RE: ARs= The Survival of the Weak and Scrawny
 

I dunno Li'LBoyBlue, there were some big bucks from 5C on those pages.
Did you see a deer this year?

RE: ARs= The Survival of the Weak and Scrawny
 

THE more I read the more I suspect that these are the musings of a child or someone who has been " if it's brown it's down " and can no longer legally do that.

RE: ARs= The Survival of the Weak and Scrawny
 

Bb2, Did you mean AR? As far as the lack of scrapes and rubs, I'm sure it is the fact that the B:D ratio is way off, however we (thestate, not myself personally)do not practice any kind of deer management here as far as buck:doe ratio goes per se. When you get a tag in CT for public property, it is an either tag. You can shoot a buck or a doe. It is sad however as the machismo mentality still exists. Most hunters I see at the check stationshave harvestedspikes and fork horn bucks, yearlings more accurately. I have heard too many stories of how 4 does walked by before I shot this buck. When you get private land tags you get 2 for each venue of hunting, rifle/shotgun or MZ. With bow you get 4 tags, 2 antlerless and 2 either or tags. That is their idea of ratio management. However it does not resolve the hunter philosophy part of the management equation.

You have to do what is good for the species and the habitat overall. It's great seeing deer every outing, however my feeling is if that is an over carrying capacity situation, I will forego that if it will better the ecology over all, and improve the species and all affectednon gamespecies also. It's not only the Whitetail deer and turkeys we need be concerned about here. There are currently 27 songbird species of shrub nester threatened in the east due to over browsing by whitetails. Lord knows what else is being affected that we aren't paying attention to yet.

AR is a very controversial issue, however if the people that don't see the overall picture don't stop and listen as to why some of these issues are important, we will never improve the current state of the ecology. If the spikes and forkhorns aren't allowed to reach maturity, they will be able to breed the many does due to the ratio. Nature supresses breeding with dominance and if the natural herd ratio is acheived or very near it (1 to 1 as nature seems to have programmed it) only the dominant strongest bucks for the most part will do the lions share of the breeding. It's not about us, it's about the animals and being stewards of the land and it's inhabitants.

RE: ARs= The Survival of the Weak and Scrawny
 

In order to avoid confusion ,when you post your observations you should make it clear you are talking about CT and not PA. With HR and AR's breeding rates and productivity decreased by 5% so your theory on ARs improving the age structure and breeding has been proven to be seriously flawed. PA hasn't had a problem with the B/D ratio for at least 50 years.

RE: ARs= The Survival of the Weak and Scrawny
 

While it may be true that Pa. hasn't had a problem with ALL b/d ratio, It clearly has had a problem with ANTLERED b/d ratio, and the quality of THAT ratio has clearly improved in the past few years in the northern tier.

RE: ARs= The Survival of the Weak and Scrawny
 

That would be what one would expect with fewer doe producing fawns and more doe harvested during the concurrent season along. So, is that a good thing or bad thing for the average hunter?

RE: ARs= The Survival of the Weak and Scrawny
 

Healthier habitat, bigger bucks, healthier does= better for the average hunter:D

RE: ARs= The Survival of the Weak and Scrawny
 

Forest health in 2F and 2G is still rated poor and statewide breeding rates have declined indicating herd health has decreased.

There is no evidence that indicates the bucks, in each age class, are any bigger than they were before ARs and HR.

RE: ARs= The Survival of the Weak and Scrawny
 

RE: ARs= The Survival of the Weak and Scrawny
 

Are you claiming we ddidn't have bucks that big before ARs? If not, what is your point?