Unit 33, 2450 Coues tags!

[AZBearhunter]

Anyways, if money is the reason for so many deer tags, what about the idea of doubling the price of tags to $60ish and halving the number of tags? Or some kind of similar, proportionate money/tag ratio.I don't make a lot of money, but I'd be more then happy to pay the difference for the much improved experience, even though I primarily hunt well a way from roads and with a bow...

 

Dustin25, love the idea. Cut that tags by a 1/3 and raise tag prices by 33%. I can live with that. Hunters who really are serious and passionate about these hunts like we are, and care about the buck populations would likely agree to such a structure. Im sure though that many would oppose it because it would then fall under the category of being a rich mans sport. Great idea though.

[ROMOCASSADOR]

Ive hunted 33 for years and now its getn hard to find a good buck and people crawling everywher!!!

[520HUNT]

It would be nice if Martin Gueruena or John McGehee would come on here and explain why they think the unit can actually support the numbers of tags that they are issuing. I'm sure they have some sort of formula or reasoning. Let's hear from the professionals.

[firstcoueswas80]

While I would love to hear that, my past experience had been the game wardens have not supported the tag increase, but their bosses did.

[200"mulie]

There are a lot of deer in 33 ... a lot of hunters won't hike in far at all either....almost no access

[archeryasu]

I normally don't post on this site but I couldn't help but read and respond to this thread with the amount of ludicrous comments that leave me in awe and shaking my head. I used to think this was a great site with a lot of good, honest, hardworking people who share a common love and passion for the outdoors. Now it seems to have just turned into a b**ch fest with a bunch of arrogant uneducated punks who weren't spanked by their parents enough and don't know what they're talking about. The more I read posts on here about deer numbers, tag allotments for units, poaching, baiting, stealing trail cameras ect.....the more I realize we as hunters are our own worst enemy. What ever happened to ethics?? I can't but help give all you "experts" out there a word of advice before you run you mouth about what you think you know. I am no expert by any means, however there is a difference between stating facts and not knowing what the h*ll you're talking about.

1.) Before you run your mouth, become educated about the subject you're talking about. Do some research and find out some actual hard facts before going on a rant, run your mouth and sound like an idiot.

2.) Don't get your "facts" front a online hunting forum or the media. There are plenty of research journals and studies out there to educate yourself on carrying capacities for healthy deer and elk herds that will explain why AZGFD does what they do. Contact the AZGFD yourself and get the answers directly from them!

3.) WM's in Arizona are required to have a bachelors degree in wildlife and fishery sciences or a closely related field. They are also required to attend a full fledged police academy and become AZPOST certified (same certification a city police and sheriffs deputies). For those of you whom think its easy to get hired, you've got it wrong. They are highly selective and a number of candidates do not make it through the background, oral boards or police academy for that matter.

4.) WM's DO recommend hunt closures, reduced tag numbers and attempt, for the most part, to manage units to benefit wildlife however, there are a lot more politics at play which outweigh their recommendations. AZGFD did put a lot of time and effort to surveying hunters about whether they wanted hunt quality (less tags bigger animals) or quantity ( more tags with more opportunity). You would be surprised that a large vast majority of the public want to go hunting no matter the quality of the hunt. We, as a whole, chose more tags and better odds of getting drawn over hunt quality. AZGFD can't please everyone and if you think that they're gonna kill off all the deer and elk herds the lets be real...why the heck would they want to do that??!! Yes they may issue way too many tags however the quality is still there, you just have to work a little harder for it! How bad do you want it??

 

As for you guys poaching and stealing...Shame on you!! You're doing nothing but screwing us all whether you know it or not. Karma's a b**ch!!

 

This is just my two cents on the subject and I do not represent the AZGFD. Again, I am not an expert by any means, however I have taken the time to educate myself. If you have an issue and want to make a difference you need to take it to the AZGFD commission or director. WM's can only do so much and are low on the totem pole. If you want to see something different happen with tag numbers educate yourself and do something about it instead of complaining on a hunting forum or about WM's. I apologize if I offended anyone on here with my rant but just felt something needed to be said....good luck and shoot straight!

[gotcoues]

[gotcoues]

You seemed so worked up, I just couldn't resist.

[archeryasu]

You seemed so worked up, I just couldn't resist.

Just a little but got a good laugh from your pic!

[gotcoues]

No charge

[Flingingarrowsbro]

Archeryasu is dead on!

Just to add on.....

Many people will get offended by his comments saying, " I do hike in, and still see nothing!" Well hate to break it to you, hiking up the first ridge off the road isn't hiking in, plus your pair of 8x nockers from the 70's might be why your not seeing deer. Lol

[SunDevil]

unfortunately there are still a lot of deer in 33 and there is relatively good access to hunting areas and hunt success rates are high. the dept looks at many things in setting tag numbers and unfortunately one of them is success rates. the success rates in 33 for almost all the hunts are above their desired number. one way to reduce hunter success rate is to increase tags. I am over simplifying it but this is one of the things that contributes to the amount of tags allocated in this unit.

[452b264]

I find it a little amusing to hear everyone complain about 2450 deer tags issued for unit 33. Where I grew up in the Pacific north west they issued 26,200 tags for my hometown unit, and I walked into game and fish bought two buck tags and walked out the door every year. I some very impressive bucks from there as do my friends, you have to hunt smarter and harder. The unit will still hold older age deer, you must be willing to look where they spend their time, no matter how rough or far from the road you must travel. You must look in places no one else will hunt. Very thick or straight up and down, 8 miles from the road etc.

[muledeerarea33?]

I find it a little amusing to hear everyone complain about 2450 deer tags issued for unit 33. Where I grew up in the Pacific north west they issued 26,200 tags for my hometown unit, and I walked into game and fish bought two buck tags and walked out the door every year. I some very impressive bucks from there as do my friends, you have to hunt smarter and harder. The unit will still hold older age deer, you must be willing to look where they spend their time, no matter how rough or far from the road you must travel. You must look in places no one else will hunt. Very thick or straight up and down, 8 miles from the road etc.

i agree with most of what you say. Except this is Southern Arizona, water is the biggest issue here, is it far from roads?,yes but alot is close to roads too. It's a far cry from the upper west coast that has moisture and food to support the tag numbers for years to come. A few years of heavy drought and half of az is done.

[452b264]

 

I find it a little amusing to hear everyone complain about 2450 deer tags issued for unit 33. Where I grew up in the Pacific north west they issued 26,200 tags for my hometown unit, and I walked into game and fish bought two buck tags and walked out the door every year. I some very impressive bucks from there as do my friends, you have to hunt smarter and harder. The unit will still hold older age deer, you must be willing to look where they spend their time, no matter how rough or far from the road you must travel. You must look in places no one else will hunt. Very thick or straight up and down, 8 miles from the road etc.

i agree with most of what you say. Except this is Southern Arizona, water is the biggest issue here, is it far from roads?,yes but alot is close to roads too. It's a far cry from the upper west coast that has moisture and food to support the tag numbers for years to come. A few years of heavy drought and half of az is done.

 

High predator population is also very hard on the deer herd when their numbers become low.