[walking buffalo]

Nuck brings up an interesting topic.

Forget about "trophies".
This is not about trophies.

Having mature animals within the population is well known to be very important to herd health. This is the concern at hand.

With this knowledge, I can't comprehend how three-point general seasons with minimal survival of bulls past this age class is acceptable to biologists.

Bull elk take 7-8 years to reach their physical and social peak.
Just like Bighorns....
In areas such as the SW foothills, a mature bull is a rarity.
Without question, hunting mortality is the main cause of bull mortality.
Lots of data to show this.

I am confused how the hunting community can accept that we are able to manage Elk herd health without concern to having a sufficient number of mature bulls while doing completely the opposite with Bighorn sheep.


I had a conversation with the prairie biologist discussing age structure of these small isolated herds. He was adamant that he would love to see a divided bull draw, one for young bulls and one for mature bulls. This way there would be an ability to manage cow/bull ratios, provide maximum harvest potential and maintain mature bulls for herd health. He was also adamant that he felt that F&W was just not ready to let this happen.


If the anti-hunting genetic harm advocates (compassionate wildlife management model) ever take control of wildlife management, you can expect Elk to be next on their list (after sheep) to eliminate the hunting of young bulls.