Would this be better than four point mulies?

[dougan]

Ok don't want to ruffle feathers but i seen a couple four points get er this year that were not mature at all and some cranker 3 points that will never be four's.So if a sheep can be identified as full curl why could a mulie buck not be judged by width a mature deer has to be wider than it's ears to be legal.?

[Steeleco]

I'd have to say "leave things be!!" More regulations would just make for more dead/un-recovered animals.

Just my $0.02C !!

[GoatGuy]

Ok don't want to ruffle feathers but i seen a couple four points get er this year that were not mature at all and some cranker 3 points that will never be four's.So if a sheep can be identified as full curl why could a mulie buck not be judged by width a mature deer has to be wider than it's ears to be legal.?


Bucks are sexually mature as 1.5 year olds. That means any mule deer you see with spikes on it's head or bigger is sexually mature.

The 8 year rule with sheep is related to reproductive success and survival of younger rams. This is not an issue with deer or elk for that matter.

[kwasky]

i would leave it as is. youd have to have aperfecet front view of the deer with his ears perfectly out. if he had one ear cocked a little it may looke legal but after further investigation would show not legal. i just thinl that it would make for tons of mistakes on shooting illegal deer that were thought to be legal and therefor more charges for shooting illegal deer. i say leave it 4 point or better. i will agree that there are some HUGE cranker three points out there tho. just my opinion?

[wos]

You could also say its a shooter only if it has brow tines but really its just an arbitrary rule to make the season longer. It seams to work to my advantage so I'm not complaining:)

[wolverine]

Oh Good Lord! Not more bullshit rules about antlers please. If the points qualify for the season, what isn't mature about it? If I could shoot a world class animal every season that would be just perfect but it isn't a perfect world. If it's legal it's legal. We can't all shoot crankers all the time. Besides, this province is lousy with deer.

[Jelvis]

Mule deers ears are how wide from tip to tip spread out for a three point or bigger? Make a guess?
Jel ..

[dougan]

Mule deers ears are how wide from tip to tip spread out for a three point or bigger? Make a guess?
Jel .. I woul say around 15 to 18 inches

[Stone Sheep Steve]

I woul say around 15 to 18 inches

Thought they were more in the 20-22" range?

SSS

[dana]

I've seen young muley bucks with 16 inch ear spread and older bucks all the way up to 27 inch ear spread. I shot a 200 incher that was only 18 inches wide, not anywhere near past his ears. Since I watched that buck for several years, I can honestly say he was at least 7 years old. Average lifespan of a buck is 9 to 10. So what would your new rules solve. Young deer would still be killed and old deer would still be passed on. I don't think you have spent enough time thinking your idea through.

[frenchbar]

any buck from sept 1st to oct 31st get rid of the 4 pt only once and for all!!!

[GoatGuy]

I've seen young muley bucks with 16 inch ear spread and older bucks all the way up to 27 inch ear spread. I shot a 200 incher that was only 18 inches wide, not anywhere near past his ears. Since I watched that buck for several years, I can honestly say he was at least 7 years old. Average lifespan of a buck is 9 to 10. So what would your new rules solve. Young deer would still be killed and old deer would still be passed on. I don't think you have spent enough time thinking your idea through.

I've seen a few from 180 to just under 200 that aren't even close to being outside the ears.

[Brian011]

there are too many different antler configurations in deer to go by width. the width does not determine the maturity of a buck. i think the 4 point rule is best to stay as is. its hard enough for some people to count 4 point let alone go by width, there would again be too many illegal bucks shot i think. either way, there is no actual way of determining a deers age by his rack until after you shoot it. like previous posts, a 2 and a half year old buck could be out to his ears, and a 6 and a half year old buck could have a narrow small framed rack.

[6616]

If we want a long mule deer season like we're accustomed to, and if we don't want LEH on bucks, we need some kind of control measure to control harvest levels in many cases. This control measure needs to be very simple and effective, easy for hunters to follow, and to allow for quick and decisive identification.

It also needs to be clear-cut so COs can enforce it without subjectivity. Even though antler point restrictions are not perfect (there are some pitfalls regarding genetics) they're probably still the least complicated and most workable.

I don't like antler restrictions much, but when you need a control measure they're probably the better of several evil options (LEH for example) in my mind.

But, nothing wrong with new ideas and thinking out of the box, we might come up with something even better than antler point restrictions someday if we keep thinking about it.

[Muleycatcher]

Shot a 200+ inch mulie that wasn't even past the ears, and he was very mature. I say leave it the way it is.

[swampthing]

The regs should read " 4 point or big honkin 3 point". One of the best bucks I have seen was a big 3. What a beaut he was. Big bar area. He was kickin butt on the half dozen 4 points tryin to move in on the does.

[Fisher-Dude]

Wider than ears up or ears down? Wider than one ear or does it have to be both ears? What about a buck with a split/damaged ear from fighting? Would poachers cut ears shorter to make them appear legal?

Way too subjective. We don't need more restrictions, we need fewer. The province is crawling with mule deer...let's eat a few instead of trying to stockpile them on dwindling winter range.

[landphil]

any buck from sept 1st to oct 31st get rid of the 4 pt only once and for all!!!

Amen to that! But sept 10th to nov 30th
Definitly against any width rating for antlers, it would be messy.

[CanuckShooter]

If we want a long mule deer season like we're accustomed to, and if we don't want LEH on bucks, we need some kind of control measure to control harvest levels in many cases. This control measure needs to be very simple and effective, easy for hunters to follow, and to allow for quick and decisive identification.

It also needs to be clear-cut so COs can enforce it without subjectivity. Even though antler point restrictions are not perfect (there are some pitfalls regarding genetics) they're probably still the least complicated and most workable.

I don't like antler restrictions much, but when you need a control measure they're probably the better of several evil options (LEH for example) in my mind.

But, nothing wrong with new ideas and thinking out of the box, we might come up with something even better than antler point restrictions someday if we keep thinking about it.



We have a control measure in place already, it says you can only harvest three deer per season in the province...and we are further restricted in how many we can take in each region~with further divisions by species [whitetail or mule] in each region~with further divisions on season openings in regional Management Units.

Just change things a little and sell doe tags that would preclude you from taking a buck.....instant ratio adjustment...and no need for anyone to suggest leh on buck deer...

[Bromley]

No need to jump all over the man here I feel like he is just making blog conversation, in turn, my opinion would be that it would be to hard to make different mroe specific regs for deer, although I do see where you are coming from on a conversational point of view

[mark]

Silliest idea Ive ever heard of!!!!
So if it's to narrow, ya just buck an ear tip off and say he did it fighting right! :roll:

[4pointer]

So if a sheep can be identified as full curl why could a mulie buck not be judged by width a mature deer has to be wider than it's ears to be legal.?

This is the dumbest idea I have ever read!!!! Leave the regs alone...they're already good the way they are.