Montana season structure proposal 2.0

[mukbowhunt]

Did you pull teeth on that buck to age him?

No. Didn’t think about it.

 

[mukbowhunt]

Shoulda let him grow up. mtmuley

Sure sure. He grew up just fine in the freezer.

 

[huntin24/7]

It would be nice to see whitetail does managed by unit as well. We’re at a fraction of what we were with them even 5 years ago over a pretty large area where I am, but you can still buy one or two each otc.

 

[mtmiller]

I had to take a trip around the block just to check out the plates. Residents, but assuming these neck roasts were headed west.

 

[SwaggyD]

I had to take a trip around the block just to check out the plates. Residents, but assuming these neck roasts were headed west.

Just why?

 

[cgasner1]

Just why?

Your truck would look the same if you didn’t have a pink clip stuffed in your back pack

 

[FREAK]

I had to take a trip around the block just to check out the plates. Residents, but assuming these neck roasts were headed west.

Boone and Crockett plates was trying his damndest to stack up enough antler to get there.

 

[huntin24/7]

I had to take a trip around the block just to check out the plates. Residents, but assuming these neck roasts were headed west.

That little guy with his hide on doesn’t look very tasty. But then again, I’ve never had one marinated with dust and the hide left on, so who knows.

 

[Ought Six]

Today’s mediocre mule deer hunting will be someone’s glory days one day. I keep telling myself that anyway.

 

[INMT]

I had to take a trip around the block just to check out the plates. Residents, but assuming these neck roasts were headed west.

Good god. Gonna take some work to get the dust outa that one. WTF

 

[brockel]

That little guy with his hide on doesn’t look very tasty. But then again, I’ve never had one marinated with dust and the hide left on, so who knows.

Fuggin thing might have cwd the way it looks.

 

[brockel]

Think we can get a test in place for when someone buys a license they have to take a test on how not to park just over the hill in the middle of a county road? Christ all mighty them white plates with a mountain on them have a death wish this week it seems.

 

[Hunting Wife]

It would be nice to see whitetail does managed by unit as well. We’re at a fraction of what we were with them even 5 years ago over a pretty large area where I am, but you can still buy one or two each otc.

Agreed. Spoke to a 77 year old landowner while I was out one day. He asked if I saw any whitetails. I said no, haven’t seen one in several years. He said the same- that he used to only have whitetails and now it’s 100% mule deer. He was complaining that there’s restrictions on mule deer does, but there’s not a single restriction on whitetails even though there aren’t any anymore. This is a place that used to be a whitetail stronghold in MT.

 

[Ought Six]

Agreed. Spoke to a 77 year old landowner while I was out one day. He asked if I saw any whitetails. I said no, haven’t seen one in several years. He said the same- that he used to only have whitetails and now it’s 100% mule deer. He was complaining that there’s restrictions on mule deer does, but there’s not a single restriction on whitetails even though there aren’t any anymore. This is a place that used to be a whitetail stronghold in MT.

I’m seeing the opposite, lots of whitetails in mule deer country, and lots of whitetails in whitetail country

 

[Hunting Wife]

I’m seeing the opposite, lots of whitetails in mule deer country, and lots of whitetails in whitetail country

Interesting. Two anecdotes that illustrate why state-wide or even region-wide regulations/management strategies for each species may be inappropriate.

 

[Ben Lamb]

Interesting. Two anecdotes that illustrate why state-wide or even region-wide regulations/management strategies for each species may be inappropriate.

This is a really critical point. Both the current season structure and the proposed structure from the group allow for micro-management on the unit scale. The biggest issue becomes that the public has grown accustomed to a binary choice: Either you get the general season, or you get the limited entry approach. When changes are made at local levels, they generally are impactful - such as the elimination of whitetail doe specific licenses/permits in favor of increased harvest of mule deer does, vice-versa. That gets reinforced when folks simply dig in on the notion that the traditional 5/6 set up is inviolate despite recurring and growing issues relative to overall management of both deer & elk.

Every season structure should be a skeleton on which to hang the meat of individual districts so that local needs are met over the desire for broad consistency in season structure for ease of understanding regulations. The reason that the group split the general season for deer was as much about hunter pressure for all species as it was an effort to remove antlered mule deer hunting during the rut to provide more security for MD.

Ecological change as well is a driver of where specific critters go. Region 1 is a prime example of less than optimal habitats for both elk and mule deer. With the increase in exurban development, loss of logging, regen from fires and increase in noxious weeds (as well as some predation issues), ungulate numbers except for whitetail continue to be below the long term average, displacing hunters to the east of the divide - increasing the pressure curve in those regions. Elk population rise also can have an impact, as well as loss of winter range, noxious weeds, etc. Season structure is only 1 part of the overall mule deer issue, and as the guys have said often, this is about addressing multiple problems relative to how we manage our time in the field in order to increase success rates and decrease hunter pressure across the board.

There is no one easy fix for issues out there, but if we take on chunks at a time with a decent idea of where to go in order to find what we are looking for in terms of animal numbers, age classes, distribution and opportunity - I think we can get there.

 

[The Hedgehog]

I had to take a trip around the block just to check out the plates. Residents, but assuming these neck roasts were headed west.

Little big MT deer quest round 3.