I don't hunt the area, but I always thought that it was interesting that we still trying to set hunting regs based on old school ideas.
Why reduce hunter days, why not limit the harvest and broaden the opportunities for hunters to hunt? Why not allow some bow, some muzzy, some modern, some pistol and set the harvest based on what the habitat can support in terms of a healthy deer population in stead of just a B/D ratio?
I cant be specific about the unit and what is right for every herd, that's your job, that's why youre on the RAC, but I think there needs to be more hunting opportunities for the hunter who lives there and who does not have the deep pockets to buy his or her way into a tag every year. At the rate we now are going, only the rich kids who have wealthy parents will get the opportunity to harvest game regularly, from one year to the next.
I mean no disrespect, and I'll admit I dont know all that there is to know about the units there (most dont), but seems to me like you should limit the harvest to a biologically sound number, but dont reduce the hunter days. Reducing hunter days means you are stealing from Peter to pay Paul; your hunters are YOUR ONLY support, if you shut them out, they will manage to shut you down! It would be very very unwise to take away more and more opportunity and it would help to put one more foot in the grave of the publics open access to wild and free ranging animals in the west. . . I'm a non resident, so you can take what I say or leave it, but it's time to make sure that our young, middle class people have a chance to learn to hunt, not just have a chance at a hunt and a kill every 10 years, that's no way to raise a hunting community. . .
The common, average hunting public is your base, loose many more of us and we all loose the future of our great hunting heritage. I know some will say no way; some will say I'd rather have a chance at one monster mule deer buck every 7 years than I would a hunting experience every year. I dont agree with that policy and nor should it drive the management of our deer herds as it now does. MM is one place to check, but most, I'd say the majority of your hunting public, is NOT on monster muleys and does not subscribe to the "trophy" hunting standards. . . .
We need more opportunity, not less. Get creative with dates and times and weapons restrictions, make the game department and the hunter work a little harder, that's okay with me, I'd rather work harder at hunting than I would work harder and trying to get an opportunity to hunt while I sit around on my couch and get fat because I cant go deer hunting anymore. . . .