Choose a side .....????

[stickslinger]

So with all of the no deer around threads it got me thinking why don't we have to choose east or west for deer like we do for elk?  To me it seems like a pretty easy solution to some of the over crowding in the mule deer country. I am a archery hunter and it seems every late season I talk to quite a few hunters that are hunting muleys but if they don't connect than " no big deal i can fill my tag on a blacktail ". So looking at the regs it looks like most west side areas with all weapons are open longer than the east side units. I may be out in left field but it seams pretty simple, you want to hunt muleys you will have a shorter season, I don't know let me know what the rest of you think

[BULLBLASTER]

I'd be ok with choosing a species... would be nice if they had seasons for each weapon on all species tags if they did that. 

[ghosthunter]

I am not sure it would make a difference.

I think most guys hunting both would pick east if they had the time.

Just because the weather is usually better for hunting and far better access.

[pcal]

Those silly rules on elk is the reason i hunt out of state for them along with the weapons choices,too.I didnt see any less deer this year for any other reason than 3 storms rolling over us in less than a week.My son and I were the last of our group of 10 hunting on the 21st and had our mountain to ourselves.We both got our bucks on the 22nd and got mine out by sunday (23rd).Snow was less than 12"s on the trail but it took 4 hours to bring my buck
down to the trail from the ambush 1800' above and the 1.5 miles to the trailhead took 2 more.Your suggestion to have a shorter season on E.side is already a fact.Hunts over there ended tuesday and over here,today.

[HntnFsh]

I don't think we should have to choose sides of the state for deer or elk. WE by Washington hunting licenses. They should be good for Washington.

[vandeman17]

Not sure how well this would work but what about giving a person 2-3 units to which their tags are good for and also limit the amount of hunters in certain gmu's that are below objectives? This wouldn't take away from a hunter wanting to hunt both sides but could help some of the struggling herds by limiting the pressure... 

[JimmyHoffa]

Or extend the blacktail season an extra week or even open up a night season for blacktail.

[Elkrunner]

Not sure how well this would work but what about giving a person 2-3 units to which their tags are good for and also limit the amount of hunters in certain gmu's that are below objectives? This wouldn't take away from a hunter wanting to hunt both sides but could help some of the struggling herds by limiting the pressure... 

I think Utah has something like that going on.  You have to put in for the units in a draw or something. 

[Jason]

I don't think we should have to choose sides of the state for deer or elk. WE by Washington hunting licenses. They should be good for Washington.

[Skyvalhunter]

Even if we were to have to choose sides for Wa at this point the wildlife population is jeopardized by WDFW's greed. Lets' just see at the end of the year what the trend is for hunter success is.

[vandeman17]

I don't think we should have to choose sides of the state for deer or elk. WE by Washington hunting licenses. They should be good for Washington.

I understand this mindset but I personally am ok with "taking one for the team" with regards to deer numbers and overall health. A person could still hunt every year but just would have to decide where.

[JimmyHoffa]

I don't think we should have to choose sides of the state for deer or elk. WE by Washington hunting licenses. They should be good for Washington.

I understand this mindset but I personally am ok with "taking one for the team" with regards to deer numbers and overall health. A person could still hunt every year but just would have to decide where.

The three things that generally fall under management capabilities are impact of hunters, impact of predators and quality of habitat.  I'd rather the predators and habitat were tweaked first.

[grundy53]

I would be all for it. Many western states are even more restrictive and they have better game populations.

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[cbond3318]

I feel if the populous was forced to lock themselves into an area, you would actually see more pressure applied to already struggling
Mule Deer Herds. For the exact reason you stated, take away that ability to half ass a hunt or sleep in when the weather gets bad or not make the trip over cause gas is too high, because hey, we can always just hunt right here later...

[bobcat]

I'd support this or any other change in management that would decrease hunting pressure on both blacktail deer and mule deer so that eventually the numbers can begin to increase. Sure we have too many predators but us hunters also kill deer.

