Kamloops mule deer

[Stone Sheep Steve]

I have heard all this parroted plenty of times, we even agree on most, however I just brought it up as food for thought albeit blunt, and what I thought was rather humorous. I have heard a lot of people on here talking out of both side of their mouth on the topic of not being able to find a big/mature or respectable deer and shooting the ONLY deer they came across. I find this an oxymoron. In order for mature bucks to “show” themselves or “come down” from anywhere some of them need to live long enough to be able to do that. A quick look at the record books shows that is not happening as of late but a strong harvest continues. A study in the EK showed as low as 3 bucks per 100 does which strongly suggest over harvest of the male component. That being said they still had decent fawn recruitment which means even those ratios work. Is it healthy? Is that considered good management? I doubt it.
I see more restrictions coming....

Anyways to the OP, seen you posting as long as I can remember. I really shouldn't of sent this your way, I am not trolling you. Happy hunting to you and the grandkids, myself I will be out to the bitter end if it means I am hunting 1 more day, and if it means I come up dry thats fine too.

I believe that very low buck to doe was in the X zone and changes were made to increase the ratio ( removed the short-lived region 4 any buck season). Haven’t see the latest ratios from that zone. Anyone seen them?

SSS

[HarryToolips]

^^^I was going to say that R4 is now 4 pt only MD the whole season, so it's gotta be better than that one would think..

[Stone Sheep Steve]

^^^I was going to say that R4 is now 4 pt only MD the whole season, so it's gotta be better than that one would think..

And I believe the any buck season was very short lived. Off the top of my head ..2 years maybe?

[280 77]

We take the kids hunting the EK every second year where it is 4point only for mulies . Every mulie buck we see (and we see a few) are mature 2 and 3 points.This is where there are low buck to doe ratio's .
So guess who's genetics are being passed on . Good luck with your 4 point season if they eliminate any buck .
By the way I pass on young bucks and only hunt mature bucks , some seasons I eat tag soup.

[northof49]

Sorry to bring this up....but it is likely the 4 legged hunters that are having the biggest impact on whether or not mule deer bucks survive to maturity or not and they hunt year round. As long as the predator numbers are not in balance the other measures don’t make much difference. Dogs/cats put a big dent in quantity of mule deer out there and number of mature bucks. Need more balance there first.

[ratherbefishin]

Only 15% of deer mortality is attributed to hunting so whether we hunt or not makes virtualy no diferene to the deer population.My 16 year old granddaughter who shot her first deer which was a spike had been practicing, shooting 22’s and moving up to my 6.5 swede ,shooting that until she was proficient enough to shoot at a live animal.When we saw the spike,which was about 125 yards away,facing head on, we passed her the rifle and told her sit down,pretend she was shooting targets and take her shot when she was ready...she missed the first shot,said a very unladylike like ‘damn’ ,reloaded and fired again,the buck was hit dead center right in the brisket and dropped in its tracks.She ran all the way uphill yelling ‘YES’! and fist pumping,held up the buck whipped out her smart phone and took a selfie and sent by to all her very closest 425 friends.I think we were just as thrilled as she was to see a young lady kill her first deer...she insisted on helping with gutting and hanging it...of course,we could have told her not to shoot because it was a spike...when we got back I bought her a pink hunting knife and told her she had to use her own knife after this...( I don’t shoot spikes anymore ,shot my share of deer and am quite happy to just be out with my kids and seeing game,and occaisionaly taking a nice fork if it uphill( downhill,I just look at them)

[Squire]

Myself and my crew shoot every spike we see too. We never see any big bucks where we hunt. I am always wondering what is up with that?

I took your tongue-in-cheek comment more as a hunting lesson than a management lesson. I learned many years ago that I would come across big bucks after passing on smaller ones. The simple act of shooting the small one precludes the encounter with the big one. No judgement; just a reality of hunting.

[Darksith]

We take the kids hunting the EK every second year where it is 4point only for mulies . Every mulie buck we see (and we see a few) are mature 2 and 3 points.This is where there are low buck to doe ratio's .
So guess who's genetics are being passed on . Good luck with your 4 point season if they eliminate any buck .
By the way I pass on young bucks and only hunt mature bucks , some seasons I eat tag soup.

your probably not hunting the late season with the kids? In the EK the mulies stay up high until pushed down by snow, its not that they aren't there, its just that they aren't there yet

Mucks go into winter in the worst possible condition...no body fat, tired and beat up. To get a MD to 6 or 7 years old is quite a feet, he has to have everything go well for him year after year. Dodge humans, predators and not get killed by a bigger buck. I believe the biggest impact we could have on creating more mature MD is reduction of predators and habitat restoration. I still see lots of bucks smaller in Nov in reg 3, but the big boys develop habits that allow them to survive, its not that they think to survive they just do what their habits do and those habits lend themselves to staying off roads, away from predators and probably live in areas with strong winter feed

[ratherbefishin]

It’s interesting to observe deer savy,in the spring a lot of fawns are killed on roads but I watched a big buck stand beside the road looking both ways to see when there were no more cars coming

[Bugle M In]

Managers still have LEH as a tool if the season changes do actually make a difference in population.
What I have noticed is more hunters during any buck here then in the past. Thanksgiving weekend is busy.

rising ungulate population that will overbrowse diminishing winter range. Wolves and cougars will take what we are no longer are allowed to

Yes, some areas come Remembrance day weekend is a hell of a lot more busy.
Just depends where and how close those spots are to other areas that are closed down on that weekend.

And yes, one big thing is seeing wolf sign where I never ever seen them during "all the years I hunted in some areas".

Yes, many big bucks in the record books from many moons ago, but, there are still some big bucks taken every year.
But many folks no longer put them in the books or even want to tell anyone.

So yes, the new reg limit should help, but yes, we might just be offering more feed for the preds?
I suppose that is possible.
Only way to know is to get a cull on preds going.
If not, I don't know if we will ever know what will work as far as management in the future.