Montana Mule Deer Mismanagement

[8andcounting]

KEEPING A PULSE ON POPULATIONS | Montana FWP

More mule deer observed in aerial surveys, fawn recruitment strong in southeast Montana

fwp.mt.gov

 

[Forkyfinder]

KEEPING A PULSE ON POPULATIONS | Montana FWP

More mule deer observed in aerial surveys, fawn recruitment strong in southeast Montana

fwp.mt.gov

"For those interested in more on mule deer management, FWP will host a series of regional townhall-style meetings this fall to discuss the state of mule deer and CWD management as a whole. The Miles City meeting is set for Sept. 29 at Miles Community College from 6 to 9 p.m. More details will be provided closer to the meeting. For other meeting dates and locations, visit FWP’s website. This article is also part of a series of articles, videos and other outreach FWP has planned on mule deer in Montana"

@DFS there you go

 

[mtmuley]

KEEPING A PULSE ON POPULATIONS | Montana FWP

More mule deer observed in aerial surveys, fawn recruitment strong in southeast Montana

fwp.mt.gov

Saw that. Super encouraging right? mtmuley

 

[DFS]

"For those interested in more on mule deer management, FWP will host a series of regional townhall-style meetings this fall to discuss the state of mule deer and CWD management as a whole. The Miles City meeting is set for Sept. 29 at Miles Community College from 6 to 9 p.m. More details will be provided closer to the meeting. For other meeting dates and locations, visit FWP’s website. This article is also part of a series of articles, videos and other outreach FWP has planned on mule deer in Montana"

@DFS there you go

My thoughts get filed right into the public comment bin. But I will likely go and watch.

 

[brockel]

Everything’s fine guys. Just tie those boots up tighter and get out there

 

[Point Creep]

Hunter satisfaction surveys are excellent and counts/estimates are at a high level. Can’t argue with real data.

My last public comment/complaint to that group of clowns was August 2015. It doesn’t matter what you say.

 

[8andcounting]

Basically it’s like they are advertising for people to come shoot mule deer in region 7

 

[R.K.]

Hunter satisfaction surveys are excellent and counts/estimates are at a high level. Can’t argue with real data.

I hunted 4 days during the rut, hiked in a few miles, and saw plenty of does, but more trucks than bucks, and nothing bigger than a forky.

Are there some bucks waaaay back in there? Yeah, probably. I guess. But are they accessible to the average Joe who has to hike in, find one, and pack one out in a day, or a weekend? No.

I’d like to add a couple questions to the Hunter satisfaction surveys- how many years have you hunted Montana deer, and what was your average BAC during the hunt?

 

[Eric Albus]

I can write a survey and get any answer I want.
Nothing will change until the resident sportsmen show up in huge numbers. Unless we want the legislature to take control mule deer management in the state.

 

[antlerradar]

I’d like to add a couple questions to the Hunter satisfaction surveys- how many years have you hunted Montana deer, and what was your average BAC during the hunt?

Couple those with, has the mule deer hunting gotten better or worse in years you have been hunting?

 

[Forkyfinder]

Unless we want the legislature to take control mule deer management in the state.

start by making nr hunter numbers reflective of other states.

 

[Rack Daniels]

Couple those with, has the mule deer hunting gotten better or worse in years you have been hunting?

Numbers=Same or more
Quality bucks…. Well we see em online but I don’t see as many afield… maybe this year

 

[8andcounting]

I can write a survey and get any answer I want.
Nothing will change until the resident sportsmen show up in huge numbers. Unless we want the legislature to take control mule deer management in the state.

They won’t cuz the residents do the most damage and they just blame NR

 

[8andcounting]

start by making nr hunter numbers reflective of other states.

That isn’t the problem . The problem is every resident can buy a tag otc and hunt statewide .

 

[Forkyfinder]

That isn’t the problem . The problem is every resident can buy a tag otc and hunt statewide .

No. It isnt.

I think, you, like the treecarp who liked your post - have no idea. I wish walleye fishing was cool - and you had a clue - but you dont.

How many nr tags does idaho have? How about wy?

 

[El Jason]

No. It isnt.

I think, you, like the treecarp who liked your post - have no idea. I wish walleye fishing was cool - and you had a clue - but you dont.

How many nr tags does idaho have? How about wy?

Idaho has a NR cap of 15,500 deer tags.

I couldn’t find total tag data for WY, but their NR deer harvest was over 8500 deer.

 

[Wyoming270]

I always hear the whining about how mule deer numbers are way down and game and fish needs to stop selling tags, that its their fault the population will never recover.

Well first off i dont think the population is low. I see tons of them. They are in the thick stuff. I think anlot of their habitat has shifted and they have shifted with it. One of the places i hunt was mature ponderosa pine until beetle kill. Now its got a lot of 8 foot tall poplar and pines, so thock many areas deer would hang out in before, i cannot see 10 feet through. Deer are still in there, just cant see them from 300 yards anymore. with a lot of habitat changes like that, plus more of other species such as elk, and moose, i think the mule deer just arent out in the open as much as they used to be. As to limiting seasons, there is no scientific evidence that helps. If they have less habitat, or less food, or more predators, killing fewer wont make the population bigger, it will just mean more die from nature. In many cases killing some to keep herds smaller keeps them healthy and well fed. Great example is our 2022 winter killof places with smaller herds per food retained larger percentages of deer than the areas with larger herds per food.

 

[cgasner1]

I always hear the whining about how mule deer numbers are way down and game and fish needs to stop selling tags, that its their fault the population will never recover.

Well first off i dont think the population is low. I see tons of them. They are in the thick stuff. I think anlot of their habitat has shifted and they have shifted with it. One of the places i hunt was mature ponderosa pine until beetle kill. Now its got a lot of 8 foot tall poplar and pines, so thock many areas deer would hang out in before, i cannot see 10 feet through. Deer are still in there, just cant see them from 300 yards anymore. with a lot of habitat changes like that, plus more of other species such as elk, and moose, i think the mule deer just arent out in the open as much as they used to be. As to limiting seasons, there is no scientific evidence that helps. If they have less habitat, or less food, or more predators, killing fewer wont make the population bigger, it will just mean more die from nature. In many cases killing some to keep herds smaller keeps them healthy and well fed. Great example is our 2022 winter killof places with smaller herds per food retained larger percentages of deer than the areas with larger herds per food.

My buddy in Wyoming went and packed into a place that suffered pretty bad from that die off this weekend. He saw 34 bucks they went in on a Friday and out on Saturday. Your deer seemed to have bounced back pretty decent I wonder why you hunt them in October in wyoming