Proposed Changes to Hunting regs

[blackmamba]

Originally Posted by 6mmhunter

Totally unnecessary in my opinion. The entire province is open to bow hunters for the first two months of the season so I see no reason to remove opportunity from the rifle season hunters who only get one month. And yes I am a bow hunter and have bowhunted for 20 years.

The 3 zones robinhood mentioned have no affect on rifle hunters .. These are strictly bowzones!!!

[LongDraw]

Whatever changes you want to see I certainly hope that you are a member of AFGA, ABA, etc; get out to the meetings and become an active participant.

Message boards are great for getting ideas floating around but at the end of the day you need to get these ideas consolidated and heard by the decision makers. Joining and participating with one or more of the Provincial hunting/conservation organizations is the way to do that.

Letters from individuals are great as well.

[gunslinger]

Originally Posted by rookiemoosehunter

You can enter up to 3 WMU that you wish to hunt.
You cannot put in a draw for bull elk in one zone and for cow elk in another zone though.

Look online (or if you have it at home) of the hunting draw booklet. Page 6 under "Common Questions"

rookie this is in the draw wmus clash is talkign about wmu300 draw, if your applying in like a wmu 108 for instance you can second choice your draw for another zone as well as a 3rd choice.

For example i am priorty 5 in wmu 300 and if i choose to leave that draw i go back to priority 1 in another wmu.

Get involved in local fish and game clubs affiliated with the AFGA. It only costs $25 or so a year and a lot can come out of resolutions developed by local clubs. Idea's are needed to better manage the resources as the population increases in Alberta but this message board won't get your ideas anywhere.
Just don't combine WMU 300 with the other draws yet, my hunting partners are in some of the top priority pools waiting to see how year one of RAMP pans out

[saltwater cowboy]

Lottery type draw for elk/bison in elk island park. Check in check out with wardens, limited to mid week. Very strickly controlled.
I lay awake nights thinking about that place!!!
Salty

[flyguyd]

I f you want more oppurtunity for trophy Mule deer for all hunting seperate the seasons into groups . For instance you can apply for bow , muzzleloader or rifle , but only get drawn for one that way it puts everyone at the same odds. Not rifle hunters waiting 4-6 yrs to get drawn and sliver sliver boys shooting one every yr. Im sure there are a bunch of guys just waiting for the thread to turn this direction.

[savagencounter]

If you are a non alberta resident you should have to hunt with a guide for ANY big game. Way to many hunters this year with out of province plates and thick east coast accents. If your drivers licence doesnt say alberta then you should have to hire a guide to hunt in alberta period. I have never seen as many hunters as i did this year on crown land it was ridonkulous. And guaranteed majority of them were not from alberta just here working with out of province plates. I tagged out but it seemed more like a race to find a spot without 20 vehicles, campers, hunting parties of 20 with 20 quads it was absoulutly a nightmare on weekends anywhere in the province (execpt my secret spot) lol next year will be worse as more and more people flock to alberta. I was one at one time but i never hunted untill i was a full time resident.

[steve]

Originally Posted by savagencounter

If you are a non alberta resident you should have to hunt with a guide for ANY big game. Way to many hunters this year with out of province plates and thick east coast accents. If your drivers licence doesnt say alberta then you should have to hire a guide to hunt in alberta period. I have never seen as many hunters as i did this year on crown land it was ridonkulous. And guaranteed majority of them were not from alberta just here working with out of province plates. I tagged out but it seemed more like a race to find a spot without 20 vehicles, campers, hunting parties of 20 with 20 quads it was absoulutly a nightmare on weekends anywhere in the province (execpt my secret spot) lol next year will be worse as more and more people flock to alberta. I was one at one time but i never hunted untill i was a full time resident.

I Know the odd guy slips through the cracks and holds dual residencies. But there is not a abundance of them like your getting at.

[TheClash]

well ya learn something new every day....gonna have to re read and try to understand it better thanks all

[shedcrazy]

First a few comments:

elimination of the supplmental doe tags untill research can prove that we have not hurt our deer population by implimenting it.

