With Coyotes, Bobcats and some Black Bear in their midst, Indiana Deer are thriving with it likely their being 600-750,000 Whitetails roaming the state..................First question is why aren't Coyotes dampening the deer herd by their killing off fawns as the highly reliable(NOT) southeastern states claim is happening??????................There are an estimated 25 deer per square mile, 2.5 times as many as the land is able to carry and still carry on optimum regeneration of the plants and forbs of Hoosier woodlands.............................Record levels of deer over the last 4 years have been killed by hunters(about 130-136,000 annually) which likely is somewhere about 15 to 25% of the herd......Is there anyone who subscribes to good science not on board saying that Wolves and Pumas are desperately needed to bring back balance and diversity to these midwest forests?

Deer hunters shouldn't expect another record harvest of deer in Indiana 

wane.com

INDIANAPOLIS (IDNR)  Hunters in Indiana can expect another productive deer season in 2013, but probably not as productive as last year's record setter.

Hoosier deer hunters in 2012 harvested 136,248 deer. The deer harvest record has been broken in four of the last five seasons, a trend that DNR deer research biologist Chad Stewart doesn't expect to continue in 2013.

"It wouldn't surprise me if it was down a little this year," Stewart said. "But I don't expect the harvest numbers to fall off a cliff. There will still be plenty of deer out there."

The 2013 overall deer hunting season began Sunday with the opening of the urban deer zone season. Archery season starts Oct. 1. Firearms season starts Nov. 16. For more information on seasons and regulations, visit Hunting.IN.gov. 

The main reason Stewart thinks a dip in the harvest might happen is because hunters in 2012 harvested a record number of does. As a result, reproduction was likely down this year compared to previous years.

Stewart emphasized that reducing the deer population to a more balanced level has been the DNR's goal in recent years. Changes to hunting regulations that went into effect in 2012 were geared toward that goal. The changes included extending archery season, allowing crossbows for all archery hunters and creating a "license bundle" that saved hunters money.

"A reduced deer harvest would mean we are making progress," Stewart said.

The 2013 license bundles give the additional option of harvesting either two antlerless deer and a buck or three antlerless deer.

Last year's record deer harvest happened even as epizootic hemorrhagic disease was reported in 67 of 92 Indiana counties. The outbreak killed many deer before hunting season began, especially in northern Indiana. This year 15 counties have reported EHD.

Indiana Bucks vs. The Rest of the Midwest

It is well known that states like Illinois, Iowa, Ohio and Kansas sit atop the Midwest as far as trophy whitetail hunting is concerned. Indiana, though, has always seemed to be just a step below all of those states. That's not to say that Indiana doesn't have great bucks. There are some true monsters killed in Indiana every year. The numbers and average sizes just don't seem to match up with most other Midwestern states.

So what's the problem?

The first problem, as I see it, is the population. The deer population numbers in most of Indiana's counties have at least 25 deer per square mile