Comments on: Antler Restrictions on Deer: They Work!

By: Fred

Fred — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:31:04 +0000

Sorry folks! It might work, but the people who want to hunt deer are screwed! I saw 8 deer this week, 7 were illegal. Thanks to this restrictive actions and unfair chase laws, we regular hunters are left with nothing.

By: Randy

Randy — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:30:23 +0000

Any deer manager knows there are 3 fundamentals to producing quality bucks: age, food source, and genetics. In the case of the antler restrictions, you are only managing for one of these fundamentals (primarily age). I hunt in Lavaca County where this restriction has been in place now for 6 years. For the last several years, I have video and game cam pictures of several generations of 2 specific antler types on our property. None of these deer are legal to shoot and they are very poor representations of a quality buck. Likewise, every year the number of these animals appears to increase. In my opinion, this is exactly what one would expect from the antler restrictions: Increased hunting pressure on spikes and uniform racked deer, but no pressure on the buck population in between. This will undoubtedly lead to the proliferation of the antler type with no pressure. This is genetics 101.

TPWD touts increased antler scores and age as success for their program. In my opinion, it should be incumbent on TPWD to do a follow up study to see how this restriction is affecting the overall deer population.

By: Terry

Terry — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 03:07:58 +0000

I can tell you one thing here in Missouri. We have a four point restriction, which means the buck must have at least four points on one side. This has exploded the population of big bucks. What I mean by big is 130 class and up. The past few years I’ve seen multiple bucks over 150! Before this point restriction rule you were lucky to see one buck all season that would go over 120, and thats if you were lucky.

This year I’ve already seen four bucks in the 150 class just driving down the road. It just keeps getting better with each year. I gaurantee that Missouri will be a hot spot for monster bucks in the nation in the near future, if it isn’t already, because of this rule implimented five or six years ago.

By: Brad Hardin

Brad Hardin — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:33:18 +0000

I am not so sure they work. I have seen too many old bucks, with little basket racks, that need to be taken out of the herd. It should be through hunter education and personal responsibility that we acomplish a healthy herd.

By: Collier

Collier — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 16:19:32 +0000

Guys, the most important thing when managing these deer is age and nutrition. The antler restriction law is somewhat a good thing for inexperienced hunters, but a seasoned hunter needs to harvest only mature animals. By harvesting these mature animals we give these younger 2 1/2, 3 1/2, and 4 1/2 year old deer time to mature. If everyone focused on harvesting mature deer (in the 5 1/2 and up range), then everyone would benefit. Genetics plays a part, but I am telling you it all depends on age and nutrition. I wish they would only allow does to be taken and no bucks for a season or even two, I promise you our big buck (mature) numbers would go through the roof.