Oct hunt in 23?

[sjpitts]

I was just looking at the new regs, and noticed that there is an October Coues hunt in 23.

 

Is that new? I don't remember that being there before. Why did they do that? Did they lower the december permits to compensate?

 

I guess it is a moot point, as there are no Coues in 23, but it seems odd.

 

SJP

[DesertBull]

They cut the December tags in half. It's a shame too. 300 October hunters having to share the unit with the Mule Deer hunters over the same 4 days, while cutting back on a really good hunt in December.

[bcoover]

I think the October hunt is a bad move too. The whitetail are not going to be in the rut and it is going to be too hot. It is too bad the tags for the December hunt have been cut in half. That was a good hunt.

[ultramag]

i was hoping they would do that, but after the regs came out my mind has changed.that dec hunt now is going to be almost impossible to get.and the oct hunt is the same time as the mule deer hunt when i have seen 100 degree heat.its not even worth putting in for in my mind.why not in nov some time when its cool

[stanley]

Didn't some guy come on here (or one of the other sites...) and ask for feedback on this topic several months ago? I swear I remember a WM coming on here and asking hunters what they thought of this potential move.

 

Does anyone else remember that post? I forget what the overall sentiment was....

 

S.

[couesdiehard]

Stanley;

I remembered that thread also. I found this in a thread in Hunting In Arizona (topic) good news! It was an interesting thread.

Greetings, my name is Dan Caputo and I am the wildlife manager for unit 6A. I am seeking feedback on a possible hunt change in unit 6a. This site was recommended to me as a place to receive honest feedback.

 

I am recommending that permits be transfered from the December hunt into an October hunt in Unit 6A. The new October hunt will be similar to those offered in S. Arizona. It will be four days long and offered on the first weekend of the mule deer season. The December hunt will not be changed, other then a reduced amount of permits. For example: last year there were 250 permits offered in December. With the proposed change, there maybe 150 permits offered in December and 150 offered in October. The management objectives will target the same overall harvest, but will reduce the pressure on the older aged class bucks that become vulnerable during the December mating season. We can offer an increase in total permits without taking more bucks because the success rate in October will be lower then December. These are a few biological and political reasons that I believe an October hunt should be introduced:

 

1) There will be a net increase in permits, which will provide more opportunity to sportsmen. This increase in permits will not negatively impact the population because the overall harvest objective will remain the same. Besides, if you are strictly a 6A coues deer hunter, then you will have two chances in the draw, rather then just one.

 

2) Many portions of Unit 6A are not accessible in December do to scheduled road closures and possible weather conditions. An October hunt will allow hunters to access areas such as Woods Canyon, Munds Canyon, Williard Springs, and the Oak Creek Rim.

 

3) The Buck:Doe ratio in Unit 6a has been around 19 Bucks to 100 does. These are pretty modest buck numbers to justify having a high permitted hunt that targets breeding class bucks during the rut. The majority of October hunters will harvest 1-2 year old bucks. This will lighten the pressure on the breeding class bucks during the rut without negatively changing the buck:doe ratio.

 

4) Unit 6A does not have a blanketed whitetail population, like what is experienced in S. AZ. The populations are scattered into pockets. As a result, during the December hunt, hunters are concentrated into those same pockets. I have received numerous complaints concerning hunter overcrowding issues on the December hunt. Spreading the permits over two hunts will reduce hunter density and provide a more quality hunt.

 

5) Many hunters have expressed frustration over deer movements during the rut. It seems like they find bucks in August, watch them through November and then loose them as the rut begins in December. An October hunt will provide for different hunt tactics based on deer behavior alone.

 

Keep in mind that this is only a suggestion and has not been made into a decision yet. I wanted to ensure that you all had an opportunity to comment on the matter before it becomes proposed. Even if it is proposed, it can still be rejected by our Game Branch or The Commission. You can also direct comments to me at dcaputo@azgfd.com

 

On a personal note, I am a savvy coues deer hunter that would only entertain ideas that would improve the quality of the hunt. I personally am willing to sacrifice a few draw percentages in December in order to have the opportunity to hunt in October.

 

Thanks

Dan Caputo

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[KGAINES]

I had copied it from a thread prior to that, you could do a search on his name and find both threads.

[stanley]

Interesting thread indeed; http://www.coueswhitetail.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1243&hl=dan+caputo Looks like the majority of the feedback on the 6A proposal was positive earlier in the year.

 

Well I guess I support opening it for coues in October, as long as they reduce the number of tags in December to compensate.

 

S.

[couesdiehard]

Stanley;

Reading the rest of that thread there is more talk directly about units 23 & 21 that I found real interesting too. Obviously 23 has had an Oct hunt added but it sounds like 21 might be getting the same treatment in the near future.

I think we may have developed too big of a following for coues deer. G & F appears to think there is more demand out there to hunt them whether folks are successful or not. For unit 23 giving up higher success percentage tags (Dec) to have more lower success percentage tags(Oct) on the surface sounds good because you would have less people out there pounding the brush in Dec. But now you will have just as many hunting for 4 days in Oct. plus a one week junior "any antlered deer" Oct 21-27 with a hundred tags. I think that if you drew one of the remaining December tags you would have an awesome hunt. I just hope they didn't underestimate how successful the Oct whitetail hunters will be. I want to watch and see what happens with these hunts.

Lee