The research is the aerial surveys that are flown for the WMUs....I know everyone thinks the number is just picked out of a hat but there is data to support tags. The problem I see is that there is not enough funding for aerial surveys in this province. Natural resources in this province needs more funding. We need more NR staff, funding for surveys (aerial and hunter) and more officers.

The main change I would like to see and quite similiar to many here is limiting any non-resident hunting to only sps that are general. We should be protecting our game like other states and provinces. This would reduce the tying up of land and quality of animals.

I also agree to a cap on priority and making some sps draws easier..ie. sheep, elk all like moose and deer. No special areas and different pools.

[RockyRidge]

Tuesday-Sunday huting in the 100's.. that would be a good start

[rookiemoosehunter]

Originally Posted by gunslinger

rookie this is in the draw wmus clash is talkign about wmu300 draw, if your applying in like a wmu 108 for instance you can second choice your draw for another zone as well as a 3rd choice.

For example i am priorty 5 in wmu 300 and if i choose to leave that draw i go back to priority 1 in another wmu.

Thanks for the clarification. I now remember seeing that WMU 300 was a seperate draw code. I guess I have never paid too much attention to that draw in WMU 300.

[6mmhunter]

Originally Posted by blackmamba

The 3 zones robinhood mentioned have no affect on rifle hunters .. These are strictly bowzones!!!

I'm aware of that!! The suggestion was to expand the present zones which would remove area from the surrounding rifle zones. Unless of course you've found a way to create some more land.

I have never seen as many hunters as i did this year on crown land it was ridonkulous. And guaranteed majority of them were not from alberta just here working with out of province plates.

wow do you know this for a "FACT"or are you just running off from the mouth.

[steve]

Originally Posted by 6mmhunter

I'm aware of that!! The suggestion was to expand the present zones which would remove area from the surrounding rifle zones. Unless of course you've found a way to create some more land.

What should we do about "our" bowhunting land thats being lost to urban sprawl?

410,212,248 The only three bow only zones in AB. While anyone can run around with a rifle, on thousands of sq. miles of land through out AB.

I'm all for, more bow only land.

[6mmhunter]

Originally Posted by steve

What should we do about "our" bowhunting land thats being lost to urban sprawl?

410,212,248 The only three bow only zones in AB. While anyone can run around with a rifle, on thousands of sq. miles of land through out AB.

I'm all for, more bow only land.

As I stated earlier all bowhunters have wide open access to most of the province exclusively for the first two months. I do agree that the bowzones have gotten ridiculous for quite some time now. As a result I have been doing most of my bowhunting on land that is out of the bowzone but still retain some permission within the bowzone. I find the quality of the hunt vastly superior outside the bowzone. That said I think the fact that we have the privilege to access this land prior to the opening of the rifle season is enough.

[diamond k]

For the record I am a member of the AFGA & ft sask FGA and think that they are good organzations. I have found though there mandate seems to be to strive for more hunting opportunities, and have done a good job at securing these. Longer and more seasons ect., however from what seems to be showing up on here seems to be movement towards limiting some seasons and species in order to secure a better future for hunting in Alberta. Now I may be wrong but I can't see the AFGA pushing to limit any seasons for many reasons including that the optics dont look good to both your membership and outside groups with different mandates.

Nobody in this provice seems to be policing the outfitters. I know there are lots of good outfitters but there are also some bad ones. APOS sure is not doing a very good job, when one of your members is convicted of baiting ,and I believe also poaching, and is still on there member list.

[mulecrazy]

How about a seperate WT bow tag. This one would be good for buck or doe. This would allow those who kill a WT with a bow to still have a rifle tag. Any thoughts? The reason I brought this up was that I shot my buck with a bow on sept 10th. It is kind of a weird feeling to have november arrive and not have a buck tag.

[pottymouth]

Originally Posted by RobinHood

Due to the over population, rapid infrustructure growth in the bowzones ( 410,212,248),and continuous growth in the archery community. There should be a serious look into the furthar expansion of these zones. Not to mention the ever growing emergence of parks, conservatories and corridor expansions,that we have endured in the past and present and will in the future.Town limits have grown, and hunting oppoturnities and land have diminished, creating stress for game,land owners, the general public and hunters.

