Canadian hunter pays record $390K for right to hunt 1 mule deer on Antelope Is..

[jackelope]

I spent a lot of time on that Island when I was growing up in Utah before it was actually a state park.  I can't really think that would be a very fun hunt, more of a plain harvest.  I'm told by relatives still in the state that there are some real monsters out there, but, man, that's a lot of money to pay for a set of horns, no matter how big. Guess MDF made $39,000 on the deal after returning the 90% mandated for conservation.  They made $71,000 on just the 2 auctions that guy bought. (assuming the Arizona permit also required 90% return).  That's a pretty lucrative night for them.

Which, in turn, is a lucrative night for conservation.

The guy makes a huge donation to conservation, gets a nice tax write off, and in exchange gets to kill a monster buck.

So Antelope Is. gets roughly $350,000 for conservation on an island with basically no hunting other than a small bison hunt and a governors hunt for sheep and another for mulies plus a raffle hunt for mulies, all in a state park. But the island already produces more animals than it can handle. There is a big bison cull (excess animals are sold at auction) every year to try to keep the population at about 550 and they've been shipping about 100 does per year off the island the last couple years to try to keep the population down to about 350, but the current population estimate says there are about 600-800 deer there.  It sounds like instead of conservation, what they need is to open the island to hunting, even if it's a limited draw hunt, to keep the numbers trimmed to a healthy level.

I spent a couple years fishing brine shrimp out of the Antelope Is. marina. The bison would walk right up to you and the deer and sheep weren't too concerned with you when you'd hike up the ridge. I never did see any of the antelope though.

Does the money stay on the island or does it go to the Mule Deer Foundation?
Genuine question.

[baldopepper]

Proceeds have to go to the island.  (keep in mind that's the proceeds - 90% of which go to the island and proceeds are after the other expenses.)  MDF chapters in Utah are all run by the same people who are in involved with SFW and these are not unpaid positions. You really should do some research on that whole intertwined spider web, likely to shock you.

[Craig]

I'm pretty sure the same guy bought the Arizona deer tag the next night for over $200,000. He is going to have one hell of a hunting season this year. Wonder if he can get close to 500 inches between the the bucks this year.

[bobcat]

The Arizona deer tag was $320,000.

[fishngamereaper]

Im all for conservation but geez..thats crazy to spend that much on a tag. My biggest fear is that in the long run really good mule deer hunts are going to become a rich mans game. How long before prime hunts in all the western states become auction tags.

Good for him if he can swing that kind of coin, but I just don't get it.

[baldopepper]

Im all for conservation but geez..thats crazy to spend that much on a tag. My biggest fear is that in the long run really good mule deer hunts are going to become a rich mans game. How long before prime hunts in all the western states become auction tags.

Good for him if he can swing that kind of coin, but I just don't get it.

If Sportsman for fish and wildlife have their way, it won't be long.  They honestly seem to think that the states should not be giving away cheaply (i.e. drawings or raffles) permits that can obviously be sold for huge amounts.  They would like to privatize the permit system so that all premium permits go to the highest bidder and they would also like to establish more areas that are off-limits to the average hunter so that more valuable permits could be generated to hunt in that area.  Heck of a plan if you can get yourself in the position to be the broker on these permits (at a "small" percentage of the bid of course).

[pianoman9701]

Guys, this is not the beginning of the end of public hunting for the regular guy. It's one tag to help fund the Mule Deer Foundation. There's not just one record buck out there and just because you have this tag doesn't necessarily mean you get a record. What it does mean is that the money used for habitat improvement and conservation may mean a larger number of records available to all down the road. It would take 11,143 new memberships to equal the amount of money this one person paid in for that tag. I'm unsure of how many new members the Mule Deer Foundation gets per year, but I'm fairly certain it's nowhere near that number.

[stevemiller]

  stop hating  . If you could make this kind of money doing this kind of work,Wouldnt you? 

[bearpaw]

Im all for conservation but geez..thats crazy to spend that much on a tag. My biggest fear is that in the long run really good mule deer hunts are going to become a rich mans game. How long before prime hunts in all the western states become auction tags.

Good for him if he can swing that kind of coin, but I just don't get it.

If Sportsman for fish and wildlife have their way, it won't be long.  They honestly seem to think that the states should not be giving away cheaply (i.e. drawings or raffles) permits that can obviously be sold for huge amounts.  They would like to privatize the permit system so that all premium permits go to the highest bidder and they would also like to establish more areas that are off-limits to the average hunter so that more valuable permits could be generated to hunt in that area.  Heck of a plan if you can get yourself in the position to be the broker on these permits (at a "small" percentage of the bid of course).

Do you have a link to some reliable information stating this?
FYI - Utah has increased the number of elk draw tags available to the public over the last few years!

[bearpaw]

Additionally, the Mule Deer Foundation is helping to fund replanting efforts in the Okanogan! 

[baldopepper]

Im all for conservation but geez..thats crazy to spend that much on a tag. My biggest fear is that in the long run really good mule deer hunts are going to become a rich mans game. How long before prime hunts in all the western states become auction tags.

Good for him if he can swing that kind of coin, but I just don't get it.

If Sportsman for fish and wildlife have their way, it won't be long.  They honestly seem to think that the states should not be giving away cheaply (i.e. drawings or raffles) permits that can obviously be sold for huge amounts.  They would like to privatize the permit system so that all premium permits go to the highest bidder and they would also like to establish more areas that are off-limits to the average hunter so that more valuable permits could be generated to hunt in that area.  Heck of a plan if you can get yourself in the position to be the broker on these permits (at a "small" percentage of the bid of course).

Do you have a link to some reliable information stating this?
FYI - Utah has increased the number of elk draw tags available to the public over the last few years!

