State wide Antler Restrictions????

[Beerkat]

Will East Texas have the same rules?

NONE!!!!!!!

[BrandonA]

All the people that whine about not being able to shoot a dink buck and how they don't want somebody else dictating what they can or can't shoot need to realize something:

When you decide that a dink 6 is a shooter and you kill all the young bucks, YOU have decided for your neighbor or leasemate that NOBODY is going to get to shoot a mature buck.

Why is it OK for brown and downers to decide what the deer herd is going to look like, but it's not OK for management-minded hunters and/or state biologists to decide? I don't get that.

I agree 100%

[skeeter]

All the people that whine about not being able to shoot a dink buck and how they don't want somebody else dictating what they can or can't shoot need to realize something:

When you decide that a dink 6 is a shooter and you kill all the young bucks, YOU have decided for your neighbor or leasemate that NOBODY is going to get to shoot a mature buck.

Why is it OK for brown and downers to decide what the deer herd is going to look like, but it's not OK for management-minded hunters and/or state biologists to decide? I don't get that.

the sole purpose of deer season is population control. as far as the brown and downers, if its legal, their aint anything we can do about it.

dont get me wrong, i am all for shooting a mature buck. I have passed on several bucks this year alone that i would have been proud to shoot. but to me, they werent old enough. if somebody else kills em, oh well. thats the chance i take. i'm not gonna get mad cuz i passed a buck and somebody else shot it. i cant afford to hunt a hi dollar/ hi fence ranch. i hunt what i can afford and i accept my hunting area for what it is.

just like fishing. if somebody catches a big ol bass b4 you get to that log, tuff luck. they bought a license just like you did. they have every right to that fish/ animal that you do.

whats the difference in a young dink 6 point gettin hit by a truck or somebody shootin him. at least the hunter that shot the deer actually WANTED the deer. the truckdriver that ran over the dink aint gonna eat it, but i bet the hunter will.

[E.TX.BOWHUNTER]

Am curious on this one.
What exactly does antler restrictions do to help the deer herd?
Is it about size of antlers or health of herd?

It is about CHANGING the age structure in the deer herd. There are too many young animals and not enough older ones. So, it is mosly the young ones being taken. It leads to larger antlers by default. But how often do you see a 4.5 and older deer in these areas?

[Shane]

the sole purpose of deer season is population control. as far as the brown and downers, if its legal, their aint anything we can do about it.

dont get me wrong, i am all for shooting a mature buck. I have passed on several bucks this year alone that i would have been proud to shoot. but to me, they werent old enough. if somebody else kills em, oh well. thats the chance i take. i'm not gonna get mad cuz i passed a buck and somebody else shot it. i cant afford to hunt a hi dollar/ hi fence ranch. i hunt what i can afford and i accept my hunting area for what it is.

just like fishing. if somebody catches a big ol bass b4 you get to that log, tuff luck. they bought a license just like you did. they have every right to that fish/ animal that you do.

whats the difference in a young dink 6 point gettin hit by a truck or somebody shootin him. at least the hunter that shot the deer actually WANTED the deer. the truckdriver that ran over the dink aint gonna eat it, but i bet the hunter will.

There are size limits on bass too. If there weren't, there wouldn't be many big ones under that log.

The difference between a roadkill 6 point and somebody shooting him is that one was an accident and the other was on purpose. Can't control which deer get hit by vehicles, but we can control which ones are taken by hunters. Just like with bass. You can't control which fish are eaten by birds or turtles or whatever else, but you can control which ones are eaten by people.

That's what managing resources is all about. Population control isn't the sole purpose. It's one of the goals of good wildlife management, but it isn't the only goal. Overall health of the population is one of the goals. Overall enjoyment of the resource by the hunters, fishermen, and "watchers" in general is another. There are lots of moving parts. A hunter being readily able to shoot the first deer that walks out isn't necessarily on the top of the priority list when you are trying to balance all the other goals.

Oh, and as far as the brown and downers go, there IS something we can do about it. Antler restrictions.

[BrandonA]

I would also be in favor a shortening the rifle season and making sure it isn't during the rut. Similar to Kansas and a few other states that produce monster deer. As far as the arguement I hunt for meat etc...shoot a doe.

[Shane]

As far as the arguement I hunt for meat etc...shoot a doe.

Exactly. You don't eat antlers anyway, right?

[Speedgoat]

If it goes statewide they will have to spend more money on special population reduction in some areas. That means trapping and transporting more deer. There is nothing good about that. The harvest numbers will be down and I bet the amount of licenses will be too. Bad way to go if you ask me, but then again, I am a fairly good judge of a deers age.

[47]

I often wonder if we could accelerate this process of "improving" the herd, if HF and MLD places would turn loose, what are usually "Culls"(130, 140), by their standards(160"-200"), and maybe some of the Doe with those genetics.

food for thought

[Speedgoat]

the sole purpose of deer season is population control. as far as the brown and downers, if its legal, their aint anything we can do about it.

dont get me wrong, i am all for shooting a mature buck. I have passed on several bucks this year alone that i would have been proud to shoot. but to me, they werent old enough. if somebody else kills em, oh well. thats the chance i take. i'm not gonna get mad cuz i passed a buck and somebody else shot it. i cant afford to hunt a hi dollar/ hi fence ranch. i hunt what i can afford and i accept my hunting area for what it is.

just like fishing. if somebody catches a big ol bass b4 you get to that log, tuff luck. they bought a license just like you did. they have every right to that fish/ animal that you do.

whats the difference in a young dink 6 point gettin hit by a truck or somebody shootin him. at least the hunter that shot the deer actually WANTED the deer. the truckdriver that ran over the dink aint gonna eat it, but i bet the hunter will.

How the heck did you get to Africa then??

[skeeter]

How the heck did you get to Africa then??

That was one time. I dont go every year! wish I could, but my financial advisor (wife) thinks otherwise!

point being, if you dont hunt on a hi fence property, there is always the chance of a deer gettin shot on the other side of the fence. thats just the way it is. like i have said before, i am all for antler restrictions, i have seen the results. but i am not going to sit here and chastise someone for shooting a LEGAL animal. Now, if it's illegal, i have a problem.

[billfromtx]

It still wouldn't stop the idiots next to me from killing everything that walks, crawls or flys!..breaks my heart!

[mhbaseball]

I am all for it and have seen the good results as we were one of first counties in AR

[Miki]

Wrong, they are just implementing the antler restictions for all of north texas SEE THE MAP orange counties are the new ones green already have them.

O dear god. The state will be covered up in bastket 8 points. This plan was a good start but its time for a change. More people are learning to agfe deer so TPW need to put out more info.

[Shane]

That was one time. I dont go every year! wish I could, but my financial advisor (wife) thinks otherwise!

point being, if you dont hunt on a hi fence property, there is always the chance of a deer gettin shot on the other side of the fence. thats just the way it is. like i have said before, i am all for antler restrictions, i have seen the results. but i am not going to sit here and chastise someone for shooting a LEGAL animal. Now, if it's illegal, i have a problem.

I absolutely agree. If a deer is legal, then more power to 'em. I'd hope everybody would let young deer walk, but not everybody will. ARs are just another way to define what "legal" is, and they are helpful in allowing at least some of the bucks to get older and more mature. It's possible, even likely, to see a 1.5 or a 2.5 yr old buck be legal in AR counties. Even those nice 3.5 and 4.5 yr old "legal" bucks could benefit from another couple of years, but they're legal.