Worst thing about 13" rule

[denowt]

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...

Got some pics of these old narrow bucks?

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.

Aint that the truth.
When I was a kid, you were lucky to see more than 3 deer total for the entire season.
We didn't use binoculars. If you saw any animal, you raised the gun to look through the scope. If it was a deer, you looked at the head. If it had antlers, you shot it. You counted points after you loaded it on the tailgate.
I rather sit for hours and watch a bunch of deer that I can't shoot, rather than sitting for hours with no restrictions and no deer.

[AntlerCollector]

When I was a kid there was no youth seasons! Darn kids today got it made

If we saw any antler above the skin we were shooting! The good old days really weren't that good

[Wudstix]

Shooting spike fawns is the bad part of the rule.

[BTLowry]

I told her Friday night it was going to be cool in the morning but she got up and went anyway.

We had a squirrel come up the tree and get within about a foot of her. She never flinched.
But a spider showed up and I had to run it off.
Had a coyote start howling real close and some wood ducks fly over too.

And that was just this afternoon

I get more pleasure out of spending time with her than I do shooting something myself

BTW she said she thought the deer was outside his ears, she also was quick to say the one we watched the other day was not. We just ran out of light before we could say for sure he was legal.

[Speedgoat]

Kill all the spikes you want. Research has proven it over and over. Also, AR is the devil. Deer hunting is about the experience AND the kill. If I never killed a deer I would quit going. Texas has more deer than any other state and has an annual harvest more than 99% of the states with a general season. Texas instituted it for antler growth, not age structure. Texas deer are plentiful. There were big bucks killed before AR because folks put in the effort to make it happen. AR just wants every weekend warrior to be as successful as the season hunter. Its about money and antler. Sad, that the people's deer herd is rationed to the people.

[Slew]

Wish they would go to a 3 or 4 pt rule like Arkansas. That's working well there I think.

[denowt]

Wish they would go to a 3 or 4 pt rule like Arkansas. That's working well there I think.

That would be the same as before, everything and anything would be getting killed.

[M16]

Shooting spike fawns is the bad part of the rule.

But the good thing is there is no such thing as a spike fawn.

[M16]

Wish they would go to a 3 or 4 pt rule like Arkansas. That's working well there I think.

Works great if you want to good kill 1.5 year old deer.

[TX_Hoghunter]

Nothing wrong with a child learning patience. One of the things that people have trouble with these days is their need for instant gratification. In the long run it will make her appreciate it more.

-john

[hpdrifter]

Works great if you want to good kill 1.5 year old deer.

Would be fine with me. Then I'd be outta the woods for you trophy hunters.

[TX_Hoghunter]

Wish they would go to a 3 or 4 pt rule like Arkansas. That's working well there I think.

I use to hunt at a friends place in MS. They had this rule. I personally watched it mess up the hunting. Nothing wrong with the 13 inch rule. The vast majority of "mature" bucks that people cry about being to narrow are really no more than 3 1/2 at most.

-john

[DeadEyeB]

soooo... the rule worked then...

[DeadEyeB]

Kill all the spikes you want. Research has proven it over and over. Also, AR is the devil. Deer hunting is about the experience AND the kill. If I never killed a deer I would quit going. Texas has more deer than any other state and has an annual harvest more than 99% of the states with a general season. Texas instituted it for antler growth, not age structure. Texas deer are plentiful. There were big bucks killed before AR because folks put in the effort to make it happen. AR just wants every weekend warrior to be as successful as the season hunter. Its about money and antler. Sad, that the people's deer herd is rationed to the people.

research has proven that a yearling spike means nothing on the eventual growth of its horns....

also research has proven that if you are hunting low fenced property with relatively small amount of acreage you have ZERO impact on the gene pool. So killing a "cull" is as useless as killing a hog to affect the genes of your deer herd.

[Rockstar Chevy]

Coming from a state that never had antler restrictions, I find it useless. Ohio has PLENTY of deer, in fact they have added to the general seasons to help harvest MORE deer. This is a spike less than "3" is considered a doe, and you only get 1 buck, unless you have special permits. And you can't say there aren't mature deer up there, because 3 of the world record deer come from the state, WITHOUT MLD or AR. It's about scouting and self managing.

It's discouraging to a lot of newcomers (like my girlfriend) who has went 4 times with me hunting and if we could take a doe in "general season" we could have had one down. I'm fine with waiting, but then again I disagree with "hunting leases" and antler restrictions so I'm kinda screwed regardless. It just makes getting a deer 100x harder than it has to be IMO.

BUT... I live here, so guess I'm just gonna have to do what it takes to get in front of a good buck.