What do you think about having a 3 point minimum for Mule Deer?

[mattys281]

There was a great photo essay floating around the web a couple years ago where the guy followed/monitored a whitetail deer for its entire life from being a fawn until it died of old age. As I recall it was done on high fence private land, so the buck had ideal living conditions and no hunting pressure. It was amazing how that buck peaked out as a massive brute then once he started the slide his antlers just kept getting poorer & poorer. The author had every set of sheds from that buck to document the changes, not to mention a ton of pics. Its pretty interesting what those little guys can grow into given the chance.

[CatfishKev]

Just curious what you mean by 3 point minimum? 3 total, or 3x3 not counting eyeguards etc? I'm somewhat in favor of it. If it was up to me...

 

1. Youth hunts, any antlered buck is up for grabs..

2. Archery only hunts fork minimum.

3. Rifle hunts where everybody is a thousand yard shooter or better can have a 3 point minimum.

 

If all the potential is wiped out before ever having a chance I think this is a good way to balance both sides.

[Guest akaspecials]

Just curious what you mean by 3 point minimum? 3 total, or 3x3 not counting eyeguards etc? I'm somewhat in favor of it. If it was up to me...

 

1. Youth hunts, any antlered buck is up for grabs..

2. Archery only hunts fork minimum.

3. Rifle hunts where everybody is a thousand yard shooter or better can have a 3 point minimum.

 

If all the potential is wiped out before ever having a chance I think this is a good way to balance both sides.

The last we thing is more rules and more complicated rules. Have you not seen all the monsters taken this year under our "any antlered deer" system?

[CatfishKev]

Yes more complicated for sure, but with all the long range wannabes I'm just thinking some restrictions (not a bunch) couldn't hurt. I know PA did this awhile back and I just saw a pic of a buck my wifes cuz just got. Cant help but think that without SOME restrictions this buck probably wouldn'ta happened for him. And I also think with SOME restrictions a monster could be out there on a general hunt for the guy willing to put in some extra work. I'm no trophy hunter but I'm all for killin 2 birds with one stone and gettin the meat and a trophy on a super lucky day!

[trphyhntr]

Wtf am I reading

[Flatlander]

I would venture a guess at a few things:

 

1. This was a mule deer hunt (maybe he said that, I can't remember after reading all these dang reply's)

 

2. These big numbers of deer were probably at mid mountain elevations (not the flats and not the peaks).

 

3. All the guys you saw who had killed baby bucks were hunting the same country you were.

 

If any of that was correct:

 

Here is the solution, if you are seeing tons of deer and very few bucks and almost all of them are still with their mommy, you are hunting in the nursery. I used to do this a lot. I mean it makes sense to hunt where there are lots of deer right? But mature bucks don't hang out with tons of does. They go to off by themselves or with other mature bucks and hide for 75% of the year.

 

Anyway, maybe that could help you see some bigger deer. And who knows, maybe I am way off. In which case, I am used to it.

[hoghntr]

I would venture a guess at a few things:

 

1. This was a mule deer hunt (maybe he said that, I can't remember after reading all these dang reply's)

 

2. These big numbers of deer were probably at mid mountain elevations (not the flats and not the peaks).

 

3. All the guys you saw who had killed baby bucks were hunting the same country you were.

 

If any of that was correct:

 

Here is the solution, if you are seeing tons of deer and very few bucks and almost all of them are still with their mommy, you are hunting in the nursery. I used to do this a lot. I mean it makes sense to hunt where there are lots of deer right? But mature bucks don't hang out with tons of does. They go to off by themselves or with other mature bucks and hide for 75% of the year.

 

Anyway, maybe that could help you see some bigger deer. And who knows, maybe I am way off. In which case, I am used to it.

My weapon of choice! ;-)

[Flatlander]

More deadly than corn!

[Guest oneshot]

Yes more complicated for sure, but with all the long range wannabes I'm just thinking some restrictions (not a bunch) couldn't hurt. I know PA did this awhile back and I just saw a pic of a buck my wifes cuz just got. Cant help but think that without SOME restrictions this buck probably wouldn'ta happened for him. And I also think with SOME restrictions a monster could be out there on a general hunt for the guy willing to put in some extra work. I'm no trophy hunter but I'm all for killin 2 birds with one stone and gettin the meat and a trophy on a super lucky day!

Qdm... "quailty deer management" is all the rage back east... It is a PROVEN failure, no matter where it has been used, Africa/North America,etc...

For a certin amount of years, Yes the overall antler size of animals is increased, but after the animals within that "super gene" pool are killed-off, the only ones left are those from the "weaker" gene pool...

Antler restrictions hurt the overall health of the herds and an all around bad idea...

[ThomC]

I think for all those 1000 yds. wannabees there should be a 3 point maximum.

[BeardownAZ]

I would venture a guess at a few things:

1. This was a mule deer hunt (maybe he said that, I can't remember after reading all these dang reply's)

2. These big numbers of deer were probably at mid mountain elevations (not the flats and not the peaks).

3. All the guys you saw who had killed baby bucks were hunting the same country you were.

If any of that was correct:

Here is the solution, if you are seeing tons of deer and very few bucks and almost all of them are still with their mommy, you are hunting in the nursery. I used to do this a lot. I mean it makes sense to hunt where there are lots of deer right? But mature bucks don't hang out with tons of does. They go to off by themselves or with other mature bucks and hide for 75% of the year.

Anyway, maybe that could help you see some bigger deer. And who knows, maybe I am way off. In which case, I am used to it.

Interesting but true I think. Spikes and younger,smaller forks almost always with does. Older bucks in bachelor herds.

 

I think alot are missing the OPs original idea. I took it as him looking to improve the quality of the deer herd. Never heard him say people who kill small deer for meat shouldn't be able too for those reasons. I have no idea if points restrictions would work or not and am curious to know a real answer to that. I do know however, it seems in some units, there are lots of does to low Buck ratios it seems.

[mattys281]

Being a state that only allows the harvest of antlered deer, there is definetely a much lower number of bucks than does. However, as flatlander pointed out, many hunters get hung up in 'the nursery' because thats where all the deer sign is. A lot of folks think theres no bucks because they didn't see them, but really theres plenty. They're just really goodal at being invisible.

 

I cant tell you much about the rifle seasons, but I have no trouble at all finding bucks in the archery season. A few years ago I would have sworn there wasnt a single buck in my area, but really the problem was with my eyes looking in the wrong spots and not looking long enough in the right spots.

[dchamsr06]

I don't think that Game and Fish would do anything that might hinder the hunting experience for anyone. The sad truth is that by 2020 there won't be enough license sold to cover expenses. The Millennials seem to have very little interest in hunting. When that happens we will probably see large jumps in license fees.

[idgaf]

The secret to finding big animals. Step 1 find the place where hunting pressure is limited either by draw odds or geography or by over site. Step 2 rinse repeat. when I am scouting/hunting I look for places where other hunters dont look. If I am seeing a great deal of other hunters than I either need to change my location, my strategy, or lower my expectations. Simple. No antler restrictions needed. Antler restrictions are for lazy hunters wanting to be trophy hunters.

[Guest oneshot]

The secret to finding big animals. Step 1 find the place where hunting pressure is limited either by draw odds or geography or by over site. Step 2 rinse repeat. when I am scouting/hunting I look for places where other hunters dont look. If I am seeing a great deal of other hunters than I either need to change my location, my strategy, or lower my expectations. Simple. No antler restrictions needed. Antler restrictions are for lazy hunters wanting to be trophy hunters.

I just follow Casey around and feed off his scraps...hahaha...