DWR Survey..???

[BrowningRage]

In regards to deer hunting in Utah- If the DWR performed a survey of all license holders in which the questions were directed at finding whether or not hunters would prefer hunting every year vs. hunting every few years at increased rates, less pressure and but better opportunity for larger bucks- What would they find..???

Would there be more people say they want lower tag numbers (I'm talkin like 40% of what we have now) hopefully improving age objectives for bucks...

Or would more people opt to hunt every year for whatever they can find at current tag numbers. (I realize current numbers don't necessarily allow everyone to hunt every year, but close to it)

Or, has the DWR done this in the past already...??




"Therefore, wo be unto him that is at ease in Zion!" 2 Ne. 28: 24

 

[RisingSun]

Unfortunately, I think you would find that the majority would vote to continue with the same amount of tags or to even increase them. Then complain about not being able to hunt wherever they wanted to, and also about the fact they didn't see anything really big as they stand in their photo with a two point they shot on opening morning. The people you see on this sight are the exception not the rule, for the most part anyway.

For the division I think it comes down to money more than objectives and that might not necessarily be their fault.

 

[progono]

I don't see the majority of hunters being willing to sacrifice their yearly hunts to try and get bigger bucks out there. Here's an idea. Lets change the way we hunt as a population and let the dwr do whatever they want. It wouldn't matter what they would do if the majority of us would be willing to buy a tag every year and not shoot a deer every year. I would hate to not have the opportunity to go out every year but I definatly don't take an animal every year. Too many little bucks are being shot opening morning to improve much on the age quality. Only the ones behind the trigger can change that not the dwr. Sell thousands more tags and make it 3 point or better and see what happens. Might suck for the first few years but things would improve in a hurry. Just one guys thoughts. I think for a democracy we rely way to much on the government to decide how things are going to be. In the end its up to us.

 

[coolspringoutfitters]

They did it last year. I don't remember where to find the info, but I remember them talking about it at the Wildlife Board meeting...

CSO

It's all about the good times...

 

[GLEDEASY]

Personally I would like to be able to hunt more often than multiple years inbetween. I don't have the know how, time, or money at this point in my life to be able to try my luck in multiple states. At best I get a tag every other year.

I shot my smaller deer when I was younger to get a few under my belt, now I dream of a bigger one in my days to come. There may not be a big buck behind every other tree but they are out there, have had my chances on a few. The hunting pressure sucks for sure and can feel over crowded in places, but getting away from a road helps a bit in those cases. Cutting tag numbers will help bucks mature a bit but won't contribute a lot to the overall growth in deer numbers.

IMO, keep tag numbers up and put restrictions of three point or better (unless you are a youth/first time tag holder). Keeps opportunity high to have a tag (which is the only way to harvest a big buck) and allows more bucks to mature (increasing odds of finding a big buck).

 

[Packout]

They already did an extensive survey in the past few years that included statistical sound data and included input from all hunting segments- general, ltd entry, life-timers, regional, archers, rifle, ml, etc... The survey showed trophy quality far down the list of hunters' desires. People just want to hunt, they don't have to take an animal home to have a successful experience. The majority (by a wide margin) would rather hunt more often for smaller bucks than hunt every 5-10 years for larger antlered bucks.

Some guys claimed the survey was biased, because it didn't show the results they desired. And of course there are some who claim a 3-4 year old survey is out dated, but it isn't. Politics and conjecture rule the day. All I know is a survey won't grow deer, nor did it end up helping those in the decision making process make their social management decisions.