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Feb 12th, 2024
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 Re: Can't shoot this one......ug
[Re: Kell]
#5958862
10/03/15 03:01 PM
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Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 60,296
stxranchman
Obie Juan Kenobi
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Obie Juan Kenobi
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 60,296 |
As an old deer hunter, I have always believed they went an inch too far. Very few basket racked bucks will not make 12". Very few 18 month old bucks will be 12". The original AR program was sold as a way to protect 18 ms old bucks that made up the majority of the buck harvest at that time and this was a worthy goal. (There has been a gradual truth creep in that goal to include 2 1/2 yr bucks and some 3 1/2 yr old bucks, but I remember how it came down.) If anyone will take the time to measure the racks and mounts of mature bucks hanging proudly on walls all over Texas they will notice that many are under 13" inside spread, yet most are over 12" inside spread. Do it for fun when you have the time. Try another test...look at the results of the big buck contests in areas with poor soil and feed. Many of the winners will be just over 13" inside spread and most will be less than 15". Some of the winners were probably nervous squeezing the trigger..Just saying.. That must a regional variance. I checked all my mounts and euros for grins. I only have one buck under 16"(that one is 14 1/4") with the rest being 16"+ to just under 25" inside spreads.
Are idiots multiplying faster than normal people? ![[Linked Image]](http://neoswarm.com/images/Bug_Crawling.gif)
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Re: Can't shoot this one......ug
[Re: StephensCnty308]
#5959183
10/03/15 08:21 PM
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Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 4,550
kyotee1
Extreme Tracker
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Extreme Tracker
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 4,550 |
I had two bucks come in a couple of years ago. Both young, but one had an obvious injury to his left front leg. He was under the 13" rule, but he could barely walk. They both jumped the fence and he basically nose dived into the ground. That is probably the worst hunting experience of my life as I had to choose between breaking the law (and all the ramifications) or letting a wounded animal continue to suffer. I let him walk but to this day I regret that decision. Never saw him again so I'm sure he suffered a fate worse than a bullet. I know people would abuse it, but I really think there needs to be an exception for obviously wounded animals. I would have shot him and then just left him lay where he fell. Give him back to nature. No way can I see an animal suffer like that. That would be Wanton Waste which can be charged and cited as a state jail felony in TPWD regulations. It would be better to ask permission from a game warden than asking for forgiveness later once you end up with the cost of taking an illegal buck and also committing Wanton Waste.
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Re: Can't shoot this one......ug
[Re: Tru2lifetaxidermy]
#5959227
10/03/15 08:56 PM
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Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 473
Tru2lifetaxidermy
OP
Bird Dog
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OP
Bird Dog
Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 473 |
I will not be the guy to shoot him and "give back to nature" nor the guy to shoot him and say nothing. I will be contacting the warden if he sticks around much longer to see if I would be allowed to take him and offer him to HFH if I can't keep the meat.
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Re: Can't shoot this one......ug
[Re: stxranchman]
#5959917
10/04/15 12:56 PM
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Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 104
Kell
Woodsman
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Woodsman
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 104 |
I like to read the Posts of STxranchman because he is almost always right on. And, he is right about this too. There are huge regional differences and always have been. Congratulations on your excellent trophies, Stxranchman. I have seen some of the photos of bucks in your pasture and you have beauties.
There are even regional differences within a region. For instance, his 25" buck. I am amazed that a 25" came from his area and not somewhere further west, like a good ranch in McMullen, LaSalle, Zavala, Dimmit or Webb County. When I was growing up in the age before deer management those were the areas that naturally produced big bucks.
I will always believe that 12" AR's would have done more good for the deer...AND hunters in those areas where AR's are in force. That would have protected the younger bucks and would have made it possible to take basket racks. It would have also made hunting a lot more enjoyable for hunters. No one wants to become a criminal by making an error of judgement as to antler width in the field.
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Re: Can't shoot this one......ug
[Re: Tru2lifetaxidermy]
#5962119
10/05/15 06:37 PM
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Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 745
Kenny Powers
Tracker
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Tracker
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 745 |
Shoot it eat it and then send it on down the river
 Guns dont kill people.....bullets do.
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Re: Can't shoot this one......ug
[Re: Tru2lifetaxidermy]
#5962185
10/05/15 07:11 PM
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Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 179
spro
Woodsman
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Woodsman
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 179 |
On my lease we have a few similar bucks plus a few smaller 4 points that would obviously never meet AR's in their lifetime. Makes me wounder if AR restrictions are actually increasing the population of under 13" deer. If the under 13" 3+ yr old bucks never gets shot then they have the upper hand to spread their genetics. How long before the under 13" genes takes over and the legal ones become extremely rare or extinct.
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