For the first time in twelve years, the folks at Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks conducted a mule deer survey. Sent out to about 5,000 randomly-selected hunters in the John Dutton state, the results were unsurprisingly and unanimously in favor of mule deer and mule deer hunting.
Of the 41% of respondents to the survey, a whopping 62% of them regarded mule deer hunting as “one of my most important” or “my most important” activities in Montana.
The high cost of out-of-state tags is typically what keeps out-of–towners out of Montana and in popular states such as crowd favorite Colorado or neighboring Idaho. That along with the breathtaking vistas and quality of deer is one of the many reasons why the state’s hunters are feeling so damn satisfied.
Could also be those natty kickers.
Either way, the people have spoken and aside from confirming that the majority of hunters in Montana would sacrifice their first born for a shot at a thicc buck, they are also reporting higher than average mulie management satisfaction.
Much like keeping the missus happy at home, 75% of state hunters reported “satisfactory” mule deer management by state officials, while 60% of respondents affirmed that they believe the opportunity to hunt mature bucks in their home state was higher than average.
Despite the affliction the locals have for these beautiful deer, the populations across Montana are believed to be in decline. One of the survey questions asked hunters whether shooting bucks should be an annual event or spread across multiple years and a resounding 40% of respondents liked the idea of skipping a season every year or two. As a gentle nod to their favorite state cervid, hunters in Montana are showing their commitment to protecting these gnarly beasts.
The Montana FWP reports that they’ll continue to utilize radio collaring efforts to track numbers and mortality, along with habitat research, and other population modeling efforts.
“Overall, we’re looking to do additional mule deer research and monitoring across the state that will give us data we can use in communicating with the public and in setting regulations, and managing habitat and predation,” Brian Wakeling, FWP’s game management bureau chief said. “We know hunters around the state are concerned and the research we’re starting on will help us ensure our management decisions continue to be sound moving forward.”
