I don't see the AR's spreading too deep into south and west Texas. The ranchers there have TPWD by the short hairs, and will never tolerate it. Besides, they have the high protein browse and generally wider genetics, along with larger land parcels and hunters who are, mostly, more management minded. the hill country region is subject to see some AR's in the future. but TPWD's efforts seem to be focused on east and northeast Texas for the time being.
I know all too well about the hunters killing younger bucks. While I don't agree with it as a whole, i do not think that hunters who are only able to get out in the woods once or twice a year should be alienated either. TPWD says that is why the spike allowance was left in there. I think it was left in there as a result from them listening to wildlife biologists who oversee management of much larger heerds, on much larger pieces of property. Their reasoning is usually that a spike is typically a late fawn who just didn't have the time to develope more horns. i can agree with that train of thought. On larger ranches that are managed for trophy animals, they have enough density to weed out these deer that will always be a year behind their peers. That's where the flaw is, in implementing this strategy in East Tx. Numbers are already low in east Tx compared to southern and western regions. That in itself means more doe will be bred in the second or even third heat cycle, thus producing more spikes next year. This is the number one flaw I see.
Number two is the allowance of hunter to kill not one, but TWO spikes a year. Or one spike and one "mature" deer. Like I said earlier, most of the AR counties were previously one buck counties. So this is another major flaw.
Yet another is; Setting a 13" or wider rule creates a mindset in what I affectionately call "Walmart hunters" (hunters who can, and do, buy everything they use to hut from Walmart). A large amount of people will see a deer over 13" and instantly feel compelled to shoot it. hey will give little, if any, consideration to the deer's age, tine length, mass, or anything but the fact that the deer is over 13" wide. It sets a standard, and once that standard is met the deer has a big target on it.
Then there are all of the arguments and speculation that the AR laws are strictly revenue generators for the TPWD. I don't think that was the major motivation for them. But I know the TPWD doesn't mind the money they bring in.
I have discussed AR's with a couple of game Wardens. BTW, it's scary how little many GW's actually know about animals. A good number of them are little more than peace officers. Don't take that to mean i do not respect them. But they are being tasked with enforcing laws that derive from things they might have little understanding of. I've had a few tell me that they would not write a ticket for a truly mature buck that measured 12 3/4". I can respect that. So now it's up to the GW to make that call in the field. Both of the GW's I talked to told me flat out, they wished they'd never have implemented AR's.
Finally i say this, It is my true feeling that hunters have come a long way in the way they view the game as a resource over the last 15 years or so. There are larger and larger deer coming out of east Tx, and have been for several years before AR"s were implemented. I attribute this to hunting becoming less of a way of life, and more of a recreation that attracts a different type of "hunter". Also, i credit some of that to, wait for it, hunting shows on TV. yes. I think that most of us watch at least a little bit of these infomercials on the dedicated networks. Some of this "trophy" hunting culture has to rub off. And I think it has. But I still stand by cause and effect being the rule. if a hunter wants to shoot every deer they see, then they shouldn't expect to have trophy deer running around in any kind of numbers. If they are willing to show some restraint, then their patience will usually pay off in the end.
