Comments on: Do Antler Restrictions Work?

By: Joe Servello

Joe Servello — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 17:00:06 +0000

Great to see the paragraph on natural age structure balance vs. rack hunting. Seems to be the one item that the nay sayers harp on the most is the trophy hunting issue when it comes to AR’s. More hunters need to understand age structure balance in the buck population here in NY… good jod

By: jeffrey

jeffrey — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 00:16:37 +0000

Without antler restriction the current sucess rate is 15% with 7 out of 10 bucks harvested not meeting the criteria being proposed. So if we impelment antler restriction along with loss of hunting areas due to developement, we are looking at single digit % success rates thats a hard sell at 90 dollars a license and this is coming from someone who always has said if I have a choice between shooting a young buck or a doe I’am arrowing the doe. I have harvested several 6 pts 8pts 7pts. and several does over the past 20 yrs but when I look in the horn basket I have to admit theres a few spikes 3s and 4s n there to. One spike was my first bow kill and I feel just as proud and grateful as I do about the 240lb 8 pt rifle kill mounted on the wall. There were a few seasons without seeing any bone and prayng for a spike to walk by most hunters start the season with hopes of harvesting a mature knarly racked buck then reality sets in.

By: John

John — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 23:44:12 +0000

I wish some of this info would rub off on the Antler Restriction Haters on this thread: http://huntingny.com/forums/index.php/topic,108.0.html

Great article. Thank you

By: Administrator

Administrator — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 13:41:09 +0000

Thanks for the comment Ryan … sounds like you know what you are talking about!!! Keep coming back.

By: Ryan Trapani

Ryan Trapani — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 19:21:32 +0000

From a forestry standpoint, there are other significant amendments in our state’s constitution that were written over 100 years old, such as the Forest Preserve. Though it may have served some purpose at the time, it turns out that “forever” is an awful long time. We, in Delaware County are experiencing an extremely high harvest of yearling bucks, while at the same time are left with a landscape that includes a forest that is becoming quickly homogenouos. Deer populations as little as 4 – 7 per square mile are overbrowsing their environment and “eating themselves out of house and home.” In a forest that lacks diversity in canopy stratums (vertically) and species diversity (horizontally), few deer can make a great impact.

It is crucial that on state lands that have the option for managing forests that this take place. Although the State of New York does not own most of the land, it is one of the largest landowners. More importantly, it serves as the role model for the public on how to best manage forest land. “Doing nothing” through fencing and forgetting in an outdated environmental tenet that should be overshadowed by hard conservation and management. Hopefully, the paradigm will shift.

By: David

David — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 23:41:12 +0000

Great article clearly written by an expert. Protecting yearling bucks is clear common sense that is strongly supported by the majority to super majority of NY hunters. I suggest we all send this article off to our local DEC biologist and to the powers that be at the DEC.

This is the future of buck management. How many more years of hunting are we going to lose waiting for progress?