Been reading the AR debates and this is what ticks me off. First of all we own the land paid for it and then continue to have to pay taxes on it. The wildlife eats our grass and or crops drinks the water that some of us have to pay for because of no rain. The government wants to claim the wildlife as theirs?????????? We have to buy a hunting license to kill something that we already pay to support its way of life. Oh and god forbid a person shoot a deer that isn't freakin 13 inches!!! Give them the smallest chance and they will fine you for anything they can. I understand that our country is better than most but the way we set back and let the tpwd dictate to us the way we can hunt and the deer we can shoot makes me shake my head. When it comes to the point we can't make our own minds up the way we want to manage our own land that we worked and paid for is sad!!!!!! For you AR lovers you may want to set back and take a look at what's going on. No telling what the next bs law is going to be. That's my 2 cents...........

Yeh, I'm willing to bet that the majority of AR lovers out there were raised as "trophy" hunters claiming that they only shoot mature bucks for the health of the herd. So ARs fit right in to the way they always hunted. Had the TP&W created some kind of law protecting mature bucks where they could live to breed for the health of the herd and forced everyone to shoot does and unbranched antlered bucks only, AR lovers would be outraged.

I'm 24. One day, I'll tell my kids, I remember when you couldn't shoot deer smaller than 13". Just like my dad told me that he remembered when deer hunting wasn't allowed for a few years in our area of the state at one time. Just one of those things.

On your argument though, why do the same rules not apply to fishing? Why doesn't the state regulate length and bag limits of fish on private property? I know that they are more contained than deer, but still. Doesn't make sense to me. Also, why are MLD lands exempt from ARs? Because they have a biologist? On that premise I should be able to take a pic to a biologist and have him deemed a cull and should be taken as spike OR have him deem a narrow trophy buck as legal to shoot.

Yeh, also you can catch a fish, measure it, if it's not legal, release it, no harm done....unfortunately, you can't do that with a buck.

Valid points! At least to those who hate ARs.

I could be wrong but its about the money for the government. Kind of like a city cop writing a ticket to a honest hard working person for driving 5 mph over the speed limit just to make their monthly ticket quota. Seems like robbery to me. Same thing with hunting these days. Have to worry about a buck not being "legal" because there is some prick waiting to write you a ticket. Shouldn't our government officials have bigger fish to fry??????? Take a kid hunting and they have to pass on a ton of bucks because our government says they can't shoot them. I bet they are going to stay interested in it. Not likely!!!!! If folks want to trophy hunt then good for them. For those of us that still want to hunt for what hunting started out to be then let us be!!!!!! I bet you AR lovers don't mind eating a young cow for tender beef. Shouldn't that cow of had a chance to mature??? Get over you modern day trophy hunting crap. A trophy don't have to be 160 inch buck. A basket racked 8 point makes a lot of folks just as happy.

Jacob, I saw a pic in "the" deer hunting album of my FILs from when season opened back in the north side of the county.. 6 folks hunting and 6 10pts strung up on the rail.

So in terms of deer, communist or socialist take by the gov?

It's all for the betterment of the herd, right?

I think they should change it to where you can only shoot 8 points. Nothing smaller...nothing bigger.

In addition...they should also do away with LAMPS and MLD. If you have a highfence...you are S.O.L.

Amen brother.

Wife shot a 11 3/4 in 6 point 5 years ago before the AR crap and you would of thought she shot a 200 in deer. The buck was gray in the face and didn't have enough teeth to hardly eat. It's the only deer in my house that is mounted lol. Worked out good for her......

Hunting in Texas isn't what it used to be. Get on with the times, or just keep getting mad.

Get on with the times huh???? That's what's wrong with our country now buddy is getting away from what it was built on. We need to go back to the old times and things would go a lot better my friend. That's the most ridiculous advice I have ever heard.

So what is hunting in Texas all about now? Enlighten us!

Big bucks = big buck$.
AR = Antler Revenue.
It all makes Cents.

Dang HF tree

Curly I think me and you would get along good. Maybe one day we can get back to hunting the way it was meant to be. As long as there are push over people that don't have the guts to say they are tired of being dictated to then it won't change. We vote the idiots in that make these laws we can vote them out. Oh never mind we just need to get on with the times. Give me a break!!!!!!!

Folks used to hunt for the bragging rights of providing a delicious meal....antlers didn't matter. They were only a bonus. Now if you say you hunt for a meal, you need to hunt does or spikes....leave the trophies for those who hunt for wall decorations as their #1 priority because if you claim yourself as a meat hunter, you are a second class hunter, a hunter who doesn't care about laws or herd health. However, if you say you hunt dove, turkey, ducks, rabbits or squirrels for food, that's more acceptable. Bass fishing has evolved much the same as whitetail deer hunting is. Turn bass loose and eat other kinds of fish, a trophy bass is for the wall, not the table. I was raised to hunt lawfully but cherish the meat first, antlers second. I have actually been told on this site that I don't need to ever shoot a trophy buck since they are not my priotiy and that I'm a hypocrite for having deer mounts on my wall. That's like me telling trophy hunters not to eat venison.

and is tastier and healthier than

We all know trophy hunters eat veal & filet mignon.

Only cause you know we're right BMD.