Riesop

As of now 27 is OTC. I'm hoping that with the amount of people there this year it goes to a draw. It really got hammered hard this year.

I'm not opposed to shooting a wounded animal at all, however, if that guide talked to the hunters that are legitimately trying to track it down that day and you dont tell where it is, then there's a problem.

I sure wish they would ban it, and cameras, but like you said it's not really enforceable. I just think hunting from the comfort of your truck isn't fair chase. If that animal is on foot, so should I be. Just my honest opinion but I guess I'm old school and like getting out to hike and walk.

I agree. All of what you said combined with the hoards on out of state archery hunters right now is a bad combination for our deer population.

I couldn't agree with you more, well said.

Just my point. I'm a teacher, hunting other states and Canadian provinces is WAY out of my price range so being able to hunt in my own state is pretty important to me. I'm glad you get to enjoy those other hunts.

Again, nothing that I disagree with you on. It would just be nice if a taxpaying Arizona resident could have a little "seniority" over nonresidents. I know that's probably a selfish thing to say but I have no problem driving up and seeing a car with AZ plates, that's no problem to me, but seeing a car from another state just for some reason doesn't sit well with me. But again, I know it's all about money and probably a little selfish on my part but it is what it is.

Kinda sad that nonresidents tags and licenses #3 is on the rise big time, but residents #2 is declining. In my experience this year I can see why though. I've always looked forward to hunting places I've been going as a kid and this year when have that anticipation you've been waiting for all year and you drive up and see wall tents and cars from other states it just takes a lot of the fun out of it. I know it's public land and I have to realize that but sure would be nice to have a time for residents to enjoy their time out there. But it's all about money so what can I say.

#1, he mentioned that archery hunters were required to report their harvest, that's not true today (maybe I'm wrong). Out of those 23,000 archery tags sold in that year (I bet its four times that amount now), tell me how many bucks were taken? You can't because they don't even know accurately. So now you have to throw in the fact that archery technology is way better than it was in 2008 so to me that would mean that more deer are taken with archery equipment now more than ever and hunters are definitely not in the decline like they were in 2008. So better equipment and WAY more people hunting equals more deer killed, yet the same system of over the counter tags is the same as it's always been, sell as many as you can. I'm just saying that there has to be a better way to figure out numbers of deer taken and maybe that means we have to change the over the counter tags into a draw for a little bit. At least with rifle hunting they know how many tags are out there and they can get a ballpark estimate of percentage of deer taken. In archery it's just a free for all. I'm not going to sit here and argue with you and claim that I know everything. I just know that the number of archery hunters is WAY more than normal and we don't have an accurate way of telling how many of those people kill deer (a paper mail in postcard doesn't work unless you enforce it). So maybe mandatory reporting and a draw is what needs to be done.

Ok "Outdoor Writer" let me see if I can state this more clearly. Yes, it is to keep deer from getting killed, but I don't necessarily think it's a biological issue. If I have 100 deer in an area and I sell 500 tags, what are the chances that those deer get wiped out? If I manage how many people go in there and maybe sell 25 tags, I KNOW that there are deer left. I'm not saying I want a mountain to myself, nor am I saying that I want to ban nonresidents. I am however saying that past years was like putting 25 hunters where there were 100 deer. This year is like putting 1000 hunters where there are 100 deer. Not a biological or social engineering issue.

We're not talking about banning nonresidents. We're talking about how to manage an already struggling deer herd by regulating the amount of tags sold and not just looking at money.

Nope I dont, honestly, I dont have the money to hunt other states so it's nice to hunt my own and be able to do it without being overrun.

Man, I hate when youtube puts this stuff up, it's already swamped with nonresidents out there. Just wait, I bet in the next year there are a lot of changes to the over the counter tags which will affect residents and non residents. Can't just keep selling tags to thousands upon thousands of people. The mule deer population is already hurting.

Just went and scouted a place I've been going for years and seen very few people, it was nice. Right now there are three wall tents and cars everywhere, all from out of state, very frustrating.

I think the start has to be mandatory reporting, however that may be done I have no idea. How many people do you think in our world, as dishonest as it is, would shoot a deer in January, not report it, and just continue hunting the rest of the year like nothing happened. It's sad but its reality.

I agree 1 million percent that non residents should go to a draw. I have also heard that January hunts may only be first two weeks of January instead of the whole month.

Man that looks like it has a lot of Whitetail in it? Antlers for sure look a lot like whitetail.

I can totally see a ban on cameras that feed directly to your phone, that just doesn't seem right. I'm kinda old school and just like the getting out and walking my butt off glassing and doing spot and stalk, it just makes it more fair chase. I honestly think the cameras have gotten out of control. I talked to one guy who had like six cameras set up in a one mile square. You can't even pee in the woods anymore without being on camera : )

Man that's awesome, congrats to all!

Yep all of the above. Stay away from air mattresses. Wool army blankets, good sleeping bag with cot and a buddy heater will do the trick.

Awesome job, nothing beats a freezer full of meat.

My personal opinion is probably a max of 40. I'm at 65 pounds and 29 inch draw but will never shoot an arrow past 60 no matter what. I really feel that you have to start thinking about the time it takes an arrow to get there, one step is the difference between a good shot and a horrible one.

First elk for my kids this year, awesome experience.

Awesome, congrats, nice cow. Glad you didn't shoot a cow with a calf.

I know it might be a little big but I carry a Badlands 2200 wherever I go. I love the meat hauling capabilities with that built in meat shelf.