No King's Deer

[Ben Lamb]

We’ll see. I could see some horse-trading with 90/10 etc, but I could be wrong.

If not this year, eventually.

The immovable object will not yield to this easily resistible force.

 

[SAJ-99]

I'd wager that most people who poach aren't doing it for the antlers.

Probably true, but transferable landowner tags isn’t high on their priority list either.

 

[Ben Lamb]

Probably true, but transferable landowner tags isn’t high on their priority list either.

Very true.

But take away the easy license, and you'll have more.

 

[shootbrownelk]

I remind myself that every single day some politician, corporation, special interest group, industry or other entity is trying to steal the public's water, land or wildlife. Those attacks come in different forms, and IMO those efforts are intensifying.

Re wildlife, special tags based on land ownership have shown considerable success of late. Access to surface waters is restricted in many States, and is continually under attack here in Montana. Dumbing down water quality standards away from numerical standards to now having to prove damage before action is taken. Dumbing down both NEPA and MEPA allow more damaging actions without fully disclosing the consequences.

Unfortunately, the vast majority of hunters and anglers will remain complacent until it will be gone.....and then say "someone should have done something about that"...and of course most of those erosive changes are irreversible.

Keep your eye on Lee from Utah. He sure ain't done yet.

 

[SAJ-99]

Very true.

But take away the easy license, and you'll have more.

Maybe, but these people probably weren't hunting private ranches anyway. What you point out is the reaction function = anger over favoring the "haves" versus them, the "have nots". Basically, you create more psychopaths who drive by a ranch and pop a bull elk and leave it because the state decided to issue transferrable LO tags. Pretty messed up, but that is certainly something to consider.

I'm not sure what the answer is. As you point out, there are probably multiple answers, each different for the each state. Democracy rules. I have said MT can certainly increase objective numbers and buy landowner agreement with LO tags. They did the second part already, just need to increase the objectives now. WY isn't much different. There are already LO tags. LOs just want to be able to sell them. I often wonder how big of a deal this is to the 300,000 voters in WY. But look, if the WY citizens don't want that, then it shouldn't happen.

 

[Ben Lamb]

MT just increased objective ranges in 23.

WY just loudly said no to these licenses in 25.

 

[antlerradar]

I'd wager that most people who poach aren't doing it for the antlers.

That is a bet I think you would lose.

With all the doe, and cow tags these days, there really isn't that much reason to poach to put food on the table. It has been years since I had to deal with someone that was just hungry. Today it is all about ego and bragging about antlers.

 

[Ben Lamb]

That is a bet I think you would lose.

With all the doe, and cow tags these days, there really isn't that much reason to poach to put food on the table. It has been years since I had to deal with someone that was just hungry. Today it is all about ego and bragging about antlers.

Butte, America has entered the chat.

I think there's a big piece of the King's Deer involved here as well.

Take the ability of the average person to harvest an antlered animal while telling them a cow or a doe is all you get - you will have civil unrest in at least the northern rocky mtn states.

 

[Treeshark]

I’m a bit confused as to how we got to residents losing the ability to harvest antlered game as a byproduct of transferable LO tags. That’s a bit of a stretch.

 

[Benfromalbuquerque]

I would like to see that argued in front of a judge. "Sorry judge, I didn't draw a tag which caused an invitation, if not obligation, for me to poach in an effort to fill the void in my soul. It's pretty much human nature."

The opportunity for that argument is possible and I like it. Absurdities from the courtroom come to mind like affluenza or glove don’t fit. So if a resident was not drawn, hunted anyway, busted and the legal fees were of no concern? That could create a real humdinger of a precedent throughout the whole 10th district. I hope that future asshole poacher is represented by the sort of soulless maniac that would fling that at the jury and it just might stick.