ORIGINAL: kevin1

True enough , but those of us who don't trophy hunt still have to live with those pipe dream restrictions just as you do when you get them installed . I don't like being told that I have no choice but to shoot a buck that has "antlers out to here" or a minimum number of points when all I want is to hunt in peace and all you have to do is be more selective .Forcing everybody to hunt the way you do is just wrong . In my state a buck isn't considered to be antlered unless it has at least one antler that's at least 3" long . But depending on what county you're hunting in here youcan take up to 12 antlerless deer , what's to stop you from shooting nothing but buttons and skewing the buck to doe ratio ? You see , it works both ways sometimes .

Education is the key , not foolish restrictions that force others to hunt the way you do . If bagging a buck with a rack like the Charter Oak is what turns your crank then encourage others to think that way too , but don't try to force them to do it your way , you'll turn off more than you turn on . Don't press your state F&G dept. for restrictions , ask the biologists that your tax dollars are paying for what it will take to gradually improve the herd , herds don't change overnight regardless of what we do . Improve access opportunities by convincing farmers and other landowners that allowing hunters to take out their "nuisance deer" is a good thing and won't cost them anything . While you're performing that service work toward balancing the ratio of the deer that you don't shoot so that you can get closer to your goal of a balanced ratio in that area .

Honey attracts far more flies than vinegar , strive for a balance between what you want and what everybody else wants . Farmers and insurance companies want less deer , fine , take out more deer but take them out in an educated way . Rank and file hunters , who outnumber trophy hunters , just want to go out for the few days each year that they do and just hunt , leave them alone . Your state F&G dept. wants to maintain an overall healthy herd , fine , help them . Volunteer for cull hunts where the deer are overpopulated and take them out . Donate the carcasses to a food bank or other program for the hungry if you can , or just select a local family who needs the meat and cut and package it for them . This one is a favorite of mine , I like to give back a little for what I've received and the result is immediate .

You see ? It doesn't always have to be about braggin' rights , and if you work it right everbody wins . Think about it .