Antler point restriction

I was just thing about some of the deer that will never get to the 4 points on one side, do they just keep getting bigger and passing on the same genes.
I have just read some reports this year about not seeing the right deer or none at all after seeing them on the trail cameras. I will always believe this is just hunting. Because I don’t shoot a 150″ class every year, I enjoy every hunt.
It just seems that the alot of hunters are expecting a big buck every year, to me thats not the fun in it, I like being out in the woods, being with family and out there by myself.
I hope everyone is having a great hunt, deer or deerless.

I agree with most of your post, but part of the reason I hunt is the “challenge”…. I try to improve every year, now this is not possible and that’s why it is hunting, but MOST (notice I did not say all) hunters goal is to shoot a BIG buck…. that is just how it is… and it seems this is becoming increasingly harder, as more and more animals are being taken before they reach maturity. It is just a fact, urban sprawl has taken many thousands of acres of habitat, hence, herd numbers have been decreased (some areas you can shoot 7 deer) and therefore, any deer seen is shot, which might not have been the case a few short decades ago. To answer the question, I know there have been pen raised deer, that people would think, that deer will never be big…. then the next year, he is sporting 10 and wide…. genetics is just 1 part of antler growth, I believe nutrition and stress play just as big, if not more of a role. That is just my opinion.

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MOST (notice I did not say all) hunters goal is to shoot a BIG buck…. that is just how it is…

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I strongly disagree. Nobody I hunt with thinks this way so I doubt the majority thinks this way. The majority of active members on this site maybe but not the majority of deer hunters.

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MOST (notice I did not say all) hunters goal is to shoot a BIG buck…. that is just how it is…

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Must disagree. Nobody I hunt with thinks this way so I doubt the majority thinks this way. The majority of active members on this site maybe but not the majority of deer hunters.

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In my group, there is 8 of us… 8 for 8, would like to shoot a big buck… I am the only member here… who’s goal is to shoot a immature spiker ??? Notice again, I did not say most people would be unhappy with shooting a spiker, but a goal is something different than an accomplishment.

We have some common ground. They would be happy with a spike. Hopefully the majority of deer hunters are against antler point restrictions in any way other than current laws.

I am one of the hunters you refer to as expecting a big buck every year. It does not take the fun out of it, it puts the fun in it. 90%+ of the time its with a bow too. I too enjoy the deer walking by me, giving all the smaller bucks a free pass, just observing and always learning more. So even us guys that trophy hunt enjoy the hunt, probably more so than the the guys that go killing, not hunting.
I could spin this up even more with the theory of all the folks that want to just “shoot a buck”, whether its a spike or a 150″ class, they just need to shoot a buck. IMO I think thats weird and the truth is its to be honest, a year old buck is the easiest deer in the woods to kill.

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Hopefully the majority of deer hunters are against antler point restrictions

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I love this antler point restriction. For years I have been passing buck after buck only to see the neighbors sporting basket-rack 6s or spikes and or however else you say immature deer outside their house. Its just frustrating to pass so many deer trying to practice QDM but it never pans out. Hopefully with the antler point restriction I will begin to see improvements in my area.

Well said big G. I have been hunting with my bow for (hard to believe) 11 years and in that time i have shot a 1.5 year old 6 pt (1st bow buck), a 2.5 year old 6 pt, a couple of 2.5 year old 8 pts, and 5 other (3.5-4.5 yr old) bucks that range from 120″-170″. I have also shot a few does in that same time frame and when i just started out with a bow i was just happy to see a deer, let alone shoot one. Also, when i first started and saw a buck, i felt like i won the battle. After a while the little bucks became easier to pass and i held out for bigger racked bucks.

I agree with you when you say “most hunters have a goal of shooting a big buck” why else would they hit the woods year in and year out? I know an argument to that question is “meat”. Unless the person harvesting the deer lives on the farm i sometimes and i stress SOMETIMES feel that is a stretch. If a person was really into hunting for the meat, they should just go to the store or butcher shop and buy a half of cow. It would be way cheaper then having to buy a license, gun, ammo, food for deer camp, fuel, camper/cabin, hotel room fee, truck payment, four wheeler, hunting clothes, etc…. etc… etc….

PackingHeat…. i agree with you about “enjoying the hunt” and not shooting a 150″ every year. hunters that hold out to shoot big bucks have a goal that is set higher then other hunters. maybe they have shot smaller bucks and have also shot a big buck or two and feel they accomplished something special when harvesting a mature animal. The point is hunters who hold out enjoy the hunt just like hunters who don’t

Basically, we all hunt because we like to be in the woods for our different reasons. If the hunter next to me wants to shoot a deer i passed up, that is their right and there is nothing wrong with that. if i choose to pass up all deer until i see a wall-hanger, there is nothing wrong with that either.

