Archery Mule Deer Draw for 2013 Season?
 

Any new news about this coming into place next year?

Do we know whether archers are going in with the rifle guys like they did for moose, or whether they'll be separate like it is for antelope?

Any preliminary list of WMUs to be impacted yet?

Are does staying on general tags?

The ABA has a list of potential WMUs in their latest newsletter.

can you post a link sheep?

As many of you have probably heard, SRD are proposing for 2013 that bowhunters will need an antlered mule deer special license (the draw) in order to hunt antlered mule deer in the archery season. These 47 WMUs are 358, 357, 360, 347, 348, 337, 328, 326, 3244, 322, 318, 314, 304, 305, 306, 302, 300, 504, 505, 506, 507, 510, 260, 248, 226, 224, 222, 220, 216, 214, 212, 210, 208, 400, 402, 404, 110, 119, 132, 134, 138, 140, 150, 152. As a further management strategy the affected WMUs would likely be expanded to include the neighboring WMUs that are almost at the 15% harvest level bowhunters are allowed. These 24 WMUs would be 527, 526, 523, 508, 406, 359, 336, 332, 320, 312, 310, 308, 250, 256, 242, 203, 160, 148, 136, 130, 112, 108, 104. This would alleviate the immediate shift in pressure that would occur and quickly bump these over the 15% anyway.
This proposal was first brought to us a year ago at the Alberta Game Management Advisory Group meeting for discussion and recently confirmed as a definite possibility for the 2013 season at the last AGMAG meeting May 30, 2012.
SRDs Proposal at May 30/2012 AGMAG Meeting




Is this still on track?

I think they should also alternate years on who gets to hunt first. This year the bow guys, next year the rifle guys. I don't see why I will never get a velvet mulie just because I use a rifle.
But this is definitely a good start.

Now will non residents fit into the draw system and have to apply for there draws in order to come up here and hunt?

Draws could be split into early season and late season just like moose in certain zones. Early season bow or late season rifle.

Mule deer should be open to Alberta residents only......doesn't matter if the WMU is draw or over the counter tags.

X2.....if it works in Saskatchewan, it can work here too.

Judging by all the nice deer taken by archery tackle this year, it is a distinct possibility some zone will hit the "magic" number needed to put the zone on draw.

LC

Doesn't need to happen...what needs happen is responsible wildlife management by srd...if they had not absolutely decimated some zones by handing out hundreds too many tags the bowhunters would not have moved to zones where there actually was deer to hunt...I know of several hunters who have shifted from the cwd cull zones to 305 and 110 because of the lack of animals in the other zones...

212 and 248.....that surpises the **** outta me.

Thats not how they work. One extreme or the other. Its kind of like watching a 16 year old fish tailing on the ice. They swerve hard one way, then even harder the other way. Then they crash.

Put em on draw for sure, seperate all species. Draw or not!
Archery season, muzzle loader/shotgun and rifle.

You can only apply for one season on the draws for each species.
Non draw you can still only hunt 1 season for each species.

If your drawn for archery you can not hunt rifle or muzzy season.
If Ur drawn for muzzy, u can only hunt that season.

Pick your season, pick your animals and once your season is over your done.

This will seperate the pretend archers from the real ones.

More hunting oppoturnity lost! Just another step towards everything being on draw in AB, just like our government wants! All because hunters can't ban together, and want to segregate each other by weapon...truely sad! We might as well segregate each other by money as well, bring on paid access.....

Right on the head Lefty , I think lengthening the season to 2 months is probably the biggest mistake . I gives that much more opprtunity and success rates will follow for sure . This is what pushed it over the joke of a 15% harvest limit , IMO.

Mule deer needs to be put on draw and should be three point or large. Archery should be seperate and cross bow, muzzle loader, shot gun, and rifle should be put together

We can only hope... All the archery hunters I know put in for draw every year too, so the argument that there'll be more people applying is pretty weak. If you get drawn you'd be eligible for all seasons too. 3pt and better is probably a good idea too.

The 3 point or larger idea is truly a joke ... We have a large population of 3 point bucks in our area now that will never be any better . If you want to clean up the gene pool to good bucks make it 3 point and smaller .These are the ones left to do the breeding after you clean up all the good 4x's.

x2 didn't even pick that out originally.

The areas that I hunt in 220 have drastically changed from whitetail dominant to Muley dominant over the last few years. The muleys seem to be able to populate and bully themselves in to any area they want and push the wt's right out. I'm very surprised they're considering putting muleys to draw in archery season here.

You don't have to look to far, to see who's pushing for this at certain meetings!!!

What pure garbage!!!! Our SRD is a joke. use incomplete data to make drastic changes is the name of the game apparently.

If it does happen I hope that it follows a similar system to antelope. You can apply for both rifle and archery but if you draw a rifle tag your name is taken out of the archery draw. If you draw a rifle tag you should still be able to bowhunt as well. That would soften the blow a little (emphasis on little).

Don't split everything up like some wingnuts here think is great. Why should we have to split everything up? Is there some reason why hunters cannot use a variety of hunting methods? do we have to put more of a divide between archery and rifle hunters? Do we need more holier than thou arguments on here?

I'm not sure what you mean by this comment?

So mulecrazy, u feel it Is your god given right to chase mule deer 3 months each year?

Let's open up for rifle on sept 1st as well.
That way between the archers and rifle guys we can ensure every big buck is killed long before they have a chance to reproduce.

Get a clue man, the divide is caused by the inequality that exists right now. Evening out the playing field might just bring the 2 together better.

Bowhunters should have first access but difinately not a 2 month season!

I find this so funny. Some of these zones have the best muledeer numbers in the province. So why are we going to a draw? I am sorry I totally disagree with this whole draw thing. Like I have said before the number one killer of our animals are nonresidents.They are putting these numbers over. After talking to a few outfitters I know they are all tagging out. So just like sheep there sucsess rates are through the roof. I bet only a small percent of archery hunters can actually kill a mule deer if it was bigger than a fork horn. The real problem has nothing to do with bow hunters here. It has all to do with srd giving out way to many rifle tags for way to long. Also NOTHING in the 3 archery zones should be on a draw other than sheep in 410. and there should be NO non resident tags for that either. Srd better start controlling NR and quit worring about the residents. I still think SASK has got it figured out and we should start paying a little closer attention to what they are doing.

Why are bowhunters better hunters? Is the bow a better tool, than a rifle? Are bowhunters an elite club that refuses entrance to people?

Every species we put on draw, takes oppoturnity away from everyone. It won't be long before everything is on draw, ..

so why dont we change it that all rifle tags for muledeer hasve to use a muzzle loader? This is hilarious. Rifle tags= dead muledeer. archery tags= oppertunity. Get it??? like I said most cant kill a muledeer with sticks. Heck alot cant kill anything with a bow. So what is your deal??? should rifle hunting get extended so we can kill everything??? And yes I rifle hunt. But I dont find the challege like I do with archery gear.

I consider myself a Bowhunter as well, but I see no reason to have a 2 month bow season. None.

And as for everything on a draw, with our ever increasing population it is bound to happen. Might as well face it.

why should we face anything? why dont we eliminate all non res hunting? rite now we are second to everybody else.

How many years have you been bowhunting? How many mule deer have you arrowed?

Population has grown, but the hunting population has been roughly the same in numbers, in recent years.