I think you should have to judge by age rather than antler width...this would allow you to take narrow mature bucks

I agree to a point, but the vast majority of hunters cannot age deer. Hunting at my lease has improved a lot with the ARs in place, neighbors are a lot less trigger happy these days.

I have lived places were there is a minimum of 4 points in one side and also earn a buck (kill 2 does before they will issue you your buck tags as well) all have their good points but I think too much of the hunting "industry" has inflated the search of big antlers. Point in fact, someone kills (yes kills not harvest) a buck and then posts a pic asking if people think he/she should get it mounted?! I have many customers ask me the same thing.....kinda sad really

It's moot. By now, most of your little meat bucks are big enough to shoot. Win-win.

On average the wider the antlers, the older the buck. On average the older the buck, the bigger the body. That said, the bigger the body, the more meat in the freezer!!!

I am not a fan of antler restrictions but they have produced better deer wher I hunt. There are older deer who don't meet ar's that continue to breed and need to be shot. So

I believe that they should do away with AR's and go to a age legality. A deer has to be at least 3.5 years old before being a deer legal to shoot. All deer Bucks and Does have to be taken to a check point in each country where a neutral official will age the deer. If the deer is not legal the official can change the results of the age with a little compensation from the illegal hunter.

Most hunters can't tell if a buck is 13" inside spread and then asking them to age a deer?

AR's work, and I've hunted in AR counties when you would be lucky to see a buck that was over 6 pts. and 2 1/2 years old. If you aren't sure just don't shoot!
I also hunted in Bandera county in my youth and I can tell you that is one county that could have benefited from AR's and probably still could.

I wish it wasn't needed but I hunted E TX during my younger years....public land...and I seldom saw a buck. It was because anything with antlers was shot. In my experience people do not have the ability to be disciplined and shoot mature bucks. It simply wasn't happening. I also hunted on a couple is leases in E TX and it was only marginally better. You'd see so many yearlings shot opening morning it was crazy.

I am on a lease in an AR county and wish we didn't have them but I've never seen anyone post a legit option that didn't have holes in it just like the ARs have.

If antler restrictions were going to work, they would have by now. It's had plenty of time to make an impact, but the average size and age is not changing much at all;

That country should be "Curly, Vernon and Me".

There are people on here that says it does and people that says it doesn't so do you have specific statistical evidence from say TPWD?

A ton of it. Several thousand pages of BS from them. Once you sort it, it ain't pretty. I've done it on here before, search for it.

TPWD know that it's a flawed system and based on bad science, but it is what they have, and they can't afford to change, literally.

In private, they will tell you the same.

do you think your area, and MAYBE your county is only one of a few that aren't seeing success? i'm not poking or stirring anything at all, seriously asking...being a MOD you see a good number of the posts on here and from what I have seen, it seems that AR's get more praise these days than grief. do you think overall they are failing or just in your area? and I know there are several more in the same boat, curly, bowslayer, etc, same question to you...?

but I can promise you the deer are bigger and more plentiful where I hunt because of them, and there are tons of other guys that would say the same.

There's no doubt it's flawed but using only bag limits is worse. So what's the answer?

OK, but there's a ton that say they are worse. I can see where they might could have helped in the original counties, high density areas that can take the kill off. Places where they don't have that depth, are in trouble.

Plus many places they have little to no evidence. Fannin County has like 23 deer cataloged since they were implemented. There's no way that's enough for a decent survey. It's the same in most counties since the original cohort. They even have an independent science evaluation that says they have poor evidence, survey methods, and over-generalized results.

There's way more to it.

I'm against it and where I hunt the bucks have had plenty of time to benifit fronm this law if it really worked.

i am in hunt county, have places in far north hunt county and far south hunt county, both are overrun with deer and both have good bucks.

i just don't see the kill off you guys always talk about.

I have noticed since ARs that the average hunter near me now are more aware of shooting a mature buck. It may be from people growing up or maybe just the idea of 13" or more making people think about shooting older deer.

Mind games...

Now, you see, that's just ridiculous...they didn't even have Alsup's back then.

FALSE, SIR, FALSE.

We finally have a winner! Gives the young deer a chance to mature! The horns are the bi-product of that effort, but few people understand that!

I have always chalked it up to trail cam technology. About the time ARs hit, the digital game cams were becoming common over the old 35mm and just about everyone has them. Lot of difference in scouting between a roll of 36 and a card full of thousands of pictures and holding out for something never seen in person.

Where in Far Northern Hunt County is overrun with deer?
I live, work, and drive tons of roads on the Fannin/Hunt Line and see fewer now than in years past; and very few total.

celeste area, I guess overrun is subjective, but 5-10 deer per sit are common, its very rare to see less.

now my place in south hunt is overrun, >18 different deer on cam every day on 50 acres, and its surrounded by nothing bigger than 75 acres and is pretty heavily hunted. the short doe season really sucks, and I wish guys would start using their spike tags.

I feel for you though sir, I have hunted places before where seeing a deer or two per sit was awesome, which is why I said "overrun" when you can see 5-10 lol.

I have to say, they have resulted in more and bigger bucks, at least around us.