Custer Gallatin help

Yeah that was the good old days. I got in on 44 3rd season twice. now havent even been close to sniffing a 44 tag since 2003. I will never draw it again in my life. Also Mr Monster Muleys helped blow that place to bits.

Love that the Colorado guys are complaining! Come to Montana if you want to see bad.
 
Love that the Colorado guys are complaining! Come to Montana if you want to see bad.
Dude I'm from ND I hunt MT every year I can, I have seen it first hand also. Also NE MT used to close buck hunting the last 2 weeks of the season. After they did away with that the quality has gone way way down in those units. Kinda wish they would go back to closing it during the peak of the rut.
 
There's plenty to go around everyone. That's what the two mega camps I saw said. 35 hunters in 2 camps each probably packing a buck and a doe tag. The three week season in some areas was definitely a good deal. Now since it's gone to a full blown season the quality is considerably down. Need to manage like Canada.
 
The enemy of large male public land mule deer is not the other guy. The hunters responsible for the decline of big buck hunting is us. Yes, you and me.

We search out the best hiding places, strap on our packs and proceed to invade any sanctuary that the mature buck can't live without. We select the largest specimen that we can find, often regardless of age. We try like hell to remove the best breeders from the gene pool. We cast a sideways glance at anyone who does it different than us. We scoff at doe hunters, and fork horn hunters.

How do you think that a 1-1 buck to doe ratio on winter range was accomplished in the 1980s when much of the private was accessible?
It will take many times as much random harvest to remove the older bucks from a deer herd than selective harvest.

In the story GH linked 3 hunters killed 4 bigger bucks in 2 years in an area where they could hear each other's shots. If that sounds sustainable, then you are disregarding all other hunters in the area. Those 3 hunters could remove the big bucks from that area by themselves with steady pressure.

We encourage people to get off the road and pack deer several miles. There are 10 times as many of those types of guys there now as there were in the 80s.
The only sanctuary available now is private, and it is selectively harvested more efficiently than the public.

When my younger brother was in hunters safety in the mid 1970s they were discussing tagging of game. The game warden was there and my brother asked the warden what to do in the case of a boned out elk. The first words out of the wardens mouth were "nobody bones out elk."

Times have changed. Hunting regs in Montana need to change also. Meanwhile we will pass the time pointing our finger at the other guy, just like politicians.:)

Very well put.
 
The enemy of large male public land mule deer is not the other guy. The hunters responsible for the decline of big buck hunting is us. Yes, you and me.

We search out the best hiding places, strap on our packs and proceed to invade any sanctuary that the mature buck can't live without. We select the largest specimen that we can find, often regardless of age. We try like hell to remove the best breeders from the gene pool. We cast a sideways glance at anyone who does it different than us. We scoff at doe hunters, and fork horn hunters.

How do you think that a 1-1 buck to doe ratio on winter range was accomplished in the 1980s when much of the private was accessible?
It will take many times as much random harvest to remove the older bucks from a deer herd than selective harvest.

In the story GH linked 3 hunters killed 4 bigger bucks in 2 years in an area where they could hear each other's shots. If that sounds sustainable, then you are disregarding all other hunters in the area. Those 3 hunters could remove the big bucks from that area by themselves with steady pressure.

We encourage people to get off the road and pack deer several miles. There are 10 times as many of those types of guys there now as there were in the 80s.
The only sanctuary available now is private, and it is selectively harvested more efficiently than the public.

When my younger brother was in hunters safety in the mid 1970s they were discussing tagging of game. The game warden was there and my brother asked the warden what to do in the case of a boned out elk. The first words out of the wardens mouth were "nobody bones out elk."

Times have changed. Hunting regs in Montana need to change also. Meanwhile we will pass the time pointing our finger at the other guy, just like politicians.:)

This! Great post!
 
I applaud your post MTTW, very well stated. :W: I'll be out looking for the sanctuary this weekend.
 
The enemy of large male public land mule deer is not the other guy. The hunters responsible for the decline of big buck hunting is us. Yes, you and me.

