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Notice to 2010 Hunters:
PRIVATE LAND ACCESS: New & Returning Hunters are asked to only seek access to lands they will honestly be willing and able to hunt. Locking up numerous and/or large tracts of land and not harvesting deer seriously endagers the Hunt's reputation and it greatly frustrates landowners. If you are lucky enough to obtain private land access, we expect you will harvest antlerless deer there to the best of your ability. If you have a lot of "access" please consider allowing other hunters on the land if possible so we can harvest deer. New Hunters, please understand, most returning hunters have already approached private landowners and requested permission to hunt. Thus it is unlikely you will be granted access unless you personally know the landowner(s). Please refrain from going door-to-door soliciting hunting spots.
Hot Spot Hunts: We are going to gradually expand these intensive management hunts in 2010. These are highly controlled hunts focused on harvesting the maximum number of antlerless deer possible in the shortest period of time while maintaining minimum impact on a the area / neighborhood being hunted. Get in, harvest deer and get out, that's it. Hunters will be assigned by-name and for limited periods of time. These are usually very small tracts of property with high deer concentrations. If you are a very experienced and competent bowhunter and you want to fill some antlerless tags quickly and you are ok with shooting a deer in a very urban setting / under close scurinty, these hunts might be an option for you.
The ABA has also modified the hunt qualification criteria to the following for 2010 Hot Spot participation: Be a returning hunter and pass the standard certification shooting test. However, the ABA Board reserves the right to request and witness a follow-up no-notice shooting test if they have any doubts about a hunters abilities. Any hunter refusing such a test will forfeit participation in hot spot hunts. The ABA Board also reserves the right to deny any hunter entry into the hot spot hunts if the Board has any reason to believe that a hunters participation would present unacceptable risk to the hot spot program. This is not a program designed for hunters to take their first deer; it's for highly experienced bowhunters who are extremely sure of their ability to make a clean killing shot every time. The only purpose for these hunts is to remove nuisance deer for landowners in a quick, safe and efficient manner.
Beginning in August 2010, the ABA will post a list of Hot Spot Coordinators. These individuals will be solely responsible for placing hunters, rotating hunters into and out of Hot Spots, removing hunters, and managing each Hot Spot. These Coordinators WILL NOT hunt you down and beg for your participation. It will be the hunter's responsibility to make contact with the Coordinator, and keep in touch as the hunt progresses. Only by continually harassing the Coordinator will you increase your odds of eventually placed into a Hot Spot. But even then, your placement is not guaranteed. The Hot Spot hunts are extremely limited in spaces. Sorry, but that's the nature of this program. Less than 20 or 30 of the 300+ hunters will EVER get placed into a Hot Spot in 2010. So, keep realistic expectations, and just plan on hunting your assigned DHA and / or private lands, and if you get the chance to take a doe or three from a Hot Spot, count it a blessing for this opportunity. But don't count on it. Because most of us will not be participating in 2010.
Harvest Expectations: If you are fortunate enough to get into this hunt, we expect you will willingly and regulalry harvest antlerless deer. If you are a returning hunter that consistently fails to harvest any deer after two or more seasons, we may eventually seek to remove you from the hunt and let other hunters in who will be more successful. All we ask is that you make a very honest effort to harvest some deer.
Any questions, contact the ABA at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
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