ORIGINAL: Tree climber
it also depends on you state laws. check you hunting handbook.
In Fl. ; a deer with less than 5" horns are regarded as anterless.(????) never have understood that.if it has that much horn , it should be consedered antered????
make sure you check the law.
Excellent advice. I've seen 3" limits several times, but not 5 until you mentioned it. I've also heard (on this forum and elsewhere) many, many sad stories of people literally not seeing 3 -4 inch antlers and shooting a deer thinking it was an antlerless deer/doe. So my guess is that the 5 inch limit is just a way of making it even more clear whether a deer has antlers or not, avoiding the problem of not being able to see the little 3 inch antlers. The problem with 3 inch antlers is that they can indeed be obscured by the ears. Of course, the hunter needs to be absolutely sure, take the time to look carefully and absolutely not take the shot unless sure.