We search out the best hiding places, strap on our packs and proceed to invade any sanctuary that the mature buck can't live without. We select the largest specimen that we can find, often regardless of age. We try like hell to remove the best breeders from the gene pool. We cast a sideways glance at anyone who does it different than us. We scoff at doe hunters, and fork horn hunters.

How do you think that a 1-1 buck to doe ratio on winter range was accomplished in the 1980s when much of the private was accessible?
It will take many times as much random harvest to remove the older bucks from a deer herd than selective harvest.

In the story GH linked 3 hunters killed 4 bigger bucks in 2 years in an area where they could hear each other's shots. If that sounds sustainable, then you are disregarding all other hunters in the area. Those 3 hunters could remove the big bucks from that area by themselves with steady pressure.

We encourage people to get off the road and pack deer several miles. There are 10 times as many of those types of guys there now as there were in the 80s.
The only sanctuary available now is private, and it is selectively harvested more efficiently than the public.

When my younger brother was in hunters safety in the mid 1970s they were discussing tagging of game. The game warden was there and my brother asked the warden what to do in the case of a boned out elk. The first words out of the wardens mouth were "nobody bones out elk."

Times have changed. Hunting regs in Montana need to change also. Meanwhile we will pass the time pointing our finger at the other guy, just like politicians.:)

Spot on
 
Hunters aren't to blame...the MTFWP, by allowing the season structure, quotas, etc. is.

The average Montana hunter, both R and NR, buy a license and expect the MTFWP to not have seasons, quota's, etc. that will harm the populations. Its not up to hunters to self regulate, they regulate themselves by what's found in the regulations.

Its idiotic to blame hunters, that have a license in their pocket, to NOT hunt, to NOT fill their tags, to not hunt 10 miles in, etc. etc. etc....its not their job to manage big-game. They pay license fees expecting, and assuming, that their license fees hire professionals to manage it for them in a sustainable manner.

If the MTFWP isn't going to manage responsibly, there is no reason to expect the public to do it for them. I expect the public, to hunt the tags they are issued anywhere they legally can for any legal animal they choose to shoot.

Hunters aren't charged with managing the States Wildlife Resources...the MTFWP is.
 
So if I buy 7 mule doe tags for R7 and fill them all on public no one will have a problem with that ? Since you expect me to any tags for which I legally can . I gotta say I totally disagree . This is on the MTFWP , no doubt but us as hunters have to protect our resource too .just cuz I can legally keep 5 walleyes a day doesn't mean that I should especially if I want the body of water to produce in the future ... just saying ,some of the responsibility needs to be on us the hunters .
 
So if I buy 7 mule doe tags for R7 and fill them all on public no one will have a problem with that ? Since you expect me to any tags for which I legally can . I gotta say I totally disagree . This is on the MTFWP , no doubt but us as hunters have to protect our resource too .just cuz I can legally keep 5 walleyes a day doesn't mean that I should especially if I want the body of water to produce in the future ... just saying ,some of the responsibility needs to be on us the hunters .

BS. Proper management of a renewable resource is just that. It should achieve proper ratios, age structures, and population distribution on its own without hunters needing to buy tags and not use them.
 
BS. Proper management of a renewable resource is just that. It should achieve proper ratios, age structures, and population distribution on its own without hunters needing to buy tags and not use them.

Hey I agree with you , but if Fwp continues to mismanage don't we need to try take it upon ourself ?
 
This thing has gone pretty far afield.

To get back to what was talked about up front, I’ve helped guys here & elsewhere and asked nothing in return but that they tell the story & post up pics here or on other sites similar. More times than not if they’re brand new they take whatever assistance I offer and I never hear from em again.

That’s annoying and is what fosters the animosity. People just want to know that they’re helping a member of a community not a leach.
 
I’ve helped guys here & elsewhere and asked nothing in return but that they tell the story & post up pics here or on other sites similar.

So let me get this right.. You'll help somebody out so long as they plaster it all over the internet?

Strange
 

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