ORIGINAL: Steve863
while more than a few are left to rot in areas with antler restrictions.
This is purely logic of hunters who would do anything for that almighty trophy rack. Managing deer numbers, what should be the goal of state game departments, has very little if anything to do with antler size.
Well, this first line is quite an assumption. Even with 3" rule, I am sure there are does shot andleft out there. There will alwaysbe shoot first, check later guys no matter what side of AR they are on. Thats a seperate issue and problem.
You have strong opinons in this threadstating thatpro-AR guys areslobs, greedy hunters, and show offs.Well thats fine, but its a verywidegeneralization that isyour opinion.
Abiologist backed program that has shown sucess can't be dismissed by opinion.PA has shown its program to be better for male age strcuture, overall herd health, and habitat health. VT program has also started to show results in a similar manner. Getting better racks is a nice side benefit yes. But they put the overallherd first and the resultsare there.
NH is now following suit in one of their zones as part of an overall zone mgt program. It wasn't created by evil trophy hunters, it was created by NH state biologists.
I do agree that each zone needs to be managed differently and do not believe AR is perfect or some magic bullet. But does it hurt to try alternate programsin limited areas to see what the results arerather than just sayingnever?? That way the results canevaluated, and if it dosn't work, then the old regs can be placed back.
F & G agencies constantly change other regualtions on many fish, fowl, and big game species in response to changing conditions and other factors. I don't see why deer should be excluded in the name of traditions.