I’d like to hear some of y’all’s idea on seasons, bag limits, zones, ect. We’ve hashed it out all over the site but trying to get a thread with concise opinions. I’m especially interested in Bhamfred and MBrock opinion.

3 Bucks / 5 does per season
Issue Tags
Hire more Wardens

Fire 1/2 the administrative staff.

You aren't going to get anything under control otherwise. I still don't think 1/2 the people hunting even buy a license much less follow some rules nobody is around to enforce.

1. Physical tags. 3 buck tags and 5 doe tags mailed to you or given to you after purchasing a license or mailed to you yearly if you have a life time license. Make it like other states were a deer must be tagged when it is found. Heavy fines for anyone caught with a deer that is not tagged. You then have 48 hours after tagging your deer to game check it. More doe tags can be issued if the first 5 are used up but are not allowed for use in counties where deer numbers are low. For counties that have really low numbers you could limit the number of tags a hunter can use in that county and limit the doe days. Let me add that I do not have a good reason for 5 doe tags it just sounds like a good number to me. We could start with 3 if and acquire more if needed.

2. Get rid of the baiting license/fee. Make baiting completely legal or make it illegal but quit charging us extra for a "privilege" I realize this one isn't going anywhere because the state probably makes a lot of money from it. So then I propose that half of the money made from the bait fee should go directly in to funding for keeping public lands/acquiring more public land and the other half should go into funding for hiring more game wardens. I have no idea where the money goes now, I am just giving my opinion on where I think it should go.

3. CNCs season dates I can't remember exactly how he mapped it out but it seem to make sense to me. But I don't think this is that big of a deal and Im ok with how the season is now.

4. Any one who purchases a WMA permit should be required to watch a 5-15 minute video refresher on hunter safety and common courtesy practices on public land with a 10-20 question quiz at the end that requires you to take the test over and over again until you get all the questions correct.

2 bucks, 4 does. Physical tags. You get caught with an untagged deer, stiff penalties like you see in the midwest and northern states. North counties, no Feb Season. To keep the number of hunting days equal between zones and historical traditions in place with regard to holiday hunting, take the 10 days the north would loose and just shut the season down the first 10 days of Dec for the southern group. If you need more does killed on your property and have the acreage to warrant it, reinstate the DMAP program. Get rid of most of the administrative staff, cut Chuck's salary and travel budget in half and earmark those saved funds exclusively for hiring more Game Wardens and give them the tools to do their job effectively.

1. More game wardens
2. More game wardens
3. Stiffer penalties for game violations
4. More game wardens

What Goatkiller said except more doe tags can be issued to participants in the State Deer Managment program as deemed needed by the Biologists working the program and keep as many administrative staff as truly needed.

Question: Should we lower the number of buck tags? Is this (3?) to manage buck numbers? What if we lowered it to 2? I know some people would keep shooting as they do now....but maybe they could shoot does if needed.

Most hunters on here talk about wanting to see better quality bucks or maybe kill that lifetime best, but if we are shooting bucks just because we have tags then we could be taking out future studs in our areas.
When I sit on fields in some pretty good parcels of land and see 6:1, or worse antlerless deer to bucks it appears we might consider lowering the buck tags for at least several years and see if it improves the quantity and possibly the age structure of the bucks we are taking.

Does would have to be managed by individual regions and parties hunting specific areas. I say this because I'm seeing the size of momma does getting smaller the last two years significantly. On properties I'm able to hunt we should be shooting double digit does every year and were not.
I only shot one doe and could've used a couple more. Zero bucks for the last 3 years for me.

Nothing wrong with it now

More rules, more rules, and more rules. Doesn't seem to be a good direction we're headed IMO.

This!!! You can propose all the changes you want. If they aren’t enforced then you’ve done nothing. However I do agree with the 3 buck and 5 doe proposal.

I must've been typing when abolt300 posted. lol

I agree with this post, ESPECIALLY the last sentence.

Keep it like it is now.

Hire more wardens

Enforce current rules

Fine the sheet out if violators for 1st offense. Hang them on second offense.

5 does per person wont change anything

2 bucks per year. 16” wide minimum or 1 main beam at least 18” long. Doe tags only given if in the DMAP program. Use tags and hire more wardens. Bucks must be checked in at county station.

Maybe this will cause a bunch of people to quit hunting and lease prices will come down.

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How are you giving the hunters in Marshall Co and Bullock Co the same amount of doe tags??

True, it always amazes me, I can't wet a line in Texas without getting checked, been checked exactly once in 3 years hitting public land hard 20-30 hunts a season. One time I got checked was before deer and was hanging cameras.

If you read my proposal your are not. You could limit the number of does shot in a county. Once that number is hit cut off does for that county and apply fines to anyone caught shooting a doe there. It’s the same thing the state is doing for Turkeys on WMAS. 4 “tags” state wide but you can only kill 2 birds on any WMA.

In other states they break the state up into zones. Everyone gets say 2 antlered 2 antlerless tags. You can then apply for additional doe permits for zones which have high zone numbers. State limits the tags in each zone to balance the herd.

Some zones in the Northeast (near highly populated areas actually) have basically unlimited doe tags while big woods has almost none.

X2