Antler Restrictions

[KNEE DEEP]

I can't say for other counties but I know for a fact in Colorado county they have helped. Grew up there and the amount of big bucks being killed is a direct result of this in my opinion. No it's not perfect but it's helped. We have deer that won't ever make 13 but they are rare. Gotta give them a chance.

[jshouse]

Actually, he does have another point that you can't see in this pic. That was just the best shot of his big fat body that I have. Looks to be 4.5 to me, and maybe he will be normal next year.

I hope he's normal next year and brings that drop tine with him

[Mayhem]

Implementing it state wide would be dumb IMO, and putting restrictions on mule deer would be even dumber.

[Roscoe]

The deer in the state belong to the people of the state. The deer numbers in the state have grown steadily. Age management is only a slight piece of the pie. You can't regulate anything except dollars by this move. Now more spikes and unbranched antlered deer are killed because the 12" 8 point is off limits. Of you weren't killing big deer before this rule its only because your not as good as someone else who put the time in. Weekend warriors now kill your 2 1/2 year old deer with a 13" spread. Narrow genetic deer get to walk producing more narrow deer. No, I'm not a fan of government overreach. I feel that this was a grab for dollars. JMHO

AR's are about nothing but money, period. In general deer Mgmt is only about money. I've said it before and I'll say it again, if somehow genetically bucks reached their peak antler development at 3yrs old, virtually no one would give a crap if they ever got another minute older. All this stuff about doing things to balance herds and create proper age structure sounds all warm and fuzzy, and I'm not "against" most of it, but it's all about the $ and nothing else.

[Ætheling]

Only problem with AR is sometimes I think those of us that obey the rules are in the minority.

[jshouse]

AR's are about nothing but money, period. In general deer Mgmt is only about money. I've said it before and I'll say it again, if somehow genetically bucks reached their peak antler development at 3yrs old, virtually no one would give a crap if they ever got another minute older. All this stuff about doing things to balance herds and create proper age structure sounds all warm and fuzzy, and I'm not "against" most of it, but it's all about the $ and nothing else.

How does the state make money off of antler restrictions?

[jruss]

"Hunters and land owners have become much more educated in deer management"
Let's call a spade a spade here. It's antler management.

[jshouse]

"Hunters and land owners have become much more educated in deer management"
Let's call a spade a spade here. It's antler management.

Sure, which is bad? The only gripe I have is not being to kill does all season.

[OldRiverRat]

Please explain how Tpwd makes more money off implementing more restrictive rules? Seems they would stand to make less as a result of frustrated hunters that don't agree with said rules and decided not to buy a license.

[jshouse]

Everyone talks about needing to get kids more involved and carrying on the tradition, my 2 boys love sitting down with me and looking at trail cam pics and threads about big bucks, I'm sure most kids are the same.

Giving deer time to mature and in turn time to grow something special on their head is only benefiting everyone...you can't tell me killing a deer with a nice set of antlers doesn't make it a little more special. And if that's what it takes to get a kid/new hunter interested then how can it be bad?

[jruss]

Sure, which is bad? The only gripe I have is not being to kill does all season.

Not saying it's bad or good. Tpw need to call it what it is.
As far as Killeen does I agree 100% early bow season does here still have babies whith spots. And I don't want to kill does on thanksgiving weekend in hopes one will start stinking good to bucks. Not many doe get killed on my place.

[jshouse]

Not saying it's bad or good. Tpw need to call it what it is.
As far as Killeen does I agree 100% early bow season does here still have babies whith spots. And I don't want to kill does on thanksgiving weekend in hopes one will start stinking good to bucks. Not many doe get killed on my place.

Agree. I'm usually looking for bucks in October with the bow and getting skunked so then I'm back to looking for them again when the rut hits and don't want to mess with does then either lol.

[Limbwalker]

I disagree. Too many people would be using their kid's tags to hunt and my son learned a lot of valuable lessons up to the point when he harvested a legal buck. His joy was amazing to see and I have never felt more proud as a hunter or father.

People who are going to use their kid's tags are going to break the law regardless, AR's or not.

What concerns me is we have kids who can't shoot any deer now because they don't have 13" bucks where they are hunting. That leaves them with spikes only, which IMO isn't enough. I've known kids - friends of my daughters - who have gone hunting for 2 or 3 years and weren't able to find a legal buck, and then just stopped hunting altogether. Several of them in fact.

If not for the doe permit draw, I wouldn't even bother taking my daughter rifle hunting on the Sam Houston because the chances of us finding a legal buck there are a million to one. It's honestly not worth the effort. My brother took his son there last year, without a doe permit, and it was basically a long walk in the woods carrying guns. They saw does and several young bucks and the kid went home empty handed.

I think the more important lesson for kids is that we hunt to provide food for our families. I think turning kids into trophy hunters or turning them away from hunting completely, is not the right approach.

Once they are 18, then fine. But I think allowing a 12 year-old to take a young buck isn't going to disrupt the goals of the program, but it will likely make a very valuable memory and bring that kid into hunting for life.

[Limbwalker]

"Hunters and land owners have become much more educated in deer management"
Let's call a spade a spade here. It's antler management.

Yes, to a point. But there are advantages for hunters and the herd by allowing more mature bucks to develop. For one, the buck/doe ratio is better and the bucks respond better to rattling/scents/calls. Plus we see more bucks, which I feel is a good thing as a hunter.

But yea, the emphasis on growing antlers has gotten out of hand. When the quality of the hunt began to be measured in inches, I feel it divided the hunters and only made the hunting industry wealthier.

[JustinJ]

Not saying it's bad or good. Tpw need to call it what it is.

As far as Killeen does I agree 100% early bow season does here still have babies whith spots. And I don't want to kill does on thanksgiving weekend in hopes one will start stinking good to bucks. Not many doe get killed on my place.

You can kill does all season in Killeen.

And ARs and doe bag limits are different.