GhostTracker180 Report post Posted March 3, 2015 So, 20 years ago there were super bucks and abundant in some units. Think the quality is back, not back or better? Post your opinions. I think better bucks were more abundant years back! Y'all? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Quagmire Report post Posted March 3, 2015 What I've seen in the units that I hunted a lot, mule deer especially, were much more abundant. Not too sure about coues but I am seeing them a lot more often in muley country. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
218buck Report post Posted March 3, 2015 I have hunted 21 for over 30 years it seems that there are less mulies and more whitetails, findind coues in areas that never had them before they seem to be getting closer and closer to phoenix 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
208muley Report post Posted March 4, 2015 Units south of the ditch are nothing like they used to be. Yes some giants come out of any unit year after year but it is not even close to 20 years ago. I have seen pile of pictures of great deer killed by my dad and his friends from 27 and 10 that most people would say came from the kiabab or strip! Were they great hunters? Nope. They only had one set of binos between 7 of them. They drove and just walked around. No 15s, 1000 yd guns, quads, trail cams, chute planes, entourages, scent loc, guides, camo, etc. they also did it on what used to be just a 4 day hunt at the end of oct! ( remember that hunt, we need to bring it back i think) There were a lot more tags but they never, and to this day, have never said the woods felt crowded cause there was just a lot of deer everywhere. My .02 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
naturebob Report post Posted March 4, 2015 There were more animals + now there are 2-3 million more people in the State, and some hunt. Harder to get tags too..........BOB! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
4Falls Report post Posted March 4, 2015 I don't remember 20 years ago being any different than today as far as quality. Much more different in terms of hunting pressure though. Now maybe go back 30 years and the quality of the mulie herd specifically was vastly better than now. But back then I can remember there being leftover tags for Dec coues in unit 22 and 23 as well. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lancetkenyon Report post Posted March 4, 2015 I have been deer hunting for...holy crap....30 years in AZ. It took me a few years to get my first deer, which was an archery kill. Not sure if there are more or less deer in most units. Seems like I see more in some, less in others. I do know that in 12A, it seems like there are quite a bit fewer deer than 20 years ago. It was common to see 10 mature bucks a day easily. And at least one monster every other day. Now, not so much. I hunt pretty hard, and in 2012, got lucky and got my buck opening day. Last year, it took 5 days of hard hunting to find a mature buck! Money talks. G&F needs it just as bad as everyone else. More tags=more money=more pressure=less deer. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Crowbait Report post Posted March 4, 2015 In my opinion the quality of MD bucks down south have gone down. As you all have stated, you say more mature bucks. What i commonly see now is people referring to a big buck or mature buck but in the day it was a normal buck. That is all in the eyes of the shooter. I'm perfectly content witht he shooter being happy. Everyone has their trophy. With that many more tags, more pressure, less water at times mother nature has a turnover. Currently i'm seeing good bucks. I can't kill one but I'm seeing them. I would love to see a branched antler rule-as way too many spikes are being killed. I also wouldn't mind seeing the youth hunts go to any deer. The alloted number of tags currently would not hurt a deer population. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sinwagon1 Report post Posted March 4, 2015 I remember hunting with my dad in any desert around and seeing 20 30 sometimes more does with one buck in the rut. Now it's maybe if you're lucky six. Quality if say the same. For desert bucks. And yes whitetail are taking over. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
.270 Report post Posted March 4, 2015 i think deer have some natural cycles that even biologists don't understand. like "global warming". folks make too many assumptions without enough good info. my grandad said when he was a kid they seldom saw a muley, in what is now 31 and 32. lots of whitetail, but would go years and never see a muley. then later in the century, up into the 60's, it was the other way around. abundant muleys, whitetail hard to find. and there were several times fewer folks then. i can remember when Az passed a million in population. now where are we, 4 million? 20 odd years ago there were so few deer in unit 13 that they didn't even let out tags for a couple years. biologists were really worried about it. they still don't have near the herd they did in the 60's, but look at the size of the bucks they shoot every year. the posse mentality, game cameras and chute planes might have a lot to do with it, but still, they are shooting some monsters up there. the biggest problem Az has is a ballooning population and a down cycle in precipitation. unfortunately, ain't a lot we can do about either one. when you guys are my age and older you'll talk about now being the good ol' days. Lark. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
208muley Report post Posted March 4, 2015 Lark, I agree with everything you just said. I am hoping that you are wrong with the last sentence but I'm afraid you may be right! There are so many factors that contribute to declining mule deer numbers, some we can try and help or control to a point and some is just mother nature. I'm just hoping we make smart moves and mother nature smiles at the same time. The deer sure could use some help in many areas of the state. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jgraffaz Report post Posted March 5, 2015 I think that mule deer popations have suffered and the quality is sliping...there are a lot of reasons for this but two of the main reasons are the increase in hunters and all of the crazy new gear....but what do I know, I'm just a kid. Haven't even been alive 20 years Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
naturebob Report post Posted March 5, 2015 I also think technology has something to do with quality going downhill. Cameras,range finders, long range shooting.. Just using 15 power binos has helped me find alot more animals since I first got them 20 years ago.If 20-30% of hunters use them thats alot more animals and quality being found and killed.........BOB! 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
idgaf Report post Posted March 13, 2015 I may have seen more big game twenty years ago, but success has been recent. For me its not technology, or anything like that. Its that fact I have practice my passion for twenty more years. I always have my binos, but they secondary to my style of hunting. I mainly still hunt or spot and stalk in close quarter areas. I have yet to shoot a big game animal over 200 yards and I have 7 of the big 10 solo with my bow. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
muley224 Report post Posted March 13, 2015 Myself, I think that the Quality of Mature Mule deer Bucks in our state is as good as ever. I think that the new technology hasn't hurt the genetics that we have, especially up north. Just look at the number of great sheds found each year and the number that are not found. The era of the 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's were superb, but many new entries in the book are entered now. Just my opinion. Couldn't really say on the southern units, i pretty much stay north of the Colorado River. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
