Southeast Mule Deer Working Group – Unit 76: General Hunts
In April 2024 IDFG’s Southeast Region solicited interest from local members of the public to participate in a Mule Deer Advisory Committee (MDAC). The committee was established to improve citizen involvement in the decision-making process and had a goal of developing proposals for the 2025/2026 mule deer seasons that would improve hunter experience and satisfaction through increased buck abundance and age structure. The committee was further challenged with achieving these goals while maintaining over-the-counter general deer hunting opportunity and limiting negative impacts to other hunts and/or game management units. The 12-member committee was made up of mule deer hunters with varying hunting preferences. The committee met 6 times between July and December 2024.
Proposal 2: Convert the general any-weapon mule deer season in Unit 76 to muzzleloader only and expand the dates of the general archery-only season to overlap with the muzzleloader-only general season.
2025 Regular Deer Tag General Any Weapon Seasons | ||||
Unit(s) | Antlered | Antlerless | Notes | Proposed Changes |
|
| None | Motorized HR Applies, | Eliminate Unit 76 general any-weapon season and move to general muzzleloader season (Mule Deer Advisory Committee Proposal) |
2025 Regular Deer Tag | ||||
Unit(s) | Antlered | Antlerless | Notes | Proposed Changes |
76 | Aug 30 – Sep 30 Oct 10 – Oct 24 | None | Motorized HR Applies, | Allow archery equipment from Oct 10 – Oct 24 during the muzzleloader season (Mule Deer Advisory Committee Proposal) |
2025 Regular Deer Tag | ||||
Unit(s) | Antlered | Antlerless | Notes | Proposed Changes |
76 | Oct 10 – Oct 24 | None | Motorized HR Applies, See Pages 104 – 106 | Remove Unit 76 from the general any-weapon season and move to general muzzleloader season (Mule Deer Advisory Committee Proposal) |
IDFG Proposal Analysis
Converting the any-weapon season to muzzleloader and archery only will likely reduce overall hunter success, resulting in fewer bucks harvested. Success rates for general season mule deer rifle hunters in Unit 76 has averaged 21% over the last five years. It is difficult to predict exactly what muzzleloader hunter success on this general hunt would be, as there are no comparable hunts in Idaho currently, but it would almost certainly be less than 21%. Many of the bucks that survive due to decreased hunter success would mature into older age classes over time resulting in increased buck-to-doe ratios and more mature bucks on the landscape.
Hunter participation may change significantly under this scenario, at least initially, with fewer hunters expected to choose to hunt the proposed muzzleloader and archery seasons than currently rifle hunt in this unit. If the proposal is successful in improving buck abundance and quality, muzzleloader and/or archery hunter numbers may increase in the unit over time. Some of the displaced rifle hunters will likely rifle hunt in surrounding units and some may choose not to deer hunt at all. The 5-year average number of mule deer rifle hunters in Unit 76 has been about 1,960.
Due to the unique nature of this proposal within Idaho’s mule deer management history, the overall decrease in buck harvest under this scenario and the proportion of remaining bucks that would survive to more mature age classes are unknown at this time. Similarly, how hunter participation and satisfaction change in response to this change are also unknown. These proposals are designed as an experiment that would allow IDFG to gain insight on how this hunt structure might impact hunter participation, success, and buck abundance.
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