bonecollector Report post Posted March 31, 2015 Looks like some changes this yr. http://azgfdportal.devaz.gov/PortalImages/files/hunting/guidelines/commOrders/S-3ATTACHMENT2015-2016HuntRecommendations3-30-2015.pdf Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AZkiller Report post Posted March 31, 2015 More more more Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rackhunter Report post Posted March 31, 2015 Some smart and some not Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Norteno Report post Posted March 31, 2015 Woo-hoo! 13 more sheep tags Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
4Falls Report post Posted March 31, 2015 At a glance it looks like lots of hunts had their tag numbers reduced. Did see a couple new things that piqued my interest. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GreyGhost85 Report post Posted March 31, 2015 man, they are cutting deer and turkey waaay back Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
idgaf Report post Posted March 31, 2015 they were not kind to draw archery hunters Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DesertBull Report post Posted March 31, 2015 they were not kind to draw archery hunters What? I thought the bait ban was going to solve all those archery draw issues? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Explorer Report post Posted March 31, 2015 With all those buffalo tags you would think they hired Vaquero Outfitters to keep the animals herded off the park during the hunt. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
longshooter Report post Posted March 31, 2015 Wonder how they can justify increasing tags in 20c and 42 when both those units have been going down hill drastically? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Flatlander Report post Posted March 31, 2015 Wonder how they can justify increasing tags in 20c and 42 when both those units have been going down hill drastically? Show up and ask the question. Tuesday, March 31: 3-5 p.m., Kingman, 5325 N. Stockton Hill Road. Thursday, April 2: 3-5 p.m., Tucson, 555 N. Greasewood Road. Thursday, April 2: 4:30-6:30 p.m., Mesa, 7200 E. University Drive. Tuesday, April 7: 3-5 p.m., Pinetop, 2878 E. White Mountain Blvd. Tuesday, April 7: 3-5 p.m., Yuma, 9140 E. 28th Street. Tuesday, April 7: 6-8 p.m., Flagstaff, 3500 S. Lake Mary Road. 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
longshooter Report post Posted March 31, 2015 Flatlander, been there done that. I've been to multiple round table meetings etc over the last 25 years and could never get a straight answer on any questions asked. I also have talked to many game and fish employees who have done surveys (deer counts) in these units and all of them have told me that the commission really does not even pay attention to their results and recommendations. I've got better things to do than go and waist my time spinning my wheels on something that will achieve nothing. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
missedagain Report post Posted March 31, 2015 Flatlander, been there done that. I've been to multiple round table meetings etc over the last 25 years and could never get a straight answer on any questions asked. I also have talked to many game and fish employees who have done surveys (deer counts) in these units and all of them have told me that the commission really does not even pay attention to their results and recommendations. I've got better things to do than go and waist my time spinning my wheels on something that will achieve nothing. I've seen this as well, two years ago in January I ran into a game officer in the field. He asked me if I had seen anything since they had just finished their deer survey and had seen very few deer. I asked him if rifle tags were going to be reduced since their deer survey showed such a low population and he immediately got defensive and said "oh no, the ratios still have to be maintained". One of the stupidest things I've heard. No doubt most of what G&F does is manage hunters not wildlife. I like most of the changes that are being proposed this year, if you are going to give 800 rifle tags away then I'd rather they split in two 400 hunts. You are never going to please everyone no matter what. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sneaker Report post Posted March 31, 2015 Yeah the extra 140 tags in 20C doesn't make sense to me. Maybe 2014 was a good hunt year and they are making a knee jerk reaction when it has been very sub par for every other year. It looks like the axed Kaibab archery due to harvest being over 20% of total harvest, at least it was that way in 2013 and must have been similar in 2014. 250 seems like a big decrease though, thats 36% tag decrease. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Northern Pintail Report post Posted March 31, 2015 Flatlander, been there done that. I've been to multiple round table meetings etc over the last 25 years and could never get a straight answer on any questions asked. I also have talked to many game and fish employees who have done surveys (deer counts) in these units and all of them have told me that the commission really does not even pay attention to their results and recommendations. I've got better things to do than go and waist my time spinning my wheels on something that will achieve nothing. I've seen this as well, two years ago in January I ran into a game officer in the field. He asked me if I had seen anything since they had just finished their deer survey and had seen very few deer. I asked him if rifle tags were going to be reduced since their deer survey showed such a low population and he immediately got defensive and said "oh no, the ratios still have to be maintained". One of the stupidest things I've heard. No doubt most of what G&F does is manage hunters not wildlife. I like most of the changes that are being proposed this year, if you are going to give 800 rifle tags away then I'd rather they split in two 400 hunts. You are never going to please everyone no matter what. Last I checked we only kill bucks in AZ (except the kaibab) so more tags does not hurt the doe population which dictates the direction the population is going. There is a bigger reason the population is going down than all the tags. Now all the tags makes hunting suck as there are people every where but not the main reason deer populations are shrinking. Drought, habitat, human development all goes into it. Your absoutely right in that GF manages hunters, not wildlife. Last time i looked at the hunt guidelines, for deer, its 20(something like that) bucks to 100 does. Thats one buck for every doe, GF has told me in AZ, the bare minimum to breed all does is like 7 bucks to 100 does, so I wouldnt say the ratios are screwed up. The doe population is what is hurting. How do do they fix that? Great question. If you have too many bucks, some where in that one buck for every 2 does the competition during the rut is very intense, which is good but then (specifically for elk) every one would complain about all the busted antlers as they would be fighting all the time. Its always a two way street. Everyone wants less tags but then every one complains when they dont get drawn. I'm not sure where, if there is, a happy medium exists. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
