I understand the frustration guido, and I sympathise with the animosity towards the outfitter tags. I used to think they're just trying to make a living, but since demand has forced me to hunt many different wmu's I've seen first hand how, "some" outfitter's operate. Now I'm tempted to just say "f"'em all. (a purely emotional response, so don't take it too seriously)
That being said, the draw results are readily available and the priority you have isn't wmu specific. Maybe not the most desired scenario, but opportunity still exists.......at least for now,
as long as you're willing to travel to hunt.
I suspect some of it is the bad winterkill we had a couple yrs ago, I know that's been the case in the area where I squat; for the most part, it's just too damn many people. I'd like to see a change so it's min. 1 year Permanent residence(ab drivers lic. and health card) before being able to purchase a win card. I suspect the demand would drop dramatically, instantly. As it stands I fear our wildlife is the part time playground of every migrant non Alberta resident in Canada.
I also think if a true primitive weapons season was added(longbow/flintlock-patched ball) with draws being weapon/season specific it would alleviate a lot of the pressure for tags. But then that'd mean the bow hunters who seem to have the ear of srd giving up 2 weeks of their 3 mo. season and deciding if they're actually, "bow hunters", or just opportunists. I don't begrudge those who are that, but let's start being honest about it, shall we?
I know saying that might tick some guys off, but that's how I see it, and quite frankly, I believe it's accurate. Splitting the seasons and making draws season/weapon specific would Immediately reduce demand drastically. All one has to do is look to area's where the population is much greater to see that is the eventual answer. Alternately, it'd show srd just how many true bow hunters there actually are.
Now then, I'm on my third rye (one more than I normally partake); so if I really pi$$ed anyone off, you can just attribute it to that.
