carpassasin
Well-Known Member
Back then hunting mule deer the magic numbers were 30 inches and 200 inches! Now it's mostly 25 and 180 if your hunting general areas. Sad I know.
Hunting in the 1980s and 90s
- Thread starter Flight635
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I went to Wyoming in 1981 on a month long hunt that started in Wy. Antelope, the ranch had a sheep barn that was better than some motels I've stayed in. The trespassing fee was $75, antelope tag over the counter was $75. The pasture we were told to hunt was 90,000 acres. Hard to beat that in value. We all had nice bucks by noon the second day. Then on to Colorado for pack in two weeks of elk.
memtb
Well-Known Member
I don't have the experience with several different states as do many here….only Wyoming.
There seemed to be a lot more land available to the average DIY hunter then. And, I was much younger/stronger back then …..able to hunt those available lands harder and longer.
Today, much of that land is much more difficult or impossible to access now. Many large private properties which were open to anyone to hunt are now owned by someone else…..usually out of staters. Many of these tracks are leased out (my term) to outfitters/guides which eliminates any DIY hunting……"show me the cash and you get to hunt". Many of these properties also offered access to government land, which thanks to the above scenario, eliminates the possibility for the DIY'er to cross that land/ranch to hunt the government land.
Add to this, in some of Wyomings better locations, the wolves, have had a negative impact on wildlife populations. Then there is the apparent increase of competition for available hunting licenses!
My assessment of today's hunting vs the '80's/'90's is that the best days are behind us……both from the game/land access opportunities and this disease that I'm afflicted with, referred to as old age! JMO memtb
There seemed to be a lot more land available to the average DIY hunter then. And, I was much younger/stronger back then …..able to hunt those available lands harder and longer.
Today, much of that land is much more difficult or impossible to access now. Many large private properties which were open to anyone to hunt are now owned by someone else…..usually out of staters. Many of these tracks are leased out (my term) to outfitters/guides which eliminates any DIY hunting……"show me the cash and you get to hunt". Many of these properties also offered access to government land, which thanks to the above scenario, eliminates the possibility for the DIY'er to cross that land/ranch to hunt the government land.
Add to this, in some of Wyomings better locations, the wolves, have had a negative impact on wildlife populations. Then there is the apparent increase of competition for available hunting licenses!
My assessment of today's hunting vs the '80's/'90's is that the best days are behind us……both from the game/land access opportunities and this disease that I'm afflicted with, referred to as old age! JMO memtb
