Northern units: 2B, 5A, 5B,etc.. News...

[HuntinAddict]

Any big ones coming out? Have the pre-rut activities started?

 

[nmhntr]

I drew a deer tag in 5B. After scouting/hunting I think the unit is way over rated for quantity and quality. There may be some big deer but they are few and far between. I am not sure if the peak of the rut youth hunt on this area has a large impact on the small resident deer herd...

 

[HuntinAddict]

I agree 100% on the youth hunts .... I do not agree with having so many youth hunt tags Especially during peak rut. I think it is unfair for youth's to have so many opportunities at huge mulies when they are most vulnerable. I can see giving the youngsters the first muzzle/rifle hunt when the deer have not yet been pushed around by all the other hunts, but not peak of the rut! Youth's will get the wrong impression about hunting if the first deer they kill at 15yrs old is a 180+ class and it seems easy to them. I wish the game & fish would change this.

 

[6x7]

I also agree,it just makes me sick to see all these kids with big smiles and happy faces with there trophys when there so young,It does give them a wrong impression J/K.Leave the kids alone dont you rember what it was like when you were a kid befor opening weekend, It was better then christmas for me,and that was just hunting in a average unit ,let alone having a great tag.

 

[HuntinAddict]

I think a forkhorn or doe puts a big smile on a kids face just as much. My first deer at 15 was a tall forkie and I was happier than a pig in $HI!! Management bucks and doe might be a better way to go for youth hunts as huge mulies are getting tougher to come by with increased predation and loss of habitat alone.

 

[RabidRattleSnake1]

I am all for giving the kids every opportunity they can get even if it means less for me. My boys are not old enough to hunt yet, but I hope the opportunity for them to get a premium tag is still there in 5 or 6 years.

 

[nmtaxi]

I'm going to have to disagree with you, HA. I would be willing to bet that the majority of deer taken on the youth hunt are forkies. I've been on several youth hunts with my son, and most kids are out with there dads just trying to fill a tag. Sure the occassional trophy gets killed, but that is not the norm. The rut hunt provides a kid an opportunity to see more deer. The regs show the youth hunt in that area has an 80% success rate. That's 8 deer out of the unit. If that's putting a major dent in the population, they need to close that unit down again.

 

[HuntinAddict]

I can see your point also. If the majority of the deer taken during the youth rut hunts are forkies/young bucks then that would Not have a big impact on the herd. This might actually be good for the herd by inadvertently thinning out the cull bucks/inferior genetic bucks. It would be interesting to see data on the average size/age of deer taken during the youth hunts in the Q units where deer are in peak rut.

 

[nmtaxi]

Does it ask the size of buck taken on the survey? I can't remember. It would be pretty interesting to see.

 

[HuntinAddict]

I talked to Motti at the G&F and she said the surveys do not have an area where you can specify size/age of deer harvested.
It might be a good idea for the G&F to include this on the survey so that they can get a better understanding of quality of deer harvested. I will have to bring this up with Ross or Bill.