MuleyMadness Hunting Forums

Here's the 2012 proposals for general season deer unit boundaries,
Dedicated hunter changes and a few new rules........Enjoy.


http://wildlife.utah.gov/dwr/meeting-agendas.html

Goofy what's your thoughts on the proposals?

I've got to be honest I think this whole thing BLOWS!

But hope I'm wrong, maybe I'm selfish in my thinking, if this helps deer herds rebound and improve them I'm all for it.

I hunt 7 out of those Southern Units, now I can't walk across the Highway and hunt the other side of the road.

I just renewed for Dedicated Hunter this year, only reason was to have a tag...don't think it's worth it anymore though. But I'll enjoy the time I do get outside and quit gripping cause that won't change a thing.

I'm 100% for all of it....

Been pushing it for years.

Wish it would have gone some were when we tried to get opt 2 the first time around
6 years ago. Are deer herds would be in far better shape now.

Lets all hope so and I hope your right!

I'm all for it too but I wished they would have waited one more year to go back to the 9 day season. I'm affraid during the second weekend, Washington Countys winter range will be flowing with blood from many big bucks.

So are the Plateau, Thousand Lakes and Fillmore, Oak Creek units are no longer limited entry? Have they been “downgraded” to general units? I see them listed on the general units list… I know there has been some talk about doing this in the past. Would the state ever completely dissolve the difference between preference & bonus points for deer and make the entire state limited entry? Not that they haven’t already.

That’s about how I thought it would shake out with the boundaries. I’m not sure what to think about the changes… I'm hoping that it won’t affect me much because the unit I’ll hunt is primarily private property & tags have been pretty easy to come by before… so why wouldn’t they be going forward. No doubt that some of the more popular units in the southern portion of the state will be as difficult to draw as a limited entry unit. I’ll be interested to see the application data next year to see the number of preference points it'll take to draw some of the southern units.

IMO… the Dedicated Hunter program is not for me. Again, hunting the old Northern region I’ve been able to walk up to the Wal-Mart Sporting Goods counter and purchase my tag for $35. No doubt that will change and I’ll be playing the drawing game like everybody else (good thing I’ve got me a handful of Preference Points). It hasn’t made much sense for me to apply for Dedicated Hunter when I could just go get a tag and I have a very limited amount of time that I can take away from family & work. I’ve watched friends get into the program and end up spending a lot of $$$ to buy their service hours & then they only get out and hunt for a couple days. For now, I’m ok with picking my weapon & being able to harvest every year. Maybe down the road the Dedicated Hunter program would be something that I would consider, but right now… no chance.

I have to agree with Brett.......I'm not a fan of these new units. One thing that really sucks is that the 2 areas where I bow hunt are now split. Not sure why they had to split the archery hunt into 30 units. The success rate is so low to begin with why not just leave it statewide? Or at least 5 regions. And one thing I have never understood is why non-residents can put in for ALL limited hunts for deer, elk, antelope and ALL once in a lifetime hunts and get points building. While us residents can only go for one. It sucks cause by the time you finally have enough points to draw a OIAL tag then you might be able to get one more in before your hunting years are over. Guess I just don't understand it.

firefighterbraun wrote: And one thing I have never understood is why non-residents can put in for ALL limited hunts for deer, elk, antelope and ALL once in a lifetime hunts and get points building. While us residents can only go for one. It sucks cause by the time you finally have enough points to draw a OIAL tag then you might be able to get one more in before your hunting years are over. Guess I just don't understand it.

I’m considering buying non-resident licenses even though I’m a resident (have been my whole life & have no intention of leaving). There is only a $50 difference for a combo license & I go fishing enough each year to make that difference negligible. If I can buy up a point for all three limited entry species PLUS each of the five OIAL species for a period of 5-10 years, I would be saving 6 years with every application by doing so (over a 10 year period I’d be 60 years ahead of the guy that applies as a resident). Once I have a fair number of points… I buy me a resident license and apply again as a resident.
It’s totally working the system (whether it’s ethical or not I’m still trying to think that through)… but it’s something that I’m seriously considering. I have two friends that are both moving out of state with the intent to move back in 10-15 years & they are pumped to rack up the points while they are away. The only drawback I can see is that I’d have to pay non-resident prices for the general tag ($263 vs. $35)… and my pockets don’t go that deep! Although I am considering buying a non-resident deer tag in Washington @ $400 to hunt a buddies property… so in comparison the non-resident Utah general tag is cheap.

I'm not a big fan of this program. I know a lot of folks think that this will save mule deer, but I think the reality is it will only serve as a tool to decrease opportunity. If the DWR would eliminate either the preference point pool or the bonus point pool, I might at least find the proposal pallitable. Just more games. If killing fewer buck were the answer, we should have seen explosions in deer numbers on the LE units, but the reality is we haven't.

Oh, btw. In answer the the original post. These boundaries make a lot more sense than what was first being talked about.