Tough Weekend of Hunting

[kglacken]

Took my daughter into Vail yesterday and this evening.  We got into a ton of grouse, got up high into the snow, had 4 different road systems all to ourselves, hiked timber, glassed remote clear cuts and didn't see a single deer.  Our friend has been hitting it all weekend and had seen nothing but does and fawns.  I talked to my friend at the check station yesterday and they had only checked out only a couple of decent bucks.  Very few people were seeing deer.  I did find out that Weyco employees have been hunting the piss out of Vail this week, during the week.  When we drove in on Saturday, we were one of the first in and the first to get past the upper Deschutes and we ran into 3 trucks about 20 miles in coming out!  Kinda funny that the unit has been closed for a year, had great weather this week and the deer are holed up.  Usually they haul at leas 30-50 bucks out of there on opening day.   

This pisses me off. I hunted out there saturday and saw 10 deer. And only one was a really small spike. I remember a few years ago when I was maybe 10 years old, I used to volunteer at the check station and on some days we would check out close to 100 deer on some days. It sure has gone downhill. I love going there because its close to home, I love and know the land, and its a fun place to hunt, but the quality of the unit is going downhill.

[PolarBear]

My friend (Chauncey) has been working the check station for as long as I can remember.  Every year I hear him say that he is ready to give it up.  He (and so do I) gets sick and tired of seeing tiny bucks and does that are riddled with bullet holes, with the guts still in them or just plain torn apart.  Yeah, the glory days of Vail are definitely long gone.  I wish they would close it down to drive in traffic (for employees too) for a few years and let the population rebound.  I also hear that the number of cougars has jumped considerably in the past few years.

[firefighter4607]

I also hear that the number of cougars has jumped considerably in the past few years.

Ohh no not according to WSU rescearch teams...... They are going reduce the kill quota for cougars even more. Because of too many Toms being killed which let more younger cougars control the area.
http://www.cbbulletin.com/423008.aspx
http://www.capitalpress.com/mw-Cougar-research-092612-courtesy-art

[WaltAlpine]

Tought weekend...Tough week. Three hunters in my camp and we almost wore out our boots and the straps on our rifles. Nothing we could shoot and not even many does.

[bullcanyon]

Took the boy out after school and seen 6 does.  Our best day of deer sighting since the opener.  Still not what I'm hoping for though...

[Axle]

Too many big cats eating up all the deer.

[jtw]

I'd be happy to see does at this point. During bear season I saw tons of deer everywhere, since opening day I have seen tons of sign, but no deer. It's almost like they know it's deer season...

[bobcat]

With the lack of blacktail deer it would be nice if the state went to permit only hunting, for all deer, statewide.

[Axle]

With the lack of blacktail deer it would be nice if the state went to permit only hunting, for all deer, statewide.

I couldn't disagree more.
The problem is not the number of hunters and limiting them is not the answer. As long as we have too many predators, we will have few ungulates.
Our forefathers managed for ungulates by reducing predator numbers. We used to have much higher success rates and many happy hunters. Now we are being screwed over by bureaucrats, politicians, and dimwitted leaders who hate hunters and hate hunting and hate gun ownership.
Also: when we have hunters dumb enough to vote in favor of a ban on hound hunting, we don't stand much of a chance to survive this attack against us.

[jtw]

With the lack of blacktail deer it would be nice if the state went to permit only hunting, for all deer, statewide.

Permit hunting takes hunting out of the hands of those who need meat. Go that direction and well end up like england.

[bullcanyon]

Something drastic needs to be done, but they are scared of losing any revenue in the short term. Unfortunate for them that they won't think of the long term. I doubt my son is going to be all about hunting when there isn't a whole lot of animal sightings when we go out. I know we aren't the only ones experiencing this. I feel for other fathers going through the same thing. Sucks!!!!!!!

[bobcat]

With the lack of blacktail deer it would be nice if the state went to permit only hunting, for all deer, statewide.

Permit hunting takes hunting out of the hands of those who need meat. Go that direction and well end up like england.

For those who need meat, it's much cheaper to buy it at the grocery store.

Besides, what are the odds of actually bringing home a deer, when there are so few available?

[blackveltbowhunter]

With the lack of blacktail deer it would be nice if the state went to permit only hunting, for all deer, statewide.

Permit hunting takes hunting out of the hands of those who need meat. Go that direction and well end up like england.

For those who need meat, it's much cheaper to buy it at the grocery store.

Besides, what are the odds of actually bringing home a deer, when there are so few available?

   I think thats a very subjective argument, based on alot of individual factors.

[sirmissalot]

I've really never understood the people who strictly hunt for meat. I know for a fact I could get meat cheaper by buying it, but I guess some people may use very little gas, use inexpensive gear and only buy the tags they intend to fill.

I would vote for making it a draw to be able to hunt here. All my buddies in Wyoming have to draw to hunt their areas and they are residents... They have great deer and elk herds.

[bullcanyon]

I'd be for a permit only for the late season, but not sure about the regular season. Point restrictions and bringing back the hounds would be my first choices.