Montana Mule Deer Mismanagement

[SAJ-99]

This tired old point again?

It is the whole point. You know it. Maybe not to you or other HT'ers, but in Helena it is the WHOLE point. You want to look at the inequity in harvest and cry about "fair". When you charge NR that much you are going to decrease the willingness to eat the tag. Double the price of the tag and you reduce the amount of people that that spend money in places most people just drive through as fast as possible. There are impacts.

I think the cut ended up at 2500 on reissued licenses? Either way keep going. New legislature in 2027. Start your campaign now to raise fees and cut NR licenses.

 

[Wyoming270]

You are privelaged getting less than 25% of the NR deer hunters that this state gets.

Anyone thinking you can sell over 20k NR tags and maintain "quality" regardless of season length/structure is pulling your leg..... Or their an outfitter, someone whos paid to represent them, or they have simply been duped.

Change your game and fish management

 

[brockel]

4 years later and still the same complaints with fwp still saying everything is fine.

 

[El Jason]

If Montana decides they need 100% residents and no NR deer hunters, I’ll completely support it. Looking at data from south of the border, season structure is far more likely to have an impact.

 

[8andcounting]

Actually - they get what most other places call "fair" - 90/10

Actually . They “can” get you to 10% . In draw areas like 410 for elk there’s 0 NRs drawn most years for 410/20

 

[SAJ-99]

4 years later and still the same complaints with fwp still saying everything is fine.
View attachment 415258

The head of FWP told the Commission that it didn't know where the NR pressure was so the cuts were done blind. That can be fixed, but it won't be. People like to blame FWP but the people they send to Helena are the root cause.

 

[8andcounting]

View attachment 415259

If Montana decides they need 100% residents and no NR deer hunters, I’ll completely support it. Looking at data from south of the border, season structure is far more likely to have an impact.

Won’t happen . They need the $ . Most residents will complain if fees go up more than a little bit . Just like they complain on Facebook that NR shoot all the deer . And the next post they are mad as hell cuz they can only shoot 3 deer this year instead of 7 .

 

[Forkyfinder]

View attachment 415259

If Montana decides they need 100% residents and no NR deer hunters, I’ll completely support it. Looking at data from south of the border, season structure is far more likely to have an impact.

Whats the trend of issued tags here?

Whats the trend in montana?

But whatever to justify your nr opportunity.

 

[El Jason]

Won’t happen . They need the $ . Most residents will complain if fees go up more than a little bit . Just like they complain on Facebook that NR shoot all the deer . And the next post they are mad as hell cuz they can only shoot 3 deer this year instead of 7 .

Thanks for mansplaining that to me. I’m fully aware of their financial addictions. All that said, I stand 100% behind my promise I’ll support that endeavor all the way to the end, even though I know it’ll never create the panacea some think it will create.

 

[El Jason]

Whats the trend of issued tags here?

Whats the trend in montana?

But whatever to justify your nr opportunity.

What are you even talking about? You do realize I haven’t applied for a deer tag in Montana in over a decade, right? I’m not “justifying” anything and I have no idea what would compel you to even make that stupid comment.

I’m not sure why I’m your enemy here, other than I’m disputing your “facts”. You act like a petulant teenager when someone doesn’t agree with you.

If you want to ride the NR hunter number horse to the bitter end, knock yourself out. I posed the numbers above because they show the harvest percentage and all that jazz aren’t the issue. The issue is WY has mechanisms in place to increase or decrease hunters (both R and NR) in units based upon their aerial flight data. They also have mechanisms to distribute hunters without relying on self distribution.

Those that know me, know I’ve advocated for a change in deer (and elk) season structure for a couple of decades. My history of engagement in Montana resource management probably goes back a little further than yours. I’ll keep advocating for change, even though I have absolutely no horse in the race.

Carry on with your veiled potshots. You’re missing the forest for the trees. Do you still believe I’m an outfitter?

 

[cgasner1]

What are you even talking about? You do realize I haven’t applied for a deer tag in Montana in over a decade, right? I’m not “justifying” anything and I have no idea what would compel you to even make that stupid comment.

I’m not sure why I’m your enemy here, other than I’m disputing your “facts”. You act like a petulant teenager when someone doesn’t agree with you.

If you want to ride the NR hunter number horse to the bitter end, knock yourself out. I posed the numbers above because they show the harvest percentage and all that jazz aren’t the issue. The issue is WY has mechanisms in place to increase or decrease hunters (both R and NR) in units based upon their aerial flight data. They also have mechanisms to distribute hunters without relying on self distribution.

Those that know me, know I’ve advocated for a change in deer (and elk) season structure for a couple of decades. My history of engagement in Montana resource management probably goes back a little further than yours. I’ll keep advocating for change, even though I have absolutely no horse in the race.

Carry on with your veiled potshots. You’re missing the forest for the trees. Do you still believe I’m an outfitter?

From what I’ve heard about you the state really missed out when you left. I’d buy you a beer any day

 

[huntin24/7]

I would support almost any season change at this point that would make it more challenging to kill a deer and that would make the guys that absolutely have to kill a buck every year more likely to shoot the first forky they see.

 

[Gerald Martin]

View attachment 415259

If Montana decides they need 100% residents and no NR deer hunters, I’ll completely support it. Looking at data from south of the border, season structure is far more likely to have an impact.

Wyoming hunters are comprised by 39% NR who kill 46% of the total harvest.

The fact that they have less than 50,000 total hunters and short, non rut season structure is probably something worthwhile considering.

MT has @ 150,000 hunters over 5 weeks that overlap peak rut. Nothing to see here folks. Just cut out 10,000 NR hunters and everything will be peachy.

I just checked the 2025 harvest report stats from FWP.

Total deer harvest was 77,308.
Total NR deer hunters 27,332. Total NR harvest. 16,973.
Total R deer hunters. 116,849. Total R harvest. 60,335.


NR deer harvest was just under 22% of total deer harvest for 2025. Clearly we can make a dramatic change in how many deer are getting harvested if we implement a 30% reduction in the hunters who kill 22% of the deer.

That would mean like a 660% reduction of harvest….. (*Math calculations performed by “IhateNRhunters.com)

 

[mtmuley]

From what I’ve heard about you the state really missed out when you left. I’d buy you a beer any day

Me too. And he had some of my favorite beer in his fridge. Tacos too. mtmuley

 

[cgasner1]

The fact that we can’t even just pull our heads out of the ass far enough to just make the deer tag either mule deer or whitetail makes my head hurt

 

[mtmuley]

The fact that we can’t even just pull our heads out of the ass far enough to just make the deer tag either mule deer or whitetail makes my head hurt

Statewide? mtmuley

 

[cgasner1]

Statewide? mtmuley

Getting that done in a single region would be moving a mountain at this point but ya statewide would be fantastic.

 

[mtmuley]

Getting that done in a single region would be moving a mountain at this point but ya statewide would be fantastic.

Why? Excluding le mule deer units obviously. mtmuley

 

[cgasner1]

Why? Excluding le mule deer units obviously. mtmuley

Incidental harvest would go down. Wouldn’t be a lot but it would make people pick and you know how it goes you always see a nice buck when you don’t have a tag for it.

 

[mtmuley]

Incidental harvest would go down. Wouldn’t be a lot but it would make people pick and you know how it goes you always see a nice buck when you don’t have a tag for it.

I understand but that is a tough one to get done. mtmuley