Personally I don't think the dedicated hunters even put a scratch in things here in UT. You figure we currently have around 6500 dedicated hunters right now. Of those only 2/3 of them are even eligible to shoot a buck and I know for sure that a big majority of them still don't take 2 bucks out of the 3 years. Just for kicks lets say that we have a 25% success rate (which is probably still to high). That would only be about 1000 bucks each year throughout the whole state. UT gives 97000 deer tags! To me that doesn't seem like much. In reality it's not even like all 1000 bucks are "extra" or above what would have been taken anyway. If the guys that are currently dedicated hunters were not dedicated hunters then they would still be hunting on either the bow, muzz or rifle hunt and would be able to shoot a buck every single year if they wanted to without having to worry about next year so much. My guess is they wouldn't be donating around 52,000 hours per year to wildlife just for the fun of it either. I think the good outweighs the bad by a looong shot! Last thing, I know there are dumb a$$es out there that will take dumb shots and wound deer and maybe even shoot deer and leave the lay but I don't think they do it because they're dedicated hunters. I think idiots like that will do the same thing either way. Just my thoughts on the subject...
Prism, said "I know there there are A LOT of people out there that could care less how big of a buck they shoot. That's fine. But, I personaly think we're seeing a shift in what most hunters want out of a hunt. They want (atleast) a decent chance to see some mature bucks. Utah's current management plans aren't cutting it anymore."
I totally agree with you man. I think in the past the UDWR's excuse of "most people out there just want to hunt and they don't care if they shoot a big buck" may have been somewhat true but from what I'm seeing and hearing it's getting further and further from the truth every day. They need to be more open and flexible and realize what the people who are paying their wages really want. Maybe splitting the state up into more units is the answer? Maybe we should just have a few more limited entry areas that are managed for quality? You wouldn't draw every year but when maybe when you did you could have an increased chance at a mature buck.
I also think it would be a good idea to have mandatory reporting for each hunter every year. If you don't turn your questionare back in then you are not eligible to put in the following year. We could have one of the questions be something like this so they would really know what people want instead of just guessing or ASSuming.
Why do you hunt deer in Utah?
A. Because I like to spend time in the outdoors with friends and family and would eventually like to harvest a mature buck.
B. Because I like to spend time in the outdoors with friends and family and will shoot any legal buck.
C. I just want to shoot any legal buck to provide meat for my family.
D. I just want to see if I can really shoot a buck. Then I'll probably just leave it lay so I don't have to punch my tag, quit hunting and get all bloody.
E. I want to donate my money to the DWR because I love them.
Other._______________________________________________________
(sorry about D and E)
Now I know the UDWR will say that they don't have the man power to go through each of the questionares that are returned so I have a solution for that too. Just cut the number of tags in half and then it will be twice as easy!
Whew! That was long... Back to work now!
NvrEnuf