I'm really lousy at posting links (frankly don't know how) but google Don Peay and read "Did Don Peay organization essentially buy Utah".  I'm not attacking the Mule Deer Foundation, but I think before you make a donation to any charity, especially a large donation, you research them carefully and see where your money is going.  As we all know, premium permits are big ticket items these days and a valuable asset to the states and sportsman of those states.  Very tempting to figure out a way to siphon off some of this money that should be going to the actual cause we're supporting.  If you agree with what his organizations are doing and how they're doing it, then I guess I'm ok with that.  Personally I'm not.

[Gringo31]

Interesting discussion and not down the road I had anticipated.....

Glad it's all been civil.   

[fishngamereaper]

I support the Mule deer foundation and any other group that supports recovery, habit etc....I just don't trust WDFW if they where approached by a large group like this, "Hey, we hear you have a couple of units that produce big mule deer. How's about you shut them down for OTC guys and we auction off premium tags for it. We will give you 90%  of the take".....

I'm not against guys spending their money like this, it is their money. I've just watched over the years how people spending big money on these hunts seems to have a ripple affect. When they find out people are willing to pay a certain amount for X..the price of X is going to go up.  Pretty soon the price of X is only attainable by a small amount of the population. 

[bearpaw]

Im all for conservation but geez..thats crazy to spend that much on a tag. My biggest fear is that in the long run really good mule deer hunts are going to become a rich mans game. How long before prime hunts in all the western states become auction tags.

Good for him if he can swing that kind of coin, but I just don't get it.

If Sportsman for fish and wildlife have their way, it won't be long.  They honestly seem to think that the states should not be giving away cheaply (i.e. drawings or raffles) permits that can obviously be sold for huge amounts.  They would like to privatize the permit system so that all premium permits go to the highest bidder and they would also like to establish more areas that are off-limits to the average hunter so that more valuable permits could be generated to hunt in that area.  Heck of a plan if you can get yourself in the position to be the broker on these permits (at a "small" percentage of the bid of course).

Do you have a link to some reliable information stating this?
FYI - Utah has increased the number of elk draw tags available to the public over the last few years!

I'm really lousy at posting links (frankly don't know how) but google Don Peay and read "Did Don Peay organization essentially buy Utah".  I'm not attacking the Mule Deer Foundation, but I think before you make a donation to any charity, especially a large donation, you research them carefully and see where your money is going.  As we all know, premium permits are big ticket items these days and a valuable asset to the states and sportsman of those states.  Very tempting to figure out a way to siphon off some of this money that should be going to the actual cause we're supporting.  If you agree with what his organizations are doing and how they're doing it, then I guess I'm ok with that.  Personally I'm not.

I read the story and I would say that it sounds like the author is opposed to limited-entry hunts, opposed to trophy management, opposed to Utah's effective effort to keep wolves under control, and even opposed to the Mormon church. The bottom line is that mormons are the majority in Utah so they are going to make the rules. If a person can't get along with mormons there are 49 other states to live or visit!

SFFW has a huge following in Utah, in short, they are doing what many hunters who live there seem to prefer. Utah has a thriving economy yet wildlife abounds in remote areas, in agricultural areas, and in the middle of oil and gas exploration! There are world class hunting opportunities all over the state and many areas have over the counter tags for anyone who wants to hunt. There are 30"+ mule deer available by walking right out of the city limits of most cities all along the Wasatch front.

Utah also has probably the least expensive non-resident licenses and tags of any western state yet offers hunters some of the highest quality hunting opportunities. There are draw areas and there are over the counter hunt areas. In draw areas tags are split 50/50 between random applicants and the applicants with the most points, I think it's the best point system of any state. Utah also has more youth hunting opportunities than almost any other state. If Utahans didn't like SFFW I doubt the SFFW banquets would be so well attended.

Utah is one of the states I would move to if I moved from Washington, and I'm not a mormon. I've been outfitting in Utah since 1997 and it seems most of the people in Utah love their state and probably don't want it to change to the way it sounds like the author would prefer after reading through his comments. In Washington Democrats control the politics, in Utah it's Republican, anyone can probably find something they don't like in any state, but I can say I like most of the politics in Utah. I also must say that Peay, Benson, and the Utah legislature have been fairly effective at keeping wolves to a minimum in Utah. A lower percentage of the wildlife is eaten by wolves than in some other wolf infested states. That means more wildlife is available for hunters.

This is just my opinion for what it's worth, I know we all have different views.

[bearpaw]

I support the Mule deer foundation and any other group that supports recovery, habit etc....I just don't trust WDFW if they where approached by a large group like this, "Hey, we hear you have a couple of units that produce big mule deer. How's about you shut them down for OTC guys and we auction off premium tags for it. We will give you 90%  of the take".....

I'm not against guys spending their money like this, it is their money. I've just watched over the years how people spending big money on these hunts seems to have a ripple affect. When they find out people are willing to pay a certain amount for X..the price of X is going to go up.  Pretty soon the price of X is only attainable by a small amount of the population. 

I don't know of any unit in Utah that was closed down and all the tags made into auction tags. If you are referring to Antelope Island you need to know the whole story. That is a state park, there wasn't any open public hunting. The legislature approved a handful of tags which has produced 1.4 million for maintaining the island plus they are moving deer from the island to other areas. In the article it says they have only used 1/3 of the revenue and the legislature may consider using dollars in other places to benefit wildlife.

I doubt anyone would ever approach WDFW and ask them to make all permits in any existing hunt unit auction permits. I think every hunter in the state would oppose that!

WA does have raffle tags available all around the state that anyone can buy tickets to enter and I think there is 1 auction tag for each specie around the state. Funds from those tags help support far more wildlife than the few animals that are killed by those tag holders.

I understand there are differing opinions, but it's important to use accurate info to support opinions.