Getting back to the original question about Antler point restriction. I did see a huge 6 pt buck last year while heading to the farm for the morning hunt. I would love to shoot a MONSTER 6 pt. However, if there were pt restrictions, that buck would live his whole life without being shot and it would be a shame to have to pass on such a great animal.

The bottom line is point restrictions can help improve the odds of shooting bigger racked bucks over time. The hardest buck to pass up is the 1st buck and it gets easier as you pass more of them.

Good Luck hunting and shoot “in your own eyes” a trophy

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I was just thing about some of the deer that will never get to the 4 points on one side, do they just keep getting bigger and passing on the same genes.

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It’s pretty rare to see a mature buck only having 3 points or less on each side so I don’t think one has to worry t0o much about this. Not saying that it doesn’t happen but I think it’s unusual.

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Hopefully the majority of deer hunters are against antler point restrictions

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I love this antler point restriction. For years I have been passing buck after buck only to see the neighbors sporting basket-rack 6s or spikes and or however else you say immature deer outside their house. Its just frustrating to pass so many deer trying to practice QDM but it never pans out. Hopefully with the antler point restriction I will begin to see improvements in my area.

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I sense an argument brewing. I’ll try not to be the instigator…

My goal is to get one for the wall. Just one. After that I guess I will need a new goal! Like one antlerless for meat a year if I don’t get a buck, but between me and my dad we can usually get one doe at some point.

I would actually like to see the restrictions where I hunt. Neighbor shot a forkhorn opening day and neighbor across the valley shot a 6.

Well I think its a great experiment. I have no idea if it will help or not but its worth a shot. I personally could care less cause I’ll hunt the bigger bucks regardless of whatever rules are in effect. I think you’ll see it helps public land and rural farm areas see some better bucks.

I have been bow hunting 11 years also and have never harvested a buck by bow but its pure choice, the arguement that “I only hunt a few days a year is just an excuse” I hunt dozens of days a year and don’t fill a tag but I don’t care BECAUSE I ENJOY IT. The simple fact of how many bucks survive to maturity is disgusting!! (Less than 5%) to have restictions when hunting sucks period but somthing needs to be done or we will get nowhere soon, with the deer numbers dropping on a lot of hunters hunting grounds the past 2 season, we finally have the ability to manage our herd effectivly targeting a nomore than 3 to 1 doe to buck ratio that’s needed for the whole herd to benefit!! Better herd = better hunts, they won’t grow unless you let them go! Shoot does you can’t eat bones! 1.5 year old buck is the dumbest animal in the woods during the rut(mn gunseason)

I would be for antler restriction if I can shoot a doe. MEAT 1st for me If I have meat in the freezer I will let every basket rack walk!!! If I have no meat

Count me to as one of those who’s goal at the start of each deer season is to shoot a big racked deer. However I’m happy with a deer of any mature size ( Buck or Doe )For that matter I’m happy without a deer as long as I’ve enjoyed the chase. I do not like the idea of a Antler Restriction for the reason being that this favoring the minority and not the majority of hunters ( Big rack hunters verses hunters ) As far as the idea of hunting for the meat I agree it is not cost effective. That being said I like the taste of venison and given the cost mentioned I like to have a deer or 2 in the freezer at the end of the season. There has been a ton of Big racked deer taken each season even without a rack Restriction and for those willing to put in the time and effort there will always be some available. Just my .02 worth

so gobblestopper, you think it is perfectly fine for the goverment to come in and force your beliefies down your neighbors throtes?

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It’s pretty rare to see a mature buck only having 3 points or less on each side so I don’t think one has to worry t0o much about this. Not saying that it doesn’t happen but I think it’s unusual.

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Unfortunately we have genes on one of our farms where the majority of the bucks have zero or only one brow tine. We would normally wreak havoc on these bucks to protect the better genes, but the APR takes that away.

BUT…being a shed hunter, I love the APR and it will be interesting to see what happens to this funky crop of 2.5 year olds.

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so gobblestopper, you think it is perfectly fine for the goverment to come in and force your beliefies down your neighbors throtes?

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“I sense an argument brewing. I’ll try not to be the instigator…”

So much for not trying too hard…..

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so gobblestopper, you think it is perfectly fine for the goverment to come in and force your beliefies down your neighbors throtes?

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“I sense an argument brewing. I’ll try not to be the instigator…”

So much for not trying too hard…..

