Campaign to Save Mule Deer Bucks

Would you be interested ?

  • Yes I'm interested and will participate.

    Votes: 25 50.0%

  • I've already heard about this from other companies and would rather just participate there.

    Votes: 5 10.0%

  • I am not interested.

    Votes: 20 40.0%
  • Total voters
    50
S

schoolhousegrizz

Very Active Member
Messages
2,577
In a discussion with Hossblur on this forum he suggested starting a campaign in order to save bucks. I think it is a really good idea.

Some companies are already doing this, we can do our own on here. I would be willing to head it up. I just need to see how many people are interested.

Here is my thought, whoever turns in an unpunched deer tag, doe or buck tag is in for a drawing. I would have to reach out to companies for donations. You guys would have to help me spread the word.

Hopefully this will help keep some of us veteran hunters off the trigger if the buck wasn't something we really really wanted.
 
We will see what this turns into. If Founder was on board he could probably get us a few sponsors (it could also get more people to visit the site and create accounts.) I think I could probably get a couple and then any of you other guys on here that can get a couple that would be awesome as well. Maybe it turns into nothing, we will see how many people are interested.
 
For years I've wondered about if a hunter could get a half point back in exchange for an unused tag. That would give that hunter an advantage in drawing a tag sooner for not harvesting and would help more bucks grow into more mature animals. A hunter not just filling their tag would allow them to draw sooner and possibly a chance at more mature animals. I'm aware it's alot more complicated. I think it's an idea that could have some merit. Fire away gentlemen...
 
My intention is not to take opportunity away from youth or seniors. Like I said, it gets complicated. Point creep is another issue. Honesty would come into play. As a lifetime license holder I would willingly limit my harvests and it's been 7 or more years since my last buck. Just an idea...
 
schoolhousegrizz said:
Pretty much what I said, if it trips your trigger then shoot it if you're on the edge maybe don't shoot it.
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Personally, that's how I've rolled for the past 30 years. Except in the last 10 years I've killed two "smaller" bucks on my son's birthday and I let him decide if I pulled the trigger or not. Pictures like this are priceless.
35166.jpeg
 
Soj51hopeful said:
Only problem I see is when the fish and game want to kill so many deer (like CPW) but they aren’t seeing the harvest numbers they want they’ll jack up the amount of tags issued.
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Hmmm that is a good point! That could make things much worse. We could be creating a bigger problem.

I am almost certain if these types of campaigns gain any traction they would just increase tags.
 
The bigger statement would be a massive reduction in applications. We know that will never happen, but until their budget is drastically affected there is no real pressure to put out a better product.
 
I'm at the conclusion that if the dwr wants the buck to doe ratio between 18 and 20, no matter what we do that's where it's going to be. However, by passing on some of those bucks that veteran hunters aren't sure on could create older age class bucks. At this point I'm thinking why reinvent the wheel? Epic is already got it going on. Maybe I'll just spread the word about the Epic Muley Lives Matter movement. If you don't punch your tag turn it into epic. They will do a drawing for cool prizes. Hold off on those bucks that you're not sure about shooting and we can let them get a little older. For some it might be holding off on a 170 buck, others it may mean holding off on a three point, it doesn't matter. The idea of doing our own contest on MM was short lived but fun for awhile ?.
 
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How about all of us who don’t need the meat, punching tags in a management buck like a big 2 or a monster if we see one!
 
middlefork said:
I've been saving bucks for other people to shoot for years. It doesn't bother me at all.

I do wonder if the bucks I passed up last fall made it through the winter. A lot of them likely not.
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In the past 10 years I've tracked a lot of bucks with trail cams and live video. (You can see them on my YouTube videos). I would say that around 80 percent of those bucks 4+ years old, never came back the following year. For whatever reason, they simply didn't come back.
 
ridgetops said:
They definitely would increase tags because the buck/ doe ratio would probably be going up.
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funny thing is that they should stop worrying so much about buck/doe ratio and worry more about carrying capacity. You could have 100 deer in the state and 50 of them bucks and now your ratio is great. States continue to move their target objectives and then say "well we are within our objective so things are good." But what they really should do is give all these hard hit areas a long break and then from time to time give units a break just because it helps the herd. Carrying capacity is much more important than buck/do ratios in my opinion.
 
Seems as if folks really wanted to make a difference, the "save the muleys" campaign might start with pressing for publishing of the management objectives- both population and buck/doe ratios by unit/region.

Then, if hunters really want a different "product", they would pressure the G&F for objectives that better suited their desires. It would also be easier to see if the permit allocations and harvests were leaning into the objectives.

Although the sentiment around ripping up tags is cool, I think as people have noted that the G&F will not care much if there were 50 or 100 less hunters killing a deer in any one year.
 
middlefork said:
You mean something like this?

