LAST EDITED ON Aug-10-14 AT 03:56PM (MST)[p]>Not sure where you're coming up
>with your math? I never
>said anything about wanting to
>see more big bucks. And
>no, I don't believe the
>dwr when they say the
>same amount of bucks get
>killed in a shortened hunt
>versus a full hunt. What
>was the purpose of shortening
>the hunts for a couple
>years if it doesn't cut
>harvest rates on a depleted
>herd? Let's see, if I
>go hunting 5 days instead
>of 9, am I going
>to have as many opportunities
>to kill a buck? Apparently
>I am. Or if I
>only can get out and
>hunt on weekends, one weekend
>is more productive than two,
>right? I guess I should
>just plan on hunting a
>couple days from now on
>because it's just as productive.
Sorry, I'll back off on the big buck assumption, but that's usually the ulterior motive for pushing shortened seasons because killing more bucks, even if we were doing it on the longer seasons, does not biologically deplete the herd as long as the buck to doe ratio is above that needed for reproduction That's why the buck to doe ratios are set at the numbers they are. In fact, some are more than double the number needed for reproduction.
The numbers came from your statement that weekend warriors are the majority of hunters. A weekend consists of 2 days and on a 9 day hunt that's 2 weekends (4 days of hunting for them), but on a 5 day hunt, that's only 1 weekend (2 days of hunting for them). So they're already hunting 1 day less than a 5 day hunt.
As for the 5 day hunt success rate, if I only have a couple of days to hunt, then I hunt differently. I do more scouting. I'm less fussy about the size of the antlers and I'm more likely to take the first legal animal I see that's in range, especially on the second day. I stay out all day. I hunt where there are more deer. I don't hunt alone. I pack a lunch and water and I glass a lot more. Also we know that the vast majority of deer are taken on opening day, no matter how long the season is 'cause that's when they are most at ease and it gets harder as the season goes on. Additionally, a 5 day hunt puts the same number of people on the mountain in a shorter period of time and that keeps the deer moving more often. Lastly, many of the weekend warriors don't even go the second weekend even of they haven't taken a deer, especially if their tag is for an area that's further away. But whatever the reasons, statistically, the records going as far back as the 50's and 60's show that the success rates are pretty much the same for the 5 day hunts and the 9 day hunts. And the differences have more to do with the weather than the number of days.
Bottom line, 5 day hunts save very few bucks, if any and they certainly don't rescue the herds.