What do you think ?

[diesel]

The DNR wants fewer Deer. We want bigger racks on the Bucks we shoot. They have talked about and some states have rack or point limits or maybe you have to shoot a Doe first before you can shoot a Buck. In Ohio this year they are talking about letting bow hunters shoot an extra Doe .
Now what would you think if every 3 or 4 years they would not let anyone shoot a Buck. What do you think that would do ?
That one year you would have a high Doe kill. Also there would not be any Bucks shot just think of the Bucks that would be around the following year. How many Bucks would be 2 1/2 years old and older.
Do you think most of the hunters would still buy tags ? or would they just not hunt ?

[crazyfarmer]

its a good idea but it wouldnt fly though... If everyone would let the small ones walk then we wouldnt have the problem anyway. Ill admitt that I want the biggest buck in the woods, but I also still take doe to equal out for any bucks I take.. normally 2-3 doe for every buck

ill hunt no matter what, but I dont think those that let the small ones walk should have to sit out a whole season for trying to get bigger bucks to begin with. What about kids and their first bucks also.. If a 4pt runs up to a 10 year old I would expect him to shoot.

It just doesnt seem like something that would pass into law.

[Kenton]

I also think it is a good idea and I would support it, but that is what separrates deer hunters from big buck hunters. If someone is happy to shoot a four point or a 120 class buck, I wish them the best of luck, but those who want the big boys must let the little ones walk. I don't believe antler restrictions are the answer but we should be able to shoot more does. Luckily in Ohio we can shoot double the amount of does this year.

[crazyfarmer]

I also think it is a good idea and I would support it, but that is what separrates deer hunters from big buck hunters. If someone is happy to shoot a four point or a 120 class buck, I wish them the best of luck, but those who want the big boys must let the little ones walk. I don't believe antler restrictions are the answer but we should be able to shoot more does. Luckily in Ohio we can shoot double the amount of does this year.

Va added more doe days to season this year to help with that. I believe it helped, but still there are far more doe than bucks, mainly since buck season is in for another 4 weeks over doe season. And all the dog hunt clubs are antler hungry over spikes but wonder why they cant ever get big bucks on their land One reason ive drifted more to still hunting.. I cant stand seeing hunt clubs turn loose packs of dogs on spikes and blow a whole day chasing a year old buck.

but on a side note, if the above was done we would have some hellova nice bucks everywhere lol

[knobby]

The DNR wants fewer Deer. We want bigger racks on the Bucks we shoot.

I dont think it would fly. Not everyone wants to be part of your 'we'

Sure...most deer hunters would like to bag a big buck. But the lengths that people are willing to go to to get one is the variable.

Some will do WHATEVER it takes...cheat...poach...tresspass...steal

Some people will pay many THOUSANDS of dollars to get a big one.

Others shoot whichever deer provides the first good shot and hope that its a big one.

I say to each their own and there shouldnt be any laws in place that restrict what size of deer you shoot.

The one thing IMO they could do is make the doe limit more liberal and make them FREE to shoot. What kills me is they complain about too many deer....ask hunters to shoot more does...but they aint gunna let you do it for free....theyre gunna hit ya for another $24 and another $24 and another $24

Ya dont pay for each squirrel ya shoot
Ya dont pay for each rabbit ya shoot
Ya dont pay for each pheasant ya shoot

You just buy a liscense and follow the bag limits.

Ya shouldnt have to pay for each deer.

Dont preach to me that theres too many deer and then tell me not to shoot em. Cuz I'll tell ya...having to run to town and spend ANOTHER $30 has saved many a doe from my arrow.

[wabi]

I'm more on Knobby's way of thinking. Why not sell a deer hunting license and then charge when each deer is checked in at a check station.
For example pay $25. for the basic license to be able to hunt deer, then set a limit of 1 antlered deer and 5 antlerless (for zones with too many deer). Then at the check station charge $10 to tag an antlerless, and $50 to tag an antlered. Not many people would spend $50 to tag a 4 point when a doe would provide as much meat if that's the reason they're hunting!

[buckeye]

I would not support that at all. What ever happened to going out and hunting and hopefully getting your buck regardless of size. Sure, we all dream of killing a big buck, theres nothing wrong with that but I also do not want the seeing and harvesting of a big buck an everyday experience. A big buck should be hard to come by, thats why they are special. If you are a hard core trophy hunter than you should really have to work and hunt hard before you are able to attach your tag to him. We have more deer now than ever before and every hunter regardless of skill level will see many deer and get shots at many of them. So I guess the vast majority of us are just tired of seeing so many average deer that now when we step into the woods we want to see the cousins of the Jordan and Hanson bucks. We do need to kill more does but how do we get this through to the masses and make them understand how important it is? The first way I know of is STOP promoting trophy hunting. Every outdoor magazine and show makes you feel like a second rate hunter if you don't kill a trophy buck every year and they make you feel like a felon if you even suggest the killing of a doe. We have to get back to the basics of hunting and stop all of this competition big buck crap and enjoy the hunt for the same reasons why we stared hunting so many years ago.

[Grizzly Adam]

In North Carolina, we use no tags. You can kill six deer total, two per day. Two must be visibly antlered; two must be antlerless; two can be your choice. All can be killed in any season, in any three consecutive days, or whenever you like, in any combination you like. We don't have to take them anywhere; the authorization number can be obtained by phone.

I like our long continuous season, easy regs, and flexibility.

