I couldn't agree more on the deer tags there. I haven't went since 14 I believe and that was my one and only on private. Severely over priced for the quality to be had unless you go guided on good private.
Man that stinks. There weren't many deer in there when I was there the first two weeks of November. I figured that more would move in later in the year. At least I have confirmation that I probably wasn't just failing to find deer when there were a lot in there.
Bout all I'm looking for. A social distancing mule deer tag.But it's for residents only
TBH, I like the way Sasky does things, most zones are OTC archery for eithersex mule deer and if you want to hunt with a rifle you have to draw a tag (which are VERY limited). Our mule deer are, to quote your Prez: "Yuuuuuuuge".
I drew a lesser zone from a low priority pool and shot what I consider a medium sized buck due to a crazy snow storm that blocked access to most of my areas. I passed much bigger bucks earlier in the season and I think it's crazy that I got to pass on 160-170" mule deer regularly. I know most guys outside of Sask would give their left nut for a shot at my "consolation prize" buck (to be clear, I am extremely happy with my buck, I hunted HARD and put 10+ kms most days during the season, I am happy with the choices I made when I passed larger bucks in the early season before Winterpocalypse hit, weather and conditions considered, my buck WAS a trophy).
Try Colorado
The chances at a truly big deer in MT haven't been good in a very long time. 160" would be considered huge in most units, especially on public land. Surrounding states with a management system outshine us year after year. Maybe the 4 point rule isn't the answer but why shoot a fork every year is my question? It seems like frustration killing to me, not hunting. With the exception of new or young hunters at least. Maybe my expectations are too high, but talk to someone who hunted in the 60s. There were 200" deer being taken. That sure sounds cool
I think that we are not that far off on what we hope for the future. I understand your frustration with hunters that shoot a fork or three point every year just to fill their tag, but I am also a believer in being able to shoot any buck you are happy with. As a guy that likes to see big deer I would much rather a guy shoot a fork or three point than a 2 or 3 year old four point. The chances that the fork or three point will never grow big even at old age are much better than the young four point. The reason that MT and for that matter the rest of the states are having a difficult time growing big deer is that hunters are becoming far more selective in the bucks that they shoot. We shoot most of the bucks with the best potential when they are young and the bucks with little potential are passed by many hunters. A four point restriction will mandate this. If you want to grow better deer with antler point restrictions you need to go with a three point or less requirement.
Some good stats sure would be nice from the state. When did MT happen to go away from the two deer limit I'm assuming it was a two buck limit or either sex right? Just a quick Google the state's human population in 1960 was 679k it is expected to be like 1.08 million this year. How can the state continue to manage the herds the same with basically no change in management strategy? I would think the deer population also grew in those years from 1960-2020 but I bet the numbers do not have the same growth rates. Interesting stuff to me I guess.
I was 12 and old enough to hunt in 1974 and that was the first year that tags were reduced to 1 deer either sex. Before that it was 2 deer either sex. Soon after I was old enough to hunt it was reduced to 1 buck. That is when we noticed that the decent bucks disappeared, when it went to 1 buck. It was reduced because deer numbers were crashing. Although deer numbers recovered in SW Mt the bucks never did. I always thought that hunters changed their focus from meat hunting to trophy hunting along in there. In the area that I live the general mule deer regs have been the same since the late 1970s.
Be shocked if that passes
