100%DIYazCOUES Report post Posted December 7, 2014 Halve the number of tags,double their price.I think that would put us right in the sweet spot of what the land can handle,at least here in the southern units... Also id love to see a legal buck be a forkhorn or bigger,except for youth hunts. I think it would also be cool to give youth hunters the option to take a doe for their first deer only.I think that would help up their success rate and as a result hopefully help fuel their passion for hunting at a young age.just an idea... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
naturebob Report post Posted December 7, 2014 Cut tags, up prices. Fork horn or better. Draw premium tags should be a 5 year wait for another one..........BOB! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Will K Report post Posted December 7, 2014 My belief is tag numbers are at what they are to support the G&F expanded overhead. So with that said the dept. in my opinion will not decrease tag numbers because of the needed $. Only way for them to survive and help wildlife numbers would be to double tag cost and cut tag numbers in half. Also reinstate trapping on public lands to control predators. Hate to say it but when 1080 was used way back to control predators, Deer, Antelope and elk populations were very good. Then 1080 was stopped and i will say for good reason because it was killing everything but predators increased and Deer, Antelope and Elk populations dropped. Then trapping on public land stopped and Numbers continued to drop dramatically. Now we are at a cross road that is irreversible without drastic measures put in place to change the direction. I will also say drought has not helped but is not the culprit to the problem, My 2 Cents. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
4Falls Report post Posted December 7, 2014 Mulepackhunter hit the nail on the head. Especially the part about clear cutting and more fires. Mandatory reporting is a good idea too but a lot of guys would lie on thier reports (I have family in NM where reporting is mandatory, they firmly believe that if they tell g&f that they were successful that they wont get drawn the next year. Even though they dont get drawn every year anyway, go figure). Sitting out a year after a premium tag or ANY antelope tag since they are pretty much all premium is also a good idea. And of course water water water. 8 is a good example there are also quite a few volunteer built trick tanks in unit 8. They should just give a lion tag free with every combo license and any out of state license.. Also I'm not a fan of point restrictions. Ive hunted a few times in NM which has a 3pt on one side or better restriction and I dont see that it has made their herd any healthier than ours. Unless your a forkie. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Snapshot Report post Posted December 7, 2014 Keep the tags affordable for those age 17 and under. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
muledeerarea33? Report post Posted December 7, 2014 Sitting out a year just gives you another bonus point. Should just stop all hunting all together for 5 years. That'll build herds up. Get out your cameras boys! Lets watch em grow. Oh and.still charge yearly for tag fees so the money doesn't dry up. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AverageJoe Report post Posted December 7, 2014 I have hunted in az for 20 years. I see as many elk now as i did 20 years ago. I see pics of 350-400" elk taken every year. I have taken 6 elk in 12 years. I have hunted the units people say there arent big bulls and see many big bulls. They arent standing on the side of the roads anymore. You have to put in the legwork. Why everyone is bitching about all this is besides me! I guess no one cares about anything but trophy's. Somehow it is all about taking a big 400" bull or 130" coues and anything less is unacceptable. I hunt the same units as everyone else here. I seldom see people. I see plenty of mature animals. On coues hunts i can expect to see anywhere from 1 or 2 bucks a day on a bad day to 10-20 on a good day. On elk hunts even more. So what is the problem? Do you want them standing on the roads or what? Cutting tags in half is frikkin ridiculous. Raising the prices will just cut out hunting all together for the poorest of hunters. But hey as long as you can hunt with less pressure in the field right? Funny thing again is that every state thinks the grass is greener on the other side. Other states love Arizona's model and bonus point system. Utah colorado wyoming idaho all think there state is the worst. They all bag on game and fish, they all think they could do better. Lol. I think all it comes down to is that trophy hunters are selfish aholes. They want it all for them with bulls around every corner and not another hunter in sight. Well welcome to the real world where you have to share with us POS meat hunters who are happy to be in the field with friends and family enjoying hunting for more than the size of animals they hunt. 14 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oz31p Report post Posted December 8, 2014 I have hunted in az for 20 years. I see as many elk now as i did 20 years ago. I see pics of 350-400" elk taken every year. I have taken 6 elk in 12 years. I have hunted the units people say there arent big bulls and see many big bulls. They arent standing on the side of the roads anymore. You have to put in the legwork. Why everyone is bitching about all this is besides me! I guess no one cares about anything but trophy's. Somehow it is all about taking a big 400" bull or 130" coues and anything less is unacceptable. I hunt the same units as everyone else here. I seldom see people. I see plenty of mature animals. On coues hunts i can expect to see anywhere from 1 or 2 bucks a day on a bad day to 10-20 on a good day. On elk hunts even more. So what is the problem? Do you want them standing on the roads or what? Cutting tags in half is frikkin ridiculous. Raising the prices will just cut out hunting all together for the poorest of hunters. But hey as long as you can hunt with less pressure in the field right? Funny thing again is that every state thinks the grass is greener on the other side. Other states love Arizona's model and bonus point system. Utah colorado wyoming idaho all think there state is the worst. They all bag on game and fish, they all think they could do better. Lol. I think all it comes down to is that trophy hunters are selfish aholes. They want it all for them with bulls around every corner and not another hunter in sight. Well welcome to the real world where you have to share with us POS meat hunters who are happy to be in the field with friends and family enjoying hunting for more than the size of animals they hunt. our little group seems to do pretty well season in season out. We also hunt or at lease put in for every available season in various parts of the state. Even if you had the solution to make Arizona wildlife management a real world perfect system. Unless it's what the state already has planned it will never get implemented. The state will do what they want how they want regardless of how much out cry the hear at their meetings. They don't care. They want more revenue. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