Now, if we could just get crossbows legalized for people who don't have to use them because of some disabilty or injury ... but no state's perfect!

[flbuckmaster]

Here in Florida our deer season goes from Sept thru Feb. We can legally shoot two deer per day, everyday, but we still have too many deer here. As for the bigger bucks..there are plenty of them here that nobody ever sees but die of old age. The fact is if you do your homework and hunt hard in secluded places, you will find and harvest bigger bucks. You won't kill them in open fields and 20 yards off a main road. Big bucks are "where they are" and hunting "where they arent" will not be productive. I have learned to hunt "where they are" and harvest up to 10 mature racked bucks each year,all on public land. Changing the legal antler size would not effect my harvest at all. Get out there and do your scouting and hunt "where they are" and dont worry about changing the bag limits, you will be more successfull.
Jay

[LV2HNT]

We don't need no more stinkin laws. That is the main reason that more people don't get into hunting I believe. If you are new to the sport, you could spend years trying to interperet and memorize every game law that applies to you. It is so bad that a new guy out on his own is probably guaranteed to break the law if he doesn't have an experienced hunter along to show him the ropes. I think most people get overwhelmed and give up before they even get started.

If antler restrictions were made law, they would not be fair to everyone and never would be, so the best thing is for hunters to make a concious effort to let the small deer walk. Some will make mistakes and others just won't care, but if the majority of hunters could make the effort, the impact would be extremely noticable and beneficial.

I may be wrong but I grew up believing it was a normal part of nature for there to be more females than males. It makes scence to me. There may be population problems here and there but in most places there is no problem I can see which is why I don't shoot more does. I refuse to do everything my state biologists tell me because they have been wrong plenty in the past and they will be wrong plenty in the future. They often have to act for many different reasons other than the games best interests and they give recomendations to manage the heard in a region or state and not a particular area which causes problems. In my region deer numbers are considered very high but my local public lands have the lowest populations ever. My success level is probably never going to be as good as it once was thanks to the state telling the hunting public it's ok to shoot every deer they see. Meanwhile the places I can't hunt continue to boom making the state think there is a problem which will result in even less deer for me to hunt on public land. If the state realy wanted to fix the so called problem they would open all the parks in the area to hunting a few days a year. Instead they pay off duty officers 60 bucks an hour to sit over a bait pile at night with spotlights and night vision equiped rifles. They get horrible results either because the deer learn real quick to leave the bait alone or because the cops have a real good thing going that they want to keep. In most cases, I think I am my own best tool in determining the health of my local deer heard and I act in whatever way I see fit as long as it is legal. I have seen overpopulations in the past and I can't see any signs of it now. Yes there are a lot of deer but no more than there were 10 years ago when there wasn't any problem. The only difference now is that there are ten times more roads, cars, houses, shopping centers, and people. That results in 10 times the conflicts between deer and people. It doesn't mean there are 10 times more deer in the state than there used to be. The bucks I see are the same size as they used to be and the deer are just as healthy and heavy as they used to be so I don't see any population problem at all except for the people problem.

And if there realy is a problem I hope it continues because
untill now the problem has been very good for all hunters because it changed the publics view of hunting. I used to be ridiculed when I would tell someone I was a hunter now they may make a sad face but they say I understand that it's something that needs to be done. Plus my season is extra long. If hunters would stop shooting more than they will ever need on public land then everything would be great.

[knobby]

In North Carolina, we use no tags. You can kill six deer total, two per day. Two must be visibly antlered; two must be antlerless; two can be your choice. All can be killed in any season, in any three consecutive days, or whenever you like, in any combination you like. We don't have to take them anywhere; the authorization number can be obtained by phone.

I like our long continuous season, easy regs, and flexibility.

Now, if we could just get crossbows legalized for people who don't have to use them because of some disabilty or injury ... but no state's perfect!

amen to that.... I wish Ohio would set it up like that for us.

Sell me a deer liscense
Tell me what the bag limit is
Tell me when season is
and let me go at it....

I hunt out of state in WV also and their system is even more insane.
I HAVE to buy a rifle liscense first...even though I do not rifle hunt
then I gotta buy an Archery tag
then I gotta buy a doe tag
then I gotta buy a muzzle tag
spring turkey tag
fall turkey tag

WTH is wrong with these people?

then they wanna write ya a ticket when your so confused ya dont know wth papers ya need in your pocket

The DNRs could really manage the herds better if they would JUST ALLOW people to shoot more deer without making it so complicated and EXPENSIVE.

[Kenton]

We do need to kill more does but how do we get this through to the masses and make them understand how important it is? The first way I know of is STOP promoting trophy hunting. Every outdoor magazine and show makes you feel like a second rate hunter if you don't kill a trophy buck every year and they make you feel like a felon if you even suggest the killing of a doe.

Buckeye, your absolutly right that the problem is a lack of the masses understanding of doe control. However, shooting a lot of does is one of the main ways to grow trophy bucks. Everyone hears that good nutrition and letting the small bucks walk are how trophies are grown, but keeping the buck to doe ratio as low as possible is just as important. As girly as it sounds, most problems can be fixed though increased knowledge. I know people who flat out refuse to shoot does and can't understand why they don't see big bucks.

Ultimately, deer hunting is about having fun. I have a blast debating topics like this on here. Half of my fun is simply being around other hunters and sharing stories, but the other half is trying to figure out where that booner is and trying to get to him.