Art Eatman
Moderator In Memoriam
Our short mule deer season is a rainfall and population density thing. In SW Texas, it's real desert, the "Chihuahuan". Average rainfall some 6" to 8" per year. In north Texas, the "Panhandle", it's technically desert, defined officially as under 17" per year.
The El Nino phenomenon tends to make my own area drier than average. I've had 0.7" of rain since last September. The "Big Dry" is going on all the way up into New Mexico and Colorado.
So, all wildlife populations are sparse. Large numbers of hunters coupled with small populations = short hunting season.
For whitetail deer in central and eastern Texas, the season has been steadily lengthened over the last forty years. It used to be some six weeks; now it's more like nine weeks, beginning the first of November. Still, the total allowable take is around five, both sexes.
Other states have more generous bag limits.
The overall idea is to match the size of the herds and the numbers/success-rate of hunters to have stable populations.
Art
The El Nino phenomenon tends to make my own area drier than average. I've had 0.7" of rain since last September. The "Big Dry" is going on all the way up into New Mexico and Colorado.
So, all wildlife populations are sparse. Large numbers of hunters coupled with small populations = short hunting season.
For whitetail deer in central and eastern Texas, the season has been steadily lengthened over the last forty years. It used to be some six weeks; now it's more like nine weeks, beginning the first of November. Still, the total allowable take is around five, both sexes.
Other states have more generous bag limits.
The overall idea is to match the size of the herds and the numbers/success-rate of hunters to have stable populations.
Art