A possible solution to "top hat" bucks

Much has been shared about how the current AR's protect what some might call "Top Hat" bucks, these being older bucks with tall, narrow racks that don't satisfy the 13-inch rule. They are bucks at the same age (or even older) as their wider racked peers that now qualify for harvest.

Since a buck's brow tines (G1's) typically grow longer with age, perhaps the current AR's could be updated in the future to allow hunters to take ANY buck with brow tines of a minimum length.

Such a rule update might also result in hunters being able to judge mature bucks as being legal more quickly.

guessing that second paragraph first sentence should have been "Since a buck's brow tines (G1's) typically grow LONGER (NOT older) with age,"???

the place I have out near Ozona (non-AR county) would be the reverse of an AR rule ... lots of mature bucks without or very minimal G1 (brow tine, dog catcher, etc.) ...

TPWD says the antlers are supposed to grow wider with age but that doesn't always happen either.

Good catch!

How about you can shoot any buck if you are sure it is at least 3.5 years old. If you are wrong then you have to pay a fine.

I think for 5 years they should change to the 4 on one side rule and then switch back to current ar rules.

I could go with that.

This would not protect the younger basket-racked bucks we need to protect most.

Nope, but it would knock out some of the genetics for high and tight racks.

Exactly, nothin is gonna be perfect. You cant expect everyone out there to be able to judge age so that wont work. Everyone can count, and for a short period you could get rid of alot of your mature deer that will never make 13" and stop them from breeding. I doubt as many young promising deer would get shot as you think if they opened it up to shoot all those big narrow racked bucks.

I think the 'top hat' bucks are an over-blown problem. Are there some? Sure, I believe it, but hunters from those areas would have you believe they're under every rock and behind every bush. If the problem is as regional as suggested, maybe they should do a test scenario on a few counties and see what happens.

If you allow 3.5 yr old bucks to be shot, you're going to get a whole bunch of burly 2.5 yr old deer killed by guys that have no idea or don't care.

Without a mechanism in place (outside of LAMP-managed properties) so that hunters can report harvest data, there's no way to detect if high-grading is occurring.

preach!

I think TPWD should allow a "field tag" for non AR deer in addition to your deer tag. Call it an AR tag. The hunter should have to provide a photo to either a warden or a TPWD biologist who makes the call based on the picture. To keep it honest, there should also be a check in after the shot.

I don't think there is a better way to make ARs work then this - there has to be some exception process to the hard rule that makes up for mother nature's exceptions.

Ironically, the claim by those who are most opposed to AR's would support this. According to them, you can't change the genetic makeup of the herd on LF settings through selective harvesting. If that's true, then it's impossible to high grade or shoot the width out of the deer in a given area.

In the end, it would seem what is most important on LAMPS managed properties, is that these "top hat" bucks be allowed to walk, just as they are everywhere else where AR's are in place. Otherwise, evidence of high grading will never be confirmed.

I think TPWD should stay at a minimum from making decisions for me. The less rules to operate under the better. They could do away with the rule and I'd be fine... To me it's silly just like steel shot... Or 3 in the tube...

I wonder how old you are...and I'm not being disrespectful! I grew up hunting the piney woods on timber land before it leased it to the state. And frankly back then we were lucky to see a deer with antlers. When Type II came about it took all of one year to utterly destroy what little opportunity was there on the timber land. People who didn't know about the land before came in like hordes...I hunted it the first year on opening weekend and had 5 shots zip by me before 9am....I scurried down my lean to and sat at the bottom of the stand until about 10:30 and then went to camp, packed and headed home. Back then the "brown it's down" was utterly true. The idea that hunters can and will be responsible and let deer walk is simply wishful thinking. Without the AR restrictions in some of these counties you would experience what I used to experience...and that was if you "saw" a DOE you had a successful weekend of deer hunting. There is simply no good way to manage the deer herd...and limiting the number of bucks thru tags does not work! Because if it's brown it's down still exists! So for all of its problems the ARs are still the most effective way to protect the buck herd. And now you actually have a chance to see a buck when you go to the woods.

Im pushin 50, my experience differs from yours. Im not saying the program doesn't work, just saying the less gov the happier I am...