News that’s gonna rock the mule deer world!

[N2TRKYS]

Cool. Thanks for the replies.

 

[Mike 338]

Well, it's sorta like when a guy wins the lottery. It's very awesome... for him and his family and even fun for his friends. Yes, most impressive buck and congratulations to the hunter. I on the other hand, am pretty jacked about the newsletter informing me when merino long johns arrive in sizes other than small and XXXL.

 

[Blacktail_Packer]

sure man, good discussion. The big picture is that Colorado managed deer virtually the same in the modern era up until 1999 when they went to statewide quota on deer tags. By 2004, they were cranking out big deer and most people (not all) agreed that the herds were in much better shape (better buck;doe ratios and all that goes along with that).

Yes there are troubled units/herds, but on a statewide level, they are doing a pretty good job when they can offer opportunity like they do (300" bucks are coming off the AZ strip, but try and get a tag!) and produce historical deer like this.

To my knowledge, not one of these three 300+-inch bucks came from units that were managed for trophies (I might be wrong because I don't pry!).

The "data" is in the record books, and the record book shows (2005 all time B&C, my most recent) that the last buck that netted over 290" (they don't list gross, so I'm allowing for an inflated gross score) was "PR 1981", then a second in 1972, and then 1962 (then going back the other way, nothing until the Lopez buck in 2007, unless I missed one!).

So that is 3 in 20 years from '62 to '82 and those years were a lot closer to the "hay-day" of mule deer than we are now, but we just did 3 in 11 years. Now I know that people were much less likely to enter them during those early years, so this isn't a completely fair comparision... I get that.

But when people say mule deer are on their heels, gene pools are gone, no big deer again, I say look at Colorado. Heck, look about anywhere they get some management, big bucks and healthier herds are often but not always the results (Utah comes to mind right now). And according to the good bios I've talked to, when there are older age class deer in a herd, other good things are happening to cause that age class like good fawn:doe ratios, buck survival, habitat in good shape.

Can you guys point some of that good management advise towards Ca? We’ve had some changes in the last couple of years and I’m very hopeful that it’s a step in the right direction but, at the same time when you look at the other choices they’ve made...

 

[SWOHTR]

Nice deer! It looks like there's a hard-to-deny trend of conservation success and animal size occurring (thinking about the bulll taken in MT three years ago).

 

[IH8Cali]

Can you guys point some of that good management advise towards Ca?

You have a state legislature that is disinterested in providing for hunting opportunity. There are still one or two good X zones that hold big deer (and those on private land), however it's only a matter of time.

 

[Jbehredt]

I used to shoot a doe about every year on my rifle elk hunts. Just bumped into them and took one because the 1st combined season meant we had tags. Glad they stopped that. Don’t think I’d still be doing it but LOTS of deer were getting killed as a side show back in the 90s.

 

[fngTony]

I’m really interested in what about Colorado’s management strategy equated to producing something like this? Could be good practice for other states to follow.

Also I missed the gps coordinations, can someone post them?

 

[robby denning]

That's why you been sleeping outside. "Testing sleeping bags" yeah right

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Dude! You blew my cover! That was not a sleeping bag test hahahahahaha


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[squirrel]

Colorado is not exporting their "expertise" we are doing everything in our power within mandated parameters to joining the other states racing to forky land.

A direct quote from meeting... "people just want to shoot two points"

 

[robby denning]

I’m really interested in what about Colorado’s management strategy equated to producing something like this? Could be good practice for other states to follow.

Well, in its simplest form, they quit managing deer on a near statewide level to an individual herd level, and went to limited quota tags. Now the biologist in charge of one herd can lower or raise tags numbers according to what’s going on in that herd, it regardless of what’s going on somewhere else in the state.

Pre-1999, it was virtually straight OTC with only a change in season dates to manage herds, which was very ineffective compared to the cap-on-licenses strategy Colorado has now.

Utah adopted a similar strategy not too many seasons after Colorado.

Nevada/AZ has always in my life managed like Colorado is now

Idaho, Wyoming, MT manage pretty much like Colorado used to.

This is a very simplistic overview for discussions sake.


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[N2TRKYS]

If the units that have produced the 300"+ bucks in the last 11 years take little to no points to draw, then how is restricted tags helping them? Doesn't that mean that not many people want them, if it's a second or third choice type deal?

 

[LandYacht]

How that doesn’t get someone motivated to sit through late afternoon lightning and sleet storms is beyond me.......#metoo


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[hobbes]

I could be mistaken, but the archery hunters barely put a dent in the numbers. It's the limit on rifle hunting as the rut approaches that makes the biggest difference. A unit that takes 0 to 1 to draw in archery season takes a lot more points to draw a 4th season rifle tag.

 

[tdhanses]

I’m really interested in what about Colorado’s management strategy equated to producing something like this? Could be good practice for other states to follow.

Also I missed the gps coordinations, can someone post them?

Having all draw tags, staggered short seasons and no hunting during the rut has to help.

 

[robby denning]

If the units that have produced the 300"+ bucks in the last 11 years take little to no points to draw, then how is restricted tags helping them? Doesn't that mean that not many people want them, if it's a second or third choice type deal?

Not really because there is still a cap on rifle tags for those herds, and it’s largely rifle hunters who determine buck numbers, not archery hunters.

It’s commonly known that most archery tags go out between zero and two points, (outside the premium units) while the rifle tags in most units, especially for a third season where you can really put the hurt on these bucks, require more points than that, i.e. more demand/pressure/harvest.


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[N2TRKYS]

So, they do take a lot of points to draw. That’s what I figured.

 

[robby denning]

Hobbes, Didn’t then see your post before I wrote mine. Agreed

Tdhanses, Colorado allows a lot of rut hunting in the 3rd/4th season, but tags are capped, that’s what is helping.

Back in the 1990s, there wasn’t even such thing as a fourth season. That came about because of improved buck numbers. Colorado couldn’t even handle a third season back in the 1990s on the OTC system.


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[tdhanses]

So, they do take a lot of points to draw. That’s what I figured.

Just depends on what weapon and season you want to hunt. But no you can easily draw a unit with 0-1 pt and get a tag.

 

[robby denning]

So, they do take a lot of points to draw. That’s what I figured.

The rifle tags in some cases, but this is an archery buck, so when we’ve been posting the points required, we’re talking about archery.


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[tdhanses]

Hobbes, Didn’t then see your post before I wrote mine. Agreed

Tdhanses, Colorado allows a lot of rut hunting in the 3rd/4th season, but tags are capped, that’s what is helping.

Back in the 1990s, there wasn’t even such thing as a fourth season. That came about because of improved buck numbers. Colorado couldn’t even handle a third season back in the 1990s on the OTC system.


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According to the biologists there is no season during the peak of the rut per last weeks phone conf. But now that you say it, 4th season without looking at dates has to be close or in it, must of meant they are not going to open that up to more tags, these probably take a few pts to draw.