Idaho considering regulation changes on deer hunting

[Idaholewis]

I grew up in Idaho, hunting unit 33. It used to be that in the winter, you could drive a few miles through the east end of Garden Valley and count a couple hundred mule deer. (mid 70's) You might see a couple whitetail, or you might not. As the human population exploded, the whitetail population also climbed. They could abide human presence, while the mulies wouldn't. Now, there is a strong whitetail population in the valley, which is a blessing and a curse. They add another hunting opportunity, but they also live and eat in the mule deer wintering grounds all year round. Now there just aren't as many mule deer, or near as many big mule deer bucks. Personally, I view the whitetail as more of an invasive species in unit 33. I wish the ID Fish and Game could see that.

We are predominately Whitetail up here in unit 1, We have a decent amount of Mule deer, but you have to go High to get in to them, it takes a TON of Snow to Drive these Mule deer down, 2 foot of Snow and you cannot easily drive up in these Mountains Where the Mule Deer are, and 2 ft of Snow still isn’t enough to Push them Down, usually by the time we get the 3-4 Feet of Snow it takes to make them Move Down out of the High Country The hunting season is Closed. If a guy had a Snow machine of sorts, and Ambition to do it, i have always said that i bet a guy could kill a Giant Mule deer in this Country. There just aren’t many folks around here that put much effort in trying it

If you look in the Idaho Record Books For Whitetail there are more entries from here in Bonner County than anywhere else in the State, But poor management over the years have taken it’s toll, We get more and more hunters flooding in every year, And with a Whitetail Deer Tag you can Kill any deer, Doe or Buck, Every Little buck that pokes his head out gets Shot. It was an AWESOME sight Years ago to go for an evening Drive in September and See Giant Trophy Class Whitetails at Dusk in the Backs of Big Farm Fields, That is a thing of the WAY WAY past, That hasn’t been seen here in MANY years now. How do you Grow Big Bucks when you allow the Little Guy’s to get Shot up year after year, And the Big Bucks that are left get HAMMERED in the Rutt which Happens in Centerfire Rifle season, This has been going on here for many years, Most claim the BIG Downfall started when they opened Deer Season the Same day as Elk. It has taken several years, but the ill effects are REALLY starting to Show Now, You just don’t see NOWHERE NEAR the amount of Mature Whitetail Bucks that you use to. Hopefully Idaho Fish & Game makes some Changes here in the interest of the Deer, instead of how to make more money

 

[FredB]

I grew up in Idaho, hunting unit 33. It used to be that in the winter, you could drive a few miles through the east end of Garden Valley and count a couple hundred mule deer. (mid 70's) You might see a couple whitetail, or you might not. As the human population exploded, the whitetail population also climbed. They could abide human presence, while the mulies wouldn't. Now, there is a strong whitetail population in the valley, which is a blessing and a curse. They add another hunting opportunity, but they also live and eat in the mule deer wintering grounds all year round. Now there just aren't as many mule deer, or near as many big mule deer bucks. Personally, I view the whitetail as more of an invasive species in unit 33. I wish the ID Fish and Game could see that.

We are predominately Whitetail up here in unit 1, We have a decent amount of Mule deer, but you have to go High to get in to them, it takes a TON of Snow to Drive these Mule deer down, 2 foot of Snow and you cannot easily drive up in these Mountains Where the Mule Deer are, and 2 ft of Snow still isn’t enough to Push them Down, usually by the time we get the 3-4 Feet of Snow it takes to make them Move Down out of the High Country The hunting season is Closed. If a guy had a Snow machine of sorts, and Ambition to do it, i have always said that i bet a guy could kill a Giant Mule deer in this Country. There just aren’t many folks around here that put much effort in trying it

