are almost non-existent and are "Y's" with a browtine) 



I think the state had better do something quick on this either 

 sex hunting and every 4 pts . or better or there won ' t be anything 

 to hunt. I've argued this point since "74", I thought I was 

 right then and I still do. This includes rifle season also. 



I think a move that would help elk numbers and bull cow ratio, 



would be to stop the shooting of spike bulls. The bulls would 



all breed one season that way. I see a lot of dry cows during 

 the season. 



I believe spikes should be closed to rifle hunting which would 

 increase the # of branched bulls for both rifle and archery. We 

 need to weed out the non serious archer. 



The elk herd in Region I seems to be in trouble. Many 

 corrections have been proposed however the gun cow season 

 continues in an area that could support many more elk. The older 

 I got the more I only hunt for trophy animals but those days seem 

 to be disapering. 



Part III. Elk hunting 



1) I feel that in this part of the state, (Zone 1), that the cow 

 season is seriously overharvesting the herd. In the last 5 

 years, all of my favorite areas have noticeably fewer elk. (The 

 North Fork and South Fork of the Flathead, primarily.) Hunting 

 pressure here is heavy, the seasons are way too long, and the 

 open cow season serves to keep the population seriously or 

 excessively cropped. Trophy heads are also scarce. I would 

 recommend the following steps be taken. 



1 . Shorten archery season 



2. Make hunters chose between archery and gun. 



3. Shorten gun season (for elk). 



4. Harvest branch antlered bulls only, (except by special 

 permit) . 



5. Eliminate cow season, (except by special permits good only in 

 a specific zone. 



If we are issued one deer A tag. We need a Dec. mule deer hunt 

 for 4 point ore better. 



Just a few comments on bow hunting for deer. Seems to me it 

 would be better to enable hunters to shoot a doe with bow, plus 

 shoot a buck with the gun, instead of having a 2 week doe season. 



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