buckeye

Would you support your state counting fawn buttons as bucks instead of antlerless deer?

I say they are bucks and should be counted as such.

How about you?

*EDIT*
I am speaking from a biological standpoint. Not a hunting aspect.*

shuler44

err, no. The reason the law is like that is because you cant tell alot of times if one has buttons or not, why should they change that law?
When i am shooting a deer i look very closely at the head to see if i see any buttons or not. This was the first year i have shot one, i couldent see them. other times i could tell and let them pass.

Elkcrazy8

From a biological standpoint it would all depend on the fawn mortality rates. If a good percentage of fawns are not expected to live. The button bucks might not make it anyway therefore I think it would be hard to base any buck to doe ratios on this count. From a hunting standpoint I think that it would be hard for anyone with minimal experience to hold steady for the shot let alone see if the darn thing had buttons or not. The meat on a button buck is fairly scarce in comparison to a year old buck. I say let em grow and base the buck to doe ratios on visible horned bucks. Of course I am used to hunting in 4 pt only areas so it would be unthinkable to even shoot a forked horn. (4 point meaning 4 on each side not including brow tines.) I am by no means a trophy hunter but I say let em grow.

buckeye

I edited my post to be more specific. Thanks.

Washington Hunter

From a biological standpoint, yes. From the hunters perspective, no. Though in Washington we're allowed one deer, regardless.

Dairy King

Bio stand point, yes, because there are ALOT of button bucks shot around here. But from a huntin standpoint, no. Sometimes you just cant tell the difference.

Elkcrazy8

My biological part of the post still stands. How can biologists accuratly count the buck to doe ratio without knowing the fawn mortality rates. Example, if X amount of bucks need to be harvested and X amount of does need to be harvested then you can not harvest button bucks and get close to the needed numbers. If the wildlife biologists count the button bucks into the harvest and a larger amount of button bucks are harvested than more mature bucks, you had better pray for a light winter or you won't having enough carry over to replentish the supply. IMO you will be shooting yourself in the foot.

buckeye

Elk

Either way the buttons are being harvested each and every year. Why not count them as bucks in the harvest quota instead of anterless deer?

It skews the buck to doe ratio big time when you look at the yearly harvest data.

For example say 100,000 antlered bucks were harvested along with 200,000 antlerless deer for the season. It throws it out of perspective.

If they don't want to count buttons as antlerd deer than thats OK but they should note how many of those 200,000 were in fact buttons or antlerless bucks IMO.

Elkcrazy8

In most states harvest reports it is indicated that the deer was male or female on the antlerless reports. So the game commision knows the amount of bucks or does that are harvested and whether they were juvenile or not. If a state does choose to implement the law then it sould do away with shooting button bucks on antlerless tags. Most people can not tell the difference between a button buck and a doe that is why it has to included in the antlerless class. If people were able to take a button buck that they knew was a button buck on their buck tag , then that would definately scew the buck harvest numbers as you would be substituting a breeding age buck for a juvenile. If the harvest of button bucks exceeds limits for a year the amount of more mature buck harvests(over 2.5 years) would go up the following year also as there would be less bucks taken that year in the 1.5 year range.

JoshKeller

Here in WV, you check the deer in as a Buck, Doe, or button buck. From a biological standpoint, I think it would be wasting your time and giving a false "reading" if you were trying to sit down and think up the regulations for the next year. But then again, thats probably why I'm sitting in front of a computer on the internet and not in the DNR's headquarters. [8D]