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Antler Point Restrictions

Schu72

Well-Known Member
3,864
113
Streetsboro
My opinion is this. Let you regulate your property without big gubbermint fucking it up. If they want to regulate, let them regulate the public lands. But treat each one as its own. Instead of a blanket strategy that is not good for all.
Good luck with that. Just hope the amish don't move in next door.
 
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Floki

Junior Member
1,182
70
My 153" 14pt wasn't outside the ears? The 5-6yr old 6-7pts I've seen in the past may not qualify. The 1.5-2.5yr old my cousin shot this year WOULD have made your standards because it had 8pts. I'm happy as heck he took some meat home and had a good hunt. Honestly though it had the genes to be a 150" 8pt in a couple years. Guess I see too many exceptions to the rule to stand behind it. Kids can shoot whatever they want now. We eat 2 deer a year. If I couldn't find a buck meeting the regulations I would be in a quandry as to whether to shoot a second doe or not every year. I don't know. I'm not seeing AR helping us. Just my opinion.

You still could have shot your 14 point. If the six or 7 point was outside it’s ears you could shoot that as well.
A lot of places don’t hold 5 ,6,or 7 year old deer. Some places a 3 year old is a unicorn.

Yes kids can shoot what they want now. This would basically give them a better opportunity. Let’s face it what’s this saving a 4 point a small spike, a small six or seven point. For a year. Basket rack 8s could be shot etc etc . Heck as long as it has 4 points on one side. Good with that.

They could do it like out west with elk. One month ya can take a spike the next ya can’t the following is 4 points a side etc etc.

I think people as stated wouldn’t like it at first but after a few years. They would see some positivity out of it.

Maybe having smaller units in the state would be a little more beneficial. I dunno I’m open to new ideas. I think it would help were I’m currently at. Then agin tho as stated people would probably blast the does. Ugh 🤦🏻‍♂️ I don’t know the answer.
 
Well if that’s a fact, then there’s no solution to fixing the decling herd.

Yet when it was one buck one doe for so many years before the 6 tag limit. Things were thriving. How did that happen? If people were only taking one deer? Why is it not happening now?


When the population is at a lower level it doesn't take as big of harvest to keep it at that level. Also facts that populations of predators have increased bobcats, bears, and coyotes and they are part of the issue keeping the herd where it is. Then throw in some EHD in some areas and you pretty much have it.
 

"J"

Git Off My Lawn
Supporting Member
58,607
288
North Carolina
Well if that’s a fact, then there’s no solution to fixing the decling herd.

Yet when it was one buck one doe for so many years before the 6 tag limit. Things were thriving. How did that happen? If people were only taking one deer? Why is it not happening now?

Actually before that, it was one deer. Archery either or. Gun season was opening day either or, afterwards buck only.....
 
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Yet when it was one buck one doe for so many years before the 6 tag limit. Things were thriving. How did that happen? If people were only taking one deer? Why is it not happening now?

This is the best question I've seen on this thread.

And remember the number of hunters supposedly declined over the last few years also. If the average hunter only kills one deer, where did all the deer go? IMO opinion the best and possibly only way to grow the herd is to ban baiting and limit the antlerless kill. AR's in my opinion aren't the issue, we have world class bucks in Ohio at this point.
 
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Floki

Junior Member
1,182
70
Actually before that, it was one deer. Archery either or. Gun season was opening day either or, afterwards buck only.....

Actually before that, it was one deer. Archery either or. Gun season was opening day either or, afterwards buck only.....

I can remember it being one deer only back in the 80s. Still tho if people are only killing one deer. We should be seeing an uptick.

What year was it we had a two week long gun season? 86? 87?
 
This is the best question I've seen on this thread.

And remember the number of hunters supposedly declined over the last few years also. If the average hunter only kills one deer, where did all the deer go? IMO opinion the best and possibly only way to grow the herd is to ban baiting and limit the antlerless kill. AR's in my opinion aren't the issue, we have world class bucks in Ohio at this point.


Granted I am new to the baiting scene, and the opinion I am going to state I may change after a few years, but from what I have seen if you ban baiting statewide it may be actually easier to kill deer. It seems to me that when you have several neighbors baiting in an area the deer are pretty much nocturnal and just spend the night going from pile to pile. The move very little in the daylight. When relying on natural food sources deer sometimes have to move a distance in order to feed. Now I am going to continue to bait because if neighbors are baiting and I don't then the deer won't spend much time on my property.
 
Sounds like you are shooting yourself in the foot though. If bait makes them nocturnal (which I totally agree with) the bait you use will hamper your success. Without bait a lot of hunters wouldn't know where to start actually hunting deer.

Issue is that my neighbors bait. If I don't the deer simply lay by their feed piles and then still move in the dark.

Again maybe I will change my mind, but after hunting all of my life without bait, it certainly has been an eye opener for me. Now in the late season with cold weather and heavy snow, I am sure the baiting could be quite effective.
 

