unit 1 closes today

[Big Tub]

 

With all the deer pics, I decided to check on the harvest so far.  Congrats, unit 1 is already done today.  54 is quite a bit over the objective of 45 and that does not include very recent reports.  Oh well.  I guess that is the only unit closed already.  Are the deer just stupider in unit 1 or are the estimates just really too low?  I am a bit surprised that 27 is not closing also.

[HyNoon]

Wow .. thanks for posting it

[CouesFanatic]

It actually closes tomorrow at sundown. This quota thing is a joke. Every spike in the state is in deep trouble.

[JSR]

1 hour ago, CouesFanatic said:

It actually closes tomorrow at sundown. This quota thing is a joke. Every spike in the state is in deep trouble.

The quota plus no trail cams is a recipe for killing every 1.5 year old deer in the state. 

[jdown]

1 hour ago, JSR said:

The quota plus no trail cams is a recipe for killing every 1.5 year old deer in the state. 

Interesting takes... I was of the uneducated opinion that the 1.5 year olds were getting killed at the same or almost same rate anyway plus a total higher % of deer before trail cam ban and harvest objective making both beneficial to overall deer and quality of deer in the state in just a few years.  

You are saying the rush to get it done in 'your unit' is adding to the kill the first thing I see because I don't have any patterned and I need to get it done before it closes vs those tags going unfilled?

[CouesFanatic]

41 minutes ago, jdown said:

Interesting takes... I was of the uneducated opinion that the 1.5 year olds were getting killed at the same almost same rate anyway plus a total higher % of deer before trail cam ban and harvest objective making both beneficial to overall deer and quality of deer in the state in just a few years.  

You are saying the rush to get it done in 'your unit' is adding to the kill the first thing I see because I don't have any patterned and I need to get it done before it closes vs those tags going unfilled?

Seems that way. I'd like to see some data on it, but I don't think the game and fish has any idea. Everywhere I hunt I've seen lots more pressure and lots of young bucks killed. Every young naive buck near a road is in trouble. Every unit that closes puts more pressure on surrounding units. I'm all for a draw for archery, it's not the same experience it was, it's declining drastically. Sad to say but my kids will never experince what it once was or could be with proper management. I'd prefer a draw and a better quality hunt. 

[Big Tub]

6 hours ago, CouesFanatic said:

It actually closes tomorrow at sundown. This quota thing is a joke. Every spike in the state is in deep trouble.

I sure thought today was Wednesday!  Guess I just want Dove season to start.  HOWEVER, Taco Tuesday is not bad either.  

 

[trphyhntr]

I saw a couple on FB looked like could have been 1. One of them was a 4x4.

[bonecollector]

I dont mind the quota. Without it and without mandatory reporting, nobody knew how many deer were being taken. 

Unit 1 and 27 closed after the first week last yr as well. Everyone for the most part is road hunting and smashing the first legal buck they see. Im sure it was the same way before the quota.

[jdown]

51 minutes ago, bonecollector said:

I dont mind the quota. Without it and without mandatory reporting, nobody knew how many deer were being taken. 

Unit 1 and 27 closed after the first week last yr as well. Everyone for the most part is road hunting and smashing the first legal buck they see. Im sure it was the same way before the quota.

My thought too that is why I was surprised on the take above.  Has to be saving dozens of deer in those units (1, 27, 20a) and then saving a few here and there for seed in most of the others. 

 

[dsotm]

Should just go to draw only for NR

[idgaf]

It's not the quota, it's the hunters.   the hunters not having self control. Just a few years ago unit 1 was a draw. 

All of the new people hunting have changed the metrics. Having created adult onset bowhunters/meathunters.  (Of course they could buy alot of cows if they sold their side by sides.)

NRs have been capped at 3500ish permits.

My suggestion would be, if I was in charge for a few minutes, for g&f to use some of there newly allotted marketing funds to encourage only shooting mature animals.  Of course that won't happen so it's upto us to publicallly shame any adult who shoots a spike/fork.  If he doesn't care than he's truly a meat hunter and congrats to him. 

