tvc184

As I have said before, the intent of the rule is not some arbitrary opening to fire a shot but the desire to get a more mature herd. I understand the desire to kill a deer but I went for six years without killing a buck (killed plenty of does however) even without the now required restrictions. Just because a deer might be close to the magical 13", it doesn't mean that a person should risk shooting it. Unless the deer is clearly over 13", it should not be attempted to kill it in order to ground check the deer. It is not like a fish that can be caught and tossed back if he doesn't measure up. Of course, a person can do what he wants and risk it but that is not the way it should be undertaken. We should be looking for clearly mature deer and not just the state mandated inch rule. I wish that the rule was not needed and that people were more management minded. That simply is not the case however. In my opinion.

[quote name="AFC77" post="908751" timestamp="1289756584"] So tvc184, your saying it has happened? What would the outcome be if someone were to get stopped by a TPWD officer and it didnt measure 13" but was outside the ears? Do you have any idea? [/quote] You are completely at the discretion of the game warden or any other officer. In all citations (game warden or any other peace officer) it comes down to officer discretion. If you are stopped speeding, a cop can warn you or give a citation. The same for not coming to a complete stop at a stop sign and so on. A game warden has the same authority. If you have a deer that is 12.8 inches, he can give you a warning, issue a citation or take you to jail and confiscate the deer. You can then be charged a replacement fee for the deer that may run $1,000 where they are basically suing you to restock the herd for the one you killed. It all goes by the game warden and maybe the mood that he is in. From my experience, game wardens use less discretion that other officers. They are put out there for basically one reason and that is to protect the state's fish and game resources. In a way it is not quite like a city cop that catches you going 38 in a 30 mph zone. Okay, slow down....... no harm, no foul. If a game warden catches you with 3 speckled trout in your ice chest that are 14" (1 inch under the limit), there is no putting them back to live another day with a warning. The damage is done. If game wardens are giving warning for close in some areas, great (I guess). I have read some hunting forums from different areas with the restrictions and some game wardens are giving a bit of latitude and in other areas they are holding it to the letter of the law.

[quote name="ST413" post="908931" timestamp="1289770740"] My wife took care of the 3 pt this morning. Dropped it off at the proceessor. Where a biologist aged it at 3.5 yrs. Said it needed to be killed. [/quote] Oh yeah. It is a 3 point and it is not a yearling, it needs to go.

Yep. Wait a couple of more years and watch the results.

Red Stag or Axis = Steaks, roasts and sausage. It doesn't equal pets.

Oooooooooooooooookay..........................  ::)

If it's a 3 point, take it out.

[quote name="bronco#34" post="902373" timestamp="1289312357"] i would say the crosby cougars .if the district didnt take 4 teams ,they would be at home for the playoffs. c mon man they loss to goose creek memorial  [/quote] I think that a lot of teams that didn't make the playoffs would argue that not making it is a lot worse than making the playoffs but didn't rank higher. I wonder if any of them would trade places with Crosby and still be playing this weekend..........

[quote name="PURPLE 4EVER" post="902175" timestamp="1289269048"] Just curious... How many tickets is Nederland allowed to sell? [/quote] The entire amount of the visitor's side. They can sell all 80 tickets.............

Just my opinion but I would never shoot a deer with buckshot at over 15-20 yards. It would be like one of the most unreliable weapons of choice. The same gun with a slug would be a different story. Buckshot if for up close and personal with not much time to shoot. Even as a police weapon, buckshot is for very close range at a potential moving target. That's my take on it. It is not the weapon but the ammo choice. Maybe you'll find the horns when the buzzards start circling.

A cull or "management deer" is one that the big time trophy guys won't pay for. When they fly in from out of state, they don't want to go home with a deer that won't look good on their wall. Some of the management/culls are some pretty nice deer. They just aren't "trophies".

