Antler Point Restrictions

[Pucky Freak]

Strategies to have more mature MD in the unit:
-LQ
-Short season
-Season dates, e.g. no rut hunt
-Increase the population/improve the habitat
-APR

Social management of wildlife, options 1-4 can be expensive or cause stakeholders to complain. APR costs nothing and gives the appearance of trying to improve hunt quality, regardless of if it actually works or not.

I’d wager the G&F depts are fully aware they’re engaged in impression management.

 

[Blackcats06]

Although Mule deer are my favorite. I would support a 3-5 year ban on killing mulies state wide. We need to get the population back up to good numbers. I don't like it, but let's manage for the deer instead of the money.

Not killing bucks won't put more baby makers on the ground

 

[brymoore]

“Time stamp 7:19 (stolen from RS)

This slide discusses mule deer buck survival rates and demonstrates why you can’t “bank” or save yearling bucks for the future. It is important to understand that the survival rates used in this slide are based on non-hunting related mortality. The biologist’s example uses a year class of 1.5 year old bucks numbering 5,500 individuals, only 2,750 will live to age 2.5. That is to say that half will die between age 1.5 and 2.5. Hunting harvest is compensatory to that mortality. Meaning that hunting does not increase that number. Those bucks are going to die anyway, so hunters might as well be the ones killing them.”

The unit I live and hunt in sounds like the civil war end of the season during the migration hunt. Lots of forkies dying. Other side, there are 180+ bucks if you’re smart enough to figure out how to hunt them.