Antler Restrictions - What are your thoughts?

[LIAF]

I wouldn't have any problems with limiting hunters to one antlered deer per year. 

Frankly I think the idea has more positives than negatives.

Doc

I totally agree back in the late 70's and early to mid 80's it was one antlered deer allowed per year. What is a trophy to one person(spike, crotchhorn)  would be a pass for another hunter.

[Larry]

the one buck in the 70's & 80's was not true you could kill a buck on a dmp if you had one all so the buck take was still 65 to 75% 1.5 yr. olds.

[LIAF]

You could not take a second buck on a DMP in the late 70's -early 80's but I do rememeber that for a couple of years or so you could take a buck on a DMP in certain areas.This change occurred around 1986 give or take a year either way.

[RangerClay]

Keep AR voluntary and I won't have a problem with it.

I've been hunting deer for 28 years.  This whole AR debate has me laughing.  If someone had promoted this in the 1980's it would have been a joke.  Now today, thanks to certain outdoor tv shows everyone has to kill the biggest rack in the woods.  I went through that "monster buck" phase for a while when I was younger but it has worn off, thank God.  Now I'm enjoying the deer hunt for what it is and I enjoy it much more.  I could care less if I kill a monster buck and I'm sharing that with my kids.

Here is my personal experience with AR on my own piece of property.  When I bought my 22 acres the locals who hunt around me asked me not to shoot little bucks because they were trying AR.  I said sure, I didn't care because I do most (80%) of my deer hunting elsewhere.  Now I have a food plot and trail cameras up on my piece.  In my 9 years on my property, the biggest buck I have seen is a 5 point.  That is with all of my treestand time and trail cam photos.  I've seen plenty of spikes and assorted scrub bucks.  Now I cannot be the only person who has property like this.  Do we say to these land owners that you cannot kill a deer on your property because they are small?  I think that sends a bad message.

Keep it voluntary. 

[Larry]

it may of changed in some areas in 86 but it did not change where i hunt till 93 that was the same year i bouht my house

[Larry]

i am also for keeping ar voluntary

[ELMER J. FUDD]

Does anyone NOT agree that a mature buck with small headgear walking is just as bad (via gene carrying) as shooting a young spike. It should be called antler/age restriction. Down with the older bucks with little headgear and let the young ones go, that would be the only way I'd support it fully.

[Dom]

Ibelievethereshouldberestrictions Ialso think we should have doe only every few years to allowbuck to grow there are to many small/youngbucks taken also our biggame lisence should be for does aswell as bucks.

[RangerClay]

Does anyone NOT agree that a mature buck with small headgear walking is just as bad (via gene carrying) as shooting a young spike. It should be called antler/age restriction. Down with the older bucks with little headgear and let the young ones go, that would be the only way I'd support it fully.

Yep, me.  Is this deer hunting or animal husbandry? We need to stop playing God and messing with animal genetics.

With this program starting to fail in PA. and western states starting to drop their AR programs we need to wake up and smell the coffee.

[Fantail]

I think AR is yet another issue that divides hunters.

The anti's who unite on all fronts probably love that.

Those are my thoughts.

[JCTheGC]

I've seen how it works first hand. My friend has 8 and 10 ptrs now where that was a rarity before the AR's were in place.  And leaving it up to the land owner doesn't work, because its not followed on a mass scale as this DEC project.  Is AR the best way of maturing bucks, absolutely not. 

Its better then nothing.

[fasteddie]

They started a QDM in Italy Valley about 3 years ago and have started seeing bigger bucks ...........

[Campwildwood]

I'm in favor of AR just to keep it simple. All of the polls that I've seen, the majority of NY hunters feel the same way.

[Larry]

the harvest data seems to say that is not the case check the first post i put on page 2 of this topic. you can go back 20 years and the data would be the same. you also have to remember poll returns are 18 to 22% and polls can be manipulated to say almost what you want look at this poll if you take no to ar's and wait a few years and add those numbers they are almost the same as yes to ar's far below the DEC 67% number to start a ar program. it is all in how and who looks at the numbers.

[burmjohn]

Any news on what the DEC plans to do? Are they going to keep the program for a few more years?

[capt_terry]

Although I'm in favor of it, I don't feel strongly about it. As a land owner I'd like to see some bucks grow older and develope nice racks. But I don't think the most important thing in determining a trophy is the size of a pair of antlers.

[Doc]

Although I'm in favor of it, I don't feel strongly about it. As a land owner I'd like to see some bucks grow older and develope nice racks. But I don't think the most important thing in determining a trophy is the size of a pair of antlers.

I think that is the way I feel about the whole subject. AR is just not a real heavy-hitter on my list of priorities. I really don't think that is even close to being one of the biggest deer management problems that we have in NYS. Maybe when we get some of the basic deer management techniques working well, I might get a little more concerned about such secondary issues. Until then, it simply is not worth the hassle that it is causing.

