coues32 Report post Posted December 7, 2014 Would you please send me a pm on good ideas that need to be addressed, to return our numbers where they used to be. Please no pissing matches here! Lower tags Better bonus point system. Harvest report mandatory. Antler Point restrictions on bulls and bucks. Thanks Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
azelkhunter2 Report post Posted December 7, 2014 (edited) Cant send p/m's from my phone but i'll try and answer your questions.... As far as tag numbers .....This is the single biggest issue the azgfd wrestles with ( along with every other G&F dept in the western states )....There are over 300.00 applicant's in this state and they ALL want to hunt every yr. We lose tens of thousands of acres to development every yr. On average we receive far less rain then we did many yr's ago. Harvest of predator's is less then half of what it once was. This could go on for several page's.....Then you factor in that the Dept gets the majority of it's revenue from tag sale's and you have a recipe for disaster. They Dept is in a no win situation..., The overwhelming majority of hunter's don't know that this site or any like it exist. They give little to nothing back to the land or it's inhabitants. They could care less if they see a good buck, bull, goat, Ect....All they want is a tag every time they apply, So the dept in an effort to keep the overwhelming majority of hunters happy and bring in the revenue needed to sustain the dept sets tag numbers extremely high. Now the 10% of hunters that would rather wait several yrs between tags in an effort to have a opportunity at a trophy class animal and see a larger number of game animals could not disagree more with this mind set. But if they reduce tag numbers they need to increase tags prices, If you go back and read any one of the hundreds of post on this site and all the other hunting sites when we last had a increase in prices you will find that most people on this site where going to have to live in a cardboard box down in the river bottom because of a small increase in tag cost, Imagine for a moment what the outcry would be if the dept raised tags prices to the level needed to do what the 10% of hunters want them to do. Now if you take the emotion out of it and really look at the numbers from the past 20 yrs the buck / doe , bull / cow ratio's are no better or worse then they were then, Yes some yrs are better then others and some units are far worse then they were but there are just as many units were the numbers are far better then the were. Bonus points....As someone who hunts all the western states I can say without any doubt we have the best system going. There has been talks for yrs to revise the system as to date no one has come up with anything better then what is already in place ....Maybe a conservation point to help get more people involved in conservation projects. I have tried for over 10 yrs to get the Dept to have mandatory reporting and I have been told over and over that studies have shown it will reduce hunter retention significantly.. I have asked why and have never been given a reason Overall I think there is room for improvement in many areas, But it will cost MONEY and take time, We as hunters are just as much to blame for this situation as the dept...We scream for more opportunity, We bitch when prices go up, We sit on are butt when manpower is needed on projects, We support the dept when and if it benefits the individual..... If you put point restrictions in place all you end up with is a bunch of bucks and bulls shot and not tagged because we hunters cant hold off long enough to make sure it's legal...Colorado has a Huge issue with this very thing... Edited December 7, 2014 by azelkhunter2 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lancetkenyon Report post Posted December 7, 2014 All of the above sounds good. Add increasing the cost of tags to the mix to make up for the revenue loss to G&F. Double the cost of tags and reduce tags by 50%. This, coming from a guy who has 15 bonus points for elk, and 23 for antelope. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
azslim Report post Posted December 7, 2014 let jaw traps be legal again and thin out the coyote population 10 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jcubed Report post Posted December 7, 2014 This board would explode with increasing tags by 2x. Just go back and look at the threads regarding t he most recent price changes. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DesertBull Report post Posted December 7, 2014 Tags are low compared to what they used to be. Need to conserve prime habitat in order to grow more deer. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DesertBull Report post Posted December 7, 2014 This board would explode with increasing tags by 2x. Just go back and look at the threads regarding t he most recent price changes. And I would lead explosion. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Snapshot Report post Posted December 7, 2014 I will lead the charge in helping DB explode........... Increase deer tag price to $100 Decrease tags by at least 35%, more in select units. Poison coyotes Poison Wolves Harvest more Lions Pray for lots of winter/spring rain See how easy it could be without Bureaucrats involved 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DesertBull Report post Posted December 7, 2014 I will lead the charge in helping DB explode........... Increase deer tag price to $100 Decrease tags by at least 35%, more in select units. Poison coyotes Poison Wolves Harvest more Lions Pray for lots of winter/spring rain See how easy it could be without Bureaucrats involved Then watch how long it takes the libs to defeat us at the ballot box because 50% of the hunters lost interest and took up photography or mountain biking. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Snapshot Report post Posted December 7, 2014 Supply and demand. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
coues32 Report post Posted December 7, 2014 I agree coyotes are big problem and the big decrease in the number in deer since trapping was outlawed. Anyone know why you can only hunt coyotes at night in certain units? Only thing I can come up with up is the wolf deal. Maybe we can start a bounty on dogs until someone can figure out how to make a coyote trap that will work. If we cant keep the use of hounds for lion hunting legal in the state we're gonna be in big trouble! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AverageJoe Report post Posted December 7, 2014 Things are fine. Leave them the f alone 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Big Tub Report post Posted December 7, 2014 I would say as opposed to increasing the bag limit on javelina put it at one, keep it at one, and allow unsuccessful hunter to apply for those leftover tags -- let the scrubs go after them pigs over and and over and over -- like me. Also mandatory harvest reporting would go a long way to managing game appropriately. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pine Donkey Report post Posted December 7, 2014 Get rid of the wolves Lion tag included with all big game tags Conservation point available each year for working a project or turning in 20 coyote tails Square the bonus points Place a departmental priority on habitat projects and land access rather than wolf and bighorn reintroductions 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MULEPACKHUNTER Report post Posted December 7, 2014 close some FR permanently. Go to preference points instead of bonus Clear cut sections of forest Controlled burns Dig more water retention catchments Like unit 8 Improve trail systems add TH at old FR that was closed Mandatory reporting across the board supplement predator hunting in some way Transplant Animals from out of state to diversify gene pool 1 year off after Bull or Deer tag, more for premium hunts like 2 or 3 years More shooting facilities with outdoor classes and avtivities for retention Biologist assistant programs for youth (assist biologist in the field on game surveys habitat surveys etc) 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
