I am trying to come up with a way to allow hunting to accomplish management goals. My goals are actually quite simple. I want to take a serious number of does off of my property and increase the buck to doe ratio. I am not at all opposed to taking old age class bucks in limited numbers, I am just fine with larger numbers of older cull deer being taken. And there is the rub my cull deer may not be someone else's cull buck.
For a ball park definition of my own definition I will define a cull buck as one who is over 4-1/2 years of age and less than 145"
Without arguing over what is, or is not a "cull buck" which ALWAYS goes off the rails. What are some creative and enforceable ways to incentivise +/or punish people to get them to try to conform to my wishes? I prefer carrot to stick, in theory these will be friends, not paying trespassers. Too harsh of policy and they may become X-friends.
I know some outfits that set inch limits complete with fines. Again without arguing over the inches part how would fines/punishment be meted out in a far manner? You know the old communism slogan, from each according to his means...type.
I would really love to hear of some creative solutions. I spent countless hours sitting in a tree last fall pondering just this and have some ideas but do not want to poison the well of ideas here.
I have been around the block a time or two and heard all the excuses upon getting caught with an 18" 5x5 in the truck.
" didn't see the horns"
"I shot at one bigger and this one dropped"
"It's the biggest Ive ever seen and knew you would understand"
etc!
I finally came to the inevitable conclusion that allowing hunters only during doe season was about my best option since then any buck would be in violation. This would mean that only I can "shoot the wrong buck" and I can immediately write myself a "get-out-of-jail-free" card. Pull out another tag and try to do better upon subsequent shots!
If some of you have camps and rules on harvest I would love to hear of your policies.
A few pics of culls, because... why not
For a ball park definition of my own definition I will define a cull buck as one who is over 4-1/2 years of age and less than 145"
Without arguing over what is, or is not a "cull buck" which ALWAYS goes off the rails. What are some creative and enforceable ways to incentivise +/or punish people to get them to try to conform to my wishes? I prefer carrot to stick, in theory these will be friends, not paying trespassers. Too harsh of policy and they may become X-friends.
I know some outfits that set inch limits complete with fines. Again without arguing over the inches part how would fines/punishment be meted out in a far manner? You know the old communism slogan, from each according to his means...type.
I would really love to hear of some creative solutions. I spent countless hours sitting in a tree last fall pondering just this and have some ideas but do not want to poison the well of ideas here.
I have been around the block a time or two and heard all the excuses upon getting caught with an 18" 5x5 in the truck.
" didn't see the horns"
"I shot at one bigger and this one dropped"
"It's the biggest Ive ever seen and knew you would understand"
etc!
I finally came to the inevitable conclusion that allowing hunters only during doe season was about my best option since then any buck would be in violation. This would mean that only I can "shoot the wrong buck" and I can immediately write myself a "get-out-of-jail-free" card. Pull out another tag and try to do better upon subsequent shots!
If some of you have camps and rules on harvest I would love to hear of your policies.
A few pics of culls, because... why not