Yes right in the heart of mule deer country.
2022 Heritage Season
- Thread starter rogerthat
- Start date
Irishman
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Lots of people suggest shortening seasons, choosing between archery and rifle, limiting permit holders to one unit, and other ideas to limit pressure on wildlife. I don't agree with some of these ideas, but taking part in a new mid December hunting season is not for me, it seems wrong. If I feel the need to hunt, I'll go look for wolves.
rogerthat
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Going by the survey, your the majority opinion on hunttalk. I don’t have a big problem with a muzzleloader season but these dates are pretty brutal for wintering wildlife. However I think any concerns of a muzzleloader slaughter are probably overblown as I suspect not many are partaking and the few that are may just be doing mostly looking around while carrying a muzzleloader. Be interesting to see how much effort is being put forth during this season.
No reason to be chasing them around this time of year end the season two weeks before the week of thanksgiving. @huntingwife there is my solution. The muzzleloader season is law. The traditional guys can ride a horse from their house and have their fun. Outfitters can still have there hunters. Won’t be perfect but it would certainly be better.
rogerthat
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So last two weeks traditional?
cgasner1
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We killed a buck today. He had been wounded during rifle season someone shot his foot off. It was the only reason he got shot. Also saw another one I wish we could have shot someone hit him mid leg in the back ham over half his leg was swinging around was sad to see.
November 15-30 traditional. I’d probably participate in that
cgasner1
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Keep it at 9 days and move the youth hunt till after the muzzy season
Youth hunt should take a dirt nap. Let the youth have doe tags fwp is so eager to give out. September archery October 20 to whatever two weeks is before the week of thanksgiving is and let the people with their traditions hunt with traditional muzzleloaders. Pipe dreams if I was in charge.
antlerradar
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What! I thought only archery hunters wounded animals.
AvidIndoorsman
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Last edited:
I like that idea. Run the general normal until Nov 15. Then youth rifle and traditional after that.
D
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Still can’t figure out why you guys are so hell bent on running a general tag into November.
Your hunting quality will suck as long as you do.
AvidIndoorsman
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I’m absolutely not for it. But you have to look at what you can convince the majority of people to be happy with because fwp isn’t going to do what’s best for the resource. They will do what’s popular.
Based on the opinions here, I don't think the majority of Montana Hunt Talk members are hell bent on November general mule deer tags. But, based on a sample size of my FB audience, when I posted the suggestion to take mule deer hunting out of the rut, those comments tell me that the Hunt Talk crowd is clearly a minority opinion among Montana hunters.
Not sure how to change that dynamic, as any time someone advocates for moving mule deer out of the rut, they are instantly labeled a "trophy hunter" or some similar connotation that defends the status quo by painting a bad picture/motives of anyone who might be concerned about the cause of mule deer. Not sure how to solve that.
D
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My apologies for lumping you in. I was basing my comment on what you wrote.
No offense, but the season structure you proposed is just a different color of lipstick on the pig, and won’t do anything to improve mule deer hunting.
It’s more of a compromise. There’s no way In hell Montana doesn’t have a rut hunt unless things burn to the ground. So at least you give some of those bucks a chance vs. taking the thanksgiving dirt nap
Nameless Range
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I know this is about the Heritage Hunt, but I wonder about this lately. HuntTalk is not indicative of the whole, but I don't know if Facebook commenters are either. Further, I think Facebook commenters, many of them anyway, hold opinions more or less prescribed to them and will sway, or for that matter speak up or stay silent, based on what they think the majority position in a corner of FB will hold. As someone who uses FB too much, and who spends a lot of time on the "hunting-based" pages, I really think I observed the discourse around elk change in a few-year period of time - and in a good way. No longer do people say there are "too many elk", and a lot more often I see comments of awareness to how the average guy can get screwed. Last year's commission debacle really highlighted the change in discourse IMO.
All that to say I think public positions can change faster than we may think.
Something I have been thinking about as one way forward, is in areas that are general for mule deer, what if something like 20%(whatever percent) of general tag holders get to hunt after November 1st any given year - in all statewide general HDs. You wouldn't get to again until the remainder of the pool got to themselves. Not a permit you put in for, but just an attribute on your general tag . Some years down the road it would need to be revisited, and always, individual districts would have to be assessed. Whatever we do, I think the only way Montanans will stomach the change will be if they have someway to sometimes hunt the rut - every x amount of years.
I know this thread is about the heritage season and I'm not trying to hijack. I saw 2 guys chasing a buck yesterday when I was coming out of the hills with a load of wood. It was on the run on an open hillside, and I doubt they caught him.
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