Aldeer.com Forums Alabama Deer Talk Serious Deer Talk Forum Trophy Counties

A friend of mine who hunts in Georgia said his county is a "trophy county," meaning they can only shoot does and 8+ point bucks. He said that they see a ton of smaller bucks and have a good population of mature bucks, too. I haven't given it much thought but I'm pretty sure I would be in favor of such a regulation for Tuscaloosa County (where I hunt). Reason being is that we simply don't see many bucks all year. And, the bucks that are seen in our neck of the woods are usually ground checked by someone. Anybody have any thoughts on this topic?

If you are not seeing many bucks, you are probably not going to see many trophy bucks, I wouldn't think. I hunt places that are restrictive, but what somebody does on the other side of the county probably won't affect "my" deer too much, at least I don't think it would.

Just because you don't see many bucks on the land where or around you hunt doesn't mean there are some "Trophy bucks." Most mature bucks aren't just gonna go wondering around some new grounds. That managed to stay alive by staying hidden. We have some really nice "Trophy deer" in Escambia county, a lot of people would disagree because all they hunt is these big open areas where they can see a couple hundred yards. That mature buck isn't gonna come to a place like this, esp during daylight hours. You wanna know what there really is in your area you have to do like my family and I do. Get down in them hard to reach swamps and other big ridges that nobody hunts deep in the woods. Thats where you'll find your "Trophy buck." Yeah one might stumble out in the open maybe once or twice but you know as well as I do that'll be far and inbetween.

I'll post a couple pictures of two nearly perfect 8 points I have killed in the past two years here later on today. One was either 3 1/2 - 4 yr old and the other was at least 2 1/2 - 3 yr old.

One thing is for sure, if you shoot a 6 that is not a trophy deer now, that doesn't mean it would not have turned into a trophy in due time if you would of passed on him. My only point is we (the folks in North Tuscaloosa County where I hunt) do not let deer reach their full potential by passing on smaller bucks. Yes, there a trophy bucks if you hunt your butt off all year in the swamps and deep woods. But, for those of us not fortunate enough to be able to hunt all the time - bucks like that do not show themselves. Putting a limit on only shooting 8's and up would not only allow more deer to reach maturity but would also allow for folks to see more deer and be better educated about their deer population when taking a buck.

Education not regulation, but if you want regulation make it 10 point or better 6 year olds and older, 24" inside spread, 220lbs and a minimum of 25 points above B & C. If you want trophy buck status, make it trophy buck status. Yep, it sucks when all of those "other" people are shooting all your deer, so the gubment should do something about it.

Hey Fun4all, I'm glad you agree with me. Can't wait for those booners on my wall!

I agree, I do not care for "Big Brother" control. I tend to think we the people are fully capable of doing what is right without "The Man" over our shoulder. Each person can make a difference in the area he lives.

If your wanting big racks, I can say that an area I hunt in Texas went to 1 spike and 1 - 13" or larger deer. Overall I believe we are starting to see large deer more frequently. Still very few 24" racks in the woods but I like what I see to this point.

If, on the other hand, you want meat in the freezer and the rack doesn�t matter then keep shooting the first deer that walks out. "Can't eat those horns" you know...

I don't hunt for horns either. I also don't shoot the first deer that walks out, unless I just starving for some deer meat. I hunt the deep woods for several reasons. Yeah, it makes for a longer drag to your four-wheeler or atv if you kill one. But here is a few of my reasons for hunting deeper in the woods than most.

1. You don't have to worry about other hunters coming in on you.
2. I like hunting where the deer are not pressured everyday by weekend hunters. Or those that are out there every day riding trying to shot a deer from a vechile.
3. Again I do not hunt for "Horns" I never have and never will. I also do not shoot every deer that walks out.

Ttown if you do decide to start shooting every little buck that walks out, well, you can forget about those "Trophys" because they'll move to a place less pressured. When I'm hunting and if a young buck walks in early, I leave him alone. If it's within just a few mins of getting down, so is he.

