Mule Deer Fanatic

NATIONAL RIFLE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA
INCORPORATED 1871
11250 Waples Mill Road – Fairfax, VA 22030

The number of licensed hunters has dropped steadily, from 14.1 million in 1996 to 12.5 million today. Gleeful anti-hunters claim that hunting is dying, and no longer of interest to Americans.

But it isn’t lack of interest in hunting that’s causing the decline.

It’s overly complex, nit-picking regulations that turn inadvertent mistakes into criminal offenses. It’s too much difficulty in finding a place to hunt, or even to sight-in your rifle. It’s overzealous law enforcement. It’s archaic minimum-age hurdles that must be cleared before youngsters can hunt. And it’s radical anti-hunting groups–and their sympathetic media–that succeed in closing down hunting seasons, even when they are overwhelmingly justified by the science of wildlife management.

“There are more threats to hunting than many of us seem to realize,” said NRA Executive Director of General Operations Kayne Robinson, who spearheaded the development of the site. “And many of those threats are caused by government action, abuse, or inaction. Government red tape and bureaucratic hostility have reached a point where people are actually being driven out of hunting. A hunting license is not probable cause to believe its owner is a crook to be searched and interrogated.

“NRA strongly supports game laws based on sound wildlife management, and we vehemently oppose laws that only serve the convenience of the bureaucracy,” Robinson continued. “The hunters rights’ abuses NRA addresses are not to shield the guilty but to protect the innocent from being treated like the guilty.

“With all these factors combining to make it harder for an average citizen to hunt, we saw a need to keep people informed through a Website devoted to hunters’ rights issues.”

If you have not clicked on www.nrahuntersrights.org yet, here’s a small sampling of some of the story topics already posted, or in development.

In Alaska, guide Jim Hamilton and his brown bear hunters were startled when a low-flying plane circled their camp more than a dozen times. The plane carried a local TV news crew, whose members camped about 50 yards from the hunters. The crew crowded the hunters all the next day until a kill was made, and at one point a cameraman allegedly got in front of a rifle on one stalk. A few days later, the station aired a story questioning whether a perfectly legal hunt was fair chase and ethical. According to Hamilton, the pilot and TV crew ” ruined the hunting experiences of at least six resident and nonresident hunters and endangered their safety as well.”

In Oregon, hunters are complaining that an increased cougar population–brought about by a ban on using hounds for cougar hunting–is leading to substantially increased predation on deer and elk. The ban was strongly advocated by anti-hunting groups–and now deer and elk hunters are paying the price in decreased opportunities.

In Arizona, half–yes, half–the population of desert bighorn sheep on Kofa National Wildlife Refuge have died because of drought. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service planned to install water-for-wildlife devices to save the remaining sheep — but radical environmental groups sued to block them! NRA and other groups stepped in, helping to allow the water projects to go forward while the suit is in progress.

In New Jersey, despite clear scientific justification for a black bear season, anti-hunting zealots managed to block it. The antis went a step farther when they tried to pass legislation that would remove hunters and fishermen from the State Fish and Game Council, and allow political appointees–meaning anti-hunters–to replace them. New Jersey sportsmen roared their opposition at rallies, in the press, and at the polls. Major sponsors of the bill were voted out, but the legislation they introduced remains pending.

In Missouri, turkey hunters are now required to affix a yellow “Be Safe” sticker to the receiver of their guns so that it will be in the line of sight when shooting. Besides being useless, or at the very least unproved as a means of preventing accidents, the sticker regulation is an insult to anyone who has taken hunter education. Should a hunter be subject to a fine if the sticker gets brushed off in the woods or simply forgets to put it on?

BLM lands are used by millions of responsible hunters and recreational shooters. Yet in Colorado, there are plans underway to close the entire, 164,000-acre Canyons of the Ancients National Monument to recreational shooting. Also in Colorado, BLM plans restrictions to travel routes on lands it administers within the San Luis Valley. Proposals would limit the retrieval of game off designated routes except to a perpendicular distance of 300 feet from the edge of a route.

Nationwide, many areas require shotguns-only for deer hunting, based on the perception that shotgun slugs won’t travel as far as centerfire rifle bullets. But these decisions should be based on science, not perception. And studies show the ballistics of modern slugs are rivaling, and in specific circumstances even surpassing, those of rifle bullets.

And while hunters’ rights issues make up the heart of the site, there are 13 sections in all, and various ways for readers to provide comment. “Hunting Headlines” includes stories about new opportunities hunters need to be aware of, such as various states’ efforts to increase public hunting lands and introduce new seasons. Two of the most popular columns are the monthly “Gift Giveaway” and the “Trophy Gallery,” in which readers can share their best hunting photos. Also stay up to date on new products by checking into “Hunting Gear You Need,” or click on “Range News” to see if there’s a new place near you where you can sight-in before the season or just practice your marksmanship. “Dubious Regulations” is your chance to tell us about nonsensical laws, and “Eye on the Antis” keeps you aware of how groups like PETA and the Humane Society of the United States are trying to abolish hunting.

