Lock the gates?

[Quarteredaway]

As an serious bowhunter I try to spend all my time behind locked gates and it makes for some great hunting experiences. This is easy in the early season due to fire danger but as soon as the weather changes the gates come open and the game goes into hiding.IMO if the gates were locked year round the hunting would be better for everyone.Whats your opion?

[Wazukie]

where I hunt the gates are locked all year.  I like it that way.

[Rainstorm Hunter]

I like hunting behind locked gates always do better

[woodrat]

I've been scouting an an area near me for elk all summer, and working out trails and so forth, hiking in behind a locked gate. I was up there in the last days of early deer season, and stopped by that gate and can see where people are driving quads and even full sized trucks around the gate anyway. So that area is going to be nowhere near as good as I was hoping, now. I didn't expect that turn of events!

[Quarteredaway]

where I hunt the gates are locked all year.  I like it that way.

Where is that without giving up your honey holes if you dont mind me asking

[singleshot12]

Locked gates are great if you are young or got good legs

[colockumelk]

Locked gates are good for game management.  The more restrictive the road access the higher the survival rates.  IMHO I think that the areas should be divided in half.  I think places like GMU 342, 340 and 336 should maintain their extensive aray of roads.  And places like GMU 346, 364 and 356 should restrict road access even more than they have.  This way for the guys who want to be able to get away from everyone they have areas to go to.  Or for guys who like big huge camps and don't want to hike way in or for hunters who cant get around all that well anymore they all have a place to go.  This way everyone can enjoy their brand of hunting.

I myself prefer to get away from the crowds and go where the elk are, ie in deep away from people and way up high  My dad prefers to have a big trailer with all the ammenities and he's also older and isn't as mobile as he used to be.  We both have a blast when we hunt. Especially when I go call for him and get to spend time in the woods and then come back to a home cooked meal a camp fire and a warm bed.   Sometimes that does beat an MRE or a Mountain House meal with a head lamp and my bivvy sack. 

[markts]

Lock the gates and make it 3point or better-the deer population would eventually get back to what it was 10-15 years ago IMO 

[colockumelk]

I agree. Out in Alabama they went to 3 pt minimum like 4 years ago and it was hated at first but now everyone LOVES it. Its done wonders for their deer herd.

[jbeaumont21]

 I think colockumelk has a good point, but I would prefer to keep the gates closed so long as they crack down on the poachers and atv's.  Even more importantly I wish they would make a decision early on and then keep it that way.  I spent all late summer biking in and scouting just to find the gates open 2 days before our early ML hunt in Ryderwood. Months of scouting down the drain.  Even after finding an area that was gated, the opening morning hunt was ruined by a group on atv's.  Tried calling them in but just got the recording. I switched over to ML hunting from the rifle season in hopes of getting away from the road hunters.  Guess I need to re-think things again.

[shedcrazy]

where I hunt the gates are locked all year.  I like it that way.

Where is that without giving up your honey holes if you dont mind me asking

Are you kidding me??

[Wazukie]

where I hunt the gates are locked all year.  I like it that way.

Where is that without giving up your honey holes if you dont mind me asking

I'll tell you this much, its all private timber land east of the PCT.

[jbeaumont21]

Does that mean I need to hunt the east side next year and knock on some doors?

[firedog]

where I hunt the gates are locked all year.  I like it that way.

Same here at least for all of bow season.