king' s outdoor world - Index

king' s outdoor world - Hunting Illustrated April/May 2008 - Index

That doesn’t fi x the problem of
inequitable distribution of hunting
opportunity. Rifl e hunters shouldn’t
be penalized because bow hunting is
“harder.” A more sensible approach
would be to set harvest goals,
then dole out licenses in suffi cient
number to meet those goals, based
on average harvest statistics, and
let the tag holder decide whether he
wants to use a gun, bow or slingshot
during a long season so he/she can
hunt properly.
Okay, that won’t fl y
because bowhunters don’t want
the competition. Besides, with the
increased success rate by fi rearms
hunters, fewer tags could be sold, and
that would impact Fish and Game
budgets. So, here’s a compromise
- sell, auction or select by lottery
a certain number of fi rearms tags
that can be used during the bow
season, during the rut, pre-rut or
on the wintering grounds. Give
non-bowhunters at least a small
chance to enjoy the best hunting
of the year, too. And stop the
anti-gun bias.
PRO
By Scott Grange
T hirteen
hirteen years ago, when mule
deer herds were at alarmingly
low levels throughout the West,
I sat on a committee made up of
wildlife managers, sportsmen and
industry folks. Our assignment was
to analyze biological and cultural
carrying capacities along with mule
deer studies. From this data, we were
asked to make recommendations
to the wildlife board as to what
direction the state should proceed
with their long term management
strategies.
I can still feel the frustrations
as we met, month after month. What
magical formula could we possibly
come up with to increase buck-to-doe
ratios while desperately attempting
to maintain hunter numbers? As the
National Shooting Sports Foundation
painted a gloomy picture of America’s
hunting future, I can’t relate in writing the
helpless feeling we all shared early on.
A signifi cant factor none of
us could ignore was that the state’s
population, many who were hunters,
was exploding and the resource could no
longer handle this increase considering
the state’s current management
practice. Add to that the fact that the
majority of deer hunters chose to hunt
with a rifl e - very few took to the fi eld
with a muzzleloader or archery tackle.
Hmmmm.
As with any diverse group,
opinions and personal desires couldn’t
help but surface on occasion. However,
there was one area that we all seemed to
agree upon during the many, sometimes
heated, exchanges. One did not have
5DUELING5
to possess a doctorate degree in
wildlife management to note the
insignifi cant success ratios within
the archery hunting segment. If
there was one bright spot amongst
all the gloomy data, it was with this
group - using one of the oldest means
of harvesting an animal. The trick
would be to convince more folks to
participate in the primitive weapons
seasons, while placing less emphasis
on centerfi re rifl es. In other words,
increase hunter opportunity through
less effective methods and thus infl ict
less impact on the resource. This
concept had already been put to use
by many Eastern and mid-Western
states with tremendous success.
Nonetheless, some cried foul, and
there were those who swore it was a
conspiracy to eliminate hunting with
fi rearms.
Today, although we continue
to struggle with mule deer
management challenges, we in
the West are experiencing good
times for the most part. Deer
numbers are on the increase in
most areas, record book entries
are up and harvest numbers are
steady. Oh, and I might add
that archery hunter numbers
are at an all-time high. Why?
Because archery opportunity
has increased signifi cantly.
Have we lost overall hunter
numbers in the past ten years?
Yes, but that is a very complex
issue and remains a major
concern not only to the Western
states, but to the entire industry.
However, what would have
been the impact locally had we
not taken the steps we did?
If it were up to me, like
fi shing, I’d make archery
season a year around event for
those willing to call this their
only deer hunt. I know that
this strategy sounds a bit extreme,
but if this is what it takes to salvage
the resource while providing
opportunity, I’m all for it. It’s not
gun control, its responsible resource
management.
April/May 19
ILLUSTRATION: COURTNEY BJORNN