100%DIYazCOUES Report post Posted December 8, 2014 Geez I guess if I knew of a spot where id see 20 coues bucks a day,the ridiculous number of tags of issued in most areas wouldn't seem like such a problem to me either! I hunt away from roads too,and if I see a couple bucks its a decent day... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
coues32 Report post Posted December 8, 2014 Maybe you should be thankful there are trophy hunters, how do you think you get big bulls or bucks? I think its called age. I wont take a non mature coues deer, I have taken a buck every year except for this year. We took 3 out of 4, 2 nephews took dandy bucks. Don't give a crap what they score, great bucks Mature deer. If I run into a kid or a women looking to shoot a deer I will be the first one to point them in the direction or help, so I'm a a-hole for being picky? I don't hunt on roads, usually don't see many people where I hunt, numbers are down, seems to be increasing every year, would like my kids to enjoy it like I have. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Swivelhead Report post Posted December 8, 2014 AZGF, USFWS, USFS, BLM, etc. are complicit in closing vast areas annually to entry for 6 months of the year to protect our national bird. The usual suspects (CBD, WW, Sierra Club, Audubon, etc.) vow that our eagles are special desert nesting birds. Their offspring however, generally migrate to suitable habitats in other parts of the country. Personally, I believe these agencies utilize these birds special status to exclude the general public from riparian areas thus protecting the habitat for 6 months of the year. The "no entry" part chaps my posterior. This principle is currently being used to protect antelope during fawning season on Anderson mesa. The closure is not "no entry" but the seasonal closure of motorized vehicle routes on the mesa. I believe the seasonal closure of motor vehicle routes in critical areas could improve herds. A few ADC agents and weekly aerial gunning for song dogs would be nice too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WallHanger Report post Posted December 8, 2014 Include a "know your limits" portion in hunter ed courses. Educate youth and new hunters just enough on long range shooting and ballistics so they can use better judgement when the opportunity comes. with all the long range hype and I'm better than the next guy attitude poeple with no knowledge of ballistics sending several shots 500 to "1000 yards" across a canyon at a buck or bull that doesn't drop right away isn't helping the herds. Most shouldn't shoot over 300 to much can go wrong. Imho more 1 shot kills.... no sence in carrying 25 bullets in your new top of the line back pack anyway. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bojangles Report post Posted December 8, 2014 i'll keep it simple in bullet points -leghold trap reinstatement is an absolute must if we are to see deer numbers increase/stabilize. -you (yes you) must kill coyotes. -we must think of a way for g&f to make money other than selling tags. If i were in charge of that operation, i'll bet i could turn it into a financially profitable institution in a year, and cut tag prices and reduce tags to improve hunt quality. There are many, many ways for G&F to make money other than tag sales. They are gonna have to get creative. Tag sales should be the smallest ingredient in their revenue pie, not the greatest. No one wants white collar hunting, except the richy riches who posted above. I don't know where you guys are hunting, but i still see a fair amount of game when i hunt. But i think there could be a few more critters out there, a really good drought and we could be in trouble, no use dancing on the fence. -reduce the grey wolf to a cameo herd that is highly regulated, much like the buffalo. -open more roads. this will lead to dispersion of hunters, rather than the current concentration of hunters, and will lead to fewer "hunted out" areas. -sue the pants off the sierra club. find something, and sue them for it. sue the government. it's not illegal to sue fish and game, as bad as that seems, to reduce their bending to left wing radicals. (no harm done to g&f, just make them do what is best for wildlife and hunters) that said, i'm not against fish and game at all, but sometimes you have to get down and dirty to get your way. sue the feds. sue the blm. sue the state. it's the 21st century tantrum that gets you your way. if nothing else, tie them up in court to keep the crazies from advancing. i really don't want to sound vindictive here, sometimes you just have to make things happen. -but i think the real key is getting someone at G&F behind the wheel who knows how to make money and knows how to manage wildlife with out selling the critters down the tube. just my humble opinion. wish i could be more involved, but i have kids to feed. i'll do what i can. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bojangles Report post Posted December 8, 2014 oh yeah, and logging. that's a federal issue that would really open up good grazing for critters and provide jobs and industry and boost the economy. oh wait, never mind, we couldn't have that. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Coues assassin Report post Posted December 8, 2014 Close majority of the roads that spider web through every unit. 1)hunters will stop hunting If they have to walk and 2) lower success rate and same amount of tags issued so same profit for G&F Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
