dbHunterNY Posted December 15, 2009 Report Share Posted December 15, 2009 Here in NY many hunters think that if "it's brown. It's down." Well we've had years where nobody was allowed to shoot a spike horn. Well next year I think it's very likely we're putting in a new set of rules. Basically if you're shooting a buck, it has to have three points at least an inch long on one side. My brother, father, and I can't expect many of the others who hunt my dad's farm to field judge a deer well. We figure this would be the easiest way to facilitate any form of management in hopes of letting the bucks on the farm get some age. Oh yea, and if you break the rules you don't hunt the following season. So what do you all think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blacktailslayer Posted December 15, 2009 Report Share Posted December 15, 2009 Sounds like a good idea to me. Hope you get some nice old bucks down the road with your management. I just wish I had a piece of land to do the same thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbHunterNY Posted December 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2009 (edited) Well a big part of it is getting neighbors who own a lot of land to do the same. Nobody wants to pass up anything, because they think if they pass it up someone else will shoot it. However, if they knew their neighbors won't shoot it then they won't either. We'll print out the rules on paper so then it's not hear-say passed from person to person, which ends up skewed. It's right there in black and white. The neighbors seem to be all for it, if it's set in place. All together the land would add up to 1200-1300 acres. That adds up to many people who need the will power to not pull the trigger. That's why the rules are needed to be in black and white with some penalty for not following them. Edited December 16, 2009 by dbHunterNY Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeaveragehunter Posted December 16, 2009 Report Share Posted December 16, 2009 That seems like a more than resonable rule. A few of our hunting group has access to our neighbors land (1800 acres). Two years ago he implemented a bigger than 150" rule. No one has seen one yet and they are all extremely frustrated. Point is, if its a family event, keep the rules reasonable and everyone benefits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhine16 Posted December 16, 2009 Report Share Posted December 16, 2009 I personally don't think that is the best way to go about it. Many of your 1.5 year old bucks (and all of your 2.5) can meet that criteria... at least, they do here. We have no official rule on my farms, but we go by age. If they aren't three year olds then we try to keep em alive. With you saying that you can't trust the others to field judge the deer, then my suggestion would be to set a main beam length and spread regulation. I don't know what is a good deer for your area, but do some measurements on your deer you've taken and set a limit. A 15 inch main beam and 12 inch spread should cover all your 1.5 and about half of your 2.5 olds. If you really want to let the bucks grow then try a 17 or 18 inch main beam with a 14 or 15 inch spread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbHunterNY Posted December 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2009 I personally don't agree it's the best way either, but for the situation I think it's a start. I understand you're point, however I don't feel I can just tell the average joe hunter who's hunting in the area to start measuring beam length by the inch through his binos. This year a 1 1/2 year old 6 pointer with great genetics was taken that would meet the requirements. However, in general, I think it may be a start. I feel it's an easy rule that will stick. Maybe we could say inside spread must be beyond it's ears, but that's about it. I feel it needs to be as easy as possible or it won't work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doubledrop Posted December 17, 2009 Report Share Posted December 17, 2009 we have our own buckmasters chapter here and we lease about 1650 acres. our rule is that you cannot shoot a buck unless it is 130 inches or bigger.now with that being said if you shoot one that is less than that then you must pay out $100.00 dollars to the chapter, this helps pay for the lease new equipment food plots and a few other things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdavis Posted December 18, 2009 Report Share Posted December 18, 2009 I think that it's a good place to start however I would make the requirements a little more strict as 3 points on one side would mean about 75% of the 1 1/2 year olds would fall into this category, but it may be different in your area. The most important factor is age, so many people set size requirements based on minimum inches; when in reality age should be the determining factor on which deer to harvest. You can have a 3 1/2 year old that would score 150" and a 5 1/2 year old that will only score 120"; based on the standards of many co-ops the 5 1/2 wouldn't meet the requirements and people would pass him up and take the 3 1/2 year old that has so much more potential. But I also realize that not a lot of hunters can accurately field judge deer. Give it a try and after a few years you can gradually start to up the standards slowly. If you make the standards too high to begin with you will do more harm than good as a lot of the hunters will lose