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Prentice cooper wma

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Rageman

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Who thinks prentice cooper should put a antler restriction on bucks good ones killed up there every year but far more small ones get busted too but I strongly think that land holds some of the biggest bucks in the state I also know that starting this thread gets me hate mail more than likely 😂😂😂
 
PC is basically in my backyard. I tried to kill a deer, any deer, there for the first 10 years I began bowhunting. (about 40 years ago). All the while killing deer on every other WMA and public piece I hunted.
I used to work there.
Did a Wildlife Biology internship there briefly (then changed career paths)
And have turkey hunted there for years.
This past bow season, I FINALLY killed my FIRST (PC) deer there. After many frustrating years of trying.

I've seen PC change dramatically over the years to become a well groomed, food plotted, aesthetically pleasing multi use area.

But make no mistake...it's in the mountains of SE Tennessee. And is reflective of a mountainous SE Tennessee WMA. On top of that, it is located close to a big population of people and gets absolutely HAMMERED by hunters on open hunts!

Pressure, thermals, terrain and acorns are just a few of the challenges facing any hunter on PC.

The doe and little 4 point I killed this year at PC mean as much to me as any Pope and Young or Booner I have ever killed.True trophies in my esteem!

Antler restrictions do not (IMO) achieve the goal of managing for older aged classed bucks. In fact, it may actually damage this. Killing 4 points on a side might actually be taking out the high end bucks that have the potential to make it to "trophy class".

Also, this is not the midwest. Or even the Nashville Basin Alpha soils areas that typically produce large antlered bucks per age class. So in order get a "trophy class" animal in these mountains, you're talking about a very mature animal. And by mature I mean HUNTER SAAVY!
Good luck killing that expert in evading hunters.

So my vote would be no. Not antler restrictions. Maybe earn a buck.

But I'd say let's let the biologists handle the management.
 
I remember one place where antler restrictions had no positive effect on antler size. In the late 80s or very early 90s Pigeon Mountain WMA in Georgia went to an antler restriction. They kept it for a number of years and did not seem to see much result. I distinctly remember the first gun hunt the year that antler restrictions were removed. It was absolutely shocking and a little worrisome. At the check station and I don't remember the exact number but I believe it was like 167 bucks taken the first morning. There were a few really good ones in there but the vast majority had six and eight point basket racks. I guess the most positive effect was that people held off on shooting small bucks for a number of years and the buck population must have blowing up.
 
102 said:
PC is basically in my backyard. I tried to kill a deer, any deer, there for the first 10 years I began bowhunting. (about 40 years ago). All the while killing deer on every other WMA and public piece I hunted.
I used to work there.
Did a Wildlife Biology internship there briefly (then changed career paths)
And have turkey hunted there for years.
This past bow season, I FINALLY killed my FIRST (PC) deer there. After many frustrating years of trying.

I've seen PC change dramatically over the years to become a well groomed, food plotted, aesthetically pleasing multi use area.

But make no mistake...it's in the mountains of SE Tennessee. And is reflective of a mountainous SE Tennessee WMA. On top of that, it is located close to a big population of people and gets absolutely HAMMERED by hunters on open hunts!

Pressure, thermals, terrain and acorns are just a few of the challenges facing any hunter on PC.

The doe and little 4 point I killed this year at PC mean as much to me as any Pope and Young or Booner I have ever killed.True trophies in my esteem!

Antler restrictions do not (IMO) achieve the goal of managing for older aged classed bucks. In fact, it may actually damage this. Killing 4 points on a side might actually be taking out the high end bucks that have the potential to make it to "trophy class".

Also, this is not the midwest. Or even the Nashville Basin Alpha soils areas that typically produce large antlered bucks per age class. So in order get a "trophy class" animal in these mountains, you're talking about a very mature animal. And by mature I mean HUNTER SAAVY!
Good luck killing that expert in evading hunters.

So my vote would be no. Not antler restrictions. Maybe earn a buck.

But I'd say let's let the biologists handle the management.
Click to expand...
Marty will do a awesome job up there in the future
 
I understand what some of you guys are saying n ways I like it how it is in a lot of ways it would benefit the age structure as for it being not to par with mid west and Nashville area I highly disagree them bucks have tremendous genes not over populated at all in deer numbers for the most part I know they'd probably never do these things it's been more of a tradition on the place to just go there and get any buck legal size and most times you might see nothing been there done it
 
Is there no places that antler restrictions have worked wonders. I'd beg to differ on that. But don't think it would everywhere. You need big woods and time. Smaller places for obvious reasons wouldn't work. I've never been to PC. And I'm no biologist.
 

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