ORIGINAL: sproulman
ORIGINAL: WestVirginiaBrent
I was just reading that audit thread and it's interesting, but I don't know the back story. [
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Is someone suing the state over the antler restrictions? Is someone suing because they issue too many doe tags?
What am I looking at here?
i am longtime member of USP.
i was there when it started years ago,like over 30 years ago.
they do have a DEFENSE FUND set up for donations.
USP is trying to stop the OVERHARVEST OF DOE in wmu2g.
when you see 3 deer a mile or no deer in mile or MILES,too much doe killing.
way it was brought about was terrible.
to hand out like 6 doe tags ea.in past years ,it has done what they wanted, to reduce deer to almost a few.
the DCNR is behind ALL of this, PGC just is doing what they want.
commissioners are DCNR thru and blue.
this is what is behind the USP lawsuits.
Okay, it's a shame it even has to come to a lawsuit. The policy should be a year to year thing and changed as necessary.
ORIGINAL: bluebird2
BTB is intentionally misrepresenting the results of the Kroll study. The study did not show that all 1.5 spikes had the potential to reach the same size as a 1.5 6pt. at 4.5 years, But the study did prove that 1.5 spikes are inferior for the rate of antler development. Since very few of our buck live to 4.5 , the average 1.5spike will never live long enough to equal the 1.5 6pt. so the average 2.5 buck produced by ARs will be smaller than the average 2.5+ buck in a non-AR herd.
No management strategy will make everything better all at once. It's about helping the odds for the majority of deer in the majority of areas.
The current plan reduced our buck harvest by 43%, breeding rates decreased, productivity decreased, we are harvesting fewer 2.5+ buck than in the first year of ARs,antlerless harvests have decreased significantly and the number of junior license holders is decreasing.WHAT A PLAN!!!
The 4 point I saw was at least a 3.5 year old deer and not an older buck past his glory days. I shot a smaller 8 that year, it was 2.5 years old and I would have much rather taken the 4 point, he was a unique deer and was walking around like he was the king, lol.
I'm all for good management, but the antler restrictions come off as the state trying to use it as a slogan for some extra revenue to entice more hunters. I'm no trophy hunter but I don't shoot "scraggle" bucks either. Young bucks have the same DNA when they're young and when they're old, so from a genetic level the statewide management system is doing nothing what so ever. It may be ensuring that more survival apted bucks breed does but it's not like a buck gets some magic gene in his 4.5 year that he passes down to future bucks so why is the state managing antler size? [&:]