Management - One Buck Rule

[adeeden]

I live in IL but hunt IN very reguraly (I'm only 5 miles from the state line). Since the one buck rule went in effectin IN I have seen alot more older class bucks. I'm a big supporter of it and wish IL would do the same in the future!

Jon,
     There's some proposals that look like there gonna happen for Indiana primarly shortening the gun season, moving it back a little, and adding a couple anterless only seasons with fire arms. If this goes through as it looks like it will I can see some DYNAMITE hunting coming!

[twitchstick]

Utah a one buck/bull rule as steadman stated. Archery deer is a draw now with few or no left over tags,it use to be a OTC tag. It will not be long before it is not a given to hunt deer with a bow in my state. Archery elk is the only tag you can get OTC in Utah anymore. Unless you draw limited entry elk tag harvesting other than a spike or cow is tough. Most of the anybull units are low elk numbers or lots of private property at least on my end of the state. Until last year when they opened up LE units to be spike units too I had to drive an hour or more to hunt a spike unit.
Antlerless tags are all draw,deer may take 2 yrs to 3yrs to draw and elk up to 5 yrs on a good unit. I am lucky enough to have 2 deer tags and 2 elk tags this year. My cow tag is a real low percentage tag,it was left over after the draw. So for a guy like me I would love to hunt a state that I could harvest 4+ deer in a year. As far as antler piont restrictions go I get mix thoughts. I think a person should be able to harvest what animal they like,as long as it's not bad to the herd. There is good and bad to it. In Utah I think the spike elk units/LE units did Utah elk herds good going from 19,000 in the late 80's to to around 70,000 now with a mass amount of 350+ bulls killed each year. The bad part is the deer herds have sufferd on some of those units pretty bad and it takes you years to draw a good tag. Years back Utah had deer units that were 3 piont on one antler or better. They ran it for a few years but went away from it. They had studied a 2x2 buck for I think 7 years and it never became bigger than a 2x2 so they closed it trying not to cause a recessive gene pool. I see it now with Utah dedicated hunter program(able to hunt all three season bow/muzzerloaders/rife) has turned everyone into a trophy hunting fools. Most promote antler restiction for deer. I see alot of real big 2x2's and 3x3's guys will not shoot because their not book bucks. Yet most of 4x4's you see are 18" to 22" wide bucks(3 year olds) but after that they don't last long. Last year I hunted a buck that was a 2x2 that was 28" wide deep forked and tall that would have went P/Y. It would have been a trophy of a life time for me. Now I like to harvest as many and as big of animal as I can but at what expence, Only being able to hunt every few years or at the expence at what is define as a legal animal. This will always be a hot topic and some tough debates so sorry for rambling on so much.

[RC]

I Gods country here in Ga. You can kill two bucks. One has to have at least 4 points on one side the other can be anything.You also can kill 10 does. Along with that on "managed" hunts on WMA`s they`ll tag your deer for you and will allow you to kill even more bucks on your tag. Good news for me because I hunt several WMA`s around home here and can actually and possibly kill 8 bucks in a year with only one or all being over 4 on one side.I did once kill 6 bucks in a year with a stickbow all within 40 miles of the house.RC

[Ragnarok Forge]

Washington is one deer a year so nothing has changed for us since it is always OBR here.

[Buckeye Trad Hunter]

Originally posted by Horner:
In Ohio it is one buck only, no matter how you choose to take it( bow or gun).  It has been that way for as long as I can remember.  I like the idea of only one buck per hunter, per license year.  Plus I get to take which ever buck I so choose.
When I first started deer hunting right around 20 years ago, you could only take one deer per year a buck or a doe.  Our population has exploded, you can now smack several doe's (depending in which zone you hunt) but still only one buck.  We have some really nice deer around, but I worry that the quest for the almighty antlers, might be letting the doe population get out of control.
 
The doe comment is a little off subject, but I just had to say it.

