Arkansas Sportsman : AGFC probably will retain antler point restrictions
Posted on Sunday, August 12, 2007
Contrary to rumors, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission will continue to favor antler-point restrictions when it revises its statewide deer management plan.
Our current standard, since 1998, is the three-point rule. It specifies that a buck must have at least three points on at least one antler for a hunter to legally kill it.
In the public scoping meetings the AGFC held over the summer, participants favored removing the three-point rule on public land. Cory Gray, deer program coordinator for the AGFC, said the three-point rule will mostly stay intact, but public input suggests it might be time to adjust deer management goals in certain areas.
“I’m not saying we’re going back to pure no-antler restrictions,” Gray said. “The biggest thing in the Ozarks and Ouachitas is that they were not supportive of antler restrictions. What we heard in the Gulf Coastal Plain is that a four-point rule was brought up, a slot limit or buck of choice.” The three-point rule protects bucks with fewer than three points on one beam, but does not protect yearling bucks with three points or more on one beam. Most yearling bucks with those kind of antlers will have impressive racks if they live long enough, but many do not.
To protect that class of deer, some hunters favor a minimum inside spread between main beams to determine a legal buck. Some private hunting clubs already enforce standards that are much stricter than the AGFC’s statewide regulations.
“We’re still fairly new into this. We’re keeping an open mind,” Gray said. “Right now, we don’t know. Our draft will have some options. From our September meetings, we’ll get a better idea.” Although it was originally sold that way, the three-point rule was not intended specifically to improve antler quality. It simply improves the age structure of the herd by allowing more bucks to mature. Mature bucks, by extension, have bigger antlers than young bucks.
“Before the three-point rule, we harvested mostly year- to year-and-half-old bucks,” Gray said. “We had very few older age class bucks. We wanted to distribute that pressure more evenly across the age classes, and the three-point rule was successful at that.” Nowadays, most of the bucks hunters kill are about 2. 5 years old, but in some areas, it’s as high as 3. 5 and 4 years, Gray said.
“When you increase age, you’re assuming you’re going to increase antlers, too,” Gray said. “We did have an increase in antler quality because we protected that deer another year.” Basically, there are three camps in the Ozarks and Ouachitas.
Those who hunt on private land, especially in the north-central Ozarks, say the three-point rule has definitely improved the quality of deer herds in their areas. They are very happy with the quality of hunting they are experiencing.
Those who hunt on public land are divided. Many who hunt in the national forests don’t like the three-point rule. Some are not concerned about age structure or antler quality because they have no personal investment in the deer. They don’t pay for access to their hunting grounds, and they just want to kill a deer or two every year.
Many of those who participate in permit-only hunts on wildlife management areas favor antler restrictions because they believe it produces better bucks. They apply for those permits because they want a chance to kill a nice buck.
“Some of that public ground, especially in the Ozarks, is not a permitted hunt,” Gray said. “It’s free choice, and that’s where we saw the most people against antler point restrictions. Some of our other WMAs, where hunting is permitted and controlled, that’s where we got most of our positive feedback.
“ Even on public ground, you can have a diversity,” he added. “You can have public ground designated for opportunity, where you maintain a healthy deer herd and maximize hunting opportunity. You can have other ground managed for quality deer management to get deer to the 3. 5-year age class.” Perhaps the three-point rule has accomplished its goals on a statewide scale, and now it’s time to tailor deer management for specific regions and units.
“The age structure has improved in our deer herd,” Gray said. “If we go by managing for physiographic areas, we can tailor regulations to that area. Whatever is best for the Ozarks may differ from what’s best for the Delta.” To manage game or fish, you must have a baseline standard for the goals you wish to achieve. The three-point rule has been our standard for nearly nine years, and it has been very successful. It’s been so successful that Missouri followed our lead in 2004 and imposed a statewide four-point rule.
We’ve come a long way and improved our deer herd to the point where we can set some new goals. I’m optimistic that the golden age of deer hunting in Arkansas is ahead of us.
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