tatonka

I'm certainly no biologist either, but from a statistical standpoint 4% is fairly decent sampling.. It's been a long time since I took statistics in college, but if I remember correctly they have a formula for the standard deviation based on the sample size...in other words, the larger the sample the smaller the standard deviation... The process is the same as you see with the different election polls that are taken...they sample a very small percentage of the voters, but the polls are usually fairly accurate.

MudderChuck

I don't know for certain, but it is likely they have people doing a game census. Various methods, fly over IR photography, strip count, spot light count, harvested game inspection, even road kill statistics.

They do here and I imagine they use the same techniques in many other places. They combine the info and set quotas.

cjclemens

I'm an antler hunter, and I'm not the least bit ashamed to admit it. I have a small cow/calf herd at home and, at any given time, I have at least half a dozen steers in the fat lot. I do love to eat venison, but I certainly don't need the extra meat to survive. Not to mention that I can raise beef cheaper than I can harvest venison (once you calculate how much I've spent on deer stands, my bow, arrows, etc). To top it all off, if you add up all the time I waste on scouting, hanging stands, bow practice, and actually hunting, the cost of hunting gets even bigger considering that I could have spent that time working for a wage. Deer hunting is my commune with nature, and, God willing, my chance to catch up with a big mature buck. That being said, when I shoot a deer, it goes straight to the butcher shop. I make it a point to waste as little as possible. Then again, if my freezer is full of venison, I may not even bother filling a tag. If my freezer is running low, I wouldn't hesitate to shoot a nice fat doe.

Gm54-120

I normally try for a nice meat doe on private land first but this year i got lucky. I applied for a manged hunt that allows 2 doe and no buck. I could have applied for the other date which allowed 1 "any" and 1 doe.

This year i have no plans for a buck even on private land. 2 fat doe are plenty for me to eat and IMO they usually taste better.

rockport

Antlers come with meat

Its not Meat VS Antlers its Meat VS Meat and Antlers.

Everybody should be using the meat antlers or not. Those who don't are in a very different category.

woodenb14

Very well put.

ggw44

I hunt to put meat in the freezer but I would never pass up a nice buck !

Aftershock95

I think any animal you harvest is a trophy. I will not pass up a buck but I will not hold out all season long for one I'm after meat to put in the freezer that's all that really matters to me

BigfknJay

I was lucky enough to be taught to hunt by both my grandfather and my father. They hunted together ever since my parents started dating. ( mothers Father). My grand father would say "its a buck shoot it, no matter what size the horns are". I assume that comes from the 1930s mentality of when he started hunting. My dad would let little bucks go he had already shot the little bucks. I spent a lot of time hunting with both and then I got into bow hunting when I got out of the Army.
Neither of my mentors bow hunted so I was never informed about it. But some of my army brothers were avid bow hunters and turned me on to it. I fell in love. I studied bow hunting gathered all the information I could and due to that became a better hunter.
I am not saying that I am right, None of us are, But in my opinion. If there is the biggest buck I have ever laid eyes on in front of me and a doe. I am taking the buck. If I have already harvested a buck that size I am smoking the doe. I have 0 racks hanging on the wall. My grandfather has many. My grand father has racks that sit in a box in the back room of my parents basement. The only thing they are good for is they intrigue my step son and son. They want to know more about hunting. Why we do it, when they can start, etc... For that I am grateful, my grand father is still with us at 95 and although his short term memories are fading, his long term is sharp as a tack. So they ask about all of his" trophies" and he tells them stories. The same ones I loved. Back on point here. I have killed many does, I am a meat eater. Some day I hope to bag a trophy. But I will take a mature deer either way. My trophies are the memories, the friendships formed, and the time to be in the woods and reflect on my life. Not to mention I love eating venison.
There is no right or wrong in meat vs antlers. Its isn't about that, at least for me and the people I hunt with. It is about our kids, our parents, friends and neighbors getting together enjoying the outdoors and each other. I can afford to buy food, I don't have to hunt to feed my family. I know people who can't, and are too disabled to hunt, so I try to feed them too. I am sure a lot of you are the same way. I mean come on , you can afford a computer to post on here right.

Father Forkhorn

Pennsylvania in the early 2000s put antler restrictions in place and increased doe permits. It was very controversial, especially with hunters who saw fewer deer.

The management people said it was because the herd was too thick and actually consuming too much new growth. there was a lot of back and forth over it. (I was in seminary and hunting that state at the time).

I think they may have gone to another system since then.


I'm more of meat hunter myself. This year, I'm of a mind for holding for a good set of antlers. I didn't do the scouting I wanted, though, so we'll see. Backstraps are always tempting, too.