Minn. could see antler-point restrictions in 2010

[MOSSY]

I said it was a legal deer, in the area I hunt you don't have the luxury of watching them for very long.My anaogy was about shooting at a moving target,not identifying it

[vister]

maybe you're right, about me not hunting to far north, where its claimed to be thick. maybe where i hunt is 1/2 cropland, 1/2 wooded,etc. however, don't let that fool you, some of that wooded land is darn right impassible river bottom, and very dense tag alder with tamarak. you don't even see the deer in it when your are making the drive, but ya hear em just steps away.

as far north as i have hunted would be the huntersville state forest area. that there is some dense stuff too, especially all of the hazelnut brush growing up.

But, I knew exactly what every deer in my life has looked like before i pulled the trigger. its called "identifying your target."

moose hunters in alaska have to be able to identify the moose by overall spread. has to be 50" or wider. Now i think that is more difficult than counting the points on a deer. If it is so thick where one hunts, i'm guessing the animal is relatively close to you when you do see it, making it easier to count points.

if its running through this, "thick" cover, and you don't have a window to count points, i'm guessing there isn't much of a window for an ethical shot either.

[MOSSY]

I never said I was shooting at running deer in thick woods

lets say the buck is walking through your only shooting lane in that direction , you have seen antlers, but not enough time to count if it was three or four on a side,180 plus pounds , only deer you've seen all season , standing broadside shot , one hundred yards.sure dooesn't seem like I should have to pass it up , so somebody else can shoot it next year. Kind of like saying don't shoot that immature drake mallard. He will be bigger and prettier next year

[sparkydm]

Amen!

[Jameson]

does it actually bother you that much that you would have to let a six pointer walk till another year?

[PEATMOSS]

Sad news. Hunting and fishing traditions are inching ever closer to a Europeon model.

[52luge]

All that Horn-Porn on TV is making people dillusional. For Gods sake, can't people just go out and hunt and have fun? No, it's to be g-2 this, cull buck that, Pope and Crockett ,blah blah Blah. I'm waiting for S.D to implement a tail feather restriction on pheasants. If you want to shoot a big buck, great! Put in the time. If you want to shoot a small buck or a doe, great. Just make clean, ethical kills, be curtious to your fellow hunters and be safe. As long as the deer arn't starving, are healthy and arn't overpopulating, I'd say were in fine shape.

[skee0025]

"a biologist with the Quality Deer Management Association, said about 60 percent of its bucks harvested in Minnesota are yearlings"

Seems the Pro Antler point people cant even get their stats straight. I've been reading the posts for several months and everyone has been throwing out 90% as the number of yearlings harvested, now a Biologist says its more like 60%. One would think that before cramming this scat down peoples throats by force of law they would at least try to get their facts straight.

[walleye365]

i agree with ya 52luge

[DoubleLunger]

We can only wish/HOPE for this to come about. I believe that after a hunter(no matter what their age) has harvested a buck, from then on it should be a 8-pt minimum. There are plenty of tasty little does out there to eat. LET THE HORNS GROW!!!!!!!

[vister]

sounds like you don't value the quality of the deer population. all you care about is shooting a deer. thats great, but don't cut my opinion tree down because you think i am a 100% trophy hunter, and could care less about the meat. If you ask me, i personally believe that donating meat to the food shelf isn't ethical.

their, i said it. I personally believe that the whole venison donation is a bunch of bologna. some hunters don't actually go into the season thinking I am going to donate a deer this year. its because they shot more than they needed. and how many backstraps actually get donated??? If you want to donate meat to the shelf, buy 1/2 a beef and give that away.

How about another suggestion. Why don't they make the only legal way to harvest a buck with a firearm, is to be successfully drawn in a lottery, and make party hunting for buck illegal. seems like a better idea, maybe just more tolerable, than AR to the people who who don't favor seeing bigger bucks

[tednugefan]

i can only hope we dont get an antler restriction. its hard enough hunting up north west of two harbors. every one that hunts up there know's how hard the winters can be. S@#t im sure this year will be a hard year with all the winter storms they got. im sorry our deer dont have corn fields or whatever to run out in and feed in. some of us would rather hunt and not have to count antlers. most of us that hunt up there are lucky to see a deer during the weekend. thats just my .02

[52luge]

I have nothing against trophy hunting at all. I think it's fine, it's just not my top priority when we deer hunt. I also value the the quality of the deer population. Right now we have oportunities to shoot big ones, little ones and everything in between. It's a choice. Obviously from all the photos in Outdoor News, there are plenty of big boys out there. You just have to put in the time. What I don't want to see is a few trophy bowhunters make rules for the majority of all deer hunters. It would be like me saying the only way a grouse, woodcock or pheasant could be shot is over a pointing dog. Thats MY opinion, but I sure wouldn't want everyone else to have to comply.

