Thank you for that very helpful tidbit

I dont care what you guys shoot! All i'm saying is it was entended to allow a certain group of targeted deer in east texas the chance to mature! Period! I don't like the rule for what it stands for, but at the same time don't care if you grow weed, as long as we can tax it!

and it's clear that your mind is made up, so why should we waste our breath. If you don't believe the professionals, why would you believe someone on an internet forum.

Man I love this forum! People are so passionate about whatever topic! I mean a topic on doe piss could cause a forum throw down!

You are never happy with what you are shooting.

Man I love this forum! People are so passionate about whatever topic! I mean a topic on doe piss could cause a forum throw down!

Fair enough.

It's hard to comprehend how the state would place antler restrictions on deer to allow more deer to mature and in the same regulation allow each hunter to kill 2 yearling bucks if they choose to along with more does. I would venture to say that probably 75% of our 2 year olds meet AR's anyway.

I just feel like the regs took away from my son's growing up deer hunting experience. It places more importance on antlers than the experience or the table fare. When I grew up here I would spend every day after school and every weekend running around these East Texas woods just hoping to see a buck, any buck. My son can't do that. He has to sit in a box and have me judge the deer to see if it's legal to shoot before he can shoot it. My first buck was a yearling 8 point that I still display in my office to this day. I have no desire to shoot a small deer now but it's a natural progression that the state has taken away from our up-and-comers. Have you ever shot a buck that would not meet the current AR's? Were you proud to shoot him at the time? If you're over 25 years old then you have. I got a lease in West Texas just so I could let my son feel like a king and hunt by himself. I didn't have to worry about him shooting an illegal buck because there is no such thing there. I put him in a pop-up blind with a crossbow and told him I would be back at dark. He thought I went to the other side of the lease but I walked to where I could see the blind and sat down by a tree. 30 minutes later a yearling fork horn came strolling in to the pile of corn I had poured out by my son. I smiled from ear to ear because I knew he was about to kill that yearling. "thwack". He was so excited that he did it all by himself that he wanted to get it mounted. It's European Mounted in his room over his bed to this day. I should not have to drive 6 hours to be able to have that experience.

And that is why I hate AR's.

Is that your way of saying "I have no idea"? That's what I get out of it. If you use breath to type you're doing something wrong.

No your not

You might even be surprised how much I do know about PROPER deer management.

Yep.. I be happy.

If you really think that proper age structure of the buck population has no bearing on herd health, then yes, I would be surprised. But I don't really think you think that. I think you are just mad about being inconvenienced, and perhaps rightfully so.

I be happy too. I just like to "discuss" these matters-keeps me sharp for the days when it counts.

I am not mad about being inconvenienced. I already stated why I don't like the restrictions. I would still LOVE to hear how allowing bucks to grow old makes the herd more healthy. That's a serious question. So how does it?? You pretend to know but for some reason you refuse to answer the question. You think old bucks are more healthy than young bucks? Or are young bucks more healthy than old bucks? What disease or other "health" related issues will arise by removing the AR's like it was for the last 100 years? Please, enlighten me.

In all seriousness, if it was not for the kids I couldn't care less about AR's. All they would have to do to make me happy would be to exempt all people under 17 years of age from the restrictions.

One of the properties I hunt is a very strictly managed property. We had strict rules on buck harvest before anybody even knew what AR's were.There are rules in place with fines for shooting young bucks. But, we had enough common sense to know that we could not and should not hold the kids to these rules. If a kid on our lease got a shot at a buck and wanted to shoot it the only thing they would get from other members was a high five and a "good job".

At the very least they could lift the restrictions for the youth only weekends and let the kids shoot any buck they want to.

1-2 yr old bucks only do 10% of the breeding