Wes Parrish said:
BECAUSE of antler restrictions, the best antlered 2 1/2-yr-old bucks are killed at a higher rate on President's Island WMA than they would be killed if there were no antler restrictions at all.
Wes,
I do not believe the data supports your contention. If you look at the age data for President's Island, (from the big buck hunts) I don't think you can make a case that the best antlered bucks are killed out at 2 1/2.
Age.....2 1/2.....3 1/2.....4 1/2....5 1/2+
Year
2001......0..........5.........0..........0
2002......1..........2.........3..........1
2003......2..........5.........3..........2
2004......1..........2.........3..........7
2005......0..........1.........3..........3
2006......1..........3.........3..........2
2007......0..........4.........1..........2
Out of 60 bucks taken on the big buck hunts, only five have been 2 1/2 years old.
Wes Parrish said:
And even those places where the majority of yearling bucks are fork-horns or smaller, if they use antler restrictions, BECAUSE of those antler restrictions, the best antlered younger bucks will be killed at a higher rate --- leaving fewer of the best to reach the older age classes.
Again... Not at President's Island. Every yearling buck killed has been a
spike. The 9-point rule has protected ALL branch-antlered yearlings. So far, the yearling harvests, on the spike buck hunts, have been:
......Yearling Spikes
2001.......6
2002.......2
2003.......2
2004.......2
2005.......2
2006.......1
2007.......1
I won't speak for Catoosa, because I do not look closely enough at Catoosa's data.