Every time this subject comes up, there are always some that say "horns don't matter." But if they kill a big'un it's party time. ---Like heck, does a doe mean the same as a little buck. See what happens if a small 6 and a doe walks out on a food plot. I'll guarantee the 6 doesn't stand a chance.
Dang, it only takes a few years of self-control to get some older bucks in the population. However, some just don't have the discipline. A rack hanging from the shed's rafters by bailing wire, means something to 99% of the meat hunters for some reason. They really would not be telling the truth if they said they would rather kill a doe than a 140" ten point. To me meat hunting is meat hunting, and if racks mean anything, they're not just meat hunting. RANT OVER

Horns matter. Period.

Ive hunted Troup and Harris county Ga for over 15 years, both have a 2 buck limit and antler restrictions, and you have a far better chance of killing a big racked deer on the land we have just across the Chattahoochee in Alabama, even when the buck a day limit was in place.

Eskimo- so now you're making the argument that limits don't even produce bigger deer? (As illustrated by your example) I don't think anyone reasonable would agree with that logic.
I agree with Gotcha: If you get excited over big ol horns, then you probably ain't just meat huntin- why would it matter?

I get excited just to have the time to get in the woods and have the opportunity to see a deer. I will be in the woods tomorrow and I will not sleep worth a crap tonight and I have been doing this since the 70's. If you only get excited by seeing "big ol horns" then there ain't much difference between work and play for 99.9999999999999999999999999999999999999999999% of the time.

We all get excited when we see ANY deer. But we all get "MORE" excited by seeing a huge buck compared to a 60lb. nanner head. Do you seriously not understand that? Somehow I think you're trying to cloud the issue.

Nope, not trying to cloud the issue, but apparently seeing and killing deer with a gun must be too easy for a whole lot of people, so they start coming up with ways to make theirself have discipline not to shoot instead of changing the method where you have to be much closer like hunting with a bow and figuring out how to get the deer within 20 yards. But then it becomes too hard to kill that gee gosh golly whopper every year. Some people can't see the forest for the trees at times.

I'm not exactly sure what some of you guys are talking about anymore on this thread. My only point was essentially when you make a county a "trophy county," it is analogous to most hunting clubs' rule: "8s or better" and does. If you don't think that this should be implemented for counties with relatively less caliber bucks than surrounding counties - how can you make the argument for individual hunting clubs? As for eskimo's point of killing big bucks on the hooch right east of Harris County - don't think you would have that kind of luck if you went 30 miles west of there.

No Im not making any argument, but if I was it would be that there must be more to raising big horned deer than just implementing some form of antler restrictions. Its just a simple observation that Im not even sure that I fully understand.

Plain and simple older deer =bigger racks. Even a big six will have kickers. Only two things make big racks other than genetics. High protein food,plenty of it and age. These are the only things a man can contribute to a bucks rack. By making antler restrictions you allow them to gain age. Planting high protein plots instead of wheat and oats. What is so hard to understand about that eskimo ?

perchjerker - you're dead on. Thanks for the post!

Perch,
I wouldnt diasgree, older bucks generally = bigger horns.

The Buck Master said he would like to see an antler restriction in tuscaloosa county because the hunters there are ground checking every buck. Implementing an antler restriction is NOT going to stop this behavior. I have several hundred acres in Troup county surrounded 7 different landowners, 1 of which is the Corps. All of this land is hunted and much of it by people who have not quite bought into Ga's 2 buck limit or Troup county's 4 point on one side restriction. These plus maybe some other factors is why we have been much more successful on our AL property, despite any buck or antler restrictions. Now this is not the case all over the county. On the eastern side there are larger tracts of land and many of them have world class hunting, but they would have this also, even if there were no restrictions.

Again as I have mentioned before, I believe the way you change attitudes and minds is through education and proving that your way is better NOT implementing laws.