Florida makes Buck Changes

[BSK]

So what you are saying is antler restrictions are a good QDM practice, but not trophy deer management?

No. Just opposite. Antler Restrictions are a terrible, terrible, TERRIBLE practice for any reason! THEY DO NOT WORK AND DO MORE HARM THAN GOOD! (with a few exceptions, such as areas with very poor habitat quality)

In your earlier post you said you have no doubt ARs help more bucks reach maturity. How is that bad for QDM?

Let me add-I am all about big antlers so trust me, I don't want an AR as it is clear that they cause high grading, just pickin you for info

I did NOT say ARs help more bucks reach maturity (or if I did, I had temporarily lost my mind). ARs "save" a lot of yearling bucks from harvest when they are yearlings. That's their only positive asset.

 

[Shed Hunter]

It doesn't harm age structure AT Hiker, it improves it

I somewhat misquoted you in that last comment, but here's what you actually said.

I see the idea that 2.5s are going to take a beating and I agree with it. I'm not sure how much of an improvement in age structure I would call 2.5s. Logically ARs would create an abundance of 2.5s going into the new season. Couple that with the bucks that are going to be yearlings and it seems you might start to get an overwhelmingly high skew towards young bucks.. Possibly actually even decreasing age structure? We know that it is proven that areas can only hold so many deer so if this huge rise in 2.5 bucks is required, could that be a bad thing? By the end of season a fair amount of those 2.5s will be killed off and couple that with natural mortality you will only be seeing a handful of 3.5 bucks generated from the AR-most of which will have tiny antlers because they only lived because they weren't allowed to be killed?

I'm only thinking in theory here as I'm certainly not a biologist and have no data to back my claims, but I feel like it makes sense

 

[Shed Hunter]

^I did the quote thing wrong, but I promise you said it

 

[RidgeRunner94]

id be fine with a 1 or 2 buck limit but dang putting antler restrictions doesn't seem right to me if i want to shoot a spike who the heck is anyone to tell me i can't.

 

[AT Hiker]

For these reasons, the effects of ARs are "tested fact." You may not like the results, but the results are tested fact.

"A review of the scientific literature on genetics in hunted populations concluded that there is little evi- dence available to suggest that hunting, including selective harvests, has long-term genetic conse- quences. Reasons for this conclusion are complex characteristics associated with individual species and specifics of harvest regulations that diminish suspected negative impacts."
Dr Rosenberry of Pennsylvania

Now do you see why Im having a hard time completely agreeing with your comments?


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