Whendo they Draw for Hunts

[420 racin]

I checked the MDWFP site and it says the waterfowl drawings haven't been conducted yet...well when the hell are they going to draw, season starts in a week, it would be helpful to know more than a day or two ahead of time if you get drawn or not.

When do they do the drawings??? Anybody know?

Or have they alrrasy done it and I am just unlucky again?

[SHANE704]

been wondering the same thing

[msudawg8087]

Get the same message on mine. Been checking the past few days.

[420 racin]

I just called them, they said they hope to have the emails sent out today to notify you if you got drawn or not...so let's hope we get an email

[biggs]

They've started drawing. 4 are done according to the website. 3 to go. Working on my third year of striking out in this government effort to increase access to public lands

[Tedl10]

they're sending emails out now.

[peewee]

They've started drawing. 4 are done according to the website. 3 to go. Working on my third year of striking out in this government effort to increase access to public lands

Don't feel like your the only one b

[rbsdrake]

I've only been drawn 1 time since 07

[Denduke]

Mr. X,

Thank you for your comments.

The draw hunt system is designed to improve individual hunt quality and hunter satisfaction on our WMAs. We also recognize that there are problems inherent with any draw system. We feel that this system will help us insure that hunters who are drawn will show up for their hunts and will have a quality experience. By breaking the season up into segments we will help increase individual hunters chances of being drawn

With regards to the emplimentation of draw hunts without public notice: While the authority of public notices versus statutory rulings is sometimes confusing, rest assure that there have been multiple state Attorney General's rulings supporting the Commission's authority to set special season frameworks and hunt conditions on Wildlife Management Areas. Thus, our current draw system is indeed legal.

Consider this, among our many charges, one of the goals of the MDWFP is to recruit and retain new hunters. How can we recruit new hunters when the same hunters lay claim to all of the public hunting areas year after year? You must concede that a total free-for-all, especially in waterfowl hunting areas, is not always the best situation for all hunters. In those cases older, more experienced hunters and those who are more aggressive will seize the "best" areas, while less experienced hunters will be disappointed, discouraged, and ultimately cease to hunt. How can we be expected to recruit and retain waterfowl hunters in that situation?

In a perfect world those older, more aggressive hunters might be selfless enough to allow new hunters to hunt with them...but that doesn't happen often. Thus we have a draw system.

You mentioned MO, while I am not familiar with their policies, I have hunted for several years in TN and other eastern states. In those areas individual duck blinds were drawn for once at the beginning of the year and retained for an entire season. In those cases, successfully drawn blinds are commonly sold by the winner to highest bidder and the same older, more aggressive hunters end up hunting the same places year after year. Obviously, any system has it's draw backs.

I would encourage you to put in for a draw hunt, on the same level-playing-field as the rest of the waterfowl hunters who seek to utilize our great public hunting opportunities in this state, including myself and the rest of the Wildlife Bureau staff. I wish you the best of luck.

[deltadukman]

No hunter left behind...

I'd bet this draw program has led to the more older and experienced hunters giving up on the MDWFP and the WMA's than it has helped attract new hunters if they really wanted to put pen to paper. The ones who give a dayum, take care of the land, and respect people have been replaced with the ones who are all about themselves and have the entitlement syndrome. Sounds about like another group we can compare to....

[gps4]

Mr. X,

Consider this, among our many charges, one of the goals of the MDWFP is to recruit and retain new hunters. How can we recruit new hunters when the same hunters lay claim to all of the public hunting areas year after year? You must concede that a total free-for-all, especially in waterfowl hunting areas, is not always the best situation for all hunters. In those cases older, more experienced hunters and those who are more aggressive will seize the "best" areas, while less experienced hunters will be disappointed, discouraged, and ultimately cease to hunt. How can we be expected to recruit and retain waterfowl hunters in that situation?

In a perfect world those older, more aggressive hunters might be selfless enough to allow new hunters to hunt with them...but that doesn't happen often. Thus we have a draw system.

You mentioned MO, while I am not familiar with their policies, I have hunted for several years in TN and other eastern states. In those areas individual duck blinds were drawn for once at the beginning of the year and retained for an entire season. In those cases, successfully drawn blinds are commonly sold by the winner to highest bidder and the same older, more aggressive hunters end up hunting the same places year after year. Obviously, any system has it's draw backs.

