Maybe my definition is different than yours for "almost every" but take a look at the numbers and let me know if you still come to that conclusion. There is for sure a difference in NR and R when it comes to the ratio of the two however.
You didn't read his whole quote then. His comment was that almost every NR kills just mule deer and ignores that its good for a WT too.
I should have specified more, but I’m referring more specifically to public land easy to access(BMA’s) in my experience in region 6, and from hearing about other’s experience in region 7. In eastern region 6, it’s very rare to see a non resident with a dead whitetail anymore. I think a large part of that is due to whitetails often being found moreso on private land agriculture environments. Kinda anecdotal I know. I’m sure this varies to different degrees in other regions and by outfitted clients hunting private land river bottoms, etc.
I also should’ve mentioned that splitting the tags between the two species doesn’t necessarily have to happen in every unit/region but really needs to be looked into in areas with the highest variations in take between the two species.
And you are believing those numbers. Call me skeptical if you want, but I don't. mtmuley
Killing any buck they see. mtmuley
Probably likely that a lot of people coming from states that don’t have mule deer would prefer to shoot a mule deer too.
Pretty valid point I don’t see a guy from Wisconsin getting excited about a basket buck of a whitetail
I agree that these numbers are likely not very accurate. I'd be surprised if non-residents didn't take the harvest survey call more serious than our own residents, which likely skews the numbers to look like residents aren't having as large of an impact as the non-residents. As residents, we all know there's no negative individual consequences for providing bad info on those calls.
That's a great question- my understanding is "yes". But again, I am not as well versed as many that are contributing to this thread. We all know that 99% of "us" would support selective tag cuts, different season end dates, or price increases, because we see the benefit each could provide and discuss them across dozens of "Montana Mule Deer" threads. The difficulty is that we likely make up a less-than-majority of Montana hunters, and many of those hunters haven't given it much thought aside from buying their tag at their local haunt, and then expecting to be able to use it for 11 weeks that season. Education will be key in the sense of the "what will this do for me?" crowd who resist change and add friction when positive change (from our viewpoint) is presented by the legislature or commission.
fwp.mt.gov
Would be great to see a few HTer's on there, and ones that can work with landowners/is a landowner, work with outfitters/is an outfitter, as meaningful change will come when the Stockgrowers and Outfitters Association see the same positives as the Public Land hunters. Politics aside, everyone wants to see better Mule Deer hunting in Montana. Just need to sort the wheat from the chaff and keep the bill riders to an absolute minimum.FWP Looks For Members For Mule Deer Advisory Council | Montana FWP
FWP looks for members for mule deer advisory council
More to it than just travel. There sure has been a lot of Washington and Oregon plates in SE MT recently.
Lots of public/accessible land and lots of deer(for many people coming to Montana there’s still “lots” of deer compared to where they hunt at home) and lots of opportunities.
The Western part of the state is already shot out.