[tednugefan]

last year i shot a deer in a mbrb metro bow hunt just to donate. you know what, the butcher was telling us they wont take a deer if part of its been cut out just because of risk of diseases or something. they have the right to turn down any deer they think isnt acceptable to the standards. they check everything on the deer before they agree to take it, then the state has you sign some paperwork.

[lungdeflator]

The article said they were meeting in mid March? Does anybody know the out come of the meeting? We hunt in northern minnesota and north of Brimson, MN. We continue to fill 1.5 chest freezers with venison every year and by august all of it is gone. We eat what we kill and have never given any away to food shelves. To us, a 4.5 year old buck doesnt taste much different then a doe fawn. I would agree with the antler point restrictions down south but there needs to be a group that gets out of the concrete jungle, aka twin cities, and sees what is really going on. Southern MN is so much different then Norhtern MN its really too bad that more people dont realize that.

[DoubleLunger]

Vister, if you were talking to me, you were way off base. I hunt for the meat more than the kill, but there is nothing like a short blood trail. My family alone (3) eat at least 3-4 a year. I believe that if you don't eat what you kill, you should't hunt. Go play BUCK HUNTER at the bar.

[picksbigwagon]

I think those begging for AR are selfishly hoping for a big mature buck chanined 20 yards from their deer stands with a little "you're welcome" note from the DNR.

Making me apply for a buck tag to shoot one with my shotgun and then telling me it has to have 8 points is unacceptable when you don't have to apply for a buck tag to use your bow. If you want the DNR to become that stringent, then lets take a 3 or 4 year hiatus on all buck hunting, think of all the mosters running around in 2014. Better yet, I would really like to see NO ONE HUNTING from 2nd week of october until the 1st week of December. No firearms, muzzloaders or bows.

[charliepete]

I hope we never see an antler point restriction. I've done enough hunting and get to spend enough time to pass on small bucks, not everyone has the same opportunity. My good hunting buddy basically gets 2 days a year to dedicate to deer hunting. If some folks want to shoot big deer, good for them. Let them put the time in and work for it. I just don't think the need for big bucks should impinge on people who would be happy with any old deer.

[DoubleLunger]

Have at it Bambi killers.

[tednugefan]

lungdeflator where do you hunt up there. my cabin that i hunt at is in brimson

[PEATMOSS]

Anyone read the commentary in this weeks Mn. Outdoor News? The title is Hornography. Good read. It's nice to see those stand up and not be intimidated, even when people start calling names. Like Bambi killers.

[MOSSY]

lungdeflater and charliepete you are both right on the money

[vister]

I wasn't talking to you. by the way, currently, with bow or muzzleloader, you automatically get a doe/buck tag. lottery areas only need doe applications for use of a rifle. if some of you would have read the original post in this thread, you would have read the first line, talking about BLUFF country. I'm not saying making it statewide. just use it in zones where it is more applicable. but it would be nice statewide.

but why not apply for a buck tag to shoot one with a rifle. if successful, then shoot any horned deer ya want. how is that any different then having to apply for an anterless permit, when 1/2 of them are slapped on bucks anyways?

[Jameson]

Why make just the rifle hunters apply for a buck tag? Everyone or no one!

Yes, muzzleloaders and archers should have to apply for a doe tag with the regs we have now, but special interest groups interested in their own hunting, and not groups interested in the overall health of the herd, control(or at least adjust) our regs.

[CSTPETER]

I think those begging for AR are selfishly hoping for a big mature buck chanined 20 yards from their deer stands with a little "you're welcome" note from the DNR.

Making me apply for a buck tag to shoot one with my shotgun and then telling me it has to have 8 points is unacceptable when you don't have to apply for a buck tag to use your bow. If you want the DNR to become that stringent, then lets take a 3 or 4 year hiatus on all buck hunting, think of all the mosters running around in 2014. Better yet, I would really like to see NO ONE HUNTING from 2nd week of october until the 1st week of December. No firearms, muzzloaders or bows.

Wow!!! PBW, Pretty clueless statement... and coming from a moderator?!

I'd say that those in across the board opposition to any attempt at managing for more than a shooting gallery are going to need to take the blinders off and learn a little more discretion and patience. You guys all act like it's your god given right to shoot any animal that walks along without regard for the the health of the herd or the satisfaction of your neighbors hunt. It's pretty obvious we all want different things from our hunt. Some want meat, some want trophy's. The problem is that the state management policy is right now geared toward the Non quality contingent 100%. There needs to be a balanced approach to management that takes into account the wishes of all camps, not just the brown it's down point of view.