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Nice. But it's 5 years old- do they publish current objectives?

I've seen these in other states as well- the issue always seems to be they are "after the fact" studies rather than "here is where we are at, and where we are trying to get to".

It's unusual for a government agency to admit struggles and failures, and then make published plans on what they will do differently to correct them. I think hunters can put their energy there if they want to make a difference.
 
Incentivizing unfilled tags is cool and all, but the reality is that there is a difference between protecting a population of animals for the betterment of the animals, and protecting a population as a human resource. If we want to protect the animals in general, then clearly we need to remove as much of human and predator impact as possible. If we want to protect them as a resource, then we get into a debate of what an individual values the resource for. Some are mostly interested in the meat, some are mostly interested in the antlers. Some just want an opportunity to get out of a city for a week and go hunting. For me personally, I love hunting mule deer more than any other critter. But I’ve got 2 high school kids in my house, and they eat the **** out of game meat. So we try to fill our tags every year to fill out freezer. Don’t get me wrong, we looked for the old bucks as much as we can. But at the end of our trip we value the meat over everything. When my kids leave the house in the next couple years, I’m positive my hunting mentality will change drastically, and I will eat tags much more often. In the meantime I support anyone’s effort to help the population of the mulie. Thanks to all that are trying.
 
lif said:
Incentivizing unfilled tags is cool and all, but the reality is that there is a difference between protecting a population of animals for the betterment of the animals, and protecting a population as a human resource. If we want to protect the animals in general, then clearly we need to remove as much of human and predator impact as possible. If we want to protect them as a resource, then we get into a debate of what an individual values the resource for. Some are mostly interested in the meat, some are mostly interested in the antlers. Some just want an opportunity to get out of a city for a week and go hunting. For me personally, I love hunting mule deer more than any other critter. But I’ve got 2 high school kids in my house, and they eat the **** out of game meat. So we try to fill our tags every year to fill out freezer. Don’t get me wrong, we looked for the old bucks as much as we can. But at the end of our trip we value the meat over everything. When my kids leave the house in the next couple years, I’m positive my hunting mentality will change drastically, and I will eat tags much more often. In the meantime I support anyone’s effort to help the population of the mulie. Thanks to all that are trying.
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I've got a couple of young teenagers, one of whom killed his first buck last year with a bow. He had that deer eaten, mostly by himself, in 2 months. He said he's killing the first legal buck he sees this year because "that's the best meat I've ever eaten." My other teenager will have his first deer hunt this year too. I'm sure he'll do the same.
 
I'm torn on this one. I'd like to say yeah I'll participate but I know myself and if I see a 180+ buck this fall I'm going to shoot it. I have shot lesser deer in the past to keep my deer streak going and now I think I can let myself go a year without a deer. So if I don't have a opportunity at a big buck this year I'll eat the tag, but I won't say I'm not going to go hunt.
 
I believe that Colorado gets most of it's operating revenue from license sales, how does other states obtain the necessary funds to budget their operation.
 
Not preaching to you, just stating facts. It does not matter what unit or what state very few will hold off
 
hawkbill said:
Not preaching to you, just stating facts. It does not matter what unit or what state very few will hold off
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You’re right. I honestly cannot for the life of me understand why people will apply for a deer tag for that long and then shoot a young deer time and time again. I have a lot more respect for someone who hunts their guts out for the duration of the season and eats the tag than someone who smashes a a 140 inch deer 3 year old on day 4 because they have to kill something in order for the hunt to be a “success” Say what you will but it’s a key factor as much as hunting them late in November as to why there are so few mature age class deer left in the state.
 
How about save your $$ and just NOT buy a deer elk or lope tag for these states that have been Hammered this year !! These F&G agencies are Not going to offer more tags IF they can Not sell the ones they already have allocated !!
 
IN this crazy world we live in where people cant define what a women is or a man is, I guess we need to help people understand that that men cant have babies, as hard as that seems to people.

I think we need to have that convo here also. Bucks dont give birth to fawns. If we really want to save a buck deer, why not figure out how to save more does and fawns? Lets make sure that this year states DO NOT GIVE OUT 1 single doe tag for deer or lopes. IF we can figure out the problem on how to save the does and fawns, we WILL HAVE MORE BUCKS! Stock piling bucks WILL NOT HELP the deer herd. It is actually worse. They will compete for food on winter range over does and fawns.

Soooo, a basic biology lesson here.
 
Deerlove said:
Feel pressure? this isn't the 80s anymore
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Huh? I've hunted since the 50's and I'm still asked 2 questions by family, friends, acquaintances and, even strangers, regarding deer hunting. First, "Did you get a tag? Then, "Did you get a deer? Once in a while I get, "How big was it?" (Meaning how big were the antlers). What am I supposed to tell them? "It's none of your d*** business"? or "No, the buck to doe ratios were too low to be successful"? They expect an answer and hopefully a good story. That's pressure enough, I would think.