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I didnt say anything!!???
I got a big ole stinky doe to skin in the garage. Best to make myself scarce for a while…

I guess Im all in favor of having bigger bucks around. However, I think in order to make the law work, they also need to ban deer driving in those zones. If not, you will be looking at alot of illegally taken deer, or alot of wanton waste (when they find out it was too small).

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so gobblestopper, you think it is perfectly fine for the goverment to come in and force your beliefies down your neighbors throtes?

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“I sense an argument brewing. I’ll try not to be the instigator…”

So much for not trying too hard…..

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I didnt say anything!!???
I got a big ole stinky doe to skin in the garage. Best to make myself scarce for a while…

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I know…. I just thought maybe we all should prescribe to SLACKS sentiment and keep it civil….

Do the guys on the fishing forums complain about size limits too? I don’t spend any time on fishing forums and I am curious. It seems that size limits on fish have been around a long time and people are probably more used to it.

I like the point restriction. There are a group of us where I hunt that have been doing this for years. Two years ago we got a new neighbor and his group shoots whatever walks by. So for me and where I hunt I like it. That being said I have a friend who’s dad loves to hunt but doesn’t get around the best any more. He wants to get out there and shoot the first one that walks by and then be done. I have a hard time with the law telling a guy like that he has to change what he has done for 40 years especially when you consider his circumstances.

I think you see the same type of division in fishing as in hunting. There are pure catch and release guys. I’ll use muskie fishing as an example. Every musky fisherman I know is heavy catch and release. However, throw in a big fish that could be potential state record. Now the line gets blurry and the debate ensues. Heck, even those goofy guys that fish for cats have a distinct line separating the catch and release vs. keep.

I’ve definitely got my feelings on all these rules, the unfortunate part is it tends to drive wedges amongst hunters and fisherman. We all know there is no shortage of evils out there trying to take away our rights.

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Hopefully the majority of deer hunters are against antler point restrictions in any way other than current laws.

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This is simply not the case from the surveys put out by the DNR last year the majority of hunters in zone 3 were in favor of antler point restriction.

Gobblerstopper-I’m in the same boat as you. Our farm we pass on many 1 1/2 and 2 1/2 year old bucks every year and see them shot by the neighbors. They just don’t get the QDM. They also don’t believe in harvesting any does, and think that we are hurting the population by shooting a few. During the bow season, it’s not uncommon for us to see 20-25 does in a field. Some folks just need to be more educated on it.
We started QDM three years ago, and I will have to admit passing on small forks, sixes, and small 8’s was very difficult, especially when then neighbors would shoot anything that walks. Fortunetly some of those deer have survived and are now mature. Now it’s easy to pass the smaller deer as we know there are some good mature deer living in the area. If you want the meat, shoot a doe.
Look at what Missouri has done with APR. The first couple years people have a lot of resistance against it, and now hunters over all satisfaction is higher than before the APR was implemented. Here is a good article regarding this issue about the APR in Missouri:
http://mdc.mo.gov/conmag/2008/09/experimental-antler-point-restriction
Of course, an APR is not a good idea in parts of MN where deer herds are low, such as northern/NE MN.
We had a DNR guy at our QDM meeting this spring, and he said our area(240) would likely be the next area to start the APR(might only be 3 points on one side, but it’s a start).
just my 2 cents.

I don’t think you should take the opportunity away from a first time hunter to kill any buck. That said, I’d be the first to sign a WI petition to go to a 4 point rule. There is a huge difference in the elusiveness of a 1.5 or 2.5 year old buck. Those bucks that make 2.5 years of age, have a much greater chance of making it to 3.5, than most 1.5 year old deer do to 2.5 years old.

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That being said I have a friend who’s dad loves to hunt but doesn’t get around the best any more. He wants to get out there and shoot the first one that walks by and then be done. I have a hard time with the law telling a guy like that he has to change what he has done for 40 years especially when you consider his circumstances.

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I’d like to hear some responses to that one….Please, I really need to hear them. Personally I’ve always thought of the youngsters in the point restriction argument. Never gave the vets a thought. But now I will,,and my dad is one too!

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I don’t think you should take the opportunity away from a first time hunter to kill any buck. That said, I’d be the first to sign a WI petition to go to a 4 point rule. There is a huge difference in the elusiveness of a 1.5 or 2.5 year old buck. Those bucks that make 2.5 years of age, have a much greater chance of making it to 3.5, than most 1.5 year old deer do to 2.5 years old.

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Well said Les.

You cant eat antlers so please tell me why they are so important? I really want to know how a temporary unedible calcium deposit on a deer’s head is so important that I should be forced to ignore my ages old instinct to pursue them for food and only harvest large antlered males. Rhetorical question Farley.
That deer is never gonna get scun…..