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This Tipsy Tuesday has experienced Bear hunters Roger Holscher and Chris Young walking us though their Tips for hunting Idaho. Roger and Chris are well-versed in the planning and logistics of this hunt, but every year is just a bit different. This trip is much earlier than in years past and we have a discussion about the best spring bear hunting time frames. This week's reviews start with Phillip Miller and the Rokslide members' giant optics review https://www.rokslide.com/the-rokslide-members-giant-optics-review/.Ryan Avery and Jake Mushaney gives us more details on the Half Ass Hunting Academy https://www.unknownmunitions.com/product/half-ass-hunting-academy/. Sam then shifts the talk toward the other Rokslide.com gear reviews [https://www.rokslide.com/category/gear/] and recaps the latest Western news.



Mule Deer Days- Mule Deer Days Rock Springs Wy



 



Howl for Wildlife https://www.howlforwildlife.org/take_action 



Check out Rokslides 2023 Favorite Gear- Here



Visit Rokslide's Rokcast Forum to submit questions, request a topic or give feedback.



To be a guest on Tipsy Tuesday please send an email to Sam@Rokslide.com



[ Rokcast is powered by onX Hunt. For 20% off, use Promo Code “Rokcast” at onX Hunt here https://www.onxmaps.com/hunt/app

Robby hosts Kevin Monteith of the Monteith Shop on today's episode.  Kevin is one of the leading researchers on mule deer and other ungulates. Based out of the University of Wyoming, their mission statement is "Advancing Science and Management, One Data Point at a Time." You can follow the Monteith Shop here



Robby and Kevin jump into the difference between a shop and a lab and why it matters to deer hunters. And they cover the emerging research on mule deer out of the Wyoming Range and beyond. Kevin answers the question: Are there big deer in Wyoming outside of the Wyoming Range?



Good deer hunters stay up on the research and in these trying times for mule deer, good research is essential.



They also give a preview to the upcoming Mule Deer Days to be held in Rocksprings, Wyoming Thursday May 2nd through Saturday May 4th by our friends the Muley Fanatic Foundation. Find more information here and we hope to see you at Mule Deer Days. Kevin Monteith and The Monteith Shop will be presenting current research at the event.



Rokcast is powered by onX Hunt. For 20% off, use Promo Code “Rokcast” at onX Hunt here https://www.onxmaps.com/hunt/app



You can find Robby’s books, Hunting Big Mule Deer and The Stories on Amazon here



or signed copies from the Rokslide store here



    

The mule deer migration has begun in many areas of the West.  Robby gives an update on that and then takes a look at the water situation across the West for mule deer.  He also announces the 2024 Cold Bow Challenge starting in May. Get your bow & broadheads ready! Then he's back into Hunting Big Mule Deer: Obeying the Wind and Still-Hunting.  If you want to tag better bucks, you can't ignore these techniques. Too many hunters only glass, and while a great technique (your #1 technique), there are times when the bucks just aren't glassable.  You gotta get into thier living rooms to kill them and the best way to do that is with the wind in your favor and moving like a snail.  It's tough to kill bucks this way but some bucks can only be killed this way. Listen in as Robby reads from his 2015 book, Hunting Big Mule Deer.



Rokcast is powered by onX Hunt. For 20% off, use Promo Code “Rokcast” at onX Hunt here https://www.onxmaps.com/hunt/app



You can find Robby’s books, Hunting Big Mule Deer and The Stories on Amazon here



or signed copies from the Rokslide store here



    

This Tipsy Tuesday has Australians Clinton Miller and Mark Pitts walking us though the basics of tackling a DIY New Zealand hunting trip. Miller and Pitts have over a decade DIY New Zealand hunting trips under their belts so are well versed in the planning and logistics of this adventure. This DIY hunting trip is more attainable than most Americans think, listen to find out how. This week's reviews start with Unknown Munitions HAHA event https://www.unknownmunitions.com/product/half-ass-hunting-academy/. Zach Harold talks about testing the Hoyt Alpha X bow https://www.rokslide.com/hoyt-alpha-x-bow-review/. Next up is Mike Moore's Hilleburg Niak review https://www.rokslide.com/hilleberg-niak-review/ and finally Justin Rasmussen from Razco Gear https://www.razcogear.com/ takes us though the ROMR setup. Sam then shifts the talk towards the other Rokslide.com gear reviews [https://www.rokslide.com/category/gear/] and recaps the latest western news.



