no one said it had to be the entire state it would really be a zone or county wide thing

^^^^^^^^^^^^

If you want to keep kids hunting let them kill a deer, any deer without spots that they want to kill. Some of these guys would be very happy to have a buck only rule and minimum points state wide.

^^ More truth from R.H. Clark, with both statements.

If you want to keep kids hunting, they need to at least see a deer. We keep slaughtering the does we won't have many deer. I can "get in there" and really hunt and kill deer. They can't. They have to sit in a box on a green field. It's nice if they actually see 1 every now and then.

If you want to keep kids hunting, have some deer for them to watch...........

Posted at the same time, but yes.

^^^ More truth from Atoler

Atoler and Clark both are right.

You can limit your killin' and have some growth, but you also should let a kid whack a deer now and then to keep them interested. Both of those things work together.

If you're seeing a dozen deer on a plot but you're telling a kid "Sorry, we can't shoot those here now, we're growing deer." then it's not going to work. Waiting to see 25 or 30 before letting a kid pop a doe ... that kid won't be with you by then. He just won't.

Which is where common sense and reasonable ideas have to take hold, instead of mandates and "you need to hunt our way so we can all experience everything better."

I think this is the best post yet.


I've heard of hunters that will kill something every time they go, and they go a lot. I know of these guys who don't even want the deer they just shot. They apparently just want to see how many they can kill.

On the other hand,I can't fault a guy who meat hunts and wants to kill 3-5 a year for the freezer. He don't care what they are, he just needs the meat and he doesn't get to hunt as much as he would like to because he works all the time,or has too many family duties. He can't be too selective until he has his meat for the year. I have a good friend like this. He doesn't buy any other meat all year, and he counts on being able to kill a deer on the few days he does hunt when he isn't working.

Then you have the pure trophy hunter. I don't fault him either except that he things everyone else should hunt the same way he does so he can see bigger deer.

About the only one I can't understand is the one who would be very happy to kill 30 deer a year even though he doesn't even eat deer.

If you let the kids pop some spikes , 4 pointers and such , been my experience most will gravitate to what the adults do eventually.

Folks get all bent out of shape when a 1.5 YO is shot. But they'll roll a pretty 100" 2 or 3 YO 8 pt. The 1.5s are the second easiest age class to replace, the .5 YO button head is the easiest. Next summer fawns will be born and roughly 1/2 will be bucks. Those pretty 3 YO 8s are much harder to replace. Those same fellers wonder why they don't ever kill and older bucks.

Good point, 2dogs.

Not Truth CLEM an opinion. Just like mine which if kids see plenty of deer they don't have shoot every doe they see and will stay motivated except mine has some basis because before the liberal statewide doe harvests hunter recruitment was not a problem, but now that we have a liberal doe harvest and everyone says you have to let them shoot to stay interested which has resulted in low deer numbers in numerous areas we can't seem to keep them interested. Coincidence? I think not.

Bingo!

Great minds think alike

Good gosh. There's a fine line. You know that. Shoot every doe? No. Shoot NONE? No. There's a balance between those and when it comes to kids, they do not understand that. They want to shoot something and letting them whack a doe or spike now and then is not a bad thing. It won't decimate the herd. It won't scare every deer into three counties over and off every food plot forever.

What it will do is keep that kid interested enough so he/she will go again AND will be more interested in learning why -- if it is your personal or club goal -- that management is important and the hows and whys of it.

Just a couple of questions to ponder. Can parents not take their kids squirrel and other small game hunting to fill in for all that excitement and take them deer hunting fewer times not to burn them out on an empty green field for hours on end? Most kids catch bream and catfish before chasing that ever elusive giant largemouth bass, so why should hunting be any different? Just seems like a good way to get and keep kids interested in the outdoors, then they can decide what they want to do when they get older and making decisions on their own.

Exactly right. They won't care anything about going if you make them just sit and watch deer every time. They can do that on TV.

There is some truth to your statement Clem, but most of us older hunters grew up in your above scenario and we are still hunting and I never remember hearing anyone complain about seeing too many deer and kids not being able to kill anything. You don't have to let kids shoot everything to stay interested but chances are if your are seeing those ten to twenty deer in a hunt there will not be any problem getting the kid a kill buck or doe. Now due to the lack of regulation regarding doe limits in a lot of places you are lucky to see that ten or twenty deer a whole season which means the kids do not hardly get to see anything and it's hard to justify shooting a doe at that point just to let them kill something. I have purposely keep my club at six points or better to allow for kids and hunters that have not killed a deer to be able to kill something, but the majority of my adult members wouldn't consider shooting a six point. I wish common sense and reasonable ideas would work, but I have seen first hand too many times that is a rarity and not the rule.