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draw only deer hunts

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One more thing I believe that the explosion of elk in AZ has more to do with the decline of the deer population than any other factor. Growing up in Strawberry I can remember when you could drive down any given logging road and see far more deer than elk. The elk boomed and left no where for the deer to go in dry years or when predation got to heavy. Just my .02 cents.

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I think the draw was needed in most of these units to reduce hunting pressure and increase the quality of the hunt. But I think they also need to further increase the heard for quality in these units now that there is a draw. Many of us archers have just rolled over saying it was the best thing, but the next step now needs to be made, and this was why I didn't approve of it in the first place. No proper future planning, just simple-minded management with short-term goals.

 

I don't think it will affect the age class of the deer much, since once the buck population goes up, they will just issue more rifle tags. The buck:doe ratio is managed to be one of the lowest in the country, and it was approved to decrease it further.

 

If you have to sacrifice your bonus points and draw opporunity at these tags, then they need to manage the whole unit differently, not just the archery season. This applies primarily to the units south of the CO river. It doesn't make much sense to manage quality archery units, that are not managed as such for rifle.

 

I'd personally like to see the buck:doe ratio increase, and to see the rifle tags decrease in some of these units. I'd hate to think that we are only limiting archery hunters, so that just as many deer can be harvested but with a rifle, without increasing the heard.

 

 

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The new Hunt AZ book is available now for download at AZGFD.COM

 

It list unit 22 as having less than 10% success rate for each of the last 5 years, yet it was one unit that lost it's December hunt. Makes no sense. It also says almost 1500 people archery hunt unit 22. I've gone out on a Saturday and hunted all day, near main roads, and never saw another hunter in that unit. I know it is popular, but come on, 1500? How do they know?

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