Perhaps most of all, the site is the primary source of information on what NRA is doing to protect your hunting rights. Through the combination of our political strength, our hunter recruitment programs and even our grant funding, there is simply no one group doing more for hunters than NRA. Hence the name, www.nrahuntersrights.org.

From the Denver Post:

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GLENWOOD SPRINGS – The Colorado Division of Wildlife on Thursday presented awards to several energy companies, all of whom have operations in Garfield County, for their work to “protect wildlife and wildlife habitat”.

“We try to work cooperatively with these companies,” said Randy Hampton, a spokesman for the DOW. “Most of the time they come to us and ask ‘What can we do better?’ It is our hope that the industry will continue to turn to us for that wildlife expertise.”

The two largest energy operators in the county, Williams Production RMT and EnCana Oil and Gas (USA), both received awards Thursday.

State officials cited EnCana for its work to provide more than $1 million to fund DOW studies of wildlife, including the greater sage-grouse and mule deer in the Piceance Basin. The state agency also lauded the company’s efforts to support DOW law enforcement efforts to reduce poaching, according to the DOW.

The company also has completed “significant baseline wildlife research on the company’s North Parachute Ranch property, where they have applied management plans to address greater sage-grouse, grazing and weed management and land restoration,” a DOW statement said.

“We are honored,” said Doug Hock, spokesman for EnCana. “Our employees care about wildlife. We care about the same values that people live here and recreate here. We are always looking to partner with groups like the DOW to find ways protect and preserve wildlife.”

Williams was also honored for its “commitment to wildlife research and the DOW Hunter Outreach program, including providing more than $450,000 to the Central Piceance Basin wildlife research project,” the DOW statement said. Other Williams’ efforts the state recognized was its work to obtain water rights in 2007 and construct an irrigation system to “provide water to critical deer range in the Rulison, Parachute and Grand Valley gas fields.”

Other companies and their honored efforts, according to the statement released Thursday, included:

• Shell Oil Company for an agreement that keeps 18,000 acres of Shell land in the Piceance Basin open for public hunting through a 10-year hunting lease with the DOW for $1 a year.

• ConocoPhillips for providing funding and support for a research technician who worked on sage grouse research.

• Chevron for allowing DOW sage-grouse researchers access to the company’s private lands around Skinner Ridge.

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/

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.

Excerpts from 250 News:

Monday, November 05

Farmers and ranchers in the Ft St John, Dawson Creek and Peace River area say this year will go down as one of the worst years in recent memory for the population of deer, moose and elk .

They say the record snow falls last year resulted in the death of an estimated 1,000 animals in the area between the Alaska Highway, and the junction of the Peace and Kiskatinaw River.

Ben Tschetter of the South Peace Colony says “We think that the Elk may have wintered the best, but there is no doubt the deer population was decimated by the snowfall. There were days when we where taking 10 to 12 dead animals away from our cattle feed troughs every single day. We felt so sorry for them but there was nothing we could do. “

Tschetter says the wildlife would eat whatever they could find “The Mule deer and the White tail’s were coming to our yard for feed and while we didn’t want to not let them feed, they were dying with full bellies from eating hay and alfalfa that they were not accustomed to eating.”

Meantime the butcher shops who regularly see a huge increase in their business starting from late August to October 31st, say the season has been a bust.

One butcher reported he normally would cut and wrap about 130 to 140 animals a year. He was down to just 28 this year.

Everyone is hoping this winter won’t be as bad as last year , fearing another heavy snowfall will wipe out the deer, moose and elk population.

Muley Madness South Dakota Style

Bob’s buck scored 205 Gross

This story just in from the Rapid City Journal:

“Bob Healey of Box Elder hunted for many years to finally shoot a buck big enough to put on the wall. He dropped it opening day of the West River rifle deer season on public land “in northwest South Dakota.” 

By Kevin Woster

When I was a teenager, the annual deer hunt was virtually a state holiday. Schools closed down on Friday, and all the businesses had deer hunter sales. We all hunted as families. Deer hunters happily displayed their bucks for all to see, and everyone was interested in seeing them. High schoolers talked about the hunt for days afterward. I miss those days. So, I was delighted to find this article published in the Missoulian (Montana) showing that somewhere out there you may still find some old-fashioned values.

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Fierce competition closes in Alberton
By ROB CHANEY

Montana’s general hunting season ended Sunday. Alberton High School’s bragging season started Monday morning.

