Desert Rut

[CouesFanatic]

26 minutes ago, Big or Bust said:

That's the irony. The deer that lived are now fat and happy. There's just 15 to 20% of normal. 

Yes, thankfully it's green and water all over right now. 

[az41mag]

I spent some time in the 37's first part of January. The deer we saw looked healthy, but it did seem like less deer in total compared to other years (at least in the area we were in). At the time I figured it could've just been that the rut wasn't in full swing, but now I kind of wonder if it could be to some die off. As others have mentioned the amount of people out there were higher than I've ever seen. I suspect some of that was New Year's campers, but regardless it was a lot of people.

[QCwtAddict]

13 hours ago, CouesFanatic said:

All F&G cares about is money. They don't care about the animals at all. Things will change when they see it hitting their pockets. Every unit has hunts to the max, good luck finding mature animals in any unit, it's getting tougher each year. I feel horrible for my kids and their kids. Seeing what my dad and his dad had for hunting opportunity and quality in the past compared to now is rough. Add 20 more years from now and you will be lucky to shoot anything with antlers. Have you hunted deer in western NM? Thats what AZ is going to. Hunt 12 days to maybe see a dink. 

I spent some time in the 37's this archery hunt. I've never seen that many people there in January. There is 5x the amount of hunters there was just 2-3 years ago. We are headed in a bad direction. Time for a draw across the board, cut these deer a break, they need it. 

I hadn't really hunted the last two January's but I got out to the 37's this January and couldn't believe how many people were out there.