Jmed said:
I wish there was no rifle season in my county during peak rut...lol. Seriously, many of your top deer states dont have a rifle season till after peak rut...i.e. Iowa, Ohio. Peak rut taking place after gun closes may result in a larger number of mature bucks than there would otherwise be...just a different way to look at it.
Each state sets their regulations based on the local conditions. Midwestern agricultural states have to have more restrictive buck harvest rules because the terrain is flatter and the habitat more open. In those conditions, killing bucks is much easier (because they can be seen and shot from great distances). They require more restrictive buck limits to prevent over-harvest. Although TN has such habitat/terrain, it is not the most common habitat/terrain. TN has a much higher percent of land that is very low-visibility. In that situation, less protection is required. In fact, gun hunting during the rut is necessary to allow hunters enough opportunity to harvest bucks. Without it, buck harvests (which are NOT too high), would decline dramatically.
As a secondary note, you do realize TN has a far superior buck age structure to Ohio? Ohio hunters slaughter the yearling bucks. TN hunters don't.
