I am one of the worst hunters there is but I am one of the most persistent you will ever know of. In this day and time IMO there is no sense in being allowed to kill 3 bucks in one season, especially with all the does the TWRA says need to be killed. At a minimum there should be a restriction of some kind on any buck after the first one. No restrictions of any kind ever on the first one. I consider a multiple buck just plain greedy. Once any buck, especially a young buck is killed, that is it. Recruitment of new hunters in my opinion is important and I believe a 3 buck hurts that more than helps.
Mike Belt, you are correct with your statement, just reducing the limit will not put a trophy behind every tree. It can increase the number of older bucks though and any increase gives more bucks a chance. If anything, more bucks need growing time in Tennessee becausae the percentages are against us. Not many of our bucks that do get to maturity will be giants, but there is a small percentage of them that do grow into either great bucks or even giants and they are showing up all over our state. Our bucks need even more help to get age than bucks up north. If there is NO benefit of any kind in Tennessee, then I do not understand the "trophy" regulations on any WMA. They should be abandoned since age on Tennessee bucks makes no difference as has been stated by the TWRA people on here and the biologist on here.
Sorry a dead young buck is just that and the more of them that die, the less chance there is for that small percentage to grow. I am not a "trophy" hunter as many on here may think, but I believe our state has great potential that will NEVER be seen under our current regulations. I try to kill the best buck I can and most every momma doe I get a chance to. I know of so many who will not shoot a doe at any time for any reason, but will kill 3 young bucks a year. That is fine and legal, but we should protect some of those young bucks, and some restriction on any buck after the first is a start. I know for a FACT our long gun season is so much more stressful on the mature bucks in this state also and makes vampires out of them, but that is something that will never change. True, the Kentucky deer get spooked in a short time, but you can go not long after the season and many of the better deer are showing up in the daylight. In my time in Tennessee, if you see a good buck and do not kill it, that was your ONE chance. Does not matter if he was a long ways away and never had a clue you were in the world. In many places of this state, the places that have great deer and most everyone wants to hunt because of the chance to kill a great buck, have shorter gun seasons and more restrictive buck limits than statewide. Another example of a great buck area is Belle Meade. I know the soil in that area is better, but why do the giants (there 200" deer on occasion) show up? Along with the soil they get some age on them. Don't think they all grow big there either. There are some OLD, OLD small racked bucks there, many of them, but that small percentage that have potential get some growing time.
Would not be a punishment of any kind 102, it would just stop the greediness and hopefully encourage more to shoot some does.
