Erik in AK
New member
for lack of a better word.....
Our local paper solicits opinion pieces from the public. They can be on just about any topic. A fellow from a neighboring community wrote a piece complaining about the 50-inch rule for moose hunting. I felt the writer was speaking from a position of pure self-interest and wrote a response that appeared in the Letters to the Editor section 9 days later.
His 3 cents followed by my 2
COMPASS: POINTS OF VIEW FROM THE COMMUNITY
ADAM J. KURZEJESKI
Commentary
The 50-inch guessing game has got to go
"Is he 50? I think he is 50. He must be at least 50." "Are you sure he is 50?"
"He looks 50 to me. I'd bet he is 50."
No, we are not guessing Uncle Joe's ripe old age. Rather, this is an unfortunate mind game that countless moose hunters go through each hunting season. It's called the "50-inch guessing game."
In many game management units throughout Alaska, hunters must "guess" the rack spread of bull moose, since restrictions preclude taking moose with racks less than 50 inches wide. This is an all but impossible task that even the most seasoned hunters cannot do under ideal conditions. And hunting conditions are not usually ideal. The hunter has to deal with fog, rain, mist, low light conditions and moose that are constantly on the move in and out of the brush, behind trees, in between tree limbs and under branches. This makes the guessing game all the more daunting.
Sadly, many hunters play the guessing game and lose, the end result being moose with 47-, 48- and 49-inch racks being left to feed the bears, ravens and wolves. This is unacceptable and needs to be remedied.
Having to play the 50-inch guessing game sucks all the enjoyment out of the hunting experience. If you guess wrong it's a real heartbreaker and could cost you a lot of coin. If you guess right, you are a lucky son-of-a-gun. If you don't roll the dice and shoot, it can still haunt you for years to come as you let the big one walk, which by now you are confident was a legal bull.
Some options to counter the guessing game: Have a five-day, any-bull hunting season; have a drawing for a limited number of any-bull tags; have a registration hunt and close the season after a set number of bulls are taken; have an any-bull hunt every other year. Anything is better than playing the 50-inch guessing game.
I encourage all my fellow hunters to call or write the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, your favorite politician or local hunting club to voice your opinions about the asinine 50-inch guessing game. If you are an avid moose hunter, I know you have played the game. Did you roll the dice? Did you win or lose?
Adam J. Kurzejeski lives in Eagle River.
My reply was edited a bit for length so this is what I submitted to the paper
Keep the 50 inch antler restriction in place
With all due respect to Mr. Kurzejeski, the 50 inch rule has proven itself to be a successful tool for maintaining healthy moose herds in our most heavily hunted Game Management Units (GMU). The 50 inch rule was instituted specifically to address the decline of mature bulls within Alaska’s road accessible GMU’s.
Within ungulate populations, “any male” hunting seasons result in skewed sex ratios, or in layman’s terms, not enough mature bulls for the number of cows. Bull moose evolved to breed between 5 and 9 years old. Prime bulls have the size and strength to endure the rigors of the rut, and get through the winter. Any-bull seasons create abnormal sex ratios by eliminating many bulls before they reach their prime breeding years. Some are killed outright by hunters while many more sub-dominate yet sexually mature bulls do not survive winter. How is this possible? Simple. Healthy numbers of big bulls prevent sub-dominate bulls from breeding thereby allowing them to maintain their strength and fat reserves for winter survival.
Several bad things happen in herds with an insufficient ratio of prime bulls. First, too few big bulls extends the rut. Cows not bred during their first estrus cycle (early to mid October) will continue to come into heat every 28 days until they are. Young bulls end up exhausting themselves servicing cows in a rut period that instead of being an intense two weeks, ends up a laborious two, three or even four months.
Come spring, the previous fall’s extended rut in turn extends the calving period. Instead of overwhelming predators by having some 80% of moose calves being born within a two week window in early May, births are strung out through June, July and sometimes August. This increases the exposure of a herd’s calf crop to predation. In herds with normal rut and calving periods, most newborns are born “on schedule” and survive predation, plus they have a full spring and summer to put on the body mass that they will need to survive their first winter.
Ultimately, this is what happened in GMUs 7, 13, 14, 15, 16 and 20; herd health and numbers declined due to too few big bulls. The 50 inch rule with its spike-fork and browtine caveats led to a gradual normalization of sex ratios in those units and “saved” those herds while continuing to provide reasonable hunter opportunity. If you’re frustrated because you’re seeing too many “close” bulls allow me to remind you of a few things; 1) the better part of ethical hunting is discretion; 2) those same bulls will be easily over the 50 inch mark next season; and 3) a hunting license is permission to pursue within the bounds of the law. It is not a voucher. Alaska does not owe you a moose.
