whitetailsoldier

Weve had a rule implamented since 2000
don't harvest a deer if its smaller than
"eight past the ears"
eight pointers
I am starting to become the man in charge for our familys acerage.
what is the thoughtprocess for this???

I know you can have trophy six pointers
and you can also have scrawny tens

kevin1

I'm sure your neighbors who hunt are very pleased with your rule since they get to shoot what you pass up . Self imposed restrictions are fine for your standards , but you can't regulate a wild herd or what others may shoot .

JamieE36

Rather than looking at therack of a deer I think its better to go by agehoweverthis requires a bit of education and maybe some experience. But this is by far the best way to choose what you harvest in my opinion. You also have to be realistic about the area you hunt and not set unrealistic goals. If you say that you can only harvest bucks that are atleast 4 1/2 yrs. old and there are very few if anybucks of that age class in the area then you obviously have set foolish harvest restrictions. Some areas 2 1/2 yr old bucks are realistic and maybe after the age structure begins to improve you can go to 3 1/2 yr olds etc.. On my farm which is 93 ac my goal is to harvest a 3 1/2 yr old buck which usually puts the deer in atleast the 120"-135" range. I personnally do not get caught up in what my neighbors are harvesting. Usually when they see what kind of deer your taking by being patient they become interested in taking a little older age class deer as well. Explain what you are doing on your farm but dont try to force it onyour neighborsand you'll see alot better results. When you and your neighbors finally get on the same page you can start to really see a change for the better.

timbercruiser

I have mixed emotions about deer management. We started about 7 years ago with the rule that bucks should be "mature" and we have tried to be firm on the rule. Problem is we rarely kill a buck over 3. Piles of tracks of big deer and a number of pictures ofbucks that we think are over 3 1/2, but they are almost 100% nocturnal. I am about ready to either tell members that they can kill a certain number of bucks and unlimited does with no restrictions on size or start hunting private lands that I have any way I want to. Growing big unfenced bucks is not as practical as I use to think. Some bucks are never going to achieve the "trophy" size it doesn't matter how old they are.

furgitter

Itll make you a better hunter,Thats for sure! The old ones dont get old by being stupid.That will get the not so serious hunters out of the woods too.Dont expect old mossey back to walk up to your tree every day.Sometimes you have to studdy them a little more and get to know them personally.Then you can slide in and take a monster

yeoman

Soldier, your stated rule is a bit vague. If you mean the deer needs to be 8 points or have a spread outside the ears, that's one thing. If you say 8 points and spread outside the ears, that's something else. Your questions was what is the logic. The idea is to allow your bucks to get to an age where they exhibit their antler potential. In most areas of the country, that begins at age 2, those deer being 2 1/2 in the Fall. Most areas where there are no restrictions, the majority of antlered bucks are killed at 18 months of age, wearing their first visible antlers. I believe this "problem" can be solved through hunter education. Most deer hunters are of the belief that a buck with 8 points is probably an old timer when that's rarely the case. Fortunately, with sites like this, deer hunting on television, magazines devoted to deer etc.., that education is taking place. The problem with imposing restrictions or laws are as great in number as the benefits. If you do want an antler restriction, you first have to know the correlation between age and antler points, or spread, or other antler characteristics, those two being the most obvious to a hunter, for your area. In my area, the greatest correlation to age is actually beam length. Second place goes to outside spread and outside spread is easier to judge in the field. Point count is actually a poor age determinant and can cause the culling of the best quality 18 month old bucks. My personal goal is established each year during bow season. As I see the bucks in my area I determine the deer I would like to take and those I'm willing to take. Sometimes I wind up with a stranger. I mostly hold out for a 3 1/2 year old, but as the season grows shorter the high end 2 1/2 better beware. Good luck with your program.

farm hunter

shoot at least 1 doe for every buck - and if your neighbors aren't doing their part - maybe 2 doe for every buck taken.

On our property - we have nothing but self imposed restrictions - except - that if you take a buck and have another tag for a buck - the next one has to be larger.

Our management effort is more about increasing harvest opportunity than for large bucks - but every program is different.

FH

White-tail-deer

I read an intersting article from North American Whiteail magazine. They did a study on free ranging whitetails and found that something like only 7-10% of deer will ever grow atleast 140 inch antlers. However the study shows that there is no possible way to know which deer the 140+ deer will be until they reach 4 1/2 years of age. The other amazing fact of this particular studyshows that spike buck if given the chance to mature to 4 1/2 caught up to multiple point buck as yearlings in antler growth.

As far as what to pass and what to shoot we look to shoot buck as wide as the ears. We have seen a significant increase the size buck we are harvesting now. But I will also say it sucks when you pass a nice young 8 and he walks over the hill and you hear one single shot. But it's also very rewarding when you pass a buck one year and someone in the family shoots him the following year.

mello_collins

I like that rule especialy if you have enough land. If ya want to see larger bucks then don’t shoot at anything but a big buck till after the rut. People complain about not seeing many decent bucks down here, but a lot of people will start harvesting does in September. Deer are not smart but, they are not suicidal either. A little thing like that will make the older deer stay hidden. Even if it is going on close by.

I understand that this is a gross generalization and most people on this board are selective in their harvest.

I joined a club this year that had restrictions and I will not be back. I had some deer patterned and when the season started so many little deer were shot, that the deer went almost nocturnal and erratic in their travel patterns. At least a third of the deer shot buy this club have been 75lbs or less.[:@] To me, those little does were living decoys. I don’t want to shoot many deer but I do want to see them.

Anyone know of a good club in SC within an hour of Columbia???

mello

IL-Cornfed

I am not a fan of many antler restictionsthat arebased onspread or number of points. Instead, we MUST educate sportsman to recognize AGE in whitetails. The problems with point restrictions and spread limits is that it can get some immature bucks with exceptional potential killed to early and also allow many deer that should have become "cull bucks" to live longer than they should. Teach your hunters to not shoot ANY bucks that aren't atleast 3 1/2 years old and you'll have a MUCH more effective hunting property. However, if you are dealing with novices and folks that honestly don't have a clue as to any sort of management that a "past the ears" minimum would be a good place to start because atleast it would protect ALL of your yearlings (the most critical animals to get to the next age class).

Best of luck to ya on all your management goals.