While living in one of the so called cwd areas from Alberta, my self and many of the hunters I've talked to see that numbers of both whitetail and muleys are down considerably. Between the extra tags, the extended seasons, and the areial cull done by the srd, finding a shooter muley buck in these zones is like trying to win the loto, odds are not in your favour. Now I wonder if these practices are even going to be worth it if our eastern neighbors in sask. don,t effectively do the same extensive culling practices to rid cwd animals. An old friend and ex-gov. biologist called it "filling the void" all of Albertas work on stopping cwd may backfire and make it worse as more infected sask deer cross the border to fill the habitat of the culled Ab deer, if there is food and habitat it is bound to happen. As in most politics a combined effort in do whats right is lost on who gets to be in charge and who gets to pays for it both sides refuseing to use common sense. All I know is I'll be traveling into the western zones for hunting in the future.
filling the void
- Thread starter super-7
- Start date
DrMike
Ballistician
- Nov 8, 2006
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In general, it is difficult to condone government control of game populations. Often, if not usually, decisions are politically based rather than founded on sound scientific principle. In Canada, one need but look at governmental response to pine beetle devastation of the forests or attempts to protect grizzlies and/or wolves. Government seeks to manage the hunters rather than managing game herds.
CWD is a problem but I am not sure it is as big as some make it out to be.
Last season I bought special muley doe tags and went to a zone that has had a dep tags in it for 3 years. My cousin had been there the 3 previous season and shot 2 does and then a buck on 2 different occasions each season and knows the area very well as we were hunting on a private ranch. He advised me that they saw hundreds of animals.
We got there before light and left at dark and did not see one mule deer.
This particular ranch is one of the biggest in southern Sask there is at least 25 sections of land.
This year I was drawn and we hunted in the zone directly east of the zone I was in last year and approximately 25 miles from where we actually hunted.
We saw a large number of does but only a handful of bucks.
The previous time I was drawn there was 2 years ago and we could pick the buck we wanted there were so many.
Also whitetail this year was different as we only got one buck over 150 and the previous year we got 4.
My nephew has been to 3 or 4 big buck nights in south east Sask in the past few weeks and has only seen 1 over 170.
I am hoping that this is just weird year as everything to do with hunting and fishing has been off it regular cycle. :grin:
Last season I bought special muley doe tags and went to a zone that has had a dep tags in it for 3 years. My cousin had been there the 3 previous season and shot 2 does and then a buck on 2 different occasions each season and knows the area very well as we were hunting on a private ranch. He advised me that they saw hundreds of animals.
We got there before light and left at dark and did not see one mule deer.
This particular ranch is one of the biggest in southern Sask there is at least 25 sections of land.
This year I was drawn and we hunted in the zone directly east of the zone I was in last year and approximately 25 miles from where we actually hunted.
We saw a large number of does but only a handful of bucks.
The previous time I was drawn there was 2 years ago and we could pick the buck we wanted there were so many.
Also whitetail this year was different as we only got one buck over 150 and the previous year we got 4.
My nephew has been to 3 or 4 big buck nights in south east Sask in the past few weeks and has only seen 1 over 170.
I am hoping that this is just weird year as everything to do with hunting and fishing has been off it regular cycle. :grin:
- Thread starter
- #4
I know the one at the last few big buck nights is a whitetail and I think it was net but it could not have been dry scored yet.
If there was a 190 taken south of Swift Current it would likely have been a Muley not really know as a whitetail area but you never know.
I will likely hear more in the New Year.
I was sent some photos of a 73" Moose supposedly taken near Luseland but I want to check out to see if it is true.
I have never heard of a Moose that big in this Province.
Blessings,
Dan
If there was a 190 taken south of Swift Current it would likely have been a Muley not really know as a whitetail area but you never know.
I will likely hear more in the New Year.
I was sent some photos of a 73" Moose supposedly taken near Luseland but I want to check out to see if it is true.
I have never heard of a Moose that big in this Province.
Blessings,
Dan
- Thread starter
- #6
Ya a buddy sent me pictures of that moose as well it was floating around on the net, When I seen it it was on a trailer and it looked big, but 72 might be stretching it. Hard to tell from a picture? I think that was 190 gross, never seen any pics , sounds like a good buck and it was a WT. Who are you huntin with down there, I have some huntin crazy buddys in or near speedy creek? Feel free to use nicknames.