We were just talking about it , and that's a great idea, I'm sure the ranchers in the surronding area's wouldn't mind that, arrows seem to be safer than bullets.......

Now I know alot of you are going to hate me for this one but.........I think the sunday hunt should be restricted only to people who hunt with a young hunters. That means that only children under 17 would be allowed to actually harvest game, and they would have to be joined by an adult supervisor, that can't hunt on sundays, just mentor. That would give younger hunters time to bond with adult role models in there life.It would open the sport up more for the youth, and give them better odds at harvesting an animal without the fear of some of those hunters we all read about.It shouyld also allow hunting on sundays in the 400's even in sept-oct for the youth.......

[Allan3535]

How about 2 WT buck and 2 WT doe tags? And open up the season Sept 17th province wide on WT deer anyways? I'm getting sick and tired of dodging deer every day on the way to and from work. Nothing worse than seeing dead deer all the time in the ditch. I'm sure Insurance companies would agree with my thoughts.[/I]

[6.5 shooter]

Wednesday-Sunday hunting in the 100's.. that would be a good start.

I would also like to see less pressure on the does as well..perhaps 1 doe tag for each species....maybe a 3 point or larger on the bucks (whitetail) and 4 point or larger (mulies) on a draw system ... your able to apply for either species but ,can only be drawn for one .

So for those who are counting that would give you 3 tags verses the 6 that are currently available.
6.5

[thumper]

I'd like to see 'edible meat' better defined in the regulations, and I'd also like to see a better method of proving deer species and sex than having to leave the sex organ and tail attached. For the growing number of hunters that debone their animals in the field, that requirement can be difficult to satisfy.

Also - more effort on informing leaseholders of what their responsibilities are regarding public access to leases, with an eye to following the intent - that is *sharing* the lease with the public where possible.

[diamond k]

Good point about the lease holders, I think that this would be something that AFGA excell at getting achieved.

[triple b]

lower the Wt supplemental tag from 2 to 1. Deer numbers are a way down in my area.Our muley doe draw this year contained 2 tags each, which also seemed to be too much for this area as we saw several does but I dont think that the zone was being overrun by them. The 437 bighorn sheep hunt is unachievable to all, except those in the top couple of pools(yet people start applying for the first time every year).They had better hope that they live to be 600 years old.you are throwing your money away by starting out now on 437. My two bits

[BigRackLover]

I'd like to see the rifle season replaced with cross bows, muzzle loaders and shot guns only, therefore removing the rifle season all together.

Extend the archery only season to include the full elk and moose rut in zones that currently allow rifles.

Have archery only season for sheep (and separate draws).

Make the deer tags in the bowzone hunters choice.

Extend the M-F tags to include weekend, even if its just for archery only.

[buckmaster]

Originally Posted by steve

We should not be allowed to harvest 6 Whitetail does in the County of Strathcona..

x2, i agree,

[Shmag]

I think we need to give the animals a fighting chance, ban tree cam's, ban tree stands, ban still hunting. And make it so you can only hunt from your truck!!!!

Before the firing squad loads up, i am just messing with you guy's...IT'S JUST A JOKE...

[Young Eldon]

Originally Posted by sal****er cowboy

Lottery type draw for elk/bison in elk island park. Check in check out with wardens, limited to mid week. Very strickly controlled.
I lay awake nights thinking about that place!!!
Salty

This is never going to happen since Elk Island Park is under Federal juristiction - not Albertan.
You also need to understand that opening new lands for recreational hunting is also likely to open them for subsistence hunting which is much more difficult to regulate due to long standing Treaties!

[PoppaW]

Originally Posted by Shmag

I think we need to give the animals a fighting chance, ban tree cam's, ban tree stands, ban still hunting. And make it so you can only hunt from your truck!!!!

Before the firing squad loads up, i am just messing with you guy's...IT'S JUST A JOKE...

Yeah! When I see something running down a cutline I don't need to be second guessing if its a hunter. I should be able to just wind the window down a bit and shoot.

[Shmag]

Originally Posted by PoppaW

Yeah! When I see something running down a cutline I don't need to be second guessing if its a hunter. I should be able to just wind the window down a bit and shoot.

Hey good point...i never thought of that...SAFETY FIRST