They shot 'em all!

[pa mt man]

I got this ad out of a 1962 hunting magazine. Three deer for $47.50.

That's where all the mule deer went...

<FONT COLOR="#800080" SIZE="1">[ 06-11-2003 11:53: Message edited by: pa mt man ]</font>

 

[Oak]

Hmm, it's very interesting to compare last year's numbers to 1961.

1961:

deer - 141,590 hunters kill 147,341 deer
elk - 44,243 hunters kill 11,743 elk

2002:

deer - >80,000 hunters kill >35,000 deer
elk - 215,000 hunters kill 61,174 elk

Looks like too many years of managing for elk has really caught up to us.

Oak

 

[Calif. Hunter]

You may be right, Colorado Oak. I also remember reading a couple of decades ago (

) that mule deer were easy compared to whitetails and elk, and were a dime a dozen. Elk, on the other hand, were elusive and rare. Certainly, over the last few years, I have seen a lot more elk than I have mule deer, and while I've not taken a true trophy buck, I have taken a 6x6 elk. Now it seems that a trophy mule deer is more elusive.

 

[T Bone]

I agree with oak and cal hunter. From my experience A 180+ muley is more rare than 350+ bull elk. They are few and far between.

 

[Jack O'Conner]

In Colorado, former mule deer winter ranges are now subdivisions, shopping malls, and developed lands. Migration routes are now bisected by highways and paved roads. Thousands of mulies have been killed by cars in last 15 years.

Development or mulies? That is the question in the heads of the professional game management folks. Guess who always wins?

Same thing is happening in parts of MT, WY, and Canada.
Jack