mobow

huntingson, again, I don't fault ANYONE for having standards and sticking with them. What I have a problem with is legislation putting restrictions on what antlered bucks you can and can't shoot and coloring it as overall herd health....Bravo Sierra.......It's about money, besides, w/ out these restrictions MO has had the healthiest deer herd it's ever had. Why wouldn't they implement those rules across the board, for the entire state???????

huntingson

I love it I was hoping people would get that.

I definitely see where you are coming from. I honestly don't know much about the DNR's management of deer in other states besides Ohio so I will have to take your word on it. With that being the case in MO I completely agree with you. The state should only care about the health and population of the herd, not the rack sizes of the bucks.

GMMAT

I "could" be mistaken......

BUT.....I'd hazard a guess that the hunters of PA are experiencing the healthiest herd THEY'VE ever seen, now, too. I think AR's are working for that state. I hear nothing but good things from there regarding the implementation.

Am I wrong, PA guys?

Cougar Mag

As davidmils says, what he describes is shooting and not hunting(personal opinion) but, its legal. Thats the great thing about hunting......we can all set our own personal standards or goals and as long as we do it lawfully we don't have to answer to anyone and can be proud. I bowhunt to please myself and not others. I know that when a member posts a picture of a deer(no matter what size antlers or of a doe)and they are wearing a big smile, he/she is just as justifiably proud as anyone else.

As for the ranch/breeding stock-walk up and shoot thing......its not for me and never will be. And quite honestly if someone brags up their trophy buck taken under those conditions, I am less than impressed.........but thats just me.

HuntingBry

GMMAT, no you're not wrong, but PA is doing things differently than MO and for different reasons. PA has antler restrictions state wide, not just in certain counties or WMUs. Also, PA has many more hunters that MO. In fact PA is always in the top 3 for number of hunters swapping out with MI, and TX for the number one spot. The 1 million hunters that would take to the woods on openingday give the term "orange army" real meaning. PA hunters also previously for many years only had one tag until bonus/doe tags were introduced so the bucks got slayed during gun season. The buck to doe ratio was so bad that there was not competition for does and the vast majority of buck were 1.5 year old deer. Money was also a driving force in this with the hope that with bigger bucks would come more hunters since license sales are the sole income of the PGC.

So, it is all relative. Yes ARs were needed in PA and have worked very well, but that doesn't mean that they are the best thing for MO or any other state.

tsoc

I enjoyed your answer Montana Dave! Success is the sweetest when you have worked hard for the result!