I agree completely with everything you said.  We have had very large deer here for as long as I can remember and I also agree with your doe comment.

[Mitch-In-NJ]

NJ is pretty liberal (not just politically) but also a bit confusing.

Different deer management areas have different rules but most are similar to the following:

Fall Bow - unlimited does, 1 buck.  Fall bow is statewide so you can hunt anywhere.

Permit bow - unlimited does, 1 buck if you get the buck tag.  Also, you have to choose the hunting zone (there are multiple zones in a management area) you plan to hunt.  You can get buck permits (and regular bow permits) in as many zones as you want but you can only get one buck permit for each zone.

Winter bow - same as fall bow.

The gun seasons are pretty similar but no need to go into that here.

So, a bit confusing.

Overall I think the state does a good job.  The bucks may not be Iowa monster sized bucks, but we have nothing to complain about.  The buck to doe ratio appears to be kind of high (to me) but I read online that our ration is pretty good.

All that leads me to the conclusion that I am on the fence about this issue.  I think we could probably choke down the number of bucks harvested for a few years just to even out the ratio.  Then again, maybe it is just my impression that the ration is too skewed towards does.

[Scrub_buck]

Up until a couple of years ago in all but about 4 of Alabama's 67 counties, regulations allowed two deer per day every day of the season.  Of the two per day only 1 could be a buck.  If you do the math for a 4 months of all weapons combined ... 4X30=120 days times 2 deer ... that would be ~240 legal deer.

A few years ago they changed the rule and still allow 2 deer a day for the entire seaon, but now they limit you to 3 bucks per year ... 1 of which has to have 4 points on one side 1 inch or longer.  There is no tagging method, but they have a place for you to write down on your license the information about your bucks.  If you get caught with a buck not referenced on your license, you get a ticket.  No call-ins ... no physical tag to put on the deer.    

Anybody else see the humor in this almost unenforceable rule???  Its still pretty much wide open ... there are so many deer processors in AL per county, most good ole boy's only have to risk riding a few miles to dump their small bucks off to be processed.  I hate to sound pessimistic about it, but I doubt a heavy percentage of hunters have changed 'their' hunting regs.

[overbo]

In my part of Va. it's 2 deer a day for 6 months(1st oct to 31 of march)I think it's 3 bucks per license.Our buck to doe ratio is way out of wack but I have seen improvements since this tag system has been in place.
One buck?
We would be back to a herd w/ way too many does again

[John3]

Everywhere I hunt in Missouri is covered by the 4pt. (on one side) rule.. I've seen a DEFINITE increase in buck size/age structure.
What a little time can do...
I would support a ONE BUCK only per season rule no matter the weapon.. Just like Kansas.. I had never seen so many huge bucks until I started to bowhunt SE Kansas.. A whitetail paradise...!

Here in Missouri we will never get there until the bucks are protected and given the time to reach their potential...

There is a reason Illinois, Kansas and Iowa are Whitetail meccas... The bucks have the feed, age structure and TIME to reach maturity...
John III

[hickry]

In our county of Texas... two bucks.  One has to have 13" minimum spread, the other has to be a spike on at least one side.  My vote's for one buck... no antler restrictions to go along with it...

[waknstak IL]

I think the lack of a rifle season and relatively short gun season in general have as much to do with the sizes here as anything. CRP ground is also a huge factor.  I'd personally rather see some type of antler restriction in IL than to to see us go to one buck. I think it would be more beneficial. Just my thoughts.

[Ryan Rothhaar]

Indiana's one buck rule has improved the deer herd and hunting - both buck/doe ratio and buck age structure - in the area I hunt dramatically, in my opinion.  You gotta realize that "big antlers" don't happen on many deer unless the management is also right - to let them age.  This is win/win since the "trophy" guys get to hunt bigger bucks and the entire deer herd benefits from a more realistic age structure.

Has also lessened the "weekend warriors" carrying bows scouting for gun season (and screwing up the area) from what I've observed.  Seems like alot of those guys just wait 'till gun season since they can't shoot a little buck early then wait for gun season to "trophy hunt".