I would think that anyone that doesn't make the playoffs would be very disappointed. I think that the LCM fans probably thought that they had finally turned the corner though after a long playoff drought. Starting out the first half of the season undefeated and then ending up with Nederland not having to win but only keep it within 11 points to make it to the big dance and still missing out has to be tough. After so many years of coming up dry and looking as it was a fairly sure bet and then missing the playoffs in the last half of the season has to be a hard one.

[quote name="bullets13" post="901800" timestamp="1289245820"] big boy.  you couldn't get a shot at him? [/quote] You bet I could have. My wife would have wondered about the $5,000 charge on the credit card though. We were there to shoot does, culls and spikes.

Yes, he was an 8, I had my mind on the 7 with now brow tines. Let me go do some editing.

[b]And last but not least, the last of our bow kills for bucks this weekend. Another hunter in our group took this 8 point that weighed 210 pounds. [/b] [IMG][Hidden Content]]

[b]Here is another cull that one of my group took out. He is a mature deer but only a 7 point with no brow tines. He would have been a decent deer with the tines. [/b] [IMG][Hidden Content]]

[b]This one came out and chased him off. The ranch might take him this year. He is a bruiser for sure. [/b] [IMG][Hidden Content]]

[b]Here is one I had out in front of my stand for a while Saturday morning. He has the potential to be a good one in the future. I aged him at 3.5 (maybe 4.5) years old so he has another 3 or 4 years of growing yet.[/b] [IMG][Hidden Content]]

[b]Not a bragger but he is my first buck kill with a bow. I have a few does and javelinas but this was a break through.[/b] [IMG][Hidden Content]]

[quote name="westend1" post="901634" timestamp="1289233470"] [quote author=tvc184 link=topic=75731.msg901621#msg901621 date=1289232843] We had a guy bring his 14 year old daughter and she got a 110 pound doe with a bow. If anyone wants to argue that a 30 pound compound bow won't send an arrow through a deer, I can tell you that it can. [/quote] Good for her, but, I thought you had a minimum pull weight of something like 40-45 to be able to hunt whitetail.  Is that just an old wives' tale? [/quote] It was changed the last legislature from a 40 pound minimum. That is why I brought it up. There was a big debate over a lighter bow killing a deer and would it just wound an animal and blah blah blah. People forget that a 40 pound recurve 30 years ago was shooting a wooden arrow about 140 feet per second. Now we have 30 pound compounds shooting a carbon arrow with a razor blade broadhead at 190 feet per second.

We had a guy bring his 14 year old daughter and she got a 110 pound doe with a bow. If anyone wants to argue that a 30 pound compound bow won't send an arrow through a deer, I can tell you that it can.

And this is beating a dead horse but for many (or most) leases, they can go MLD and hunt two months longer with a rifle and kill without concern of antler restrictions.

I believe that no matter what limit they set, they assume that you should use caution and not shoot a "legal" animal as if you could run out and measure it and find out that it is 13.001" and therefore okay to shoot. You have to draw the line somewhere and most 3.5 year old deer will reach 13". If they have a lesser standard, then 2.5 year old deer can be legally shot and that would defeat the purpose of a more mature deer herd. A more exact method would be aging them on the hoof and shooting a mature (3.5) year old deer but if you think people have a problem with horn width, wait till it becomes more subjective as, "That one sure looks 3.5 years old to me". I was hunting at a ranch and a guy killed a basket rack 6 point and swore it was a mature deer. The deer was a healthy young deer that was about 105 pounds and had a very thin neck and pencil thin horns. It seemed clearly a yearling but this guy was adamant that it was mature. When you set a horn limit, no matter anything else, is easy to measure. If they are close, don't shoot. If they are easily outside of the ears, fire away. Remeber that the intent of the law is not to kill all 3.5 year old and 13" horned deer. It is to grow a more healthy mature herd.

I'll show a better pic of that deer when I get home in a bit.

[quote name="ST413" post="900908" timestamp="1289171745"] Love the effects of this rule but it can sure be hard to tell if some of these deer are legal or not. [/quote] I think that is the intent. If it is close, why shoot?