NSDQ160, that's where the need for "well-run" hunting clubs come in. Ethics breeds ethics. And don't make harvest rules based on "biology" your daddy told you or you heard at the coffee shop.
I'm against hell-fire-and-damnation. Anybody can make a mistake and I ain't above making a mistake too. As long as the shooter or offender owns the mistake of, say, shooting a 2 yr old buck, the other members should forgive the mistake and hell, in the big picture, it's not the end of the world and the hunter should be able to take some good-natured ribbing about it.
But when the hunter starts making excuses and starts damning the buck harvest rules or the rule he broke... to me, he's not the kind of member we want. Not because he made a mistake, but because his attitude.
Oh, and I'm not accusing you of anything I just mentioned; I'm just saying that I get what you're saying. We don't allow drinking and hunting either. Sounds to me like you were in one of those not-so-well-ran hunting clubs. If you have rules, then ENFORCE them. If a bucks meets requirements, then NOTHING should be said about the buck! Again, it's about well-run clubs and most people can't adhere to such enforcement of structure or abide by it.
I agree.... you put out antler size (spread, tine length) limits and when you bring them in say you really wanted them to be 4 years old..... that don't fly. Got to pick one or the other. The drinking thing don't bother me as long as you aren't in the woods with a loaded weapon. Save that stuff for the camp.