[savagehunter]

That is what they did in oregon and the next step was draw only on the east side. I am against any regs that reduce chances to hunt.

[vandeman17]

I don't think we should have to choose sides of the state for deer or elk. WE by Washington hunting licenses. They should be good for Washington.

I understand this mindset but I personally am ok with "taking one for the team" with regards to deer numbers and overall health. A person could still hunt every year but just would have to decide where.

The three things that generally fall under management capabilities are impact of hunters, impact of predators and quality of habitat.  I'd rather the predators and habitat were tweaked first.

Predators and habitat are also vital but knowing how things are ran, predator control is not looking like a promising option. Habitat improvement is a bit more realistic but is going to take time which, sadly, isn't on our herd's side in some areas if we stay on our current path. It sucks to have gotten to this point but we can't change the past so hopefully we can not be stubborn and at least try to improve the future. 

[Firedogg]

  We don't need more regulations making it tougher to get out in the field. I am going to bet the overall success rates for this season end up being right in line with the averages of the past seasons.
  For some not seeing deer in the general seasons is not a rare happening. The majority of the deer harvest happens during the late seasons.

[sagerat]

Sounds like a bunch of guys are bitter because they didn't get it done. My vote is to leave things the way they are. Obviously there are plenty of great animals available as proved on this forum.

[krout81]

As long as I can hunt deer and elk at the same time I don't care what the regulations are.

[westsidehntr]

I don't support any new restrictions on hunting. Things are confusing enough!

Btw: you're welcome to come hunt blacktail with us in the rain! 

[Jonathan_S]

Why not have open seasons for blacktail and whitetail and permit only mule deer?

At a certain point, hunter opportunity needs to take a back seat to herd health. A lot of you guys don't realize how " on the ropes" some mule deer herds are.

[dvolmer]

I'm not sure that my assumption is totally correct and in some cases totally wrong.  With that said I will venture to guess that most people on this forum that are for "picking a side of the state to hunt on" are guys from the east side.  Those that want to have one tag for the entire state are usually west sider's.  Very few if any at all east sider's head west to hunt Blacktail deer.  I'm sure there are exceptions but still very few.  Lots of West sider's come east to hunt Muley's and Whitey's on the east side.  If they are unsuccessful they continue to hunt the longer and more general season for Blacktails.  I am from the eastside so I am in strong support of a pick your side rule.  Now stepping back and looking at the big picture, a draw only situation for our state like Organ has is not to feasible with the small amount of hunting areas and our huge populations of people. A compromise for our state that would help in the reduction of hunting pressure on the east and the west side would be to split the tag and make one choose.  But those who like to have their cake and eat it too outnumber the ones who are willing to sacrifice something for something better.  Just my two cents for what they are worth after 35 plus years of hunting in this state and one who like to hunt out of state also.

[kodiak 907]

Why not have open seasons for blacktail and whitetail and permit only mule deer?

At a certain point, hunter opportunity needs to take a back seat to herd health. A lot of you guys don't realize how " on the ropes" some mule deer herds are.

I would be fine with that.  Might help the struggling mule deer herd.

[Dr. Death]

Something needs to be done. The MD population has decreased each year and hunting pressure has gone up, for archery anyway. I'm from the wetside and would be all for it, something else that would help would be to open all late seasons on the same day, instead of having MD open up prior to most all other seasons.

[Bean Counter]

I think you're beyond the point that rifle tags need to be by permit only. This is a simple issue even for a bean counter.

[pianoman9701]

I'm all for increasing deer numbers but blanket changes and increased regulation do not good bed partners make. If you wanted to go unit by unit and decide on draw only or antler restrictions, I'd be fine with that. But adding further restriction of having to pick east or west? No way. We shouldn't even have to pick the method we want to use except for certain draw circumstances. Don't ever ask for blanket restriction. Ask for better wildlife management by unit and area.

[Skyvalhunter]

  Well said Roger