Additionally, this forum and others have only intensified the asking of those questions. Especially on this forum, people are judged as persons by the way they hunt and/or what they kill. Thus, all the name calling and insults we see.

And, people still want to hear a good hunting story and I still want to give them one regardless of the deer/elk/pronghorn/moose/sheep/goat/bison numbers or buck to doe ratios or amount of cheat grass or highway kills or fawn to doe ratios or anything else you guys can complain about.

People didn't mutate into another species since the 80's. They are still people, at least in my neck of the woods.
 
So I get where your coming from on this campaign but I think this thread should be deleted.
Reason is what if PETA gets wind of this and steals one from your play book and gets there nine million members to apply for tags and then not use them. The winn would win a case of bud light and pearl milling maple syrup.:po_O:ROFLMAO:
 
yak4fish said:
So I get where your coming from on this campaign but I think this thread should be deleted.
Reason is what if PETA gets wind of this and steals one from your play book and gets there nine million members to apply for tags and then not use them. The winn would win a case of bud light and pearl milling maple syrup.:po_O:ROFLMAO:
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Thats a win for Fish and Game. 9 million apps? They can only get so many tags, draw odds, and so forth. They will forget the next year.
 
Hey efa?

They Ever Asked You If You NEEDED THE MEAT?

elkfromabove said:
Huh? I've hunted since the 50's and I'm still asked 2 questions by family, friends, acquaintances and, even strangers, regarding deer hunting. First, "Did you get a tag? Then, "Did you get a deer? Once in a while I get, "How big was it?" (Meaning how big were the antlers). What am I supposed to tell them? "It's none of your d*** business"? or "No, the buck to doe ratios were too low to be successful"? They expect an answer and hopefully a good story. That's pressure enough, I would think.

Additionally, this forum and others have only intensified the asking of those questions. Especially on this forum, people are judged as persons by the way they hunt and/or what they kill. Thus, all the name calling and insults we see.

And, people still want to hear a good hunting story and I still want to give them one regardless of the deer/elk/pronghorn/moose/sheep/goat/bison numbers or buck to doe ratios or amount of cheat grass or highway kills or fawn to doe ratios or anything else you guys can complain about.

People didn't mutate into another species since the 80's. They are still people, at least in my neck of the woods.
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Reality is a trophy is in the eyes of the hunter. A hunter with a wall full of 180+ mulies is going to let 150 walk. A hunter with no mulie on the wall is likely going to pull the trigger. I know I've killed deer others would have passed on. And I've seen others kill deer that I passed on.

Provided it is legal, and it is a trophy to you, shoot it. You can't fault the hunter if he has a tag.
 
elkfromabove said:
Huh? I've hunted since the 50's and I'm still asked 2 questions by family, friends, acquaintances and, even strangers, regarding deer hunting. First, "Did you get a tag? Then, "Did you get a deer? Once in a while I get, "How big was it?" (Meaning how big were the antlers). What am I supposed to tell them? "It's none of your d*** business"? or "No, the buck to doe ratios were too low to be successful"? They expect an answer and hopefully a good story. That's pressure enough, I would think.

Additionally, this forum and others have only intensified the asking of those questions. Especially on this forum, people are judged as persons by the way they hunt and/or what they kill. Thus, all the name calling and insults we see.

And, people still want to hear a good hunting story and I still want to give them one regardless of the deer/elk/pronghorn/moose/sheep/goat/bison numbers or buck to doe ratios or amount of cheat grass or highway kills or fawn to doe ratios or anything else you guys can complain about.

People didn't mutate into another species since the 80's. They are still people, at least in my neck of the woods.
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A question is pressure!
I have never had a problem saying "not this year"
Benn saying that for 9 out of the last 10 years.
 
EC6AE559-232E-424C-8231-FC64147D4745.jpeg
If the idea is to turn in a unpunched tag after the hunt,,, then it is a pretty dumb idea. For obvious reasons.

I found this and turned it into the warden 2 years ago during the rifle hunt on the Beaver unit.

A unit that is hurting. Hate to say it, but this is the mentality of a huge portion of people now days.
 
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Woo there Deerlove!!

I know you want to shed hunt wyoming really bad but everyone knows you're one of the Utards...

Don't think faking it tell you make it works in this case!!!

? ? ?
 
Castnshoot said:
View attachment 108731If the idea is to turn in a unpunched tag after the hunt,,, then it is a pretty dumb idea. For obvious reasons.

I found this and turned it into the warden 2 years ago during the rifle hunt on the Beaver unit.

A unit that is hurting. Hate to say it, but this is the mentality of a huge portion of people now days.
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Sad. Very sad.
 

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