ORIGINAL: tekan terror
well i gota agree,we arepassing on small legal bucks that are young, by our choice(but probably wont make it through rifle season), and can't shoot that 3 1/2 yr old spike that we've seen numerous times chasing does the last two seasons and he's not the only one with bad genes we can't shoot that is older than 2 1/2. we have great food sources, and also dont hunt tues or thurs to keep hunting pressure to a minimum, thickcover and water.as far as " we are not hunting for the rack" quote, that is exactly what the PGC has forced us to do. i would have no problem slamming these old bucks with an arrow, but i'm in a delima, we Are forced to hunt for horns. the pgc should take an approach to educate hunters on aging deer, sway backs ,sagging belly ,thick muzzles, grey faces.etc. granted some deer are hard to age in the feild. these are just my thoughts, and or mindless ramblings from a hunter in 5B, with a 3pt minimum.
The problem w/ aging bucks is that during rifle season , if some of the trigger happy guys around here that I know of , will shoot first and let it lay if it's not old enough.
The 2 day a year rifle hunter will fill the air with more lead than you can carry, if a rack that looks close to legal comes within 1/2 a mile of him.
It's an unrealistic expectation for gun hunters on public land to "take their time and age the deer" when they are running by at mach 3.
AR is here to stay because it works. I've never seen a 31/2 year old200lb. spike. Where are you hunting?