No ND tag again, SD instead?
Mule Deer
Dad, friend and I did not draw ND any deer tag again. Plan B looking like SD. Anyone willing to give some helpful hints to get me started? Never hunted muleys outside of ND. Looking primarily for muleys. Thanks in advance.
I can help you get started. Send me a message.
I thought ND mule deer archery was first come first serve?
Not sure when the draw was but we got our checks and numbered applications back on Monday of this week. Along with those items was a heart felt letter letting us know we did not meet the quota. From now on I think ND can stick their NR deer tags.
Here's the deal with ND "non-resident any deer archery tags". There are a limited amount of tags issued. That number is based off a percentage of resident muley firearm tags the season before. Due to EHD and loss of habitat the muley population crashed. So too has the number of tags.
If G&F receives more applications before March 1st (I think that's the date.)than tags there is a draw. Any tags left over, it is first come first served.
With the low number of tags you can expect this for the next several years. G&F has advised that there will be major changes coming to how tags are issued starting in 2015. I highly doubt it will become easier for a non-resident to get a tag.
I embeded a link from the G&F Dept. to let you know where we are at.
Mike
The issue that I have with the tags in ND is how can all of the other western states have so many tags and ND limits them to 172 this year (I think). Is there really that much difference between the muley population in ND and say WY or SD or MT? Just doesn't make sense considering the success rate of archers. Not to mention I am a little bitter since this is two years in a row. Would be nice to have some sort of point system at least.
The mule deer herd in ND is very fragile right now. Several hard winters coupled with the major loss of habitat due to oil exploration has the herd struggling big time.
The answer to your question Stickbomen is "yes".
With our resident general season preference point system you can expect to wait 6 to 7 years for a tag in most units with mule deer. So, you can see most residents wont feel too bad that a non resident hasn't drawn for two years.
To add to that, you can't compare ND to other western states when it comes to mule deer. Even when mulies were doing well we never had them like MT, WY or CO. I would guess less than 1/4 of our state is suitable habitat for mulies. The mule deer tag has always been a coveted tag in ND. Bow hunters have been spoiled with the OTC availability of them. Somewhere around 1999 ND instituted the current system that limited the # of nonresident tags.
I'll echo kota-man- Yes it is fragile Stikboman. The G&F has not allowed muley doe harvest for at least two seasons. (Rifle or archery). I don't see it changing this season and I agree with approach of G&F.
SD and WYO have had tough winters also. But not to the extent of ND. Add in oil exploration (which does many things to muley habitat, almost none of them good) and it is tough.
ND has not treated NR's any differently since current system implemented in 1999 or so. Number of NR any deer archery tags may change, the percentage available to NR's has not.
I guess its hard to believe. Here in WI our DNR will sell as many tags as possible. The area we hunted in western ND had tons of deer. Between the 3 of us we saw in the high 30s of different bucks the two years that I went out there. Along with that there were "herds" of does and fawns, numbering from 4-30 animals. Granted the area we hunted had agriculture so that helped.
