BenHuntn
Active Member
- Messages
- 602
LAST EDITED ON Sep-02-13 AT 08:16PM (MST)[p]Drastic measures need to be done to get the Wyoming Range Deer herd back. We have gone from 60,000 deer 70's and 80's to 28,000 currently. I hunted from 1977 to 1992. We never had a problem filling our tags with mature 4 points. The last of the good hunting ended in approximately 1993. Game and fish issued way to many tags for bucks and does and fawns. They new the herd could not be supported on the winter range so they were very liberal with the allocation of tags. Unfortunately the winter of 1992 or 1993 was harsh and took it's toll. Also Game and fish data on deer population was wrong and they did not have as many deer as they thought. With the combination of the way too many deer harvested and the harsh winter the deer were decimated. I went the following year deer hunting and you could not even find a good buck deer. A landscape void of deer. We have never fully recovered from those days. What is needed now is a drastic reduction in tags. Between predators, hunters, encroachment of industry and lastly harsh winters we have had a dramatic impact on the return of mule deer herds. One thing we as people can do is
reduce predation further, cut tags issued drastically and improve habitat. Maybe once that has been accomplished people can be once again excited about mule deer hunting in the Wyoming Range once again.
reduce predation further, cut tags issued drastically and improve habitat. Maybe once that has been accomplished people can be once again excited about mule deer hunting in the Wyoming Range once again.