Another muzz deer season has come to a close…last night at dark.  365 days (or so) to go until next season.

Speaking of next season, there are some major changes with the deer hunts for next year.  First off, they have broken the state up into 30 sub-units and we will have to put in for the draw.  They are also cutting the total number of deer tags by 7,000 across the state.

Why are they doing this?  The word on the street is they wish to increase the buck to doe ratio from what it is today to 18/100.  After hunting this year and seeing 4 buck deer in 9 days of hunting (actually I took 2 days off), there really needs to be something done to increase the number of bucks.  The entire herd could use some help because in those same days we only saw “maybe” 100 does and who knows how many of those we saw day after day.

The DWR has discussed the health of the herds state wide and considered all of the things that has made the herd what it is today:  Vehicle deaths, Depredation from Coyotes and Cougars, Poor wintering grounds and loss of habitat (homes), Severe drought and tough winters (fawn and older deer starvation).  And the end result is the need to cut tags, manage the herds in smaller areas and increase awareness on the depredation and vehicle accident issues.

I ask myself, why not issue more cougar tags?  There seems to be a lot more cougars than we are used to seeing and each one of them require a deer a week to survive.  This question has also been addressed to the Wildlife Board and the bottom line affects more than just what we each think about.  There are the recreational groups and houndsmen who also enjoy seeing and chasing cougars in the wild.  If all of the cougars were wiped out, their interests would be destroyed.  We may see more “take em out” tags issued and less “run em for fun” tags in the future.  But whatever the decisions are in the future we have to consider everyone who enjoys the wild life in Utah and not just our own enjoyment of hunting.

So, how will breaking the state up into 30 sub-units affect our hunt?  As I see it our camp of 30 plus people may end up being half that number, or less.  Unless of course you are just going for the camping and not the hunting.  We will have to draw a tag first and the dark side of it all is we won’t know how many tags will be issued for our unit until after the deadline for applying has passed.  Instead of applying individually, we might want to consider applying as groups and I believe there is a 10 person limit on applying as a group.  One win, all win.  OR  10 of us don’t get to have a tag.  Something to consider.

At any rate the future will be different and hopefully this strategy will boost the total number of deer and increase the number of bucks.  By the way, the 18 to 100 number is supposed to be the “after the hunts are over” number.  How in the world are they going to be able to determine that?  Again in my opinion, they are just guessing right now and they will continue to guess in the future.

Are you happy with the way things are today?  Whatever your answer to that question is your answer.  If you want your voice to be heard, go to the RAC meeting or two and let them know your concerns.  RAC folks are supposed to talk to the people on the ground (you and I) and they take their recommendations to the Wildlife Board who discuss these issues and then TELL the Utah DWR what they are going to be doing and how they will enforce it.  So, don’t blame the DWR, blame the Wildlife Board and those member on that board if you don’t like what is coming down.

This season is over.  Next year is coming!  Let’s make it a great hunting season next year, just like this one was.  Only one buck killed among all of us tag holders and only two other shots fired at two different bucks.  We only saw one or two other bucks killed in our area and very few bucks overall seen.  Who cares.  It was a very fun outing and loads of laughter had by all.  In my opinion it was the best hunt we have ever had!!!

Bears Butt

Oct. 2011