colorado shed closure

Elkslayer2015

Elkslayer2015

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LAST EDITED ON Apr-12-17 AT 10:29AM (MST)[p]Well I guess I will find out this Sunday when it opens if Colorado was better on the shed closure than Utah was.......HAHAHA IM NOT COUNTING ON IT
 
You thinking the Utah shed antler closure was a failure?

Brian Latturner
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Boot tracks all over the place and no antlers in site. I guess if you didn't follow the rules it was a huge success.



Jake H. BIG BONE HUNTING Page on Facebook.
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LAST EDITED ON Apr-12-17 AT 08:31AM (MST)[p]Well kinda I think if they do this again they need to fine tune it like starting it at sunrise instead of midnight the whole reason for the closure was not to stress the wildlife there was people running all over with head lamps and spotlights picking up sheds they already found and spooking the wildlife out in the dark we didn't go into are area until it was light out of respect for the wildlife.
 
Based on what I saw, I thought it was a smart move. We found plenty of antlers and didn't see any boot tracks, so I don't think it was hit by a cheater. Yes, people were running around before daylight on April 1st, but so what, anyone could have. Why would hiking around in the dark stress the game more than hiking around just after sun up?
Actually, based on what I know of game, I'd say they feel more secure when it's dark and people are walking through their house than when it's daylight and people are hiking around them.

So, my take is, smart move by Sheehan. I just sent him an email telling him I thought the closure was a good thing.

I would bet it was a good move to close it in Colorado too.

Brian Latturner
MonsterMuleys.com
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The only reason I said that the night thing should be band is because we just came out of winter when the animals are really stressed and I was one of many people that seen boot tracks and atv and side by side tracks all over before the shed hunt opener the animals still got pushed because of that I think it was a good thing they did it just needs fine tuning.
 
I have no problem with people hiking in the dark as long as they weren't going to pick up their "stashes".
 
LAST EDITED ON Apr-12-17 AT 10:41AM (MST)[p]I think the shed closure was a good thing. No matter what activity or law you are talking about, there will always be those that are willing to break them. Just because a significant amount of piece of crap men still beat their wives does not mean we should take domestic violence laws off the books. We will never legislate ourselves away from idiots that refuse to follow the law, no matter how noble or good a law may be.

All I hear on these forums from a handful of people are "all I saw were old boot tracks and no sheds." I call bull on some of this.

I will email the Director and ask him to make this early closure permanent.
 
What the heck is your guys deal with shed hunters? Most are good respectful dudes.Do we label all hunters as poachers because of a few that kill deer out of season? In my eyes the closure did little to nothing this year. There was a poll going around on socail media that had somewhere around 450ish posts asking whether or not they say signs of early shed hunting....95% of people said yes and were ticked off. Utah has some of the best elk hunting in the west...also arguabley 2 of the best deer units in the west. One of those deer units (Henrys) is probably the most shed hunted place on earth. The deer are fine and healthy....the same bucks keep coming back to the winter range year after year (me and a buddy have multiple years off multiple bucks) how do these big bucks die?? They get killed by us hunters! Not by shed hunters! This year was the very first year ever i turned in a dead head....we see very very few dead deer. And i spend months on that mountain every spring. Im no paunsagaunt expert but i could imagine the same could be said about it. Southern utah is a different game....for the most part we dont have the harsh winters like up north. Especailly like wyoming. I think that needs to be considered....u guys up north have constructed mulies out of alot of winter range. The deer down south have miles upon miles of untouched desert country to winter in...even moving more south into arizona and southwest into nevada. Show me evidence of deer or elk herd decline from shed hunters??? Last time i checked mulies are on a rise and elk are over objective here in utah. I personally think that permanent shed seasons are unwarranted especailly here in southern utah desert country. Emergency closures? I can see the need when winters in specific areas are bad enough. Just my 2 cents....not trying to start an argument.
 