Floki

Junior Member
1,182
70
This debate reminds me of this video posted awhile back. https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1728830020483257&id=111309618901980&refsrc=http://theohiooutdoors.com/threads/best-i-have-heard-in-a-long-time.23531/&_rdr
I don't think anyone should be telling anyone else what buck they should be shooting, the one buck tag is working on Ohio to produce some big bucks while others can still be happy to have gotten a spike.

That’s a great video. I guess if we as hunters voted it down or up. I would be good with either outcome. It would be nice tho if some how we could all find common ground together to try to find a way to make it better for everyone.

I know it boils down to being your own conservationist. Would just like to see a better plan implemented through the state.
 

triple_duece

Ragin Cajun.
9,394
159
AR’s degrade your genetics. So what happens is most of your 1.5 bucks that make the AR get shot. What you end up with over time is letting inferior deer get age and reduce your quality deer because they meet the criteria early as a young buck. It’s been done all over. Mississippi did it and dropped it after 3 years, yes they saved some young deer while in turned killed the ones they intended to protect.

Deer hunting shouldn’t be about horns ever! It should be about balance and a healthy deer herd. Big bucks will come and go. The herd will be slim or plenty. It’s natures way... ebb and flow. It’s always about balance as it should be about our life.

Less deer hunters equate to less deer killed period. More hunters equals more deer killed, there is never a banner year after year. I’m a commercial-fisherman and we never have a banner year back to back or I’d be rich.

What some clubs that manage right in my eyes have a criteria of several things.
Be at least 3.5 years old
Spread of 15”
Main beams 21”
3 on one side
Weigh a certain weight.

You must have at least 3 of the criteria to be a shooter. This way if the buck will only be a 6pt, or 14” wide and things that you don’t really want genetically it can be shot. Texas has a 13.5” spread. Plenty of big bucks don’t make that. What are you really achieving by one restriction...down grading your genetics and protecting inferior genes. Just my pennies worth.

I have the best of criteria on my property. I kill what I see fit. I have friends hunt and ask what can they shoot as a buck. Easiest way is “if you shoot it, you shoulder mount it”. Nobody’s trophy is the same. If it makes you happy and willing to spend 500$ to mount it, I’m happy that your happy.

For the record one of my lifetime bucks was my first kill with a bow....a spike! I wouldn’t trade it for a 200” double Droptine.

More and more it’s all about inches. I could care less about inches some of my most memorable deer are nothing special about size, but are special in how I killed it, who was with me and the memory made at that time. I guess I’m different. I treat all deer the same regardless of inches, even does.
 
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Lundy

Member
1,307
127
Its not all that difficult to understand where the deer went. We killed them.

Tags sold in 2009 - 625,000, success rate 42%, Tags sold in 2017 - 429,000, success rate 43%

Deer killed 2001 - 2005 - 1.024 million, average per year 205,000
Deer killed 2006 - 2010 - 1.223 million, average per year 245,000
Deer killed 2011- 2015 - .991 million, average per year 198,000
Deer killed in 2016,2017 368,000, average per year 184,000

We killed the deer heard at the bequest of the ODNR in the 5 years from 2006 - 2010, the math is pretty simple.

IMG_6590.jpg
 
This is the best question I've seen on this thread.

And remember the number of hunters supposedly declined over the last few years also. If the average hunter only kills one deer, where did all the deer go? IMO opinion the best and possibly only way to grow the herd is to ban baiting and limit the antlerless kill. AR's in my opinion aren't the issue, we have world class bucks in Ohio at this point.

Hit the nail on the head with the anterless kill. AR was whatever for Pa I saw plenty of 3.5 year old before and there may be a few more now but guys are still slaughtering the 2.5 year olds so it's not really that much better. The problem with Gary Alt was his herd reduction program where doe season was combined with buck and tags were being handed out like crack. The first few years were a slaughter fest it was like a warzone the first day for years. It has calmed down a little but guys who hunt rifle just kill and unfortunately doe are just that much easier especially when everyone has 3 tags. Its Thursday night and I heard 13 shots just on my road from 3 to 5. I cam guarantee that's 6 dead doe at least and we got smacked with EHD last year. That's the difference between the two states way to.many hunters in Pa with no self control since they only hunt 2 or 3 days on the year.
 
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Iowa_Buckeye

Smartest person here
1,795
93
Linn County Iowa
ARs could be compared to slot limits being set on a particular lake. We have a lake out here that was decent to fish and then they implemented a slot limits. Now it is an incredible fishery. I'm sure it originally made some upset who enjoyed keeping tiny fish, but that was just a temporary thing as fish do grow up!
I do agree people do hunt for different reasons so the less regulation the better.
But not sure I agree with the debate on the herd will be overcome with mature skinny fork horns with narrow spreads.