Does this Mexico buck look like a new World Record?
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Jason Gisi’s buck IS the current SCI World’s Record at 221 3/8 for Desert Mule Deer. I got to hold it in my hands when my Dad officially measured it for SCI. The pictures don’t do the buck justice – it’s freaky big in person. Chad Smith of Vaquero Outfitters was his guide.
28 5/8, 28 4/8 beams
32 1/8 inside
Mexico, Hermosillo – Jan, 2005
Eli Grimmett
http://pronghornguideservice.blogspot.com/
Here they are:
Even friends of mine, who ought to know better, are in favor of making the Arizona late bowhunt a draw hunt. When I ask them why, the typical response is, “everything is getting overhunted”. When “reasonable people” view mule deer hunting this way, I wonder why, as hunters, we have become so willing to attack the symptoms vs. the problem. By applying band-aids to the symptoms, the real problem is obscured. In our self-centered desire for presumed “better hunting”, we cut off our nose to spite our face.
We are witnessing the last of a dying breed – so to speak. There aren’t very many mule deer hunters left who know how good it could be, having seen how good it once was. If the present trend continues, there will be no over-the-counter mule deer tags available anywhere. To me, this slow cancer of declining opportunity feels like a loss of freedom. I have told my friends that once it is taken away, it will not be given back.
Since I, apparently, possess one of the last remaining over-the-counter Arizona mule deer archery tags, I decided to put it to use on the “opening day” of the unit 10 late bowhunt. December 14, 2007, was my first attempt at this hunt, and may very well be my last.
There was a fairly fresh blanket of snow over much of the unit, so I decided to find deer by looking for tracks. I especially like to find tracks that are so fresh that the deer are still standing in them, but I didn’t find any of those. The muleys in this area don’t need to migrate, but they do anyway. Snow is a great blessing for the few remaining deer because they can go wherever they please and have access to what would otherwise be a scant supply of water in this drought-ridden state.
I spent most of the day behind the steering wheel, and I covered a lot of ground. High, low, north, east, west, and south. Mid morning I found a likely looking spot with fresh deer tracks crossing the road, and decided to set out on foot. I hiked for 3 hours. The only live animal I saw, not just while hiking, but for the whole day, was a fox.
Some say that tracks in the snow tell the story. Rabbit tracks were, by far, most abundant. I cut hundreds of them. Coyote tracks were next in abundance. There were about 30 sets of these. There were three deer tracks, and one lion track. The lion was fairly large, having a 4 inch wide foot print. The lion had been hunting from the ledges overlooking a sidehill. I used a similar strategy.
If I were to judge the number of animals by the number of tracks, then it is absolutely amazing that there are any deer left at all. For every 10 deer there would be 3 lions and 10 coyotes. I don’t know how the rabbits survive either.
I did not see one live deer all day. Most of the hunters were driving the roads. Most were congregated around the areas where there were deer tracks. In a couple of spots, there were migration tracks that looked somewhat like a herd of sheep had passed through. Over the rest of this very large unit, tracks were very few and far between.
Now, after a hunt like that, wouldn’t it be easy for me to say that the unit is overhunted and that it ought to be a draw? It would be, if I were ill-informed. But, I realize that the problem is “not enough deer”, and the symptoms are: poor hunting experience, and overcrowding around where the few deer remain. The solution is to have more deer, not less hunters. And, if we were to go back in time, we would find that, once upon a time, there were more deer, more hunters, more opportunity, and more success. What is the solution, you ask? Less predators – way less. Our wildlife agencies have taken to managing hunters for the predators, instead of the other way around.
As far as I can tell, with the possible exeption of water, there is ample habitat for many more deer, both in quantity and quality. The rabbits and the elk are making it possible for the predators to avoid starvation from the lack of deer or there would be no deer and no predators.
I had a lion tag in my pocket. If I could have shot ( or shot at ) a lion, coyote, or fox – I would have done so. The fox, that I saw, didn’t hang around long enough for a shot or he may have had an arrow enema.
Do your part. Kill predators. Resist decisions that reduce opportunity for hunters.
Out with the old and in with the new. Will Shroufe’s replacement be more politically correct, having yet another negative impact on mule deer management? We will soon learn the answer to this question.
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Game and Fish Director Duane Shroufe announces retirement
Dec. 11, 2007
After almost 20 years of leading the Arizona Game and Fish Department, Director Duane Shroufe has announced his retirement for the end of March 2008.
Shroufe, who is the second-longest-tenured state wildlife director in the United States, asked the Arizona Game and Fish Commission on Dec. 8 to approve the end of his contract for the closing days of March rather than the previous closing date in January of 2009. The commission reluctantly but unanimously agreed.
The Game and Fish Commission immediately began a nationwide search for Shroufe’s replacement. “We hope we will attract the very best candidate of the wildlife leadership community to lead our state. We intend to set the bar high to meet today’s wildlife and habitat challenges,” said Commission Chairman Mike Golightly of Flagstaff.
The commission is seeking a professional to provide direction and leadership for the Game and Fish Department. This position is appointed by and reports to the Game and Fish Commission. The director is the chief administrative officer of the department and, as such, is responsible for the general supervision and control of all activities, functions and employees of the department.
During Shroufe’s remarkable tenure at the helm of the Arizona Game and Fish Department, the agency has been routinely recognized as one of the top and most innovative wildlife agencies in the nation. It’s an accomplishment that makes Shroufe and others in the agency proud.
It’s been a challenging era of burgeoning growth for the state’s population and quality growth for the department. During Shroufe’s amazing tenure, the agency has grown from 230 personnel to 650 and the budget has increased from $20 million to $80 million.
Shroufe has also been a leader on the national and international wildlife scene. He served two terms as the president of the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. He recently served as chairman of the North American Wetlands Conservation Council. Shroufe has also chaired many committees for the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies and has played an instrumental role for many programs, such as Partners in Flight.
Throughout the years, Shroufe has received a host of national and even international wildlife awards. This past spring, he was presented the 2006 Distinguished Service Award from the Wildlife Management Institute. Last year, Shroufe also received the International Canvasback Award from the North American Waterfowl Management Plan Committee.
In addition, Shroufe has received awards from the Western Wildlife Law Enforcement Association, the Boone and Crockett Club, the Foundation for North American Wild Sheep, and the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. The list goes on and on.
Shroufe’s 23 years with the department caps a 40-year career in wildlife management. The Michigan-born Shroufe began his career with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources before coming to the Arizona Game and Fish Department in 1984 as an assistant director. He was appointed as the department’s director in 1989.
Kyle Lopez, 14, of Divide, Colorado – killed this buck during the 2007 season:
He tagged a trophy buck that, according to reports, has scored more than 303 inches net Boone and Crockett and will be the largest buck ever taken by a youth as well as the largest mule deer taken in more than 20 years. The buck has 41 points and a 37 2/8 inch outside spread. The main frame alone is more than 207 inches with more than 100 inches of nontypical points.
Hunter bags huge Muley in Atlanta, Georgia. How could this be?
Even girls can kill mule deer. This one almost looks like a whitetail with the short ears and all.
Congratulations Barry Girten on that Big Illinois Mule Deer
Photo and Story at NorthAmericanWhitetail.com
These photos were emailed to me. This is reportedly a Wyoming buck. Maybe Idaho.
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