Worst thing about 13" rule

[BTLowry]

Having to tell the 15yo daughter that I was not sure if he would make it and we better not shoot


She took it like a trooper though. Probably 3.5yo but would be biggest she has ever shot

Told her we would try again Saturday

Good thing is she will be happy to shoot a spike or a pig too

[AntlerCollector]

She will love it when that buck is a year older! Like you said she can take a spike, doe, or pig. Only problem I have with the AR laws is that yearling buck spikes can be killed.


Explain to her why she should wait and not shoot and the benefits of deer management.

[quackaholic1]

I agree but most kids can understand it... probably better than us adults

[Deer Tracks]

She'll be ok. Kids need to learn a) sometimes there are disappointments in life and b) good things are worth waiting for.

Thanks for taking her hunting!

[NAVY CHIEF]

Lots of old non 13 inch wide bucks in west williamson co....I have some on camera that look 5 yo....they just dont have genetics to be 13 wide...so I dont agree with the restriction....I would love to bring someone over to be able to take out these culls....tpwd needs to add a 4yo or older non 13 inch buck to the license...treat it like a spike.....but reverse it because I think that a spike can turn into a pope and young buck...

[Leon County Slayer]

I think it's a great experience when I take my 16 yr old niece hunting and she can't shoot the first deer she sees. It's a rare chance in today's world to teach about the real world and how to battle the desire for instant gratification when they are blasted with texts, Instagram and soon to be credit cards.

[bassmatt72]

Lots of old non 13 inch wide bucks in west williamson co...tpwd needs to add a 4yo or older non 13 inch buck to the license...treat it like a spike....

Unfortunately, I think the reason we have an antler restriction rather than age restriction is because most people can not age a deer. If everyone could half way age deer then I think the age restriction would be better than the antler restriction.

[gusman]

She will love it when that buck is a year older! Like you said she can take a spike, doe, or pig. Only problem I have with the AR laws is that yearling buck spikes can be killed.


Explain to her why she should wait and not shoot and the benefits of deer management.

Agree..

[WCB]

They can't judge antler spread either... Lot's of young bucks under 13" and lots legal at 13/14" taken also. Some get lucky and it makes 13" and some don't...

[NAVY CHIEF]

And 99 percent of the hunters that shoot an illegal buck dont call a game warden and tell on themselves or their kids or other hunters...my friend shot a mature buck in caldwell county a few years back it was 12 and 3/4 inches wide so he called the game warden on himself that he had worked with in the past to get mld permits, figuring that he was doing the right thing, well they confiscated his deer and ticketed him, he got out of it in court and just had to pay court costs...I am a law abiding hunter but I would never call the warden for this infraction especially not on myself.......

[BTLowry]

She understands, probably not the reasoning, but the legality end of it

She puts in time and does not expect to shoot the first deer we see either. We have been watching does, fork horns and even watched that goofy horned deer I posted about seeing for about 15min one afternoon.

We have a draw hunt in a few weeks and if that does not produce something I will probably see if I can find a place to take her to get a doe or 2.

[Etxbuckman]

She'll be ok. Kids need to learn a) sometimes there are disappointments in life and b) good things are worth waiting for.

Thanks for taking her hunting!

This.

I think it's a great experience when I take my 16 yr old niece hunting and she can't shoot the first deer she sees. It's a rare chance in today's world to teach about the real world and how to battle the desire for instant gratification when they are blasted with texts, Instagram and soon to be credit cards.

And this.

OP you and your daughter did great today. Thank you for taking her hunting at all

[BigThicketBoy]

Yep that's the tuff part.

[bossbowman]

Having to tell the 15yo daughter that I was not sure if he would make it and we better not shoot


She took it like a trooper though. Probably 3.5yo but would be biggest she has ever shot

Told her we would try again Saturday

Good thing is she will be happy to shoot a spike or a pig too

Hey when I was kid without the 13" rule we didn't even see deer like that, and you prayed all season long you did, and the first thing you saw with horns you shot it because your neighbor would if you didn't. Amazing it took us so long to figure out there was a much better way, and how bad the old way was making things.

[Javelin]

Hey when I was kid without the 13" rule we didn't even see deer like that, and you prayed all season long you did, and the first thing you saw with horns you shot it because your neighbor would if you didn't. Amazing it took us so long to figure out there was a much better way, and how bad the old way was making things.

So true. I remember hunting San Augustine county as a kid. We hardly ever saw a buck and when we did we shot it then it was similar in Polk County but we saw a few bucks just none over 90 inches. Now I see bucks bigger than that almost every sit