It's sad to say ,but I believe there will always be the unethical jackwagon who wont give a rip about the intended reasoning behind the later dates. They will hunt for sheds and use another activity to "cover" their activities,most likely they will boast and laugh about the way they do it and have an in your face attitude. They may also "justify" this by using excuses comparing others activities to as harmful as theirs. Myself, I do a lot of activities during the winter,I hunt coyote and small game, flyfish, camp ect.... They will use my activities to justify theirs. The only difference between the to is I do mine keeping in mind to avoid harassing wintering big game. It's all about ethics, I have been a Hunter education instructor for many years. And next to firearm safety teaching the importance of ethics is IMO the most important thing we can do. Sadly the competition and COMPENSATION for sheds leads to ethics problems. Later season dates and restrictions on when antlers can be bought and sold might help a little, but as long as there is any competition there will be problems. The guys who would violate these laws are the same guys who would "bend" the rules to harvest big game,something to keep in mind when picking your hunting partners
 
Horn, I didn't call every shed Hunter any names. Neither did I say every horn Hunter was hurting wildlife. BUT if you think wildlife harassment during critical times,like coming out of a rut and winter,doesn't effect wildlife then.you my friend should do some studying up on the subject. This years emergency closure was for deep snow . There are situations that can also effect the overall health and weeken a herd that can and have effected areas that dont receive large amounts of snow. Lasting extremely cold spells, drought that depletes browse on wither range. These have had effects on numerous areas in the past including the premium areas you mentioned in your post. There are also cold set springs that lead to fawn mortality.
I live near an area where large numbers of animals winter, I have witnessed horsemen "run" deer herd, of over 100 animals to try and get them to knock of an antlers in brush. I have seen jokers with snowshoes go for the Elk antlers near the gasline.(some of you will know right where this is) and this year there were horn Hunter stomping Larsson in the second week of February in 24" of snow. Ya I guess horn hunters are all upstanding conservationist wouldn't want to offend the many by calling out the few ya know. Alot of that going around these days,....
 
My post wasnt directed personally towards u stonefly....it just seems every thread that i see on here mentioning shed hunting is bashing the hobby and the people who do it. I personally do more glassing and watching than i do hiking. Anyone that gathers multiple years off the same animals knows this. Believe it or not there are ways to gather up sheds and have no impact on the animals. Also....u say this years emergency closure was for deep snow. Up north yes....not so for down south. The south was closed so everyone wouldnt head to the areas that werent closed. Thats my main disagreement about the closure....people from up north head south anyways....wouldnt have been anything new. Its something i deal with every year. Most people i talk to on the mountain are from up north. Another observation i have is that at most there is 2 days during the week where there are alot of people in the popular areas....sunday afternoons till friday afternoons are pretty much dead.Most people come in febuary...march rolls around and people gear up after elk antlers. So really theres 8 days on the henrys during the whole spring that its getting pounded. Thats my personal observation.....yes theres a few groups of people that head down there for a week at a time. But thats their trip and thats it. Another issue i really have is directed to the DWR....if this is such an issue where has the efforts to educate people been? There has been no effort whatsoever to educate the public (the shed antler gathering certificate is a joke) why werent the existing wildlife harrassment laws enforced in the first place? I bet if they were as proactive trying to catch people actually harrassing wildlife as trying to catch people picking up antlers illegally there would be alot less actual wildlife harrassment and people chasing animals.
 
I am really surprised to have seen/read how many are in favor of a shed hunting closure. I really don't understand why we would want to restrict ourselves.

I know I know, to save the deer, right? But are there not animal harassment laws in the books already to help prevent stress? Maybe it's easier to convict someone who's carrying an antler rather than proving they were harassing an animal?

I just have a hard time seeing how the closure is going to help anything. I'm not an avid shed hunter. I like to go out, but honestly don't as much as I would like. Is there data to show that the closures work ex. larger populations and healthier herds? Or data showing the harm of shed hunting to the animals? My guess is the closure will lead to different ways of people pushing the envelope.

In March I wanted to break up my training and start doing some hiking as the weather was so nice. I just about didn't due to the closures, thoughts of myself being harassed for hiking in the outdoors, but I did go out. I could have found an antler, which I didn't, but had I found one would there really have been any harm in taking it?

I'll stop there and end with saying it's really sad with how we have allowed competition/commercialization of hunting drag the sport and experience down.
 
I'm All For Relaxation on the Deer Herd but JFP!

The Honest Guy Loses Again!

16 people Caught & Several Thousand Not Caught!

This is Big Business in the Basin!

