The MDC Deer Program uses surveys such as this one to gauge public opinion regarding deer numbers and management strategies and as indicators of deer population trends in each county. We greatly appreciate the responses we receive which help make our surveys an effective management tool!
The Archery Deer Hunting Survey asks questions about perceived changes in the deer population (number of big bucks and total deer compared to the past 5 years), opinions about deer population size and trends in the county most hunted, and specific days that are hunted and number of deer that were killed each day of the archery season. Data on specific days hunted and number of deer killed are important both for a “trips-per-kill” estimate and to better understand when hunters are spending time afield. “Trips-per-kill” often influences hunter satisfaction and is also an important indicator of deer population trends.
The sampling pool for this survey is any hunter that receives an archery deer hunting permit during a given deer season. Following the 2016 deer season, we sent 35,000 surveys to archery hunters (about 7% of our total deer hunters or 18% of our archery deer hunters).