Antler Restrictions in force-Zone 3

[bowman12]

I just got my Outdoor News and Zone 3 in the SE part of the state now has antler restrictions.
It says Adult hunters won't be able to shoot bucks unless they have at least four antler points on one side, also adult hunters can't tag bucks for each other.
Looks like antler restrictions are happening for MN. It'll be interesting to see how it goes. I was hoping they'd choose our area to start with, but congrats to Zone 3.

[DeerCamp]

You know, I think that is a great law.. Here in Michigan, in the  UP it must have 3 points or more. The 4 or more on one side will deffently make harvest numbers drop. However give it a few years and that rule may pay off.

[namron]

I think its great,mabey? But as far as you can shoot with smokepoles thesedays, gonna be hard to count points at 100plus yds. at first or last shooting light.But at least their trying something!  

[mnmaverick]

It's a start at least. I'd like to see the gun season moved later in MN, but I'm happy that the little bucks in my zone will get to walk this year!

[rjohannsen]

I hope they enforce it this year!  Last year I had to tell the registration station about the law when I registered my buck, and even the DNR guy that was there taking samples didn't know about it.  What good is a reg if they don't enforce it?  Here's to passing on the little guys so we can get some quality bucks in MN for years to come!!

[BWarner66]

I have to say it is about time. QDM all the way. Hopefully this will lead to more does being harvested and allow those younger bucks to grow. In my opinion there should be no issue in shooting a doe over a young small antlered buck, although I know some people are dissappointed that they may not be able to take a buck. Down the road when they are seeing bigger mature bucks I am sure they will be singing a different tune.

[nromn]

First of all, I am a first time poster, but have been reading for a long time and appreciate all of the knowledge I have been getting from more experienced hunters.
 
I have a question about these antler restrictions. I hunt in SW mn on public land and every yearling I have ever shot (in my younger days)has had 4 pts on at least 1 side and I would say 70% of the yearlings I have seen would also meet those qualifications.
 
So to me it seems like with those restrictions, the young guys with superior genetics are still able to be harvested in the first year, while the yearlings with worse genetics are allowed to live until the next year (and pass on their genes) .
 
To me it seems a little counter productive that you can still shoot the best yearlings (and also most yearlings, based on my unscientific reasearch), but let the least desireable yearlings go. It seems like putting a restriction on shooting yearlings would be more beneficial. 
 
I have seen other posters saying this type of restriction has really increased the quality of bucks they have seen. I imagine in these areas spike bucks are more normal? Maybe my observations are not reality or my area is not representative of the rest of the state?
 
Since I don't have my own land, I am not huge into QDM, besides what I have read in DDHM. I have been passing on all yearlings the last 7 or so years (only been hunting about 12 years). But if someone could explain what I seem to be missing, I would appreciate it.
 
Thanks in advance and happy hunting!

[mnmaverick]

I personally have not seen a lot of yearlings with 4 pts on a side where I hunt in SE MN (which produces huge deer). I'm not disputing you nromn, but perhaps they were 2 1/2 year olds? You certainly can see 1 1/2 year olds with 4 pts on a side, but I wouldn't guess the numbers would be 70%. Most 1 1/2 year olds i see are fork horns.

[nromn]

Thanks for the response. They definately are yearlings. Small bodied with basket racks that are way short of sticking out to their ears and the longest point is only about 4 inches or so. But of the 3 yearlings I have shot, I have had an 8pt and two 7pts. Most I see are at least 6pts and I rarely see fork horns. You're right, its probably not 70% in my area, because sample size is a big factor in my experience because I have only done shotgun hunting so far and probably average seeing 4-5 yearlings a year. But like I said I have never seen a spike (at least not that I recognized as a spike, its possible I have mistaken them for does if they were a long way off/it was getting dark) and rarely see fork horns.
 
But i suppose if there is that much difference in different parts of the state, thats probably why there isn't an antler restriction in the area I hunt, because it wouldn't be as effective as it would be in an area where yearlings are primarily spikes or forkhorns.

[mnmaverick]

Interesting stuff! Of course the genetics can vary a lot by hunting area, so could just be that on my home turf the genetics favor small racked 1 1/2 year olds! Fortunately they all get big by the time they're 4