I was just comparing when I see the vast majority of folks in the field, which is essentially the last 2-2.5 weeks of November, and compare it to archery + october rifle when there is no real incentive for people to all go at the same time.
A general season rifle MD hunt in any of November is the single most important thing that needs to change.
You could also post this in the more appropriate thread...
www.hunttalk.com
That is a much simpler and more effective proposal than others I've seen which require resident hunters to be locked into one HD, give up weeks during archery, give weeks of hunting in October, and give up weeks during the general season. That would disproportionally hurt residents vs nonresidents/outfitted clients. Why go nuclear on resident hunter opportunity before we address the obvious gorilla in the room?
Welp, I suppose it depends on what side of the state line you sit. I figured "Montana Mule Deer Mismanagement" was an appropriate place because news about nonresidents killing more mule deer bucks than residents is mule deer mismanagement to me.You could also post this in the more appropriate thread...
Montana General Season Structure Proposal
I primarily archery hunt bull elk, never really rifle hunted them except for one special permit in my entire life, grew up a mule deer hunter. The first couple weeks of September are my favorite time to do so, have had a lot of success there, and I know guys love the October portion of the...
I guess it didn't matter 10 years ago when their wasn't a citizen proposal that you disagreed with?
Huh? What didn't matter 10 years ago when there wasn't a citizens proposal that I disagreed with? I honestly don't know what you're talking about. Please elaborate.
Nuclear on "opportunity" has been needed for decades.
NR killed more MD bucks than Residents in Region 7 from 2012-2015, it's in the graph I linked above. I'm assuming you didn't care about that then like you care about it now, instead now using it as an argument against a proposal that removes some total opportunities.
This is interesting considering that FWP said during the CAC meetings May 6-8 that NR accounted for 33% of the harvest in R6 and 45% in R7.
I would assume that to be the long term average.
The numbers themselves may not be 'accurate' but if the same sampling method and analysis is used you can compare them to one another to see trends, etc.
Ah, thanks I'm following you now. The OpEd I shared was simply pointing out that FWP identified for the first time NRs killed more MD bucks than residents in Region 6. I do care. That's why I helped write SB 525 which would have required FW to put caps on NRs. Personally, I think NRs should be addressed before we start to limit residents. I agree that unlimited opportunity can be a bad things, however, picking a district, picking a weapon, shortening the archery and general seasons, etc, etc. disproportionally harms residents vs nonresidents / outfitted clients.
Here is the memo referenced in the OpEd
With all due respect. That’s the same crappy methodology that has produced this mess. Anyway, I’ll shut up about it. I’ve voiced my thoughts more than enough about it but the states that are managing well don’t use crappy data. There’s zero reason FWP should either.
I agree, I'm just saying the current data isn't worthless. If you compare to what mandatory reporting would produce in terms of data, then yes, the current data quality isn't even close.
I hear you. But without good numbers and the fact that they don’t provide consistent data it gives a sense of dare I say, mismanagement. After listening to way too many hours of the CAC Zoom call it was evident that the numbers are not accurate and this method allows for too much modeling, aka best guess IMO.
I appreciate that. I'll share it there eventually. Sometimes Hunt Talk can get off the rails and move so quickly that one thread at one time is about all I can or care to deal with