[jdown]

I've sent an email or two with suggestions including the idea of 3pt on one side or better.  The reply was that all the data they have recovered from other states doing this is (as you would expect) a much higher rate of 'non recovered' deer and no real help to the quality of bucks. 

I would love to see them try it in a unit or two for 2-3 years and prove that.  If you condense it to one unit, you could really pound the message to those tag holders, gates, message boards etc - that this is a test zone, we will be patrolling (I know haha) at a higher rate, fines are doubled, we are counting on you to make this test a success (one way or the other), if you don't want to be included, don't put in for this unit etc etc etc.. and see what happens. Pick a southern over hunted coues unit (one of the 36s) and one of the over archery hunted units like 1. Add a body or two to patrol (make it a seasonal non LE role or something) and give it a go. 

I've sent the same suggestion for immediate catch and release during March and April.  Prove me to that pulling females and protecting males from the nest during the most critical period and put them in a box for 5 hours and release at the other end of a lake doesn't have a negative impact on the fishery. Our fisheries are good - but I have to believe they could be so much better if we allow nesting fish to get back to their nest.  The technology is there for the tournaments to adjust MLF style.  Pick 2 lakes and give a go for 2-3 years.  
 

[stanley]

2 hours ago, idgaf said:

It's not the quota, it's the hunters.   the hunters not having self control. Just a few years ago unit 1 was a draw. 

All of the new people hunting have changed the metrics. Having created adult onset bowhunters/meathunters.  (Of course they could buy alot of cows if they sold their side by sides.)

NRs have been capped at 3500ish permits.

My suggestion would be, if I was in charge for a few minutes, for g&f to use some of there newly allotted marketing funds to encourage only shooting mature animals.  Of course that won't happen so it's upto us to publicallly shame any adult who shoots a spike/fork.  If he doesn't care than he's truly a meat hunter and congrats to him. 

"hunters not having self control...."      You really think that a marketing campaign will lead to a lower number of mature bucks being killed??  My feeling is that hunters are going to shoot what they are going to shoot, and no marketing campaign is going to change that (At least not to a statistically significant extent...).

My crew and I simply love to hunt.  We sometimes kill some average/big deer, but we often kill smaller ones.  It has nothing to do with self control.  I don't consider myself a 'meat hunter', though I love the meat.  I'm just a hunter. 

The insinuation that other hunters should hold off on killing smaller legal animals so they can maybe kill a larger legal animal is sort of funny to me.  Like, what ever happened to; 'to each their own'??  Publicly shame someone who shoots a smaller legal animal?  What is the point of that???  That will make a difference?  LOL   Your final statement makes more sense to me.  Congrats to those who are out there having a great time hunting and sometimes killing!   

Regarding point restrictions, they did that a LONG time ago when I lived in Utah for college.  Turned-out to not really have much of an effect on growing older aged animals.  Just a bunch of small 3 points killed (3 point or better unit) and a bunch of two points shot and left to waste.   Studies showed it really did not have an effect on the older class (breeding aged) bucks.

[CatfishKev]

2 hours ago, idgaf said:

It's not the quota, it's the hunters.   the hunters not having self control. Just a few years ago unit 1 was a draw. 

All of the new people hunting have changed the metrics. Having created adult onset bowhunters/meathunters.  (Of course they could buy alot of cows if they sold their side by sides.)

NRs have been capped at 3500ish permits.

My suggestion would be, if I was in charge for a few minutes, for g&f to use some of there newly allotted marketing funds to encourage only shooting mature animals.  Of course that won't happen so it's upto us to publicallly shame any adult who shoots a spike/fork.  If he doesn't care than he's truly a meat hunter and congrats to him. 

But with the quota now in place and guys killing dinks wouldn't that allow the guys willing to put in work and get away from roads to have chances at some studs? I'm just thinking it will still allow the animals off the beaten path to get mature?