Managing for Trophy Muleys

[Tatonka]

Has anyone had any success in getting your state F&G departments to manage various hunting districts for trophy quality? If so, how did you do it? Here in Northcentral Montana we have a lot of Mule Deer....numbers are very high, but as soon as a buck has anything that resembles a nice rack, it gets whacked......very, very few of our bucks ever get a chance to get the age on them that it takes for a buck to be a real wallhanger. I've written the f&g dept with suggestions for improving the quality of the bucks we have, but it's like sending a letter into outer space.... Some of the largest Muley Bucks you'd ever want to see are taken in SW Saskatchewan....just across the border from us. They have a permit system there, so the bucks get a chance to grow up. I'm not suggesting that the whole state be managed only for trophy quality animals, but it would be nice if there was an area in each region (we have 7 regions here) that was managed for quality instead of quantity for those hunters who want a chance at something other than a skinny horned 3-Point.

 

[Bura Nut]

I joined what was then called Arizona Muledeer Association a few years back and at least I know that this non-profit organization holds some weight with the F&G and provides alot of monies to subsidize paying for habitat restoration, projects etc....Because of the financial and political clout, the Arizona Deer Association really helps shape the quality units like the Kaibab and others with lobbying that is listened to. Maybe the Mule Deer Foundation in Montana would be a good group to contact. Hope this helps........Allen Taylor......