{"id":675,"date":"2026-04-19T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-19T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/?p=675"},"modified":"2026-04-19T13:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T13:00:00","slug":"wyoming-mule-deer-hunters-resist-restrictions-on-antler-shedding-biologists-say-its-no-longer-necessary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/?p=675","title":{"rendered":"Wyoming mule deer hunters resist restrictions on antler shedding, biologists say it&#8217;s no longer necessary."},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"newspack-popup-container newspack-lightbox newspack-popup hidden newspack-lightbox-placement-bottom newspack-lightbox-size-full-width     newspack-lightbox-no-overlay   partners-prompt\" role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" id=\"id_364736\" data-segments=\"\" data-frequency=\"0,0,0,month\" data-scroll=\"10\">\n<div class=\"newspack-popup-wrapper \" data-popup-status=\"publish\" style=\"background-color:#FFFFFF;color:#000\">\n<div class=\"newspack-popup__content-wrapper\" style=\"\">\n<div class=\"newspack-popup__content \">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-primary-color has-text-color has-link-color has-small-font-size wp-elements-30c22dce978952de2e48918f9c6483c9\"><strong>Thank you to all our community partners<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<button class=\"newspack-lightbox__close\" style=\"color: #000;\" aria-label=\"Close Pop-up\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" role=\"img\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<path d=\"M19 6.41L17.59 5 12 10.59 6.41 5 5 6.41 10.59 12 5 17.59 6.41 19 12 13.41 17.59 19 19 17.59 13.41 12 19 6.41z\"\/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/svg><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Written by Mike Koshmrl, WyoFile<\/p>\n<p>The majority of hunters who wrote comments resisted a plan to extend hunting seasons and lift antler requirements for two major mule deer herds in northwestern Wyoming. <\/p>\n<p>But the regulations they&#8217;re trying to maintain won&#8217;t accomplish their main goal of accelerating herd recovery, biologists say.<\/p>\n<p>Mule deer herds in Sublette and the Wyoming Mountains were hit hard by a prolonged &#8220;upside down&#8221; snowpack in the winter of 2022-2023. The latter crashed and lost approximately two-thirds of the deer. <\/p>\n<p>Three years later, biologists say there are signs of recovery. Fawn rates are surprisingly high, survival rates are high, and the population is recovering. <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s been a devastating winter no matter how you look at it,&#8221; said Brandon Scurlock, wildlife management coordinator for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department&#8217;s Pinedale region. \u201cBut we are getting back on our feet.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Wyoming Game and Fish Department habitat biologist Troy Fieseler removes the GPS collar from a dead yearling mule deer in the Wyoming Mountains in May 2023. (Mike Koshmrl\/WyoFile)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>For example, the herd in the Wyoming Mountains has grown from about 10,300 deer at its lowest point to 15,500 deer after the 2025 hunting season, Scurlock said. Although this is only about half the deer population before the 2022-23 winter (29,580 deer), the herd&#8217;s revival motivated agency biologists and wardens to reverse two hunting season changes made after a deadly winter. To placate concerned hunters and those who voluntarily surrender their tags, Game and Fish shortened the season starting in 2023 and imposed a broad requirement that mule deer bucks must have at least four points on either antler to be hunted. <\/p>\n<p>This spring, state officials proposed rolling back most of those measures in the 2026 Draft Hunting Regulations. Two herds in 18 different hunting areas in northwestern Wyoming are slated to extend their hunting seasons and eliminate antler requirements. <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We think there&#8217;s some opportunity there,&#8221; Scurlock said. \u201cIn response to winterkill, we will soon shorten the season. We are trying to encourage operators to liberalize.\u201d [opportunities] The population will also recover. \u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776668613_981_Wyoming-mule-deer-hunters-resist-restrictions-on-antler-shedding-biologists.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-64153\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Click to enlarge: <\/em>In just four years, researchers captured and collared 126 mule deer and tracked 505 migration sequences across the Wyoming Mountains, revealing the migration routes mapped here. (Wyoming Game and Fish Department)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>This change is not expected to impact mule deer herd recovery. <\/p>\n<p>Deer herd population trajectories are based on deer that give birth to fawns and fawns that survive. Neither female mule deer nor fawn mule deer can be legally hunted in either herd. Bucks subject to hunting season changes will not affect population trends unless the sex ratio is extremely skewed. They do not belong to the Sublette ($43:100 dos) or Wyoming range ($38:100 dos) herds. <\/p>\n<p>Nevertheless, most hunters who took the time to write the Game and Fish Commissioner resist this change.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI would like to suggest that the antler restrictions in the Wyoming Mountains region remain the same for the 2026 season,\u201d Afton resident Tristan Mack said in public comment. \u201cWhile increasing the deer population by 5,500 is great progress, I worry that if we start lifting restrictions too soon, we will reverse the progress we have made.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Blake Gipson of Diamondville wrote that he was &#8220;vehemently opposed&#8221; to the draft regulation changes. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe do not understand why the state would extend the season, remove antler restrictions, and open up a large portion of the herd to harvest when the mule deer population in the Wyoming Mountains remains so small,\u201d Gipson wrote. <\/p>\n<p>Casper resident Tanner Fisher made a similar point. <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The proposal to extend the season to October 4th and change it to &#8216;any money&#8217; at the same time is, in my opinion, a step in the wrong direction,&#8221; Fisher wrote. &#8220;Opening up &#8216;at any rate&#8217; would put additional pressure on young deer that should mature and help the population recover.