TheLBLman
Well-Known Member
The only real solutions to hunters' antler high-grading are
1) No hunting, including zero poaching (which is near impossible, as the larger the antlered buck, the more probable he will become a poaching target).
2) Selectively harvesting bucks based totally on age, where no bucks are killed prior to full maturity, such as an age of 5 1/2.
Shooting only bucks that are fully mature only has limited practicability, but can be achieved by individual hunters who prescribe to the idea. When a significant number of hunters in a particular area prescribe to this, they can significantly reduce hunters' antler high-grading.
Otherwise, we're back to simply no hunting, where it's the poachers getting rewarded instead of honest hunters.
From a practical perspective, it may be the single best thing hunters can do is to avoid shooting top-end 2 1/2's & 3 1/2's. It's much easier to simply sort "young" from "old" bucks, and many hunters can quickly field id a 2 1/2-yr-old buck as not being old. The trick is to take the focus away from the antlers and totally focus on the body.
1) No hunting, including zero poaching (which is near impossible, as the larger the antlered buck, the more probable he will become a poaching target).
2) Selectively harvesting bucks based totally on age, where no bucks are killed prior to full maturity, such as an age of 5 1/2.
Shooting only bucks that are fully mature only has limited practicability, but can be achieved by individual hunters who prescribe to the idea. When a significant number of hunters in a particular area prescribe to this, they can significantly reduce hunters' antler high-grading.
Otherwise, we're back to simply no hunting, where it's the poachers getting rewarded instead of honest hunters.
From a practical perspective, it may be the single best thing hunters can do is to avoid shooting top-end 2 1/2's & 3 1/2's. It's much easier to simply sort "young" from "old" bucks, and many hunters can quickly field id a 2 1/2-yr-old buck as not being old. The trick is to take the focus away from the antlers and totally focus on the body.