The antler restriction thread got me thinking ..... do you define "Quality Hunting" by rack size? I am concerned that we are trying to legislate deer hunting too much.... opinions seem to vary regionaly and with the hunter's experience level ... where does it stop? Are we becoming ....... far left in our thinking? More restrictions for a better hunting experience????[]

Would I like to shoot a big racked buck? Absolutely. Does rack size define quality hunting? Absolutely not. We have restrictions here in MO and it ticks me off. Let me first say I am NOT against anyone who has self imposed limits on what they will or won't shoot.....More power to you.

I could go on for days, but I'll keep this as brief as possible. I talked w/ a deer biologist the other day, and we kind of cornered him, saying the heard wasn't what they say it is.....He hum hawed around a bit, then agreed saying there wasn't the population they say there is. They imposed those restrictions as a method of taking more does to keep the pop. in check. Things don't make sense here. In somecounties with the restrictions, you can only shoot 1 doe???? Why is that I wonder if the idea was to shoot MORE does???????? Know what it is? We figured it out, and he "kind of" admited it.....Insurance companies are putting pressure on them because of the deer/vehicle collisions. Can you believe this stuff??? An insurance company is dictating OUR deer herd!!!! [:@] Don't know why I'm surprised, they dictate most anything anyway....

Like I said, I could go on for days but personally, I don't define a quality hunt by how many racks I see over 140"......Though I wouldn't qualify that as a poor quality hunt either...[&:]

PT:

In my opinion....."Quality Hunting" has absolutely nothing to do with rack size......or even racks, for that matter. I had PLENTY of quality hunts, last year.....where I never saw a buck.

In addition to the Ins. companies wanting the herd thinned, I think MO was afraid if they didn't do something to grow bigger bucksthey would lose a lot of hunters to IL and Kansas. Specially out of state hunters, they go where the big boys are.

It is just like everything else in life. IT IS ABOUT THE MONEY!!!!!!!

To me quality hunting is the ability to hunt deer under thier natural movements, free from traffic sounds and other distractios. It is the ability to hunt a herd that is healthy(body weight, sex ratio, age class). I believe when you've met all those, you can havea quality hunt regardless of what you choose to shoot.


Ok that's the ideal situation. Real life is the deer are pressured heavily. Many areas age class structure among bucks is almost non existant. You've got patchy little woodlots cut by roads and developement. Regulation is needed to try and privide a "quality" herd. I wish there was no need for regulation, but without widespread self restraint, it is unfortunately needed. I also think that people confuse AR with "trophy" growing. That is so far from the truth. In MOST places a deer becomes legal far before it becomes a "trophy" class. The AR just give them a little boost when they are young and dumb.

I do not believe rack size has anything to do with a "Quality Hunt". I personally believe anytime I am out in the woods its "Quality Time" and since I am hunting, it makes it a "Quality Hunt". We don't have a lot of big bucks here in FL so it really doesn't matter to me.

Now I do agree with the restrictions we have here in FL. I mean if we could just kill all of the bucks we see, there definitely wouldn't be any of those "big" bucks out here.

Anyway, just my .02.

I think quality hunt has nothing to do with rack size. Like mentioned above, the hunter is the one who rates the quality of the hunt. Seeing acouple does and maybe a yote would be a quality hunt for a lot of people.

The quality of hunting has nothing to do with rack size, species, sightings etc. Quality Hunting is available everytime you go afield.

I think you're refering to Quality Killing..and that's an individual thing. I won't dredge that up at this time.

PreacherTony,
I do not define quality hunting by rack size. Never did , never will.
Quality hunting, to me at least, is having shot opportunity at an animal I want to take. I have self imposed standards I stick to(not trophy standards)and I hunt public land.I'd rather shoot a doe, than a spike or 4 pt. I'd rather witness a hard chase by a buck, than no rutting activity at all. I like to see how close that chipmonk is going to get if I don't move.
I love to draw down on a deer that came to my grunt call. That's quality.

Something else to ponder. Bow onlyareas and short rifle seasons(as in Ohio as well as other states)are also a form of regulation. To what end?