&#8221; <\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" height=\"1024\" width=\"768\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Wyoming-mule-deer-hunters-resist-restrictions-on-antler-shedding-biologists.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-88423\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Click to enlarge: <\/em>A hunter captured this Wyoming Mountains mule deer in September 2022. (Mike Koshmrl\/WyoFile)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>But other hunters supported the proposed changes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBased on data provided by Game and Fish, these [antler] \u201cRestrictions tend to be most effective over short periods of time (about three years) and extending them beyond that period can be counterproductive,\u201d wrote Cora resident Braxton Hamilton, who supported extending the season. <\/p>\n<p>Teton County resident Glenn Owings agreed, expressing &#8220;strong support&#8221; for eliminating the antler requirement, saying &#8220;that strategic effort has come full circle and it&#8217;s time to repeal it.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Game and Fish commissioners are scheduled to make final decisions on hunting regulations for the Sublette and Wyoming Mountains mule deer herds, as well as all other Wyoming elk, deer and pronghorn herds, on Wednesday, April 22 in Casper. Meeting details will be posted online at WGFD.wyo.gov\/commission. <\/p>\n<p>Mule deer hunters in the Wyoming Mountains are beginning to see more success after the slowest hunting season in 30 years, which came in the fall after a disastrous winter in 2022-2023. In the five hunting seasons leading up to the devastating winter, 33 percent of hunters were successful, killing an average of 1,661 buckmules.<\/p>\n<p>In the fall of 2023, hunter success rates dropped dramatically. Hunters killed an estimated 416 deer, a success rate of 16%. Things improved somewhat during the 2024 season, with hunters taking down 620 mule deer with a 21% success rate. Last fall, mule deer hunters in the Wyoming Mountains had a 27 percent success rate and killed 992 deer, according to harvest reports. <\/p>\n<p>It will take several more years for hunters to be as successful as they were before the winter of 2022-2023, which recorded the deadliest winter in at least 40 years. Full recovery of the Wyoming Mountain herd is possible, but hunters will need to be patient. <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s impossible to recover 70% of the population within a few years,&#8221; said Kevin Monteith, a professor of ecology at the University of Wyoming who has led a long-term study of the herd in the Wyoming Mountains. &#8220;That&#8217;s impossible.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p>Still, the herd&#8217;s population dynamics look promising. Over the winter of 2022-2023, Monteith&#8217;s research team has recorded the largest fawns, highest fawn survival rates, and fattest females since the research project began in 2013. <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Given all these factors, the population is trending upwards,&#8221; Monteith said.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n<p><em>This article was originally published by WyoFile and is republished here with permission. WyoFile is an independent nonprofit news organization focused on the people, places and policies of Wyoming.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><h3 class=\"jp-relatedposts-headline\"><em>related<\/em><\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<section id=\"block-49\" class=\"below-content widget widget_block\">\n<\/section><\/div>\n<p><script type=\"pmdelayedscript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" data-no-optimize=\"1\" data-no-defer=\"1\" data-no-minify=\"1\">\n\t\t!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n\t\t{if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n\t\tn.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n\t\tif(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n\t\tn.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n\t\tt.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n\t\ts.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,'script',\n\t\t'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n\t\tfbq('init', '4210773209134215');\n\t\tfbq('track', 'PageView', {\"page_title\":\"Wyoming mule deer hunters resist shedding antler restrictions biologists say are no longer needed\",\"user_role\":\"guest\",\"event_url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/oilcity.news\\\/community\\\/outdoors-community\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/19\\\/wyoming-mule-deer-hunters-resist-shedding-antler-restrictions-biologists-say-are-no-longer-needed\",\"post_type\":\"post\",\"post_id\":379528});\n\t\t<\/script><br \/>#Wyoming #mule #deer #hunters #resist #restrictions #antler #shedding #biologists #longer<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Thank you to all our community partners Written by Mike Koshmrl, WyoFile The majority of hunters who wrote comments resisted a plan to extend hunting seasons and lift antler requirements for two major mule deer herds in northwestern Wyoming. But the regulations they&#8217;re trying to maintain won&#8217;t accomplish their main goal of accelerating herd recovery, &#8230; <a title=\"Wyoming mule deer hunters resist restrictions on antler shedding, biologists say it&#8217;s no longer necessary.\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/?p=675\" aria-label=\"Read more about Wyoming mule deer hunters resist restrictions on antler shedding, biologists say it&#8217;s no longer necessary.\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":676,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[1432,1415,1430,873,1434,1429,1431,1078,1433,469],"class_list":["post-675","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-antler","tag-biologists","tag-deer","tag-hunters","tag-longer","tag-mule","tag-resist","tag-restrictions","tag-shedding","tag-wyoming"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/675","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=675"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/675\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/676"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=675"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=675"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=675"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}