Antler Point Restictions in Wisconsin
01-12-2017, 10:30 AM
#61
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Audubon & Red Rock, Penna.
Posts: 4,472
I would love to hunt the rut with my rifle. Our archery season ends the 2nd Saturday in November and rifle starts the Monday after Thanksgiving (Nov 28 - Dec 2, depending on year).
We are a 1 buck state.
We are a 1 buck state.
01-12-2017, 01:50 PM
#63
Fork Horn
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Vermont
Posts: 486
We have an antler restriction in Vermont. A legal buck must have 2 points on one side and that 2nd point must be an inch or longer. Do I think we have a healthier deer herd because of it? That's out of my realm of knowledge. I'm not a biologist but I wish that we would have at least a 3 point restriction so that we could get an older age class of bucks. Then I would feel like we were getting somewhere. There still a lot of 1 1/2 year old bucks being shot.
01-12-2017, 02:26 PM
#64
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: MICHIGAN
Posts: 2,568
I would really like to know why people only want a old buck to shoot yet will tag a button buck with a antlerless tag. Surely people can tell a button buck is a tiny deer compared to a adult full grown doe.
All you have to do is go to the deer pictures thread above and read the comments about good eating on those tiny button bucks and does.
Letting a buck grow old, I just don't see how that makes for a healthy herd really. Our herd is health now and I don't see letting a buck grow a monster rack makes it any more healthy.
Here every DMU better have the very same rules other wise your just going to make a poacher out of a other wise legal hunter.
Can you really tell a spike was shot in DMU 37 and Not DMU 38 where spikes are legal?
Al
All you have to do is go to the deer pictures thread above and read the comments about good eating on those tiny button bucks and does.
Letting a buck grow old, I just don't see how that makes for a healthy herd really. Our herd is health now and I don't see letting a buck grow a monster rack makes it any more healthy.
Here every DMU better have the very same rules other wise your just going to make a poacher out of a other wise legal hunter.
Can you really tell a spike was shot in DMU 37 and Not DMU 38 where spikes are legal?
Al
01-12-2017, 03:41 PM
#65
Spike
Join Date: Apr 2015
Posts: 30
We have an antler restriction in Vermont. A legal buck must have 2 points on one side and that 2nd point must be an inch or longer. Do I think we have a healthier deer herd because of it? That's out of my realm of knowledge. I'm not a biologist but I wish that we would have at least a 3 point restriction so that we could get an older age class of bucks. Then I would feel like we were getting somewhere. There still a lot of 1 1/2 year old bucks being shot.
antler restriction at 2 points on 1 side is almost a joke I would have to say. I do agree with 3 points on 1 side but 4 on 1 side keeps mature 6 points from being shot which is completely stupid.
mature is mature and points doesn't make a deer any more mature. I also understand people don't know how to age bucks so you have to do the obvious and do antler points to have a restriction that is enforceable
11-24-2017, 12:25 PM
#67
Fork Horn
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Farmington, MN
Posts: 176
I hunt in southeast Minnesota and we have had an antler point restriction for the past 6 years ( at least 4 pts on one side). It's the best thing to happen to our area during my 23 years of deer hunting. It took 2-3 years to notice a change but now we see so many more 3+ year old bucks running around. It has really made bow hunting fun knowing that there are deer 150" or larger that can come by at any moment. We have a couple trail cameras out in the early fall to get an inventory of deer. The last 3 years we have always had more mature deer on camera than young bucks. A lot of "meat" hunters were against it in the beginning but now I haven't heard of anyone that doesn't like the outcome. Even the meat hunters are shooting trophy class deer.
11-24-2017, 01:39 PM
#68
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Indiana
Posts: 1,186
New here. I posted about this on another forum (gbo), but seems to be kinda dead over there compared to what it was a few years ago. Anyhow, would like to know what other hunters think about this. If you have it in your state and how its working out, or if you would like to see it in Wisconsin. I wouldn't be opposed, my group and I have been letting the little yearlings (spikes, forks, and sixes) go for quite a few years now. I don't really have a problem with anyone shooting a legal buck, but of coarse wouldn't mind seeing more/bigger bucks myself. To me, if you're looking for some venison, you may as well shoot a doe and let that fork turn into an eight next year. I'm not really a "trophy" hunter (if I held out for a "trophy" I'd never shoot anything), I'm happy with a 2 1/2 year old eight pointer, but I think APR would improve the chances of seeing 3 1/2 or older bucks. Enough of my rambling, what do you guys think?
In theory if you don't shoot small antelered deer then those small antelered deer will become larger antelered deer. But many are looking for meat and who would I, or anyone else be, for telling others how to hunt.
Honestly if people are upset over not getting a trophy every year to the point of lobbying the government then they are impatient. A trophy buck should be somewhat rare or the results of a hard effort, not every other deer and decently not at the expense of other hunters.
02-02-2018, 05:23 AM
#70
Spike
Join Date: Jan 2018
Posts: 11
How is letting a buck grow to 5 or 6 years old helping the biology of the deer herd?
I do not shoot does unless it is late in the season and I haven't gotten a buck to put in the freezer (not a trophy hunter). Shoot three does off your property and next year you have lost at least three fawns probably more like five with 2 of them being buck fawns that never have a chance to reach your magical 5 to 6 years of age. I really don't think we need the dnr telling us what a quality deer should be there job is to manage the herd numbers not make us into trophy hunters. If you don't want to shoot little bucks don't, let it cross the fence the neighbor will.
I do not shoot does unless it is late in the season and I haven't gotten a buck to put in the freezer (not a trophy hunter). Shoot three does off your property and next year you have lost at least three fawns probably more like five with 2 of them being buck fawns that never have a chance to reach your magical 5 to 6 years of age. I really don't think we need the dnr telling us what a quality deer should be there job is to manage the herd numbers not make us into trophy hunters. If you don't want to shoot little bucks don't, let it cross the fence the neighbor will.
