Longer hunts?

[kpinaz]

Why are the (early) hunts here in AZ limited to a week long?

It seems like it would make more sense to have a tag valid for a month, or longer. When you put 500-750 hunters in a unit and give them only a week to tag out, you have hunters tripping over each other, and you create some pretty intense pressure on the deer.

What if hunts were a month long? Or if tags were valid for an entire season (3 months or so)? Hunters would be much more spread out, people would allow lesser animals to walk early in the season, instead of just shooting to fill their tag.

It seems like the 7 day hunts create a lot more stress on both hunter and quarry.

[madx250]

More animals would be killed -- meaning less money for game/fish.Imo.

[stanley]

Interesting idea, but my guess is that it's a bit complicated.

 

Maybe Jim or one of the other G&F folks will chime in......

 

S.

 

 

 

[DesertBull]

If the hunts were a month long, I'd be bankrupt. So I vote no.

[bonecollector]

I think its 7 days so they can start the next hunt on the following Friday. I would like to see 10 day hunts at least, like it used to be. Now they have added more hunts so they have to cut down the days for each hunt.

[200"mulie]

You can look at the archery season as being longer than a week

 

but i would not have them any longer then 10 days.

 

Deer get by the hunting pressure and adapt. And most people only go out fri-sun.-mon. Only the die hard hunters take the whole week off.

 

Many times i've walked by deer and seen others walk by deer and they just sit there watching you.

[200"mulie]

I think its 7 days so they can start the next hunt on the following Friday. I would like to see 10 day hunts at least, like it used to be. Now they have added more hunts so they have to cut down the days for each hunt.

 

 

I do have a 10 day hunt ... unit 10

[200"mulie]

You can look at the archery season as being longer than a week

 

but i would not have them any longer then 10 days.

 

Deer get by the hunting pressure and adapt. And most people only go out fri-sun.-mon. Only the die hard hunters take the whole week off.

 

Many times i've walked by deer and seen others walk by deer and they just sit there watching you.

 

 

 

If you only can take a few days off i would take mon-thur off

[Red Rabbit]

After the quality vs quantity debacle, I believe G&F went to 4 hunts over 3 coues hunts to reduce the number of hunters in the field each hunt. If they were combined into one, I could imagine the scores of hunters on each hill opening morning that would want "first crack". I cannot see the advantages of a single season outweighing the disadvantages. The current system minimizes the conflict with mule deer and junior hunters during their seasons.

[kpinaz]

After the quality vs quantity debacle, I believe G&F went to 4 hunts over 3 coues hunts to reduce the number of hunters in the field each hunt. If they were combined into one, I could imagine the scores of hunters on each hill opening morning that would want "first crack". I cannot see the advantages of a single season outweighing the disadvantages. The current system minimizes the conflict with mule deer and junior hunters during their seasons.

 

Don't you already have that situation? I mean, if getting "first crack" is most important, then under the current system you can apply for an early tag. A lot of people do, and you have hunters on every hill in some units on opening day. You could still do so if the season was longer, but as the season went along, you'd have fewer hunters in the field, because many will have tagged out, or burned up their vacay, or whatever. There are very few people who would actually be able to devote an entire month to a hunt, much less an entire 3 month season, and you wouldn't have to deal with all of the hunters in the field at once. If you can't take time off during the week, you've got 3-4 weekends. If you don't like the crowds, or are retired, or just have alot of vacation time, you could go during the week. If you knew you'd be able to get out again later in the month, you might let that forky walk during the first week.

AZGFD could charge according to the "quality" of the hunt. X for an October tag, X.5 for a Nov, and 2X for a December, or something like that, which would keep revenue up.

Success rate would undoubtedly go up, so that may be a problem depending on whteher or not an area can sustain it, but you could mete out tags accordingly. If the success rate were higher, there would be more incentive for some to apply, again, generating revenue.

 

I guess it would make the "quality" of the hunt better for us hunters, but I'll admit I have no clue if it would work from a game management standpoint.

[200"mulie]

After the quality vs quantity debacle, I believe G&F went to 4 hunts over 3 coues hunts to reduce the number of hunters in the field each hunt. If they were combined into one, I could imagine the scores of hunters on each hill opening morning that would want "first crack". I cannot see the advantages of a single season outweighing the disadvantages. The current system minimizes the conflict with mule deer and junior hunters during their seasons.

 

Don't you already have that situation? I mean, if getting "first crack" is most important, then under the current system you can apply for an early tag. A lot of people do, and you have hunters on every hill in some units on opening day. You could still do so if the season was longer, but as the season went along, you'd have fewer hunters in the field, because many will have tagged out, or burned up their vacay, or whatever. There are very few people who would actually be able to devote an entire month to a hunt, much less an entire 3 month season, and you wouldn't have to deal with all of the hunters in the field at once. If you can't take time off during the week, you've got 3-4 weekends. If you don't like the crowds, or are retired, or just have alot of vacation time, you could go during the week. If you knew you'd be able to get out again later in the month, you might let that forky walk during the first week.

AZGFD could charge according to the "quality" of the hunt. X for an October tag, X.5 for a Nov, and 2X for a December, or something like that, which would keep revenue up.

Success rate would undoubtedly go up, so that may be a problem depending on whteher or not an area can sustain it, but you could mete out tags accordingly. If the success rate were higher, there would be more incentive for some to apply, again, generating revenue.

 

I guess it would make the "quality" of the hunt better for us hunters, but I'll admit I have no clue if it would work from a game management standpoint.

 

 

if you dont want to see many hunters pack in, punch deeper, go in the last couple days of the hunt. my experience everyone pulls out sunday or monday--- could because of work, money issue, the wife and kids issue....but most everyone on a deer hunt leaves early