Older guy here -
I'm in agreement with young hunters being able to kill spikes, 3's, & forks - but if an older guy needs / wants meat - shoot a doe. I've seen many more bigger-racked bucks since AR than before. I commonly see more big 8-points, 9-points, and 10 points than I did before AR - and I've hunted hard for bucks since 1970. A 16" to 18" wide 8-point was rare before AR in most parts of the state. Handful, basket racks were usually the best you could hope for. With food sources being roughly the same in a given area each year, letting them get another year or two of age helps them mature to bigger bodies & bigger racks. Non-AG areas have seen the biggest improvements - AG areas always had much better food sources year-round. The bucks in the mountains around where I hunt have certainly gotten bigger since AR.
If AR goes away for older guys - I still won't shoot a smaller buck. And I agree with Pennsyborn in post #15 when he said the Rep. got a call or 3 from older constituents complaining about AR. He wants the votes, so he puts forth a bill to amend AR. IMO ....... with no research on my part - just from hearing guys talk about AR and bigger deer - I've NOT heard any hunters say they want AR to go away or change.
I'm in agreement with young hunters being able to kill spikes, 3's, & forks - but if an older guy needs / wants meat - shoot a doe. I've seen many more bigger-racked bucks since AR than before. I commonly see more big 8-points, 9-points, and 10 points than I did before AR - and I've hunted hard for bucks since 1970. A 16" to 18" wide 8-point was rare before AR in most parts of the state. Handful, basket racks were usually the best you could hope for. With food sources being roughly the same in a given area each year, letting them get another year or two of age helps them mature to bigger bodies & bigger racks. Non-AG areas have seen the biggest improvements - AG areas always had much better food sources year-round. The bucks in the mountains around where I hunt have certainly gotten bigger since AR.
If AR goes away for older guys - I still won't shoot a smaller buck. And I agree with Pennsyborn in post #15 when he said the Rep. got a call or 3 from older constituents complaining about AR. He wants the votes, so he puts forth a bill to amend AR. IMO ....... with no research on my part - just from hearing guys talk about AR and bigger deer - I've NOT heard any hunters say they want AR to go away or change.
