State wide Antler Restrictions????

[rockco222]

That is one of the reason game fences are going up,some hunters shooting all the little bucks others are trying to grow.That way antler restriction is important.Before you know it every landowner is gona put one up for that reason.

[Landrover]

It is definitely need!!!

[michaelkolbe]

my 2 cents...........i think its ok.. but let the kids shoot what they want too. what are you going to tell a kid when they are hunting with you. no you cant shot that one its not big enough. lets get more kids hunting and stop the crying about antler restictions.i mean im fine if i dont shoot a deer.but let the kids shoot what ever,

[kyle1974]

One thing about TPW is it seems that they like to hit the "easy" button....

[maglite]

We are getting it in Palo Pinto county next year! YEE HAW!!! Too Bad I have shot a buck that was 12" inside and 8 points that is 142"!! Thats the only down side to me but I think it will be a GREAT thing.

[SanAngeloBowman]

It is definitely need!!!

I wish they would bring it to my county. If you live in an area where there is alot of public hunting land there are ALOT of people that will shoot anything that has antlers on it just for the sake of getting to shoot a buck. If you go to a local ranch you can immediately see the difference in the quality and size of the bucks. Its a no brainer. I'd love to bring it here.

[Goldeneagle]

I'm not trying to start nuthin, but I'm kind of concerned about the narrow basket rack genetics taking over eventually. I hope I'm wrong.

[boss bowman]

my 2 cents...........i think its ok.. but let the kids shoot what they want too. what are you going to tell a kid when they are hunting with you. no you cant shot that one its not big enough. lets get more kids hunting and stop the crying about antler restictions.i mean im fine if i dont shoot a deer.but let the kids shoot what ever,

I'll say it agian, no I don't thinks so, the kiddos need to learn to play by the same rules as the adults. Kids today live in an instant gradification society, a little dose of patience and restraint wouldn't hurt them. I know some will complain well some kids aren't going to have patience and give up hunting, but the fact is tpwd doesn't want this kind of mindset in future hunters anyways, they want the ones that are going to be management minded.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Hagen
In my area of Pa we are in our 5th year of 4pts to a side minumum. Initially i thought this was a good idea to get away from "brown it's down" thinking of alot of pa hunters. It's protecting the older inferior bucks and allowing them to pass on their genes. Harvest of deer scoring over 120 have dropped big time since the restrictions. I put in around 30 full days of hunting and saw one shooter buck that would score 130 or so and too many to count that were older basket racks.

Its not the antler restrictions, its the inadequacy of the hunter

The point restriction doesn't work, it does protect inferier deer, their having problems with it in other states like mississppi, but the spread restrition works wonders, they've been testing it out on WMA's in texas for years before they've decided to implement it

[BowTechAssassin]

Or, you could always shoot a slickhead. Antlers are over rated. Never found a recipe for antlers.

[SolocamShooter]

We need the restrictions bad in Angelina County. I think they're a good thing.

[Goldeneagle]

Or, you could always shoot a slickhead. Antlers are over rated. Never found a recipe for antlers.

Or go back to letting everyone shoot what they want and be happy.

[Hagen]

Up here too many hunters have to get a deer to prove their manhood instead of just enjoying the pursuit. I didn't get a deer this year (my choice) but still had a very successful season.

[SPUD]

It helps get a majority of bucks past their first year of life before an east Texas hunter decides that an 85 pound 4 point is a good kill.

Excuse me???

Not everyone in East Texas that hunts pulls the trigger on 85 lb 4 points. I believe that down in the Golden Triangle it happens too.


I'm about fed up with all this East Texas crap. I've been quiet on this subject but I am getting ready to start speaking my mind.

[SPUD]

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 all about Antler size! I do agree that letting deer grown helps the overall quality of the deer herd.

But I have yet to see a study by the TPWD where they can PROVE that the deer being killed are less than 2 years old. No age data is collected, No jaw bones extracted and I have never been required to take a deer to a check station.

Is antler size related to age? I believe that it is somewhat linked but not the absolute.

[Shane]

my 2 cents...........i think its ok.. but let the kids shoot what they want too. what are you going to tell a kid when they are hunting with you. no you cant shot that one its not big enough. lets get more kids hunting and stop the crying about antler restictions.i mean im fine if i dont shoot a deer.but let the kids shoot what ever,

I've let me son shoot a couple of bucks that wouldn't make the restrictions, but I've told him to pass on a TON of young bucks. Sure, they want to shoot everything they see, but they need to learn that we don't do that. It's no different than pheasant hunting.....you can't shoot hens. When a hen gets up right in front of you, you sure do want to shoot. But you have to wait for a rooster. Kids don't have any more problem with that than adults do.

Besides, after 2 or 3 years of antler restrictions, there will be more mature bucks walking around for the kids (and us too). In the meantime, does are tastey and readily available targets for the kiddos.

I'm VERY glad to see Taylor and Jones counties included in the antler restricted counties next year. I wish they'd just go ahead and put it in all over the state. The sooner they put it in, the sooner we get more mature bucks everywhere.

As far as # of young deer being killed....it's not scientific, but I live right off of I-20. Every year I see a whole lot of deer on trailers and in backs of pickups. I see more little skinny 6 points than mature bucks or even does. Most folks just want to shoot a deer, and it seems that most folks would rather shoot something that has any kind of antler over a doe.