Antler point restrictions

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  • outrider58

    Eats Bacon Raw
    MDS Supporter
    Jul 29, 2014
    49,815
    Even if they eliminate the one sub 6 point buck I high doubt they will make buttons anything other than antlerless. I have shot them before being in a small bachelor group during rifle and thought it was a pack of does at over 100 yards. They are normally easy to tell as they look like one lone doe and does normally some what group or have a yearling still tagging along. Plus less rounded on top between the ears, but long distance its hard to verify.

    I shot 3 bucks one day. It was the last gun day of the year and an antlerless deer
    came limping in. So I whacked her. Later that morning, as more deer came through, I killed another limper out of a pack of bucks and does. Later, another. I decided I had enough to deal with so I started cleaning them up. What I thought were all does turned out all to be bucks. They had dropped their racks early due to their injuries. All thre were 2.5 yo. Legal of course. They were antlerless.

    I have killed bucks(with antlers) thinking they were does. That's why I don't see the state totally outlawing killing spikes. Sh!t happens
     

    Derwood

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 2, 2011
    1,075
    DC area
    ^This kind of gets to my bewilderment that people kill 30+ deer a year. When I take a deer, it means I have several hours of labor ahead of me. Culling three deer is a huge amount of work. I just can't imagine wanting to do that dozens of times a season (unless you're a farmer with a crop damage permit and multiple pieces of equipment to move all the carcasses to a butcher). To each his own of course...it just kind of boggles the mind. I took three deer the past two years. I give a lot away and eat venison 2-3x/week and still have plenty of meat left.
     

    outrider58

    Eats Bacon Raw
    MDS Supporter
    Jul 29, 2014
    49,815
    ^This kind of gets to my bewilderment that people kill 30+ deer a year. When I take a deer, it means I have several hours of labor ahead of me. Culling three deer is a huge amount of work. I just can't imagine wanting to do that dozens of times a season (unless you're a farmer with a crop damage permit and multiple pieces of equipment to move all the carcasses to a butcher). To each his own of course...it just kind of boggles the mind. I took three deer the past two years. I give a lot away and eat venison 2-3x/week and still have plenty of meat left.

    Have wheeler, will travel. And yes, back then, my reason for being there was to kill deer. As many as I could. All the deer that day went to FHFH.
     

    Archeryrob

    Undecided on a great many things
    Mar 7, 2013
    3,064
    Washington Co. - Fairplay
    Most people don't process their own deer and have no idea how much work it is.

    My daughter has only shot one deer a year. This summer she tell's me "I'm killing three deer this year!" I immediately responded "You can't hunt until you finish the deer you have!" She got uppity the one year about "Her" deer so I labeled all the packs from her with a S for her. All her roasts are still there, back strap and one roast cut into steaks. I told her. "I used all your ground meat for you in Bologna and sausages and you have done crap (not the word I used)" ;)

    Shoot I process my deer and she helps me do hers and then I prepare all her meat for bologna, snack sticks and everything else. Her three deer drew the red line for me. She's gonna learn this year if I have to sit in the garage and watch her butcher from my turkey chair while sipping a beer saying "Your doing it wrong." just to make my point :lol2: She going to learn this year as daddy ain't carrying her this year and a dumbazz comment cost you some how. She needs to get another man to be her beyatch! :D BTW, she's 20 and its time for Fathering once again, she's too used to being Mothered.
     
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    lazarus

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 23, 2015
    13,678
    I admit to farming out the butchering to a butcher. Mostly cause my wife won’t let me do it at home. But that said, I’d probably still mostly take them to a butcher.

    I am happy enough with 2 a year. My family doesn’t really need more meat than that. But I wouldn’t stop hunting that year unless I was maybe up in to 4 territory. I’ve got plenty of friends and family to give meat to and I love hunting. I just don’t enjoy butchering (I’ve done it plenty of times on chicken and turkey and I don’t mean bought from the store).
     

    outrider58

    Eats Bacon Raw
    MDS Supporter
    Jul 29, 2014
    49,815
    If you want to keep a high deer count up and want easy butchering and better tasting add in some Sika. They could use cropped back pretty hard and they're fun to hunt.

    (it's been a while since we've had to worry about antler count :D)
     
    Last edited:

    SoMDSlugger

    Member
    Jul 20, 2018
    14
    MD DNR has changed the regulations because so many guys just want to shoot Bucks. Does have to be culled out more than Bucks, but, the new regs are how DNR resolves the issues we have now because guys can;t flex their egos with Bucks.
     

    madmantrapper

    Ultimate Member
    Feb 6, 2009
    1,528
    Carroll County
    If you want to keep a high deer count up and want easy butchering and better tasting add in some Sika. They could use cropped back pretty hard and they're fun to hunt.

    I did not find sitka so easy to hunt or fun. I came back so wet you could have rung me out and holes poked all over me from the reeds.

    Wasn't very pleasant for me.
     

    Bisleyfan44

    Ultimate Member
    Jan 11, 2008
    1,758
    Wicomico
    Our family land in Somerset County is surrounded by other private land where the landowners and farmer let their friends go out and shoot crop damage all friggin year. Because of this, we now hardly see anything during the season during daylight hours anywhere. So when I do see something, I want to be able to shoot it. We don't shoot fawns (mistaken identity aside) because of the butcher cost vs. pounds of meat. But we can eat 2+ deer per year and last year, we saw ZERO and we shot ZERO. Our land used to have plenty of deer before the shootfests began; now nothing. I don't give 2 squirts about antlers of ANY size never mounted a deer in my life. But if that's what pops out, I want to be able to shoot it. QDMA and their antler point restrictions are gonna kill traditional deer hunting; too much emphasis on growing "trophies". I just want to put some meat in the freezer. Hunting will one day soon become a "sport" for only the "privileged".
     

    lazarus

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 23, 2015
    13,678
    Our family land in Somerset County is surrounded by other private land where the landowners and farmer let their friends go out and shoot crop damage all friggin year. Because of this, we now hardly see anything during the season during daylight hours anywhere. So when I do see something, I want to be able to shoot it. We don't shoot fawns (mistaken identity aside) because of the butcher cost vs. pounds of meat. But we can eat 2+ deer per year and last year, we saw ZERO and we shot ZERO. Our land used to have plenty of deer before the shootfests began; now nothing. I don't give 2 squirts about antlers of ANY size never mounted a deer in my life. But if that's what pops out, I want to be able to shoot it. QDMA and their antler point restrictions are gonna kill traditional deer hunting; too much emphasis on growing "trophies". I just want to put some meat in the freezer. Hunting will one day soon become a "sport" for only the "privileged".

    It is less about trophies. Buttons and spikes are a lot less likely to breed a doe of any age. Older the buck and the more of a trophy it is, the more likely it is to breed. Possibly more than one doe. Also more likely to produce good, survivable offspring.

    And if there are trophy hunting guys and I know several, that means a disproportionate number of bucks get whacked. Which makes the herds really unhealthy. Which can cause serious issues.

    It mostly isn’t about trying to make sure it is all 8 and 10 point trophy deer running around. It is to make sure guys aren’t whacking 3 or 4 bucks of whatever size, especially before they have a chance to help breed does some. Throw in antler point restrictions and for most guys who aren’t hunting hard, it’ll reduce the number of bucks they take and make them more likely to take does.

    That certainly sucks for you with the hunting pressures around your property. I’ve gotta Hunt public land short of an invite from someone fortunate enough to have access to private land. So I don’t have the option of good or bad hunting opportunities on my property.
     

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