Moose vs. Elk harvest report

[MugEye]

Looking at the harvest report I noticed the estimated totals at the very bottom of the page. It looks like moose have more harvest then elk. I have a hard time believing that. What are your thoughts on that estimated at harvest? I think there’s so much miss information and non-reported harvest that these harvest reports are completely off to lunch.

[Kurt505]

They are out to lunch, and the bio’s are using them as their main source of information. Never once in my 37yrs of being a licensed hunter have I witnessed a biologist in the wild doing any type of physical research. They claim to do aerial counts, once every five years I believe, and from the numbers they come up with, I can’t help but think it’s done at night on a new moon.

[MooseRiverTrapper]

Once every 5 years and only a handful of zones.

[270person]

If you include the ones shot by the privileged few it would be closer but of course those don't count

[3blade]

Use them as more of a trend. They aren’t precise in most cases, but you can get a feel for easy vs moderate vs hard hunting.

As mentioned, the harvest (not to mention slaughter and wastage) by more-equals is not accounted for. Makes the incoming mandatory harvest report thing a waste of time.

[MugEye]

For example of this head scratcher . I was looking at mule deer hunting spots .wmu338 has only 6 harvest . I’ve never been there so I have no idea but that seems very low . Or is the wolves in the foothills really that bad ?

[3blade]

Originally Posted by MugEye

For example of this head scratcher . I was looking at mule deer hunting spots .wmu338 has only 6 harvest . I’ve never been there so I have no idea but that seems very low . Or is the wolves in the foothills really that bad ?

I’ve killed and reported antlerless mule deer in 248, only to see the total harvest for the zone say 0 for that year. Email them and they tell you “it says ESTIMATED” ...lol. Government bios at their finest.

I’d have a hard time believing there are 6 mule deer total alive in 338 in any given year. That zone gets absolutely hammered by wolves, gbears, more-equals and poachers. I’ve seen exactly one mulie doe in the last 10 seasons.

[Mountainaccent]

There used to be plenty of mule deer in 338 still pockets see them couple times a week I’ve taken a couple out of there. So 6 I’d say is pretty accurate

[West O'5]

Mandatory survey is lazy junk science.....people lie on the surveys for whatever reason....secrecy,pride,fun,trying to hopefully manipulate future quotas one way or the other etc etc...garbage data in,garbage results out.
The ONLY reliable data that bios would have to go on would be if mandatory registration was adopted....and even then,my experience in other province where they have mandatory registration for all big game harvests is that “the privelage few” refuse to cooperate....so it’s still not 100% accurate depiction of the big picture,but it illustrates legal harvest trends from year to year,and far more reliable and accurate then any post-season online surve,voluntary or mandatory irregardless.

[Deer Hunter]

They used this harvest survey to put antlered mule deer on draw on a bunch of great wmus. Extrapolated limited harvest survey responses to claim that the resident bowhunter was over-harvesting...

I believe the ABA even supported it.
APOS cheered too.

Now they claim they have a chronic wasting problem and that it's spreading west.

It's all garbage. Agenda driven studies that result in loss of resident opportunity.
Over and over...