NV 2023-2024 big game numbers are available!

Alaskabound · Apr 24, 2023

16B - 23-14 2023-2024 Recommended Big Game Quotas

Horniac · Apr 24, 2023

Alaskabound said:
16B - 23-14 2023-2024 Recommended Big Game Quotas

Thanks for the link Alaskabound!

Horniac

maddog58 · Apr 24, 2023

Interesting read for sure

Buckbrush · Apr 24, 2023

Dang, a lot of tag cuts for sure.

iowacity · Apr 24, 2023

Well, tag cuts are painful, but it should lead to improvements going forward. Deer is my favorite thing to hunt. I sure hope all the greenery helps them recover so we can see tags come back in a few years.

wweaver79 · Apr 24, 2023

Unlike some other states, at least they have the $alls to make to the needed cuts and take the hit on revenue. A 40 percent reduction in deer tags alone is a couple hundred grand.
I was surprised by the stated 37 percent reduction in the deer herd in the last ten years, not good.

Weiserbucks · Apr 24, 2023

I love it. As a non resident it makes draw odds tough but they're actually doing something in the interest of the game versus just killing them in the name of the almighty dollar.

wweaver79 · Apr 24, 2023

What is interesting is there are several units with an increase in NR tags. The residents are bearing the big cuts, 650 just rifle tags cut in area 6 and 7 combined. That will bode well for those lucky enough draw in the next few years as a few more bucks will make it that extra year or two. Anyway my app is already in with 15 points across the board except for Pronghorn I drew that in 2017 and cannot wait to go back to NV. ?

maddog58 · Apr 24, 2023

I would agree with the reduction in deer tags. Should’ve been done years ago

NPHunter · Apr 25, 2023

maddog58 said:
I would agree with the reduction in deer tags. Should’ve been done years ago

This was my thought as well in a lot of units, specifically 10 & 6, there were so many resident tags in those units. With the capability of rifles these days a lot of the Great Basin units are way over allocated in every state IMO.

I would love to see more traditional archery tags across the west, It would still give people the ability to get out who really want to while still keeping harvest numbers low. Rifle success in those units is around 50%, while archery is 10%, the hunts that are traditional only out west success hover around 5%.

maddog58 · Apr 25, 2023

Took a drive today out to the marshes . Wasn’t really looking for deer but saw about 150 so that’s a good sign

archeryjh · Apr 25, 2023

I really don't understand why they give out so few elk tags? The elk have taken over in alot of these units.

Sallaberry · Apr 25, 2023

Let’s not get it twisted ndow is not proactive this is retroactive numbers are down the tag percentage is the same.

6chukar · Apr 25, 2023

Anyone notice the increase in rifle antelope while decreasing archery and muzzy? Curious why that is. Looks like they hosed those guys.

diablo · Apr 25, 2023

archeryjh said:
I really don't understand why they give out so few elk tags? The elk have taken over in alot of these units.

“Currently, about 90% of elk herds are at or below population objectives.”

So just 10% are above pop objective.

HiDesertHunter5 · Apr 26, 2023

Reading the recommendation sheets from the biologists was interesting. Declines due to competition with feral horses and habitat degradation caused by them is mentioned several times. The one that really caught my attention was the area 16 elk herd decline. Feral horses are contributing to this there. That herd was doing awesome and now its on the decline. Enough to make ya pretty mad.

HEVISHOT · Apr 26, 2023

HiDesertHunter5 said:
Reading the recommendation sheets from the biologists was interesting. Declines due to competition with feral horses and habitat degradation caused by them is mentioned several times. The one that really caught my attention was the area 16 elk herd decline. Feral horses are contributing to this there. That herd was doing awesome and now its on the decline. Enough to make ya pretty mad.

Too bad the politicians over there in Carson city won't listen to science. Instead they want to protect horses.

silverstatehunter · Apr 27, 2023

Why are we still hunting antlerless mule deer? They say that the Ruby herd experienced a loss of 30% of collard adult deer as well as an estimated 55% fawn loss, yet there are still antlerless tags!

Extrapale · Apr 27, 2023

They screwed up on last year's tags for NR muzzy deer in both documents. They have nearly every hunt with one tag last year which is not true. There were only a couple units last year with one tag.

HiDesertHunter5 · Apr 29, 2023

HEVISHOT said:
Too bad the politicians over there in Carson city won't listen to science. Instead they want to protect horses.

Agreed. The Fed also has their hands tied with the wild horse and burro act. If we are gonna call these FERAL horses wild, time to repeal the act, turn over management to the state agency that manages wildlife, and untie their hands so they can get aggressive on managing them. I fear in a lot of areas of not only Nevada, but the west in general, we are too late.

JimNv · May 4, 2023

Bad thing about this feral horse issue is the feel-goodniks and horse lovers want to make these jug headed inbred creatures a "state" animal. I do believe there is an assembly bill on it now. Hopefully the new governor stamps it "declined."

Agreement on the tag cuts. It was a long time coming.

NPHunter · May 4, 2023

I find the donkey crossing signs in NV funny and it's weird to see wild burros while driving through the mountains. Just something you really don't see anywhere else, at least I haven't.

