overall population, it is easier to do during a single hunting season.

Nuitari

5:06 am on Saturday, August 25, 2012

I think hunting should be year round everywhere. Damn deer are the rats of the forests.

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Muskego Mike

6:12 am on Saturday, August 25, 2012

I agree. Blast all of them that you want. They will make more.

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Randy1949

11:47 am on Saturday, August 25, 2012

Uh, no. I like my deer, and I don't want idiots shooting my horses or bullets flying through my windows. Not all year round, and certainly not everywhere.

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dsaff

3:29 pm on Sunday, August 26, 2012

NUT-TARI, How`s `bout 24/7?

Nick Teee

6:07 am on Saturday, August 25, 2012

People seemed a little too worked up over this. Although I do believe that the third option is completely out of nowhere. I agree with the guy who said that there shouldn't be a poll that says 'who is going to win the packers, bears game?' And have an option be 'football is too dangerous'

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lolo peeg

7:54 am on Saturday, August 25, 2012

This poll is rigged. You leave an option for people that are opposed to hunting and want it banned, how about options for people who don't care much one way or the other, people who do not want it banned, and other choices, like expanding the bow hunting season? For those who want hunting banned, consider the consequences of no deer hunting at all -- an explosion of the deer population with concomitant increase in animal-vehicle crashes, garden invasions, and spread of CWD.

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Dan B

7:58 am on Saturday, August 25, 2012

I completely agree with this. All the hunt did is send the deer into a nocturnal pattern and reduced the harvest for the rest of the early bow and the regular gun season which did the opposite of what it was intended to do. Can you idiots leave politics out of something that is obviously non political and is meant to improve the hunt weather you are a miserable liberal or a pillar of the community conservative. (Sorry could help myself)

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hsmsparent

8:15 am on Saturday, August 25, 2012

All spoons and forks should be outlawed, they made me fat!!

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Bob McBride

9:14 am on Saturday, August 25, 2012

Try the "Deer Camp Diet". Eat only during the gun season and watch the weight melt away. New, improved and even more effective this year.

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wiplayer

1:44 pm on Saturday, August 25, 2012

Yeah but then you'd just go to Subway or Buffalo Wild Wings. LOL

Jim L

10:11 am on Saturday, August 25, 2012

Hey people, lets look at what the average deer kill was for the october hunts and see what percentage it makes up of total deer harvest for those units , Seeing 1996 and earlier numbers would be very interesting also. If anyone could find those numbers it would be welcome, then an acurate decision can be made on the impact. Keep in mind coyote numbers then and now. Coyotes love fawns.

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Dave Koven

11:22 am on Saturday, August 25, 2012

The heck with coyotes...how about using the deer meat to feed the poor? Geese have become a nuisance, but they too could help to feed the poor. Hunters and indigent could benefit from a win-win situation. Work with the DNR to make sure that not too many geese or deer are taken.

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Jim Price

4:17 pm on Saturday, August 25, 2012

Dave, a great deal of venison is donated to food pantries by generous hunters and sometimes by municipalities culling deer where public hunting is banned.

As for the geese, I would agree, they need to be culled, too, and could provide a source of food for the poor. It is my understanding – someone correct me if I'm wrong – that while deer are protected only by state regulations governing the time, place and method they may be taken as game animals, Canada geese – while they are state-regulated waterfowl game birds – are also protected by the federal Migratory Bird Act. Because they have become local nuisances, state and local agencies have been allowed to harass the adult birds (as with dogs) but not to destroy them, but in some cases to destroy their eggs and nests. But the Act prevents the adults being culled by hunting or trapping, at least around here, as far as I know. Anyone with better information, I would appreciate knowing more.

Tom Oscar

11:36 am on Saturday, August 25, 2012

How about one of the poll questions reading......Should Walker believe his DNR biologists or Mr. Kroll?

