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    #1

    Deer management question????

    Looking to find a way to only harvest mature deer on our lease. We are in a Co. with the 13" rule but some of the hunters will shoot the first thing that walks out thats wider than the ears. Some of the people have no clue how to judge the age of a deer.
    So the question is..... What kind of rule do we make to only harvest the matre deer??
    Some of the options we are tossing around:
    1. Shoot only bucks over 41/2 years old (will be up to the hunter to get educated on aging deer-penalties would apply if you mess up.
    2. Shoot only bucks over 140" (same as above)
    3. Allow no bucks to be taken for 2-3 years (unless its a monster)

    Also we are wondering if this rule would promote taking a deer and not telling anyone about it?

    Any thoughts or comments will be greatly appreciated.
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    #2
    Sounds like your in for a loosing battle, if your guys are popping the first legal deer now then odds are their not going to stop over night. It takes a special kinda person to let a 140" 3 year old to walk and the way it sounds your guys probably wont do it. The best of luck to ou though. IMO you would need to talk with the members and see aht they thought about it and feel them out before making any decesions.

    Comment

      #3
      First you have to have hunters willing. Once you have that then you can worry about implementing rules.

      My experience going off score doesn't work..if they can't tell 2 yrold from 5 yr old or anything in between what makes you think they can rough score on the hoof.

      Once you have hunters willing video or trailcams help a lot for a group decision and is a great teaching tool.

      Comment

        #4
        Age makes the most sense... but it seems like you have more of a people management problem than a deer one...

        But... honestly... most deer management is people management... If you don't think it is going to work... get new people...

        Comment

          #5
          Originally posted by Encinal View Post
          Age makes the most sense... but it seems like you have more of a people management problem than a deer one...

          But... honestly... most deer management is people management... If you don't think it is going to work... get new people...
          We would like some new people but we have been hunting the same place for over 10years with pretty much the same people, with that said we are putting penalties on the ones that mess up to hopefully wean them out

          Comment

            #6
            SOme info on the property might help out as well. How big is it, lay out etc etc.

            Comment

              #7
              With a group of inexperienced hunters like that, my advice would be to put out several game cameras and talk about the deer ya'll are getting on camera about which deer are shooters and which are not. (Before the season) Give it time, and then after a few seasons they will know what a mature deer looks like. It is very hard to implement trophy restrictions for hunters with no trophy experience. GOOD RULE OF THUMB: If you are not sure, DON'T SHOOT

              Comment

                #8
                Yes some of them will shoot Andrew not tell if they mess up.

                Comment

                  #9
                  I think a lot depends on how big your place is and what your neighbors are doing. Aside from that you might start with a saying, no bucks under 3.5. That way you won't have any 2.5 year old 13" deer being taken. But if you are only hunting a small acreage and the neighbors shoot anything then it is a losing battle, IMO.

                  Comment

                    #10
                    they are deer. is it really that important to restrict and control everything people do, especially when they pay the same amount of money to be there as you do? if it were your land, or you were the one paying a bigger share than others, then I would say put what ever restrictions you want to on the place. but if the guys are happy with the first legal deer, why should they be forced into something? if they truly are committed to having larger deer to hunt, they will stop shooting younger deer all on their own. if not they will keep on doing what they have been doing for a decade, and it hasnt hurt anything yet.

                    fines and rules are killing this FUN sport IMO. it is a deer. there are plenty of them.

                    Comment

                      #11
                      Originally posted by bowhuntntxn View Post
                      they are deer. is it really that important to restrict and control everything people do, especially when they pay the same amount of money to be there as you do? if it were your land, or you were the one paying a bigger share than others, then I would say put what ever restrictions you want to on the place. but if the guys are happy with the first legal deer, why should they be forced into something? if they truly are committed to having larger deer to hunt, they will stop shooting younger deer all on their own. if not they will keep on doing what they have been doing for a decade, and it hasnt hurt anything yet.

                      fines and rules are killing this FUN sport IMO. it is a deer. there are plenty of them.

                      X2
                      I have a place we try to manage
                      I have a place we shoot what ever suits
                      taken as a whole, the shoot what you want and enjoy yourself place ends up being more fun

                      Comment

                        #12
                        Go with age and have stiff penalty for screw ups. Have a mandatory, zero tolerance records keeping to track all animals harvested. Send the teeth off for cementum annuli to confirm age, so the judgement doesn't fall on you/lease manager.

                        Comment

                          #13
                          Originally posted by bowhuntntxn View Post
                          they are deer. is it really that important to restrict and control everything people do, especially when they pay the same amount of money to be there as you do? if it were your land, or you were the one paying a bigger share than others, then I would say put what ever restrictions you want to on the place. but if the guys are happy with the first legal deer, why should they be forced into something? if they truly are committed to having larger deer to hunt, they will stop shooting younger deer all on their own. if not they will keep on doing what they have been doing for a decade, and it hasnt hurt anything yet.

                          fines and rules are killing this FUN sport IMO. it is a deer. there are plenty of them.
                          I agree with you to a certain extent, but different people have different goals. Shoot anything people and shoot trophy people cannot co-habitate the same property or adjacent properties without problems. It is better to get a group of shoot anything people together and a group of trophy people together. Shoot anything people tend to be the ones that evolve into trophy people after they have had their fill of whack and stack. Typically these people are on leases with other shoot anything people... If they are the lease manager, or in the majority... the shoot anything people need to find a new place to hunt... if not.. then vice versa.

                          Some people will NEVER make the transition from shoot anything to Trophy hunter... they either get too excited, don't really care about lease rules, are well intentioned but incapable of learning, or just want meat. That's fine, but regardless of motives these people are a cancer to a trophy management program and don't belong in one.

                          Comment

                            #14
                            Number 1. If they dont care to educate themselves then it is time to find new people.

                            Comment

                              #15
                              If there are hunters on the place that were there before you I'd say you might be looking for a new lease.

                              Comment

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