How are the new rules going to affect deer population????

[Bigpoppa]

Do you think the buck size restriction rule for this year will have any affect in the future on population? For example , someone who would have been happy to shoot a little buck may now take more does to stay within the law. So in turn , more does will be killed yada , yada, yada,......any thoughts on this?
I tend to think that the rule changes will have little affect on anything. People who are trying to manage buck size usually have a more strict size restriction than the state laws anyway. An due to no tagging in mississippi , people who are not interested in trophy management will keep on doing what they want.
Mississippi deer management as it applies to laws is a joke. My 2 cents

[cwink]

It won't affect our camp. We are 14" min already..

[MS River Rat]

We are at a 130" minimum on 8s and 9s. We have not been shooting tens for the past couple of years, the last year of that thank the lord. So many clubs are on managemnet programs now, I dont think it will make much difference. Less and less hunters every year to. The rich city folk are making it to expensive for the good ole boys to hunt.

[crowder critter]

everyone needs to kill more does. killing does in the most important part of a deer management program.

[Greenhead22]

everyone needs to kill more does. killing does in the most important part of a deer management program.

You kill your does, and your bucks will leave. We found out the hard way with the DMAP program years ago.

[Bigpoppa]

everyone needs to kill more does. killing does in the most important part of a deer management program.

You kill your does, and your bucks will leave. We found out the hard way with the DMAP program years ago.

Dont kill em all!

[Greenhead22]

We weren't the ones that were slaughtering them. It was everyone around us but we caught the brunt of the blow.

[spike mc]

If MS would leave the buck rule in place and return to the doe tag process, where you had to have enough land you either leased or owned to possess the right to kill does (and have a dead doe in one's possession), we could dictate where the does were harvested and how many.

As it stands all the white trash and non-swimmers are shooting a doe a hunt and destroying people's well laid plans, by hunting small parcels of land next to good areas and over harvesting.

NO TAG, NO BAG.....

[crowder critter]

I was not talking about slaughtering does. In some areas, we have extremely too many does and nobody will hardly kill one as they are trophy hunting. We do need to kill enough to keep the population and buck/doe ration in check. It is extremely out of whack in some areas. A lot of people will kill every basket rack they see, but will not kill a doe. This does not make any sense to me. I would rather kill a doe to eat, and let the 1.5 year old buck walk. Thats just me though. But most around here have the following mentality "If I dont kill it, then the next fella is". What a lame excuse for being trigger happy.

[GILREATH]

As it stands all the white trash and non-swimmers are shooting a doe a hunt and destroying people's well laid plans, by hunting small parcels of land next to good areas and over harvesting.

NO TAG, NO BAG.....[/quote]
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Pardon me, but that seems a little ridiculous. Do you not understand that not every swinging d#ck in the state of MS can afford to own or lease large parcels of land??
Also, I could give two chits about killing a trophy buck, seriously. And btw, I don't consider myself to be white trash because I shoot mostly does.

But on your topic I offer the following scenario: I own 150 acres in Clay county and lease another 200 farmed acres bordering my spot. Bordering my land and said leased land is a piece of property a man owns that encompasses 4500 acres. Is my land too small to kill does on? Is his land big enough to kill does on? Should I get a ticket if I have a doe in my possession due to the size of tract of land I hunt?
Should the man that owns the 4500 acre property be able to kill does without a tag? How many doe tags should he get on his 4500 acre tract? If I'm allowed to kill a doe on my property, how many should I be allowed to take?
When should government regulation end on who can kill what, all in the name of management?

You say it's an overharvesting problem; with the number of does being killed on small tracts of land/bordering larger tracts of land, being too high. I kindly disagree with your entire post above.

[SWAG]

I am sure there are some areas out there that I am not aware of, but me myself, I have not witnessed a place that has been over harvested of does. Can someone point out these areas of the state where this has happened?

I am very much divided on the state regulations as far as deer harvest goes. I grew up shooting ALOT of deer. By the time I was 22 or so, I started looking for better bucks and letting far more go than I shot. Now at the age of 38, I rarely see a buck I would care to harvest. On one hand I see and enjoy the results of letting bucks walk and killing does to make room for added bucks to the poulation. On the other hand, I would not want to take away the opportunity for anyone to kill a deer that they felt was worthy of hunting. You can not put generalized regulation on the hunting maturity of certain individuals. This is a "growth" that each individual hunter will or will not make on their own accord. My son is way more selective than I was at his age. Maybe it is because he has witnessed me not getting as excited over a smaller buck or maybe it is because we see deer so much more often now days than we did when I was oung. Regardless, if he wanted a nice 2.5 year old 16 inch 8 point that came down a trail we were set up on, I would not hesitate at telling him to take the shot if he wanted that particular deer. Sure, I would know deep down that if that deer were to walk that he would be bigger and better in years to come. He is not a trophy in my eyes, not yet anyway, but to a 13 year old, he may be just what the Dr ordered. I hear Dad's or grown-ups tell yooung people all the time these days, "You better not shoot it unless it is something big, nice, mountable, so-many-inches, etc., etc., etc. You can not take away their opportunity to grow in the sport of deer hunting the same way older generations have. Looking back, it will be the growth and maturity that they remember.

Yes, all deer should be tagged. Doe limits should be higher than buck limits, at least in all areas I am familiar with. Antler restrictions are something that each individual club, land owner, etc. will have to decide upon and hunters will congregate with those they feel most comfortable with. I am not going to put a 140 minimum on my son or anyone else who hunts my land, yet I feel comfortable letting a deer of that size go myself. The trophy is in the eye of the beholder. That is hunting ethics at it's best and the state need not try to "socialize" hunting!

[stang67]

everyone needs to kill more does. killing does in the most important part of a deer management program.

If you kill the same number of does as bucks for a generation, the ratio'll be 1:1, assuming neighbors do the same. I've never been a proponent of the doe slaughters, partly because I like seeing numbers of deer when I hunt.

[turkeyman]

everyone needs to kill more does. killing does in the most important part of a deer management program.

If you kill the same number of does as bucks for a generation, the ratio'll be 1:1, assuming neighbors do the same. I've never been a proponent of the doe slaughters, partly because I like seeing numbers of deer when I hunt.

i disagree what if you have more does born that year than bucks you cant do it that way. i think everyone should join a camp with good rules (ones that are feasible). are rules are set and or better than state rules. i dont wanna hear that not everyone can join a camp b/c thats crap. stop living past your means. our camp is only 500 a year and we are starting to kill 16in deer after a 6 year program. kill your doe but put a limit on your camp we need to kill 20 a year on our place and at 20 we cut it off.

[DanP]

good post swag, my thoughts exactly

[stang67]

i disagree what if you have more does born that year than bucks you cant do it that way.

Obviously, but overall they are born at equal rates on average as far as I know.

I agree with SWAG: if you are proud of the animal, have at it.