I would encourage you to put in for a draw hunt, on the same level-playing-field as the rest of the waterfowl hunters who seek to utilize our great public hunting opportunities in this state, including myself and the rest of the Wildlife Bureau staff. I wish you the best of luck.

is it it really the governments responsibility to "recruit and retain" hunters?

speaking from first hand personal experience, less experienced hunters who do not own their own land or cannot afford to lease, are disappointed, discouraged, and ultimately cease to hunt when the only chance they get to utilize state-owned public property is once every 5-7 years (if they are lucky enough to get drawn at all).

I most certainly do not concede that a total free-for-all, especially in waterfowl hunting areas, is not always the best situation for all hunters. The first time I ever went duck hunting was the last two weeks of the 96-97 season. I was attending community college at hinds at the time. My local WMA (which is to say the closest WMA to my hometown) offered waterfowl hunting opportunities in timber until noon and field hunting opportunities until sunset every day of the week. That means as a young college student with limited income and no family owned property, I could slip away from school on any given afternoon and be standing in the middle of a flooded bean field by 2:30 or 3:00. I spent the next 8 months buying gear and getting ready for the next duck season.

I do not, nor have I ever, expected the MDWFP to to recruit and retain waterfowl hunters in any situation. They don't have to. Opening the WMA's to the general public allows anyone to enjoy our states hunting opportunities at any time. A close friend of mine has been putting in for 7 years for a draw and a chance to take his kids. Since he hasn't been drawn a single time, his young and inexperienced hunters have not had the opportunity to enjoy waterfowling like he and I did when we were coming up. As far as I am concerned, the MDWFP has failed.

A bad day in the field is better than a good day at work, right? I know for a fact that I had more waterfowling opportunities when I could slip off whenever I felt like it. Since 2007, I think I have been drawn and hunted my local WMA 2 times. Suffice it to say, I had better waterfowling experiences when I could come and go at my convenience rather than standing in line for a lottery. It has also been my experience that many older, more experienced hunters have become disappointed, discouraged, and ultimately ceased to hunt when not afforded the opportunities they grew accustomed to.

I would like to know how many of the "younger, less experienced hunters" have become habitual waterfowl hunters. I think the MDWFP is alienating many more waterfowlers who return year-in-and-year out than it is "recruiting and retaining." Of these new younger and less experienced hunters, how many are able or willing to go through the rigamarole of applying and standing in line to pull a peg out of a wood duck box. sure, the draw office is always full for the draw, but how many more people could also hunt the property without interfering with a morning draw hunt?

If the MDWFP insists on draws, I do not understand why they can't compromise and have draw hunts until noon and open it up to the general public in the afternoon. Doesn't that guarantee some folks the opportunity to get i on a more controlled (for lack of a better term), and allow a free-for-all in the evenings so others can also enjoy the property at their convenience?

I would encourage the writer of this letter to limit his waterfowl hunting to only WMA's like many of the waterfowl hunters who seek to utilize our great public hunting opportunities in this state, including myself, and then report back how often he gets to hunt them. If he's drawn more than 3-4 times over a 5 year period, then perhaps the playing field is not all that level.

In the free-for-all system, everyone has the exact same opportunity to hunt our public lands, and that opportunity is limited only by the alarm clock and how often one wishes to make the drive over.

[LODI QUACKER]

They are right, you are wrong. How dare you question them?!

We can't teach the young folk to hunt when we ourselves have nowhere to hunt.

What these guys don't realize is that every kid from MS that can, is leaving the state to hunt.

It is really sad.

[peewee]

They are right, you are wrong. How dare you question them?!

We can't teach the young folk to hunt when we ourselves have nowhere to hunt.

What these guys don't realize is that every kid from MS that can, is leaving the state to hunt.

It is really sad.

And the ones who can't eventually are playing video games.

[Smoke68]

I'd say 50% of my hunts at WMAs with draws is done on standby. I hunt freelance areas, too. It just all depends on where the birds are and my schedule. Draw WMAs are what they are. As far as my local WMA, I can't imagine the circus that would result if they opened it up to freelance. It's a super small place that gets really good only a few times a year. Shoot, it's crowded enough being a draw hunt.

[LODI QUACKER]

Your right. Some would not work without it. But for instance when was the last time the timber was right and hunted at the WMA near Vicksburg? Idk but probably the game wardens private hole now.