Ryan

[mgompf]

I have lived in both Ohio and Indiana and hunted in Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky, all three are 1 buck states. I like the one buck rule because I think it promotes a more even buck to doe ratio by promoting taking more does. However I think Ohio has the best hunting not only because of the one buck rule but because they have very limited gun seasons in comparison to both IN & KY.

[Hopewell Tom]

Nova Scotia is bucks only (one antler 3"+) with a draw for does from a zone system. Gun or bow - it's one deer only. One zone 2a is so overrun that you can shoot a doe there and then a buck in any other zone. 2a has a lot of landowner complaints with people shooting literally in your yard. War zone mentality.
This year will bring some changes, apparently. No news yet. Bigger zones being broken up and maybe a chance for a 2nd doe in heavily populated places. We'll see.
There's always a big buck around somewhere. And some get shot. Our little piece of heaven here is home to about 6-8 resident does. Lots of bucks sniffing around at that "magic" time. In 18 years on this property, there have been 5 BIG guys around every 3 years or so, but they had no problem from me.

[KentuckyTJ]

Looks like the majority of the response is positive. Management is multifaceted and the next step I would like to see KY make is moving our gun season out of the middle of the rut, as a few have said and as some other states have done. Don't shorten or lengthen it just leave the deer alone during this time. I wouldn't even be opposed to closing the season during those few weeks to all hunting. I really think that would be a step in the right direction for all here.

As I've always said, management rules for wildlife of any kind don't need to be passed by politicians that have no idea what your part of the country needs as far as management.  Be pro-active and contact your neighbors and lay down a set of local guidelines (in accordance to state game laws of course) to follow that you can all live with. You'll be surprised that most are very open to new ideas for bettering the wildlife in your area (even the lead slingers).

In 1983 when I started hunting, if someone saw an antlered deer it was the talk of the town. If there is one positive to all the deer hunting on television these days it has to be the mindset of letting younger bucks go to mature. Back in the day a 1-1/2 year old four point didn't make it very long around here.

Good stuff!

Thanks guys.

[Ian johnson]

in my area of louisiana throughout all of gun\\bow\\primitive weapons seasons i can take three antlered and three antlerless deer

[Don Stokes]

Conditions vary so greatly across the country that it's like comparing apples and oranges. In the deep South, seasons are long and limits are liberal because of the thick woods and extensive cover for the deer. That kind of season in the corn belt would wipe out the herd.

I've hunted in a number of states, and the best buck hunting I've seen is where the rut does not happen during rifle season, whatever the bag limit.

[stevewills]

the one buck rules only as good as how many does you take out.where i live you can take 9 and a buck.all the does are bonuses.i know alot of people who only kill one deer a year and its not a doe they kill.i drive a route thats probaly 25 mile square.and drive 100 miles i see 30 to 40 deer an evening and i might see a buck or two every other day or so.but when i see one its usually huge ive seen my biggest deer ever 3 times this year.some close to the 150 i hunt.they are also gonna alow crossbows during firearm season and allow anyone over 65 to hunt year round with one...lots of changes not all good....

[KentuckyTJ]

Great point Steve, any biologist will tell you that keeping the doe numbers down is a good management practice. Here in KY as long as you buy the bonus antlerless tags we can take as many as you want to shoot in our zones. I run trail cameras throughout the season and I actually see more bucks that I do does. Along with lower deer numbers being good on the available food I think less does gives the bucks more territory to call their own which keeps them on your land.

[buckeye_hunter]

It has already been said on here Ohio is one buck. I personally like it since I usually see at least a couple big mature bucks every year(even on public ground). I would guess the one buck rule is the reason.

Ohio is also making it more cost reasonable to shoot a doe to reduce the overall population(15 dollar tags). I am a huge fan of that idea since I want the meat before the antlers. I like the look of antlers on a big stud buck, but meat is first.