If you look in the Idaho Record Books For Whitetail there are more entries from here in Bonner County than anywhere else in the State, But poor management over the years have taken it’s toll, We get more and more hunters flooding in every year, And with a Whitetail Deer Tag you can Kill any deer, Doe or Buck, Every Little buck that pokes his head out gets Shot. It was an AWESOME sight Years ago to go for an evening Drive in September and See Giant Trophy Class Whitetails at Dusk in the Backs of Big Farm Fields, That is a thing of the WAY WAY past, That hasn’t been seen here in MANY years now. How do you Grow Big Bucks when you allow the Little Guy’s to get Shot up year after year, And the Big Bucks that are left get HAMMERED in the Rutt which Happens in Centerfire Rifle season, This has been going on here for many years, Most claim the BIG Downfall started when they opened Deer Season the Same day as Elk. It has taken several years, but the ill effects are REALLY starting to Show Now, You just don’t see NOWHERE NEAR the amount of Mature Whitetail Bucks that you use to. Hopefully Idaho Fish & Game makes some Changes here in the interest of the Deer, instead of how to make more money

I don't doubt a word you said. The panhandle is certainly different from the rest of the state, just as whitetail are certainly different from mule deer. And it's kind of a soapbox issue for me. I took it as a positive step when the F&G finally designated whitetail tags in addition to "regular deer tags". I just wish they would do more with the concept, as far as different management goes. I'd like to be able to buy both tags, and not have to chose between them. In Garden Valley, unit 33, the whitetail are all in the valley, which is all private land. Slightly up slope is Boise National Forest, and mule deer country. There is surprizingly little overlap until, like you said, the deep snow comes, well after hunting season. This means mule deer are for the common man, while whitetail hunting is more "the sport of kings". Which rubs me the wrong way. fortunately, my family owns a meager 8.3 acres, which is just enough to hold a few deer. Mostly, I don't hunt them, as they consist of a few does and smaller bucks. And they are nearly tame, so there isn't much sport. I've taken exactly one in the +25 years they have been there. My brother took one that I pointed out to him as one that could be a real shooter in a year or two. I digress. I'm just saying, I agree, and different areas, and deer, need different management.
And yes, the F&G seems to have prioritized elk numbers over deer, the way they have rearranged the seasons. Which hasn't helped the mule deer either. Couldn't just be the massive price difference between a non-resident elk tag verses deer tag, could it? :huh?:

 

[Buster Brown]

Regarding Antler Point Restrictions.

I have read one study that showed setting antler point restrictions did not contribute to bigger bucks. The conclusion was that the misidentification of points resulted in lots of waste and the same low level of buck escapement.

They promoted increase doe harvest and 1 buck only as a way to both improve buck escapement while also controlling overall population.

The unwashed masses become more selective when you only let them have one.

It makes sense to me, although it’s irrelevant.

I live in a state (OR) that prefers to manage Cougars at 3 times the management objective, while being content to let elk and mule deer struggle along at 20-40% below management objective in most areas, and freely admits it has no clue whatsoever about the blacktail population. And since it wasn’t bad enough, the fools reintroduced wolves (from Canada, cause that’s “natural”).

 

[one-shot]

Two cents worth. Hunted and fished foreign countries. Numerous states, Washington (Need a law degree), Ill, In, Mich, Ga, PA, Maryland and now VA. You have to speak up and be heard. Comment during the public input periods. We are losing hunters. We use to have special hunts at parks/co, state and federal for the kids and ladies. I took kids hunting, that never hunter before. No more, we have a youth day and that's it. Bears are everywhere and a pain in the bee hive or bird feeder and now require a separate not cheap tag.

 

[primer mark]

Here in N.Y. the DEC promotes hunters to pass up smaller bucks so they are promoting trophy hunting.I'm not sure if that is right or wrong?We have to many deer where I live.They want to reduce the herd.You can take a deer of either sex during the archery/muzzle loader season.1 buck in the regular gun season and you can get 2 doe tags( DMAP permits ) and they can be used in any of the deer hunting seasons.If there any DMAP permits left over you can get up to 2 more,and there has always been leftover permits for my area.They need the deer hunting season(s) longer.