Doc

[Fairgame]

Until Ars, and lottery dmps came into our area there wasnt any type of deer management program.  So what are we waiting for to start working.  It hasnt hurt the hunting in our area it has only made it better.  More deer in the woods and more bucks and also what is not important to some but it is to others "bigger racks".  I have had an excellent hunting season for the past 3 years that these ARs and Lottery DMPs in place.  Not because of shooting a big buck, cause that doesnt happen every year, but because of the amount of deer, the better buck to doe ratio from what I seen.  Its alot more exciting in the woods lately.  Everyone probably has their doughts before programs like this start, me being one of them.  Now that they are in place I would hate for them to take it away.  These are the only things in place right now to make a difference.  It is the easiest way for everyone to determine whether a buck is legal or not.  I'm not saying every area should have them, cause every area is different. But where hunters in certain areas want it and it wouldnt hurt to have it, majority should win. Isnt that the way it should be?  Reguardless if a small percentage of hunters show up, that small percentage represents everone else.  Just like voting for the Pres

Not everyone votes but a president is still picked after all votes are collected.

[Doc]

Here's something I have always wondered about. We do not have AR, but our deer population has been coming up considerably for the last few years. As expected, with the over-all herd up, the buck numbers are also correspondingly up. Also as you might expect, with the buck numbers rising, a certain percentage of them are growing to an older age. Consequently, we are seeing some better racks than we did a few years back when the over-all deer population had been hacked down by excessive permit numbers.

I'm thinking that if AR had been implemented a few years back, I would be explaining all this with comments about how AR is working. However, the fact is that it is simply normal cyclical factors of habitat, weather, and harvest that is working its normal expected magic. It's the sort of thing that I have seen cycling back and forth over the decades. There are so many things that impact deer herds.

I'm not saying that is what is going on in the areas where AR has been implemented, but I'm just saying that everything is not always what it appears when you are going simply by general observations over a couple of years.

Doc

[deerinsight]

  Hello I am new to the sight but this is a good topic that has been brought up.

I believe the antler restrictions are a great way to keep young 1 and 2 year old bucks from being taking out. This is a great way to manage the heard.

One thing though about antler restrictions and I have not yet read on the restrictions for your area but if you can not take out a 2 year old spike you will always have that characteristic in your area. So in any case observe your deer as much as you can keep a log of deer seen and deer harvested also for those strictly meet hunters shoot does, does, does just be sure it’s a doe preferably an older doe they eat just as good. If the buck to doe racial is not in place you may have Dominate buck 4 1/2 and 5 1/2 yrs olds you will never see.

Food plots are an excellent way to nourish your deer it is like taking a grocery store and making it a supermarkets great nutation and more to chose from.

Pic attached This was year of taking out the eight pointers wich is what also can happen with restrictions. but all of them scored fom 136" to 154" I have another one that a buddy of mine took out but I was ne=ot able to attach it sorry. The two showing are 145" and 136"

[WNYBuckHunter]

  Hello I am new to the sight but this is a good topic that has been brought up.

I believe the antler restrictions are a great way to keep young 1 and 2 year old bucks from being taking out. This is a great way to manage the heard.

One thing though about antler restrictions and I have not yet read on the restrictions for your area but if you can not take out a 2 year old spike you will always have that characteristic in your area. So in any case observe your deer as much as you can keep a log of deer seen and deer harvested also for those strictly meet hunters shoot does, does, does just be sure it’s a doe preferably an older doe they eat just as good. If the buck to doe racial is not in place you may have Dominate buck 4 1/2 and 5 1/2 yrs olds you will never see.

Food plots are an excellent way to nourish your deer it is like taking a grocery store and making it a supermarkets great nutation and more to chose from.

Pic attached This was year of taking out the eight pointers wich is what also can happen with restrictions. but all of them scored fom 136" to 154" I have another one that a buddy of mine took out but I was ne=ot able to attach it sorry. The two showing are 145" and 136"

Uh, whats up with the Texas plate on the truck?

[deerinsight]

Don't worry I select hunt so I won't stick a arrow in all the deer when I come up in October. I own 70 ac. in Chautauqua county I hunt.

[burmjohn]

Honestly, what would be an effective alternative? I don't see any.  If you ask hunters to sit there and age a deer its not going to happen.  Yes, there may be a few older spikes running around, but is that the majority? I bet the majority that are being protected by the AR are the yearlings.  But hey what do I know

[deerinsight]

You are right about the AR protecting the yearlings. But people that want quality deer need to under stand that it takes years at leats three if not longer to obtain a structured heard. It just depends on Mother Nature and what we the land owner and hunter's do to help the proses. I am a true believer of managing deer and providing quality alternative food supply (food Plots).

One last thing on all this is Genetics with out it you can have a healthy head but you may never get that high score head gear. But like I tell my Boys a trophy is a mature buck.

[burmjohn]

Agreed, I'm not a trophy whore, trust me, I have none to speak of   But, I love seeing solid 6's and 8's anything more is a bonus. 

Regarding food plots, see my posts, I just had 2 acres cleared... two 1 acre plots that me, my father and brother will be working on over the next few years. I can't wait!

Regardless, if there was no AR then those area's would more then likely have a fair share of yearlings taken out.  I don't see how anyone would say NO to this, as its the only way to do this on a mass scale.  Yeah I know I'll get a lot of flack for this, but its the truth. 

Look at this poll, at a small scale, over 43% say yes, and 13% say lets give it a try and see what happens...And another 13% say they are not sure... Seems like most would like it or like to see what happens as a result of the AR.