Ilegal 9 point

[crc]

The 13" hasn't helped with deer quality and the world is flat!

[WamBow]

Some of us believe our posterity should be hunters. Others believe they should be sportsmen. Not mutually exclusive you say? Well, yes, that’s true. But they have inherently different objectives.

Hunting focuses on killing an animal for food. Our earlier ancestors, native Americans, etc. were hunters, not sportsmen. Hunting was not always a sport.

Sporting focuses on means, methods, glorification of the animal (at least to a degree), and a higher level of fulfillment and satisfaction for the killer than just his belly.

Many of us are both. I personally feel both are fine. But whichever you are, nobody flat-out hunts out of necessity anymore. The cost to hunt, limited access to game (not necessarily population, but legalities/seasons, distance to hunt-able ground, etc) make your local grocer MUCH more economical. Sure, filling the freezer helps us justify our past time and offset some cost.

Nonetheless, TPWD’s push to get bucks to a mature age is sportsman-driven ($$$ debate aside), and many young hunters are just not there yet. Some are, and that’s fine, too. But it can have a negative effect on young hunters. Why should a hunter have to “earn” a kill over a long period of time? I don’t make my seven year old earn his protein every night. He is learning lessons of patience, drive, persistence in other areas of his life. The “sporting” mentality has overtaken our hunting culture and nearly replaced it’s basic tenant, providing food. Again, they can coexist, but I think we have to be careful to not lose sight of what it is we’re really doing, what really matters and what doesn’t.

I realize my position is counter to many reading this. But Sporting has been engrained in many of us and “hunting” has been redefined by the marketing, advertising and social media we see throughout the “hunting industry”, TBH being no exception—and really a guide for many, in some respects.

Make no mistake, I love big antlers. They make us proud. They’re a symbol of prowess and status in the animal kingdom. But should all hunters be forced to be sportsmen? Because, to suggest that a young kid killing an immature animal is likened to “everyone getting a trophy” and several other similar comments is basically asserting that it’s unacceptable simply be a hunter.

I’m sure I’ll get flamed on this because I realize hunting and sporting are one and the same to most here. But maybe it can be food for thought for some. I don’t know.

God bless and happy hunting. Or sporting.

X2...well said

[DeadEyeB]

well i've never seen a 1 year old buck that would make the legal AR restrictions, at least not around our place so another stupid assumption there. I don't know if my neighbors hunt, i don't get into their business. I hope they do and i hope their kids hunt too.
was our deer population destroyed before the implementation of the AR rules or was the deer population just not producing the number of "Quality" deer that someone thought it should.

yes before these types of restrictions your population was abysmal. Old but good article on the subject: https://tpwmagazine.com/archive/2004/dec/ed_3/

[BowSlayer]

yeah it's your and your neighbors herd. what if all your neighbors thought like this?

multiple kids killing a 1 yr old buck every year will have major negative effects to the herd in a short period of time.. You have mature bucks that means luckily for you your neighbors probably care.

Or hopefully you have so much land it doesn't affect them.

Either way it's basic principals of conservation. It's not over the top it's studied biology to make sure we don't destroy the deer population. It works and should be part of every kid's hunter education.

You do realize that under the ARs a person can now legally kill 2 yearling bucks every year vs the 1 they could have killed previously don't you? Just throwing that out there.

[OldRiverRat]

Numbers from 1938 represent a time when people were hunting for sustainability so it only figures that populations would be lower.
With progress came less dependency on hunting and gathering, people began buying more food over the counter so deer population numbers would naturally be expected to grow.
I’m not arguing that ar regulations aren’t good for allowing deer to get older, I agree but when I get ready to pull the trigger or let an arrow fly I’m going to do it as long as the deer is legal. That’s what makes hunting fun and that’s what I want for my kids so they continue to do it and spend money that supports conservation.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[bossbowman]

You do realize that under the ARs a person can now legally kill 2 yearling bucks every year vs the 1 they could have killed previously don't you? Just throwing that out there.

The last 5 years I don't see spikes anymore, I'm convinced the rules are wiping them out!

[BowSlayer]

The last 5 years I don't see spikes anymore, I'm convinced the rules are wiping them out!

That’s good. I see them all the time.

[MQ32Shooter]

The last 5 years I don't see spikes anymore, I'm convinced the rules are wiping them out!

Yep, true in my area. I gotta a neighbor that started killing them because not enough 13” bucks running around. He loves venison and a dead deer is just meat to him. We’ve not seen a spike on our place in 3 years now. But I’m sure that’s a fault on my miss management practices.

[jshouse]

Yep, true in my area. I gotta a neighbor that started killing them because not enough 13” bucks running around. He loves venison and a dead deer is just meat to him. We’ve not seen a spike on our place in 3 years now. But I’m sure that’s a fault on my miss management practices.

Are you happy or sad that you don't have spikes?

[Tx_Wader]

So, how about those Cowboys?

[slayer]

My son was happy as a lark to help us with cull bucks. Our lease has a bad genetic of no brow tines. . .so he gets his first deer with a bow, we get some really nice venison. The county we are in has no Antler Restrictions. . .

[BrianL]

If AR is good for herd management it should be statewide. I benefit from it, kinda, but don't really like it on its own merit. A 12"1.5-year-old buck is as sexually mature for reproduction as a 7-year-old buck. Sometimes more so. The fish restriction is for allowing fish to reach reproduction size, AR is simply for antler size.

[slayer]

We have about 10 bucks that look just like this and they are killing us on protein, so we had my other son take this one out of the herd. Again, no AR restrictions. Youth will hunt, but its our job to get them interested. We cant do that if we are a bunch of whiny tit bags complaining about how its killed, if it was behind a high fence or how much it costs!

[MQ32Shooter]

Are you happy or sad that you don't have spikes?

I don't really know. As I understand it, I don't understand how to manage my deer herd, so you tell me, are no spikes good or bad? If you have spikes, do you shoot or give them one more year? Or should that be another thread?

[jshouse]

I don't really know. As I understand it, I don't understand how to manage my deer herd, so you tell me, are no spikes good or bad? If you have spikes, do you shoot or give them one more year? Or should that be another thread?

I bet the OPs deer was a spike once upon a time. That's why he isn't Legal as a 4yo.