 

[Va Hunter]

Here in Virginia we get 6 tags but only 3 are either sex so you can shoot 6 does but only 3 bucks. After you use those you can buy 6 more for around $20 but good only for does on certain days. I have the 6 tags plus another 5 anterless damage tags. The damage tags I can use anytime during deer season whether it’s a doe day or not. The damage tags are for crop damage and the minimum are 5 tags and a maximum of 25 depending on your acreage.

 

[hockeyref]

How many points does this Buck have? This would be a 4 pt the way i grew up, We count 1 side, but don’t count eye guards, I was happy with this buck, But in all honesty it’s bucks like these that really need another 2 years, when they get this size it’s HARD to pass, at least for me. My dad has let many bucks just like this one Walk off over the years

And this buck would be a 3 Pt the Way i grew up. Here is a much better example of a Buck that should be left alone

Those are trophies by PA standards. #1=huge #2=pretty dang big! I would not allow either of those to pass by. We’ve had antler restrictions for over a decade. Some say they are seeing bigger bucks and some say they are seeing less deer all together. Depends on where you are in the state.

I used to call opening day of rifle season in pa the “pumpkin patch season”….. orange dots everywhere…… more than a few times I had bullets rattle through the trees near me/over my head.

 

[MrTom]

Here in Minnesota's area three [SE corner of the state] the dnr tried the 4 point on one side rule for three years, then got it put into place permanent style. This area 3 has the highest concentration of deer. After year one CWD spread like crazy thru the heart of zone 3. In attempting to control/manage CWD they kept strict records of which deer registered tested positive for it and lo and behold it's the mature bucks that test + four times as high as the does with CWD. When COVID hit we saw a surge in people deer hunting but at the same time we saw a drop in places to have deer processed because of COVID. The new covid hunters shot plenty of deer but at the same time the number of bucks not being able to be taken rose to unreal levels. The DNR finally dropped the aprs, but with CWD having spread far from where it began, it was too late to help curb the disease.

I do not believe in Antler Point Restrictions. Period. States with CWD or the Tuberculosis and have aprs in deer herds can thank those antler requirements and those idiots who promote it within the state dnr or support it within the public.

Minnesota hired some smiley ****-for-brains big game specialist away from Colorado that played a huge part in getting the aprs set in place here. He actually got the boot from, I believe, New York, or some other east coast state after some fiasco regarding aprs and he grinned his way into Colorado where he was instrumental in attempting to get or got aprs put on that state's elk herd. Regardless, our state's dnr has yet to fess up to what I feel is one super-sized blunder at the hands of someone/some who catered to those that think a big deer should cross their sights every single year. We had plenty of big deer racks roaming the woods prior to the aprs being put in place, but those hunters who thought they should have a trophy each year should have learned to hunt for trophies, not expect them to just come wandering along.

Any time the state or federal government's "specialists" get involved with changing nature's dynamics, it turns into a grade A cluster f--k. Sometime, as in SE Minnesota, those foul results are long lasting if ever reversed. And most of the changes that do not work come as a result of $$$ passing hands. Unfortunately too many of the parties within state and federal governmental agencies that oversee our wildlife are appointed or hired, not elected.

For those living under the umbrella of Antler Point Restrictions, I'd suggest writing some letter and be as blunt as need be to those who are responsible for getting rules/laws changed. Be vocal critics. APRs benefit only a select few and can drag other problem into play. Deer belong to everyone, not the select few.

 

[primer mark]

A bucks antler size is not always an indicator of its age. I have seen 7 1/2 old bucks taken with racks you would expect to see on a 2 1/2 year old.Around here most bucks don't make it to 5 or 6.I would like to see then in someones freezer than wedged in the grill of a car.As a member of the local fire dept. we are averaging 2 to 3 car- deer crashes a week.I am sure that most big game management polices are made with $'s in mind,NOT common sense.The NY DEC ask for public opinion, but what speaks louder?True hunters should be renamed -wild game Harvesters.Wow that old soap box is slippery!!