Lot's of TARDS with No Jobs!

We Knew what was gonna Happen & it Did!

I've Said for the Last Few Years it ain't long & You'll be Buying a License from the UDWR to Participate!









[Font][Font color = "blue"]I Changed My Signature Just for NVB!
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Stone...how is the view up there on your moral pedestal? You know because you take "special care" while recreating in winter ranges. What if I keep in mind to avoid harassing wintering big game while shed hunting. Does that make you more ethical than me?

I can follow your exact boot tracks...if I pick up a bone along the way then I am dirt bag but if I keep walking then I am good. Makes perfect sense.

Maybe guys like you have special powers that allow you to recreate in winter ranges and not disturb wildlife.
 
I can tell you the first hand there were boot tracks all over every spot I hit on the Henry mountains where in years past I hardly ever see boot tracks and don't hit it until mid march. Very frustrating as a law abiding citizen to feel cheated. It motivated losers that don't care about rules to get out knowing the cocaine was thiers for the taking. I think closure was a joke. Had they left it restricted the the areas that needed it then I would have said a success. All the southern boys were crying that the their land would be taken over well guess what fellas....you don't own #####!!!! This closure had good intentions and I do believe helped to some extent but to restrict the whole state was an effin joke!
"I'll see you all this coming fall in the Big Rock Candy Mountains!"

 
This cracks me up so bad. The people the ban is meant to target, are those with little no common sense for regard of wildlife and ethics. So somehow a law is going to stop them.

They should make it illegal to shoot up road signs. Oh wait, it already is yet they seem to get shot up just the same. I bet they could stop a lot of bank robberies by making banks a gun free zone too right?

The end game to this will be no winter activities on whatever they deem to be critical winter range period. Shed hunting or not. Right now it is just a diode and conquer stage. First shed hunters, next shooters, hunters, bird watchers, skiers, snowmobile, snow shoes, photography. It's not if, but when.
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I'm not 100 percent against shed seasons but I sometimes find peoples attitudes about shed hunting amusing. The proponents of shed seasons always say it helps keep people from pushing around the deer and elk herds during their weakest physical months. Pushing the herds around causes added stress that can lead to animal mortality. I get that. Although the most critical months for big game recruitment are april, may, and june. April especially can have a big impact on fawn recruitment if the weather isn't cooperative. Now these same people who want shed seasons are probably hunters. Hunters like to kill deer and elk. Hunters like to chase deer and elk around during October, November, and sometimes December, months where the weather can be extremely nasty, and animals are burning precious fat reserves to escape the armies of orange roaming the hills. Nobody seems to care though. What if I was just a shed hunter, not a deer or elk hunter, but a shed hunter. I would gather support, introduce legislation to ban or limit elk and deer hunting so that there would be more animals in spring, which would mean more sheds for me to find.

Everybody has there own personal agendas. This does not mean you should push your own agendas down everybody else's throat. This is what liberals do. Nobody should support more regulations governing what you can and can't do on our public lands, especially other sportsmen.

If hunters are so concerned about deer and elk populations they should take a year off killing them during the hunting season.

Just another take on the shed closure situation I guess.
 
I would hope that all of the folks that decided to go into closed areas for sheds do not poach deer and elk - isn't that about the same - would you not call that poaching? Nothing against shed hunting but it seems like that is another example of disregarding the law and then trying to justify your actions - believe we have had a similar discussion when it came to the pinheads that want to take their ATV's in closed areas. Oh well - just another brick in the wall.
 
I hope they leave this last years date for shed horn hunter permanent. Why stress the animals in the spring. Also would like to see no hunting in December and January for elk and deer. It just drives the animals to the valleys. These young DWR Biologists then think we have to many animals in the mountains, when in reality the whole herds are in the fields. This goes for Utah anyway where the valleys are broken up in smaller parcels.
 
Why stress the animals at all then! Why don't we just make everything a big game preserve and all become photographers. I just don't get why you guys are proponents of restrictive shed seasons. What is your agenda, are you jealous of other guys/gals having success? Do you not shed hunt at all? Until someone can give me some hard numbers on elk herds declining directly due to shed hunting pressure than all your opinions are just that, opinions no substantiated facts. Some of you guys put these animals on a pedestal and pretend they are some kind rare treasure.They are animals. Sure we have an obligation given to us by god to be good stewards of these animals, but spooking a herd of elk now and again is not a crime. You do it every fall while hunting. Why is it wrong to do in the spring but not in the fall?
 