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Terri#1

1:09 pm on Saturday, August 25, 2012

Thank you Sarah for including that option. It is appreciated by civilized folk who believe a perosn does not have to hunt in this day and age. Go to the supermarket.
Hunting is not a "sport". It is blood thirsty and nasty.

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M Ulander

2:50 pm on Saturday, August 25, 2012

Please explain, why the supermarket? In my opinion, if you are against deer hunting you should be a vegetarian.

Richard Head

2:49 pm on Saturday, August 25, 2012

We are more responsible with managing our deer herd than the human breeding problem we have around here. It's time to tackle the poverty problem by licensing parents and only allowing those who have the proper resource base and demonstrated responsibility to breed, feed and raise children.

Outlaw gun hunting? NO!

Outlaw irresponsible human breeding? YES!

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Howard Hinterthuer

9:19 am on Sunday, August 26, 2012

Managing the size and health of the deer population should be a cooperative effort of the DNR, Hunters, and Scientists, with the goal being the maintenance of a healthy herd at a sustainable level. Political posturing should be removed from the equation.

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Steve ®

1:45 pm on Sunday, August 26, 2012

Is Sarah still employed by the huffington post? How can anyone take something she writes seriously after forming this poll?

Sarah, if you are still employed here, I suggest you include a footer on anything you write in the future. A disclaimer informing your readers that you are severely bias and unable to inform about subject that you do not 100% agree with.

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Steve ®

1:48 pm on Sunday, August 26, 2012

►Politics
I generally lean more conservative but like to examine both sides of the issues and learn what the driving forces are behind any given decision.◄
http://menomoneefalls.patch.com/users/sarah-millard

lol

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big ben

6:17 pm on Sunday, August 26, 2012

@ steve Outlaw gun hunting? Whats wrong with gun hunting? You ever see the red truck with the USA flag and the Don't tread on me flag? Thats the base on which us hunters and firearm owners stand on. DON'T LIKE IT?, LEAVE IT. All you democrats are fucking up our country. Obama is fucking it up too. Heck minus well fly the confederate flag the way this country is being ran.

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big ben

6:20 pm on Sunday, August 26, 2012

Hunting is a tradition here . We hunt and get to eat it for close to nothing depending on equipment purchases

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$$andSense

11:38 pm on Monday, August 27, 2012

Ben

As much as I and others enjoy hunting, the f-word does not help the case of those on the internet who might otherwise agree while refraining from use of the word.

Brian Dey

6:44 pm on Sunday, August 26, 2012

As an avid outdoorsman, who has hunted and fished exclusively in Wisconsin for most of his life, this is an excellent decision. Sticking to the topic and not some political agenda, all these extra hunts have damaged the deer population During the past 20 years, when we've seen steady decline in deer kill totals, we have had several extra hunts added, extended hunts in CWD zones, T-Zones, extra doe permits granted and total disregard to the effects to the deer herd as it relates to future hunting. So much, that the acronym for DNR to hunters has become "Do Nothing Right."

That has changed the past couple of years and it is reflecting in better hunting in some areas of the state. The wolf hunt is one example. The elimination of T-Zones is another. This effort presented here is another atempt to curtail the over-hunting that has been allowed the past 6 yrs.

Why is hunting a big deal? Nearly 700,000 hunters will flood the woods this year. The average hunter in Wisconsin will spend $1,500 on traveling, lodging and gear throughout the various hunts. That equates $1.05 Billion into the states economy annually. If the hunts would have continued down that path, many hunters would go elsewhere. I dedicate a lot of time and money each year into hunting and have had several years of not even seeing a deer. That is changing and it is ideas like this that are making it happen.

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big ben

11:37 pm on Sunday, August 26, 2012

We got more deer in Brookfield than anywhere else. To bad we can't hunt out our back yard with Bow. But that would be to easy. Well its Illegal, but its gonna get hit by a idiot who dont know how to drive

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Jim Price

1:47 am on Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Or hit by somebody who don't know no grammar. What the heck are you trying to say, big ben?

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