This is my opinion and take on the rule.
I believe that without a good doe management system in place state wide (private, public and restricted land), the 3 point on a side rule really won't help the overall health, animal size, herd population and size or buck antler size. If they put the 3 point on a side rule into effect as they are currently managing the herd, all you would have are more deer walking today. The FL deer herd needs to be managed better to accomplish a "larger buck".
#1. Access to public land needs to be re-evaluated since FL has millions of acres that never gets hunted due to self-imposed state restrictions which should have open access to the public. By increasing access to hunters, the “hunt take” would increase, lessening the deer population overall allowing for more feed and a healthier walking deer herd.
#2. Manage the doe population by decreasing the number of does walking. The does that remain after the hunt, remain healthier, grow bigger and are serviced/breed by the more dominate bucks producing better, larger, and healthier off spring (both male and female). Once you've accomplished this the bucks will be bigger and healthier when born and mature.
#3. Manage the hog population. I believe alot of the problem here in FL and most of the states in the SE is hogs, which have a huge impact on the deer herd. Deer compete with hogs for the mast crops, browse and agricultural crops for sustainment. I would open hog hunting up 24/7 on public and private land like they currently do in most states in the SE in an attempt to keep the hog population in check. Hogs are not native to North America and are considered a feral animal.
#4. “Kill Tag” system. Someone made mention of a tagging system for deer taken, which I believe is a very good way to more accurately account for yearly kills and takes by region/area. Require anyone wanting to hunt deer to complete a “kill tag” and mail in the completed or blank tag after the completion of the hunting season. If it's not received and cataloged, no license next year. In FL that may require multiple tags per hunter, per area/region depending upon bag limits. Additionally, the WMA quota system needs to be improved to require anyone applying for a quota to maintain a current hunting license. Some areas and WMAs will still require quotas and stricter management than others due to small herd numbers but this can be done by issuing buck and antlerless permits by area/region and not just for a specific WMA.
#5. Standardize hunt dates and limits by region and area, not by WMA, and a different set of rules for private land by arera/region. This would allow hunters “ease of access” to public land and not cause the problems we see with trying to figure out where, when and how I can hunt a specific piece of property. Public land and private land should have the same rules and regulations as the herd can’t read signs and doesn’t mind crossing fences. Management requires the entire herd not just the herd that is currently on a WMA during the hunt. This is also a major issue in FL.
If these 5 things were put into effect, I believe the FL deer herd could produce larger bucks consistently and a 3 point on a side rule would be the standard, and not have to be a rule.
#3. Manage the hog population. I believe alot of the problem here in FL and most of the states in the SE is hogs, which have a huge impact on the deer herd. Deer compete with hogs for the mast crops, browse and agricultural crops for sustainment. I would open hog hunting up 24/7 on public and private land like they currently do in most states in the SE in an attempt to keep the hog population in check. Hogs are not native to North America and are considered a feral animal.
I would hate to see this. As it is right now, the FWC is under staffed. You would need an FWC officer assigned to every WMA allowing "365 hog hunting". You know as well as I do, this would lead to poaching in a big way. Plus, the benefit I have as a bow hunter is hunting the woods that are un pressured. When I walk into my lease this Saturday,and my favorite WMA next weekend, neither have been hunted since March. That's the beauty of bow hunting. I am in favor of more summer hog quotas on select WMA's thru the summer, but NEVER for 365 hunting.
This coming from a guy who loves shooting hogs
As we all express our opinions, things we would like to see changed, etc.., there is still hard and fast evidence that no matter what is done in our great state, we will never be a consistent source of "big trophy" deer. Every now and then an outstanding deer is killed but our Florida deer just don't very often make it to the Boone & Crockett or Pope & Young level.
Most of us can remember 9th grade biology class and the fact that the further north an animal is in the habitat, the larger the body size so they can survive the colder winters. Then there is this fact that a lot of clubs and leases go all out on antler restriction, provide year round nutrition, do all they can to help the deer grow larger racks and the fact remains that Florida has only 2 deer regestered in the B&C record book. One was a 201 3/8" out of Wakulla County, the other a 186 1/8" from Jackson County. P&Y has 13 listed from Florida and of course archery's required score is quite a bit less than the B&C.
