Texas Hunting Forum: Possible New Antler Restrictions

I recieved this email from a friend and thought the THFer's might want to know.

Possible New Deer Regulations in Cooke, Denton, Jack, Wise and other north Texas Counties for the 2009-10 Season.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) biologists are considering proposing a change to hunting regulations affecting white-tailed deer hunting in many counties throughout Texas including Cooke, Denton, Wise and Jack Counties. It started out in 6 southeast Texas counties 5 years ago as an experimental "Antler Restriction” regulation has grown in popularity both with hunters and biologists. Currently this regulation is in effect in 61 counties, including Eastland, Erath, Comanche, Somervell, Bosque, Hamilton, Lampasas, Bell, Coryell, and Williamson. Due to its overall success of improving the numbers of older-age bucks available to hunters, people in other areas of the state have been, asking for the regulation to come to their county.

Under this new regulation, a lawftil buck would be defined as any buck having at east one unbranched antler OR an inside antler spread ofat least 13 inches. The bag limit in the affected counties will be two lawful bucks, no more than one of which may have an inside spread of greater than 13 inches. In other words, a hunter under the new regulation could harvest two bucks with an unbranched antler (commonly referred to as spikes and 3-pointers), or one “spike’ and one buck with an inside antler spread of at least 13 inches.

In order to determine local support for this regulation, TPWD biologists are asking for your input on whether or not you would like to see this regulation passed in Wise, Cooke, Denton, Jack, Montague, and many other north Texas Counties for the hunting season of
2009-10. If you own land or hunt in these counties and would like to voice your support or opposition, please visit the website shown below. If your county isn’t shown in the list of counties on the website, the regulation won’t affect that county. After reading the information provided on that web page, you wiIl be able to provide your input (via email) directly to your local wiIdlife biologist. In order to most accurately gauge support for this new regulation, TPWD is encouraging local landowners to notify their hunters of this comment opportunity as well. Comments from this webpage wiIl be taken until June 2. If proposed, more opportunity for public comment on this potential regulation change will be available during the normal regulations process this inter and the following spring, prior to any officie change. For more detailed information thout the new regulation and thIl instruction on the comment process, please visit the following web address: http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/wild/gamemanagment/deer/antlerrestrictions/extra.

Edited by RedRiver_Killer (05/26/08 10:51 PM)