Extrapale · May 6, 2023

Did they set tags yesterday or today. Just asking before I sort through yesterday's video.

eshunt · May 6, 2023

Extrapale said:
Did they set tags yesterday or today. Just asking before I sort through yesterday's video.

Setting quotas today it looks like on the YouTube recording of the meeting.

Alaskabound · May 6, 2023

Now we wait, tons of points for everything!
Always a chance in the Nevada draw...

Good luck everybody!

BradA · May 8, 2023

Put in my apps this past weekend crossing my fingers to draw something! Good luck everyone.

GONHUNTIN · May 9, 2023

I am on the county board and attend most of the state meetings. It sounds like many are as uninformed as I was before I got involved. The application and tag fees amount is such a small portion of the NDOW budget, I no longer believe it has anything to do with tag numbers. The tags numbers have much more, if not everything, to do with the overall health of the herds and hunt quality. Those two things are also connected to habit. We are, and have been, in tough times as far as habitat is concerned. Between the fires and the drought, the habitat is in poor shape. Probably the biggest issue facing the department is the feral horse issue. That problem is out of any state agencies hands. Even though the Wild Horse and Burro act has numbers specified in it, the State is not allowed to manage the feral horses to those numbers. It is because people who know very little, to nothing, have lobbied to tie the hands of those who are in charge of managing the feral horses. Lander County just declared a state of emergency concerning thebferal horses. Including their own health and the effects on the land, the wild life and the lands uses. The Lander CAB did not agree with the amount of tags that the biologist was asking for either. We also understand that letting the wildlife numbers grow like we all wish they could, would not be good for the overall health of the herd. That could be catastrophic.

eshunt · May 9, 2023

GONHUNTIN said:
I am on the county board and attend most of the state meetings. It sounds like many are as uninformed as I was before I got involved. The application and tag fees amount is such a small portion of the NDOW budget, I no longer believe it has anything to do with tag numbers. The tags numbers have much more, if not everything, to do with the overall health of the herds and hunt quality. Those two things are also connected to habit. We are, and have been, in tough times as far as habitat is concerned. Between the fires and the drought, the habitat is in poor shape. Probably the biggest issue facing the department is the feral horse issue. That problem is out of any state agencies hands. Even though the Wild Horse and Burro act has numbers specified in it, the State is not allowed to manage the feral horses to those numbers. It is because people who know very little, to nothing, have lobbied to tie the hands of those who are in charge of managing the feral horses. Lander County just declared a state of emergency concerning thebferal horses. Including their own health and the effects on the land, the wild life and the lands uses. The Lander CAB did not agree with the amount of tags that the biologist was asking for either. We also understand that letting the wildlife numbers grow like we all wish they could, would not be good for the overall health of the herd. That could be catastrophic.

Which county CAB are you on? Lander? Thank you for taking the time to get involved.

I watched most of the meeting on YouTube. Unfortunately I wasn't able to watch it live, or be on the zoom to comment. There was so little public comment I was surprised. I definitely learned quite a bit listening to some of the presentations. And the one about the feral horses and their numbers creating a decline in good habitat, combined with drought conditions for a few year was pretty eye opening. I know I have seen a ton of wild horses take over some areas I like to hunt. And the deer and elk populations have suffered because of it.

Watching the horses run off the antelope and deer at a waterhole one season while sitting in a blind on an antelope hunt was pretty crazy too. Those damn horses would chase any other animals away from the water all day long.

HEVISHOT · May 10, 2023

Those feral horses are the biggest problem facing our wildlife herds. Politicians bow down to the libtards and do nothing to control them. If there were any other type of invasive species out there causing destruction on the environment it would be handled appropriately. Imo every one if the horses should be removed they don't belong there.

hikenhunt · May 10, 2023

I have often wondered why the general public/media etc do not care about the elk/deer/pronghorn
why do these lobbyist and others always protect the non cervid (did I say that right) species ?
I have to close the gates at my house/shop to keep them out piles of crap are everywhere on the streets
and then god forbid you mess a bear in Tahoe
I always thought they loved Bambi

Padfoot · May 10, 2023

HEVISHOT said:
Too bad the politicians over there in Carson city won't listen to science. Instead they want to protect horses.

Federal protections limit what the states can do. Takes a concerted effort to remove the feral horses and most folks don’t know a thing about how destructive they are to habitat.

GONHUNTIN · May 12, 2023

BLM’s new public lands rule good for wildlife, hunters, outdoor enthusiasts - NewsBreak

As an avid hunter, angler, backpacker and all-around outdoorsman, I know how lucky I am to live in a state that has so much access to...

share.newsbreak.com

BroadHead · May 17, 2023

For those interested, here are the FINAL 2023-2024 big game quota numbers which were just approved. Overall, the changes between the final numbers and proposed numbers (originally posted in this thread) are not too drastic.

https://www.ndow.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/2023-Big-Game-Quotas-CR-23-14-Approved-ADA-1.pdf

A few cuts in tags here and there, but the biggest change was an increase in resident archery bull elk tags. There was also a shift in the rifle hunt for bull elk - 20 or so tags were removed from this hunt and transferred to the muzzleloader hunt.