Erik Burney
Anchorage
Our local paper solicits opinion pieces from the public. They can be on just about any topic. A fellow from a neighboring community wrote a piece complaining about the 50-inch rule for moose hunting. I felt the writer was speaking from a position of pure self-interest and wrote a response that appeared in the Letters to the Editor section 9 days later.
His 3 cents followed by my 2
COMPASS: POINTS OF VIEW FROM THE COMMUNITY
ADAM J. KURZEJESKI
Commentary
The 50-inch guessing game has got to go
"Is he 50? I think he is 50. He must be at least 50." "Are you sure he is 50?"
"He looks 50 to me. I'd bet he is 50."
No, we are not guessing Uncle Joe's ripe old age. Rather, this is an unfortunate mind game that countless moose hunters go through each hunting season. It's called the "50-inch guessing game."
In many game management units throughout Alaska, hunters must "guess" the rack spread of bull moose, since restrictions preclude taking moose with racks less than 50 inches wide. This is an all but impossible task that even the most seasoned hunters cannot do under ideal conditions. And hunting conditions are not usually ideal. The hunter has to deal with fog, rain, mist, low light conditions and moose that are constantly on the move in and out of the brush, behind trees, in between tree limbs and under branches. This makes the guessing game all the more daunting.
Sadly, many hunters play the guessing game and lose, the end result being moose with 47-, 48- and 49-inch racks being left to feed the bears, ravens and wolves. This is unacceptable and needs to be remedied.
Having to play the 50-inch guessing game sucks all the enjoyment out of the hunting experience. If you guess wrong it's a real heartbreaker and could cost you a lot of coin. If you guess right, you are a lucky son-of-a-gun. If you don't roll the dice and shoot, it can still haunt you for years to come as you let the big one walk, which by now you are confident was a legal bull.
Some options to counter the guessing game: Have a five-day, any-bull hunting season; have a drawing for a limited number of any-bull tags; have a registration hunt and close the season after a set number of bulls are taken; have an any-bull hunt every other year. Anything is better than playing the 50-inch guessing game.
I encourage all my fellow hunters to call or write the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, your favorite politician or local hunting club to voice your opinions about the asinine 50-inch guessing game. If you are an avid moose hunter, I know you have played the game. Did you roll the dice? Did you win or lose?
Adam J. Kurzejeski lives in Eagle River.
My reply was edited a bit for length so this is what I submitted to the paper
Keep the 50 inch antler restriction in place
With all due respect to Mr. Kurzejeski, the 50 inch rule has proven itself to be a successful tool for maintaining healthy moose herds in our most heavily hunted Game Management Units (GMU). The 50 inch rule was instituted specifically to address the decline of mature bulls within Alaska’s road accessible GMU’s.
Within ungulate populations, “any male” hunting seasons result in skewed sex ratios, or in layman’s terms, not enough mature bulls for the number of cows. Bull moose evolved to breed between 5 and 9 years old. Prime bulls have the size and strength to endure the rigors of the rut, and get through the winter. Any-bull seasons create abnormal sex ratios by eliminating many bulls before they reach their prime breeding years. Some are killed outright by hunters while many more sub-dominate yet sexually mature bulls do not survive winter. How is this possible? Simple. Healthy numbers of big bulls prevent sub-dominate bulls from breeding thereby allowing them to maintain their strength and fat reserves for winter survival.
Several bad things happen in herds with an insufficient ratio of prime bulls. First, too few big bulls extends the rut. Cows not bred during their first estrus cycle (early to mid October) will continue to come into heat every 28 days until they are. Young bulls end up exhausting themselves servicing cows in a rut period that instead of being an intense two weeks, ends up a laborious two, three or even four months.
Come spring, the previous fall’s extended rut in turn extends the calving period. Instead of overwhelming predators by having some 80% of moose calves being born within a two week window in early May, births are strung out through June, July and sometimes August. This increases the exposure of a herd’s calf crop to predation. In herds with normal rut and calving periods, most newborns are born “on schedule” and survive predation, plus they have a full spring and summer to put on the body mass that they will need to survive their first winter.
Ultimately, this is what happened in GMUs 7, 13, 14, 15, 16 and 20; herd health and numbers declined due to too few big bulls. The 50 inch rule with its spike-fork and browtine caveats led to a gradual normalization of sex ratios in those units and “saved” those herds while continuing to provide reasonable hunter opportunity. If you’re frustrated because you’re seeing too many “close” bulls allow me to remind you of a few things; 1) the better part of ethical hunting is discretion; 2) those same bulls will be easily over the 50 inch mark next season; and 3) a hunting license is permission to pursue within the bounds of the law. It is not a voucher. Alaska does not owe you a moose.
Erik Burney
Anchorage
