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Show Ringneck population to yield good hunt By John C. Dickerson Wildlife Resource Conservation Officer Our last big hunting season of the year begins Saturday as the annual pheasant hunt opens at 8 a.m. The outlook for a good hunt is very encouraging. en-couraging. We have had high populations of ringnecks for three years now, and most hunters have been able to put a few birds on the table. Pheasant and deer hunting have one very important thing in common the majority of the harvest for both species will be taken in the first few hours of the hunt. In talking to deer hunters the last few days, they all say the same thing-lots thing-lots of does and fawns, but very few bucks the pheasant hunt is the same way after the first day lots of hens but no roosters. Still it is interesting to note that our winter pheasant counts normally show a ratio of one rooster to every three hens and this figure shows we are under-harvesting our roosters. If we could hunt our birds longer we undoubtedly un-doubtedly would get a better sex ratio, but we can't. The vast majority of pheasant hunting is on private property and each year we have more and more "No Hunting" or "No Tresspassing" signs going up and this is caused by the poor relationship between hunters and landowners. Most people are proud of their land whether they live in the city or on a farm. They try to keep their place clean and well kept. City dwellers would be astonished if someone came onto their lawn uninvited and had a picnic, leaving garbage, beer cans, pop bottles and whatever there when they left why, then do so many "City People" consider it OK to litter, run livestock around, shoot near homes, etc. you can be sure the farmers do not like this one bit and will do something about it. If people would treat property as if they owned it we would be a lot better off. A few other reminders are in order young hunters 12 to 15 must have an adult with them when they are hunting. We all know how anxious and excited youngsters can get about hunting, but parents should consider the consequences con-sequences before they allow their kids to hunt with a buddy and' hot be supervised. There is no game animal in the world worth having a gun accident over one mistake by an excited youngster could lead to a lifetime of regret. After opening day when the season begins at 8 a.m. hunting hours are one half hour before sunrise until one half hour after sunset. Uintah and Duchesne Counties are open Nov. 1-14 and in addition state and federal lands will be open Nov. 1-30. The bag possession limit is two and four. |
