Mule Deer Letter - WYO

[labahertd]

Ok I am going to bite and share what I know. I did hunt the Grays river range this year for cow elk. I did in fact hunt with Non Typical Outfitters. I had long conversations with my guides about this and also had a conversation with Robb. My guides told me this was one of the hardest years to find quality animals. They felt they were starting to harvest the nursery and the hunters not willing to shoot anything less then a 200" buck has grown. They also told me the story about the individual on the mountain selling GPS coordinates on big bucks. The stories that were shared by my guides made this area sound like a cutthroat rat race. Is there some personnel gain by wanting to make the area limited quota? I am sure there is. But with WGF not requiring mandatory reporting they truthfully do know the numbers that are really being taken out of those units. Is it a little bit of a pain? sure it is,but there needs to be some type of checks and balance. For example the picture that I would think you all have seen of the deer that fell to their deaths in California. When those units got hammered by heavy snow and there was a big winter kill CADFG cut the tag quota to let the herd rebuild. So I am pretty sure it will happen again in 2018. We as hunters need to be the stewards of the land and do what we need to do to keep these herds healthy for years to come.
Just my 2 cents
Jon

 

[Shooter]

Every time there is a winterkill people freak out. Give it time and 4 or 5 years of mild winters and the deer will be back.


Does G and H give out many doe tags? I didn't think it gave out any but could be wrong. Everyone wants to restrict buck harvest to grow herds but bucks don't grow herds. You need does to produce more deer to grow herds. He talks about unit 135 having only 10 bucks to 100 does. The problem is when the rut kicks in the deer in the high country have all ready migrated in meaning there should be a higher buck to doe ratio as they move to wintering grounds.

The only thing that I have seen grow mule deer herds are mild winters. And not 1 or 2 in a row you need 4, 5, 6, or more in a row to grow herds. Restricting buck harvest hoping for larger herds is a pipe dream. Restricting buck harvest lets more bucks grow older and bigger. It does not grow herds.