Bambistew
Well-known member
Are there really any places that need more goats killed in the L48? I thought they were pretty much struggling in most areas. Lots of nannies would die under UL tags. In some areas here, if you shoot a nanny you can't hunt goats again for 4 years. Very very few people kill more than one goat, so plenty of nannys get whacked. They will also shut down the season after x number are shot.
I do agree that there could be a lot more UL opportunities for sheep. I think it would be really hard to limit the take though. But there are ways. Make it a short season when they are hardest to find, early October? Weapon restrictions. Make the opening day random which would do a lot of things, like keep people from camping out on a ram. Maybe open it for 2-3 days mid week at some point between Aug 1 and Oct 30. No planning, scouting, etc. Totally random when you get to go. I doubt it would be a popular idea, but I think most people could take a few days off if they really needed to. And require hunters to call/text in to report harvest within 24hrs or less. Everyone has some sort of communication device now or can get one to report. Once the harvest is reached it closes midnight that day, no fluff time.
You could include something like if you shoot one and he's not "mature" by what ever standards that may be, you can't hunt anything in the state for X number of years. Might make a guy pause on pulling the trigger... maybe.
The fact that the success rates for sheep tags are nearly 100% is silly. I understand that people want to make sure they kill one, but its managed to basically be a guaranteed kill. There isn't a lot of "hunt" left in it. When you get to pass up lots of animals and are start naming them, is it really hunting or shopping?
I do agree that there could be a lot more UL opportunities for sheep. I think it would be really hard to limit the take though. But there are ways. Make it a short season when they are hardest to find, early October? Weapon restrictions. Make the opening day random which would do a lot of things, like keep people from camping out on a ram. Maybe open it for 2-3 days mid week at some point between Aug 1 and Oct 30. No planning, scouting, etc. Totally random when you get to go. I doubt it would be a popular idea, but I think most people could take a few days off if they really needed to. And require hunters to call/text in to report harvest within 24hrs or less. Everyone has some sort of communication device now or can get one to report. Once the harvest is reached it closes midnight that day, no fluff time.
You could include something like if you shoot one and he's not "mature" by what ever standards that may be, you can't hunt anything in the state for X number of years. Might make a guy pause on pulling the trigger... maybe.
The fact that the success rates for sheep tags are nearly 100% is silly. I understand that people want to make sure they kill one, but its managed to basically be a guaranteed kill. There isn't a lot of "hunt" left in it. When you get to pass up lots of animals and are start naming them, is it really hunting or shopping?