Actually, bragging about bagging game has been an intramural sport at Alberton High for years. But it took on a battle-of-the-sexes vibe this year among members of the school newspaper staff. The weekly “Hunter’s Corner” column in the Panther Press alternated between male and female writers, who took aim at each other’s egos with gusto.

“We have a good hunting tradition at the school, and our girls are very successful hunters,” said Kent Haab, who teaches computer and business classes when not supervising the Panther Press. “Last year, the girls bagged some big animals and the boys didn’t do so well. They kind of take jabs at each other, but it’s all in good fun.”

Senior Jordan Johnson figured about two-thirds of Alberton High’s 70 students chase big game every fall. He added a 3-by-4 whitetail buck to the boys’ total

“Everybody in the school is pretty big on hunting,” Johnson said. “And a lot of our teachers are into hunting, so it’s nice to talk about it with them. This year, everybody that had a tag pretty much got an animal. Most everybody got something toward the end.”

“We’re always competitive and the girls usually beat the guys – not really, but we like to say that,” said senior Becca Petersen, who credited her gender with a 5-by-5 mule deer buck and a cow elk this year. “There’s way more guys hunting than girls. But we haven’t really ever kept track before.”

Petersen said the competition kept many student hunters in the field more this year than in past hunting seasons. Everyone struggled with the dry weather early in the season, with most kills coming around the last week. Petersen dropped her muley shortly before Thanksgiving dinner.

“Everyone in this class keeps track of who’s got what,” said Lyndi Ishler, whose mountain goat last year helped trigger the competition this year. She logged a 4-by-6 whitetail buck this year, and brought it to the school parking lot to make sure it was accounted for. She said most of her hunting classmates worked the mountains around Alberton and the Interstate 90 corridor.

Panther Press writer Cody Hoose reported a final tally of 32 tags: 10 from eight girls and 22 from 15 boys. The ladies brought home one mule deer, seven whitetails and two elk. The gents delivered five muleys, 12 whitetail and five elk. The rules specified number of tags, so by the rules, the boys won.

“That’s usually how it goes – the girls jab their jaws and the guys go out and hunt,” said Hoose, who scored a fork-horn mule deer buck. “But I know a lot of people failed elkwise, including me and my cousins.”

This being the first year of publishing the bragging contest, no one’s sure what the future will hold.

“I’m not sure what we’ve got in store for next year,” Hoose said. “I just hope there’s a competition.”

As reported by the Reno Gazette:

NDOW notebook: Black mule deer spotted in Winnemucca

PROVIDED BY NDOW

Posted: 11/16/2007

We have our fair share of wildlife legends here in the West. Bigfoot has been spotted all over the Pacific Northwest and Tahoe Tessie is seen from time to time patrolling the waters up at Lake Tahoe.

So when locals in Winnemucca began reporting sightings of a solid black mule deer, some people may have started to get their nicknames ready for the next big legend of Nevada.

Mike Cox, big game biologist at the Nevada Department of Wildlife, has his own name for the phantom deer … he calls it a genetic alteration.

“It looks like it fell into an oil spill, but obviously we don’t have those in the middle of Nevada,” Cox said. “There are genes that map out the characteristics of an animal in its embryonic stage. Sometimes it’s a funky hoof, or a tweaked antler, or in this case the hairs of this mule deer are a different color than the normal mule. Sometimes there are recessive traits that are hidden in those genes that never see the light of day except for maybe one in a million, or one in two million.”

NDOW biologist Ed Partee states that black mule deer have been spotted before in Nevada.

“We have seen these black deer in the past in Humboldt County, mainly in the Jacksons, but we haven’t seen it for quite some time,” said Partee.

Cox reports that there appears to be nothing else out of the ordinary with the black mule deer doe other than its striking color.

“It’s definitely unusual. We may never see it again for a generation, or 50 years, or we may see it next year,” said Cox. “It’s almost like slot machines. You have to pull that slot machine a long, long time until you get the right combination, and that’s what happened with this melanistic mutation.”

Mild weather in Montana is being blamed for a low mule deer harvest in 2007.  Without snow in the high country, mule deer are not aggregating in the low, more accessible, country.  Because Montana hunters can, and do, hunt multiple species at one time, it is difficult to assess mule deer success in and of itself. For example, this year, in west central Montana, it took over 11,000 hunters to come up with about 240 mule deer.  In the northwest it took 12,000 hunters to harvest only 130 mule deer.  In the southwest, the numbers are 2700 hunters to bag 125 mule deer.

One possible bright spot is that next years’ harvest could improve.  If winter doesn’t take too much of a toll, there will be more animals for next year.