I spent a little while online looking at these organizations, including the Florida Buck Registry and it is obvious that big deer consistently come from the the mid-west. There on the B&C pages was a list of the 48 states and provinces that had entered deer in the record book in the period of 2005-2010. 6 states had no entries at all during this time, Florida was one of them. Wisconsin headed the list with over 300 entries followed by Illinois, Iowa, Ohio, Missouri, Kentucky, Minnesota, Saskatchewen and Texas number 11 on that list. The end of the list is occupied by Rhode Island with only 1 entry.
Those top states mostly form a cluster in what is called the "corn belt" and as they out produce Florida in bushels of corn per acre they also will continue to out produce Florida when it comes to "big trophy" deer. These are facts and statistics that are hard to deny.
Now for my opinion, years ago I decided that any deer that I was able to kill was a trophy! Treefarmer
As we all express our opinions, things we would like to see changed, etc.., there is still hard and fast evidence that no matter what is done in our great state, we will never be a consistent source of "big trophy" deer. Every now and then an outstanding deer is killed but our Florida deer just don't very often make it to the Boone & Crockett or Pope & Young level.
Most of us can remember 9th grade biology class and the fact that the further north an animal is in the habitat, the larger the body size so they can survive the colder winters. Then there is this fact that a lot of clubs and leases go all out on antler restriction, provide year round nutrition, do all they can to help the deer grow larger racks and the fact remains that Florida has only 2 deer regestered in the B&C record book. One was a 201 3/8" out of Wakulla County, the other a 186 1/8" from Jackson County. P&Y has 13 listed from Florida and of course archery's required score is quite a bit less than the B&C.
I spent a little while online looking at these organizations, including the Florida Buck Registry and it is obvious that big deer consistently come from the the mid-west. There on the B&C pages was a list of the 48 states and provinces that had entered deer in the record book in the period of 2005-2010. 6 states had no entries at all during this time, Florida was one of them. Wisconsin headed the list with over 300 entries followed by Illinois, Iowa, Ohio, Missouri, Kentucky, Minnesota, Saskatchewen and Texas number 11 on that list. The end of the list is occupied by Rhode Island with only 1 entry.
Those top states mostly form a cluster in what is called the "corn belt" and as they out produce Florida in bushels of corn per acre they also will continue to out produce Florida when it comes to "big trophy" deer. These are facts and statistics that are hard to deny.
Now for my opinion, years ago I decided that any deer that I was able to kill was a trophy! Treefarmer
Bergmann's Rule and Fl is a prime example of it.
Another interesting fact brought up was the size of our cracker cattle compared to other states, as they are consistently smaller also because historically our soils quality sucks naturally. It's like comparing cracker cattle to black angus of the midwest lol. Not saying Fl cannot produce them but they just cannot consistently produce them like the midwest. Their soils are rich, as Mollisois are one of the richest in nutrients found in America growing an abundant supply of agriculture.
My dad has been a member of a strictly trophy managed place for going on 9 years (managed for 12 years)- Year around supps, plots, all trophy managed land around it, and in a reputable Ga bordering County known for bigger bucks. The place isn't that great but for SEEING 1.5-2.5 yr old bucks and their kills are very infrequent. They have killed more than a few 120+ but it's still rare, 1 per 2 years or so between a dozen members.
why do those of you go to Georgia? ......... or just like giving money to another state.
Don't get me wrong Dave, I would of loved to have found a lease closer to my home that I felt comfortable being a part of. It wasn't about a search for bigger dear. I searched for a long time, visited multiple clubs and interviewed a number of presidents. The fact remained that a majority of clubs in Central Florida are big $ so I started to look at anything under 3 hours of my home with preference for the east coast. I came across a club run by a bunch of good guys that are great hanging out with and that I genuinely like. It just so happens they are located about 7 miles over the FL line. Even after adding in the cost of a license, my total cost is still 1/4 of a Central Florida lease, that leaves alot of $ for gas. I will continue to look in Florida for the right club and would like to get my travel time down to 1.5 hours if possible.
In the spirit of keeping my $'s in FL, I still buy my Fl Gold License every year and have permits for 3 different WMA's in FL for Archery, Gun and Hog that I intend to use and invite guests to. + we always stop in Baldwin FL before heading in GA to gas up and get last minute supplies on the way in and out.
