Chef Report post Posted August 31, 2023 Just now, JSR said: I thought the trail cam ban was going to reduce archery success by a large percentage? It did. Not of animals harvested, but of trophy bucks harvested. Everyone is in the RACE to beat the cut off. 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JSR Report post Posted August 31, 2023 Just now, Chef said: It did. Not of animals harvested, but of trophy bucks harvested. Everyone is in the RACE to beat the cut off. Serious question - You really think it lowered success rates? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chef Report post Posted August 31, 2023 Just now, JSR said: Serious question - You really think it lowered success rates? Of trophy bucks? Yes. Guys aren't holding out for the big buck they caught on cam anymore. They're flinging arrows at the first antlered buck that's in range. Just my humble opinion. 6 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JSR Report post Posted August 31, 2023 7 minutes ago, Chef said: Of trophy bucks? Yes. Guys aren't holding out for the big buck they caught on cam anymore. They're flinging arrows at the first antlered buck that's in range. Just my humble opinion. I agree with that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dsotm Report post Posted August 31, 2023 Should at least switch it to out of state draw only 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CouesFanatic Report post Posted August 31, 2023 Put the whole thing as a draw. A few of the desert units we used to hunt in Dec/Jan never make it to that because it closes in August every year. Those hunts are essentially eliminated. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
trphyhntr Report post Posted September 1, 2023 48 minutes ago, CouesFanatic said: Put the whole thing as a draw. A few of the desert units we used to hunt in Dec/Jan never make it to that because it closes in august every year. The desert units are nearly untouched though? 3/15 unit 33 muley is the only one with much of a percentage killed. With the quick look I just took Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sky Island junkie Report post Posted September 1, 2023 The current experiment that G$F is conducting is working well as far as for the health of the mule deer herd period. As fewer people purchase otc tags, they’ll go to a draw for the revenue in my opinion. We live in an area with a big population of stupid mule deer that many drive out to “hunt” that used to result in a month and a half of exposure to idiots that pull their dusty bows out and fling arrows with little practice wounding many bucks that go off and die. Last season closed roughly a month earlier than it used to with only a harvest objective of 5 muleys. I’m pretty much a Whitetail hunter and consider the mule deer around our place pets. Last season was the first hunting season in a long time where those deer got a break! Not sure what the answer is to give responsible archers more opportunity but with the population growth opportunity is probably a thing of the past Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HuntHarder Report post Posted September 1, 2023 OTC slaughter has been happening for many years. The mandatory reporting just brought it to everyone's attention. If archery interest is up like tags indicate, maybe AZGFD should allocate more of the harvest to Archery and reduce the rifle tags. I am sure there is a simple percentage of Bowhunters vs. rifle hunters. What is actually going to happen is, OTC will be a thing of the past and Deer hunting will be draw only. FWIW, I know of 2 buddies who have shot bucks this season. One was a 112" WT and the other was a 155-160" MD. 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
creed Report post Posted September 1, 2023 1 hour ago, trphyhntr said: The desert units are nearly untouched though? 3/15 unit 33 muley is the only one with much of a percentage killed. The 40 units are still closed and won't open until Dec. While there are pockets of rutting towards the first of the year most areas I hunt don't get fired up until around the 10th of January and are hot for a couple of weeks. With last year being a wet year 42 still lost over a week from previous years. I will bet that it never sees the 10th of January in a dry year. Same for 44A. 39 and 41 might make it until the 3rd week in Jan. I would rather lose the Dec portion of the hunts and keep Jan. open longer but that likely isn't going to happen 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
trphyhntr Report post Posted September 1, 2023 2 minutes ago, creed said: The 40 units are still closed and won't open until Dec. While there are pockets of rutting towards the first of the year most areas I hunt don't get fired up until around the 10th of January and are hot for a couple of weeks. With last year being a wet year 42 still lost over a week from previous years. I will bet that it never sees the 10th of January in a dry year. Same for 44A. 39 and 41 might make it until the 3rd week in Jan. I would rather lose the Dec portion of the hunts and keep Jan. open longer but that likely isn't going to happen Still closed? Were the 40s even open in august before the quota started last year? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
trphyhntr Report post Posted September 1, 2023 So what are we talking about then? i don’t think any desert units were closed from the quota last year except maybe 33 muley but it probably wasn’t closed either Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
creed Report post Posted September 1, 2023 Shorten the season by taking out the December portion of the hunt. It would give more time in January to hunt when the rut is going. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
trphyhntr Report post Posted September 1, 2023 Idk I just read the guy say desert units he hunted were closed in august but I didn’t see any closed. But maybe I missed something Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