LAST EDITED ON Apr-24-17 AT 09:41PM (MST)[p]Some shed hunters here that don't care about game. Selfishness. Lots of ignoring science and well-known harm to animals.

I think the closures are a good idea.
 
I've been shed hunting in the same area for something like six (6) years and I find more winterkills when out hiking than I find after I've been hiking. The deer species is one of the most adaptable there is! After the long break from hunting season into spring the deer/elk I come across don't even run away... maybe the sight of me or smelly sweat from hiking is what is stressing them???

2f350s: Hunt hard, hunt ethically.
 
May 1st should be the opening day in all western states and Wyoming needs to make it state wide not just west of continental divide!! And make it a felony for antler poachers just as New Mexico has done on poaching!!!
 
>Why stress the animals at all
>then! Why don't we just
>make everything a big game
>preserve and all become photographers.
>I just don't get why
>you guys are proponents of
>restrictive shed seasons. What is
>your agenda, are you jealous
>of other guys/gals having success?
>Do you not shed hunt
>at all? Until someone can
>give me some hard numbers
>on elk herds declining directly
>due to shed hunting pressure
>than all your opinions are
>just that, opinions no substantiated
>facts. Some of you guys
>put these animals on a
>pedestal and pretend they are
>some kind rare treasure.They are
>animals. Sure we have an
>obligation given to us by
>god to be good stewards
>of these animals, but spooking
>a herd of elk now
>and again is not a
>crime. You do it every
>fall while hunting. Why is
>it wrong to do in
>the spring but not in
>the fall?


These animals are in a hell of a lot better shape in the fall and spread out!!
 
Oh yes, I agree! Fill the jails with antler poachers! Take away their right to have a gun and hunt and fish. These antlers are the lifeblood of society!And here's a great idea....make ALL hunting tags Governors Tags...highest bid wins! Then we could limit the tags down to say 1000 or so and still make the same amount of money for our CPW guys. Plus, no more concern about numbers cause there will be fewer hunters and TONS of deer and elk! There are plenty of hunting videos games to play. Our kids have been getting used to that for years. Hunters are a dying breed and will soon be a nothing but recollections in history books. Times are changing. Let's get on board and eliminate these damaging and destructive outdoor activities!
 
Then why didn't you report it to the authorities? I keep hearing about all these horror stories but never hear the part about anyone reporting anything. Lots of talk but no action with shed hunters. And if you are under 30 and shed hunt then listen up...the rest of us old timers (what few of us are still in good enough shape to shed hunt0 can't carry your water forever in the fight to keep public lands open. Get off of Instagram or whatever and take an interest in speaking out and not coming off like a hillbilly.(and Stonefly, this is not directed at you). I've been fighting for the rights of shed hunters now for 15 years and I can count on one hand how many others have spoken out...and I am missing three fingers on that hand! Bitching on MM is not enough. Get off your a$$ and do something meaningful!
 
Success or failure of shed hunting closure is whether or not the game animals we covet were less stressed during the whole winter. Not whether any one person was successful finding a shed when it opens.

txhunter58

venor, ergo sum (I hunt, therefore I am)
 
Take away the $$$ attached to antlers and you just fixed the problem. Most of the guys that are willing to break the law are the guys making a ton of money selling them. Make sheds as worthless as they were 20 years ago, and it will take a lot of unethical and greedy guys out of the mix.
 
>Take away the $$$ attached to
>antlers and you just fixed
>the problem. Most of the
>guys that are willing to
>break the law are the
>guys making a ton of
>money selling them. Make sheds
>as worthless as they were
>20 years ago, and it
>will take a lot of
>unethical and greedy guys out
>of the mix.


X2^^^^^
 
LAST EDITED ON Dec-11-17 AT 06:12PM (MST)[p]Its new commerce so we will be faced with seasons and permits. Impose limitations and demand will increase prices. It's inevitable anymore in Colorado.

"Courage is being scared to death but
saddling up anyway."
 

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