| ||||||||||
 
Dr. Ronald P. Rogers CHIROPRACTOR Support for your body's natural healing capabilities 270-384-5554 Click here for details 
  
Columbia Gas Dept. GAS LEAK or GAS SMELL Contact Numbers 24 hrs/ 365 days 270-384-2006 or 9-1-1 Call before you dig 
Visit ColumbiaMagazine's Directory of Churches Addresses, times, phone numbers and more for churches in Adair County Find Great Stuff in ColumbiaMagazine's Classified Ads Antiques, Help Wanted, Autos, Real Estate, Legal Notices, More... 
|
KY Afield Outdoors: 2018 Deer Season Update Youth hunters post good results with early muzzleloader season on deck. Many changes to hunting regulations will affect nearly all hunters. By Kevin Kelly Frankfort, KY - Many deer hunters rejoiced this past weekend over a break in a weather pattern that had been alternating between stifling heat and soaking rains. A cool down coincided with the two-day gun season for youth deer hunters. It also excited archery and crossbow hunters getting into the woods, blinds and tree stands. "It wasn't really fit to do much but go hunting," said Gabe Jenkins, deer and elk program coordinator with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. "We saw good participation over the weekend." On deck for deer hunters in Kentucky are the October muzzleloader (Oct. 20-21), modern gun (Nov. 10-25) and late muzzleloader seasons (Dec. 8-16) before the free youth weekend on Dec. 29-30, 2018. Difficult hunting conditions defined the first six weeks since archery deer season arrived at the start of September, which also ushered in numerous changes to deer hunting regulations. The changes are detailed in the updated version of the Kentucky Hunting and Trapping Guide, on the department's website at fw.ky.gov and in videos posted on the department's Facebook page and YouTube channel. "What I've been telling people is, if you're a deer hunter in this state, read the hunting guide because something that affects you has changed," Jenkins said. Major differences from last season:
The changes encourage greater harvest of does and increased deer harvest in areas where a reduction in herd numbers is sought. At the same time, they are designed to foster a bounce back in areas of east Kentucky hit hardest by last year's epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD) outbreak. "The new regulations are intended to help meet those objectives," Jenkins said. Jenkins said this week there has been one confirmed case of EHD with test results pending on five others, most from north of Interstate 64 and east of Interstate 75. "I wouldn't be surprised if we see an uptick in harvest with people wanting to try to fill their four-deer limit," Jenkins said. "But we also know that three-quarters of our total harvest comes during the modern gun season. That's the key. If we get a bad weather weekend or two in there, that's going to have an effect." Hunters harvested 136,026 deer during the 2017-18 season, the fifth highest total on record, and the state's deer herd remains robust overall. "Things are good," Jenkins said. "We had a very wet winter and there's plenty of forage for both adults and fawns, so we expect to see high survival. Traditionally, you have a stress period in July and August. That did not exist this year. They've had plenty of groceries on the landscape, so they should be in prime condition health-wise." While September's harvest was down year-over-year, understandable considering the unkind heat and rain, it remained higher than the 10-year average. Hunters reported taking 4,654 deer during this month's youth-only gun season weekend, second only to the 2015 season. That year, the statewide mast survey noted poor white oak acorn production with red oaks rated average. Early returns from mast surveys conducted this year point toward uneven acorn production. Deer will frequent areas around white oaks littering the ground with acorns first before turning attention to red oaks. "They're going be more active in weather like this than they are in 90-degree temperatures," Jenkins said. "They're going to do what they're going to do breeding wise when the season is right. However, if conditions are more conducive to eat and be up and moving, they're going to. "Right now the key is acorns. Deer are just going to sit there and munch on acorns all day long." A chill in the air gets hunters thinking about deer in Kentucky. The best part is its arrival this year comes with plenty of season still left. Author Kevin Kelly is a staff writer for Kentucky Afield magazine, the official publication of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. Get the latest from Kevin and the entire Kentucky Afield staff by following them on Twitter: @kyafield. This story was posted on 2018-10-18 16:07:56
Printable: this page is now automatically formatted for printing.
Have comments or corrections for this story? Use our contact form and let us know.
More articles from topic Ky Afield Outdoors:
Ky Afield Video: October 13, 2018 - Full Show KY Afield Video: Oct 10 Fishing Report KFW Commission recommends new catfish regulations New hunting access areas open in six East KY counties Kentucky Afield Outdoors: Sept is Quota Hunt Application Month KY Afield Video: Wood Duck Banding, Lock-on Stand Safety, more KY Afield Video: New Deer Hunting Regulations for 2018-2019 Dates set for Waterfowl Blind Drawings Fall Hunting and Trapping Guide set for publication Aug 2018 KY Afield Video: Carp Madness 2 View even more articles in topic Ky Afield Outdoors |
 
115 Jamestown St. Columbia, KY. 270-384-2496 
  
   
 Provided by the Adair Co Fiscal Court and the Adair Co. Emergency Mgt. Agency 
|
||||||||
|
| ||||||||||
|
Quick Links to Popular Features
Looking for a story or picture? Try our Photo Archive or our Stories Archive for all the information that's appeared on ColumbiaMagazine.com. | ||||||||||
|
Contact us: Columbia Magazine and columbiamagazine.com are published by Linda Waggener and Pen Waggener, PO Box 906, Columbia, KY 42728. Please use our contact page, or send questions about technical issues with this site to webmaster@columbiamagazine.com. All logos and trademarks used on this site are property of their respective owners. All comments remain the property and responsibility of their posters, all articles and photos remain the property of their creators, and all the rest is copyright 1995-Present by Columbia Magazine. Privacy policy: use of this site requires no sharing of information. Voluntarily shared information may be published and made available to the public on this site and/or stored electronically. Anonymous submissions will be subject to additional verification. Cookies are not required to use our site. However, if you have cookies enabled in your web browser, some of our advertisers may use cookies for interest-based advertising across multiple domains. For more information about third-party advertising, visit the NAI web privacy site.
| ||||||||||
