Well, I did it, I went back and read that post from last year, well most of it anyways, in the deer hunting forum. Didn't remember it being that long!
For the most part Mark, I argued with you this time, because I like to argue, my wife says! And I don't disagree that rifle hunters could/should be given a few more days. I don't beleive that it will help manage the herd though, I beleive it will only make rifle hunters be more selective in the size of antlers they hunt for. I don't think a longer rifle season will lower the deer herd numbers much, as I don't think rifle hunters that have a buck tag are going to shoot a doe until the buck tag is filled. SO, that is where the late doe season come into play. If a guy knows he can hunt for 10 or 12 days for a buck and he knows that he will have another opp. to fill his tag with a doe in the late season, he will hold off and not shoot a doe, until the late season. And especially the non-resident hunters that come in and pay $1500-$3000 to an out-fitter, heck they may go home empty handed and not even come back to fill the tag with a doe at all.
And the land availability issue is only going to get worse. Cities continue to grow, and now the T-tags are driving the out-fitters to lease more land, and leased land in general is becoming the norm., due to land-owners realizing that there is a new source of income, people will pay to hunt turkeys, deer, upland birds, etc. Heck, even the price of land, to buy, is being driven up. You can bet that farmers aren't paying $700+/acre, because they know that they can't farm the land and make a profit.
So, what to do! A longer rifle season may help spread the "rifle hunting pressure" some, and it may up the "buck" kill ratio some, but will it help the herd as a whole?
Why is it that you don't like the game tags and the late doe season? Seems to me that by offering game tags for $11 to everyone is a strong management tool. And I do agree that the Dept. of Wildlife needs a better way of knowing herd rates/kill rates etc., but I'm not real sure how they need to go about achieving them.
I'm not convinced that you're not anti-bowhunting, but I do see and agree with some of your points. I know I don't always listen to what is being said sometimes too, my wife tells me that often