interest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbHunterNY Posted December 19, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2009 This is just a starting point, because a lot of the hunters don't have the knowledge to field judge the score or age of a buck. We'll see how it goes maybe the following year or year after that we can try changing things to go by a spread of 15" or larger. I'm a bit ahead of most of them as I've been reading up on and practicing field judging deer. Even I'm not really confident. Hopefully, with these rules and mine and others insight, we can get everyone hunting on the properties to have the tools to field judge deer much better. I'm going to try and checkout the teeth of each to make sure the bucks are at least 2 1/2 yrs old and if not I'll let the others know so they can learn from the experience. I'm still learning though too, so we'll see. Thanks for the feedback. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redkneck Posted December 20, 2009 Report Share Posted December 20, 2009 (edited) I dont like any system that counts points. You're trying to grow deer to some level of maturity. If I could make the rules at our club (which currently is 8pts and no basket racks), I would go by a combination of spread, beam length, or weight. I do think it's important to stick to the rules, and either do as you say and make them skip the next season, or just set a fine for an offense, no hard feelings, just pay $100 bucks of whatever you think would sting enough. Use the cash to by seed/fertilizer. I dont know what your deer weigh up there, but believe me down here a 150lb spike needs to be shot. I'd give a free pass to anyone that killed a deer of a certain weight, spread, or beam length regardless of points. You have to pass up deer to grow them, you also have to cull them to keep them out of the gene pool. If I could make the rules at my camp it would be anything over 160lbs, or 15" inside and you are ok. Otherwise, bring back a 3.5 y/o buck with a decent rack or pay $100 to the camp fund and no hard feelings, second offense $200. Folks make mistakes, and I've seen where guys talk about a kid that killed his first buck (8pt) just because he was a little small, they also expected basically that every buck killed needed to be worthy of mounting - I think that's B.S. Edited December 20, 2009 by redkneck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adjam5 Posted December 21, 2009 Report Share Posted December 21, 2009 I have had antler restrictions on our land(60acres) for over 10 years now with anyone who has hunted it. About 4 years ago, NYSDEC implemented AR's in our Deer mgt. unit. So, our rule is now the law. There is a definite investment period with AR's. We are now seeing the benefit of those AR's. Less bucks are being shot, but better quality ones. I have no problems shooting does. I try to take at least 2 every year. Good luck with your plan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted December 21, 2009 Report Share Posted December 21, 2009 Good luck with it. Having a plan and having the neighbors on board with it has to be a good step forward. You can always make changes to your plan. We only have our own 60 acres plus the neighboring 30 here and the neighbors back behind us hold the "brown its down" mentality, makes it tough to see any deer get age on them but occasionally we get one or two make it to 3.5 or older. I try to only shoot older bucks, wife and oldest daughter are looking for 2.5 or older. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texan_Til_I_Die Posted December 21, 2009 Report Share Posted December 21, 2009 I think you're right on track with the 3 points idea. It's simple, everyone can understand it, and it's easy to carry out in the field. Now, with that being said, once you get everyone on board and used to the idea of managing the herd, you can get back together in a couple of years to discuss and hopefully agree on other better ways to improve the age structure. But the main thing is taking that first step and getting everyone to agree to something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolybear Posted December 21, 2009 Report Share Posted December 21, 2009 I've always thought if I were gonna get into AR'S I would try to imply a slot limit that kept everyone happy. Not exactly sure how that would be set up but I would think we'd see alot more bucks blossom into some decent 3 1/2-4 yo's. Might start with basket 6's and 8's with 10" spread and less getting the pass. That would weed out alot of the 2 1/2 and 1 1/2yo with potential from being killed. Anyhow, like has been said anything you do is a start and can't hurt the heard none. Maybe everyone will not be on board right from beginning and some mistakes will be made, but it's gotta start somewhere as you have done already. Sitting out a season sounds a little extreme to me but they're your rules to enforce. Maybe a season of doe only harvest for starters. Just a thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LETMGROW Posted January 3, 2010 Report Share Posted January 3, 2010 Something you might want to consider. Find a nearby QDMA chapter and talk to them about plans which are good or bad around your area. Join up and get informed even more. The Qdma also has a booklet out which deals with Cooperatives between neighbors. Check out their website. Lynn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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