New Zealand Dept of Conservation-https://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/things-to-do/hunting/



Wyoming Wildlife Federation-Dream Big Commissioner Tag Raffle - Wyoming Wildlife Federation



Western Hunter- Inside the chaos and secrecy surrounding the release of 10 wolves in Colorado by Mike Duplan-https://westernhunter.net/information/inside-the-chaos-and-secrecy-surrounding-the-release-of-10-wolves-in-colorado/



Join the discussion on Arizona's departure from wildlife auction tags-https://rokslide.com/forums/threads/arizona-does-away-with-auction-tags.351967/



Howl for Wildlife https://www.howlforwildlife.org/take_action 



Check out Rokslides 2023 Favorite Gear- Here



Visit Rokslide's Rokcast Forum to submit questions, request a topic or give feedback.



To be a guest on Tipsy Tuesday please send an email to Sam@Rokslide.com



[ Rokcast is powered by onX Hunt. For 20% off, use Promo Code “Rokcast” at onX Hunt here https://www.onxmaps.com/hunt/app

Dr. Larsen and Dr. Mcmillan receive "Conservationist of the Year" at the 2023 Hunt Expo



The last thing you are going to hear any "coffee shop biologist" say, is that fewer bucks on the landscape would make more fawns. In fact, every expert knows the only way we are ever going to "increase deer populations" is to cut tags and limit hunting bucks. I mean, look at all the units out west with extremely limited buck hunting, the mule deer populations are EXPLODING there! Right?! Well..... ok maybe not. Why? If reducing buck mule deer tags is beneficial, why aren't those populations exploding?



The truth is, and yes, even in 2023 no matter how they identify, the doe deer or females in the population "grow the herd".



Think of it like this, a rancher would never have a pasture full of bulls when he can have that same pasture full of mother cows. He is going to have enough bulls to breed his cows, that gives him maximum productivity.



There of course comes a social component to hunting, and YES, hunters want to see bucks, big bucks. Where is the best place to manage buck to doe ratios? That is the million dollar question that; spoiler alert, we don't answer. However, Dr. Randy Larsen and Dr. Brock Mcmillan of the BYU Ecology lab jump on todays podcast to share some professional light on it, as well as talk about a variety of things involving mule deer biology and what they are learning. These guys are some of the best in their field and heavily involved with some of the foremost mule deer research there is.



As always, I think this podcast will help hunters get a deeper understanding of some of the biology and science that is Mule Deer Management.



Pregnancy Rates comparing 14:100 vs. 26:100 Buck:Doe Ratio



Cause Specific Mortality is important information







Dr. Brock Mcmillan on the Gohunt Podcast



Dr. Larsen on the Rokcast Podcast last year with Robby Denning



Dr. Larsen on Feeding Deer Podcast

Robby hosts Jeff Short, Wildlife Biologist for the Wyoming Game & Fish.  Jeff is a previous guest on the Rokcast. Last summer he shared his research on Antler Point Restrictions. On today's episode, Jeff and Robby go over the recently released data on the survey of the Wyoming Range mule deer.



Wyoming recently released the official report on the 2022/2023 winterkill on the Wyoming Range. This report indicates nearly two-thirds of that herd was lost to that winter, dropping from 30,000 deer to 11,000 deer between surveys conducted in February 2023 and February 2024



They define Wyoming Range Boundaries and discuss why the survey was conducted two years in a row.  The survey showed fawn:doe ratios dropped to 34 while buck:doe ratios fell to 24.  Jeff talks about what it will take to recover this herd and the fact that deer on the winter range now have already started their recovery with good body fat levels and range conditions.



If you'd like to read more on this topic, see the article by Mark Heinz at the Cowboy State Daily here Game And Fish: Two-Thirds Of Prized Wyoming Mule Deer Herd Killed Last Winter | Your Wyoming News Source (cowboystatedaily.com)