Indiana OBR

[admin]

DNR Public Hearing on One Buck Rule Proposal
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The Indiana Department of Natural Resources has scheduled a public hearing to receive comments on a proposal to extend the one buck-rule for an additional five years.

The hearing will be Tuesday, March 27, at 1:30 p.m. (Local Time) at the Indiana Government Center South, Conference Center Room 1, in Indianapolis. The Indiana Government Center South is located at 402 W. Washington St. in downtown Indianapolis.

The one-buck rule refers to current deer hunting regulations that allow only one antlered deer to be taken per hunter per year with regular archery, firearm and muzzleloader licenses. The current rule was implemented in fall 2002 and has an expiration of Sept. 1, 2007. Before 2002, up to two bucks could be taken by a hunter each year.

The Natural Resources Commission preliminarily adopted these rule changes in November 2006. The preliminarily adopted rules are at: www.in.gov/dnr/fishwild/about/rules.html
Click on "One Buck Rule Package"

The results of the 2006 one buck-rule survey of Indiana deer hunters can be found at: www.in.gov/dnr/fishwild/hunt/

Public comments can be submitted by e-mail, written letter, or at the public hearing.

Written comments can be sent to:

Hearing Officer
Natural Resources Commission
402 W. Washington Street, W272
Indianapolis, IN 46204

Comments can also be e-mailed to:
[e-mail]

Written comments must be received no later than April 2.

A copy of the public hearing report will be available at www.IN.gov/nrc prior to final consideration by the NRC. The NRC will likely consider these rule changes for final adoption in May. If approved by the NRC, attorney general and governor, the changes will become effective this summer.

Individuals who need reasonable modifications for effective participation in public meetings should call the DNR ADA coordinator, [phone] (voice and TDD).

[michihunter]

Curious as to what the opinions are from Hoosier hunters. You guys care to share your thoughts?

[hoosieroutdoorsman]

I believe the 1 buck rule is a good rule to start off. They need to set a point limit of like 6 points minimum and they need to change their antlerless permit to a doe only permit to stop the taking of button bucks and spikes.

[bowslap]

Here, here......

As Hoosier said, the one-buck rule is a good starting point.

Thing is, there's too many holes in that "shield" for it to be effective. I fully agree with the idea of 6 pts. minimum, antlerless for does only. The quality of the population here in Indiana would greatly benefit from this action.....

The scheduled date is a load of hooey, though.. ..rather "convenient" that it's being held in the middle of the day, early in the week.....most outdoorsmen/women will be at work, unable to get time off to attend and voice their collective opinion(s). I may just have to send an e-mail concerning this issue...one voice, but it all starts somewhere.

.......'slap.........

[michihunter]

Love to hear your reasoning for MARS and OBR. I nnderstand you want it, but tell me why!! And before you say something along the lines of logic, you may want to do some studying.

[hoosieroutdoorsman]

Thats pretty much a no brainer as to why, speaking for the state of Indiana we are so over run with does it isn`t funny, the OBR will help keep from reducing the male herd so that it doesn`t become extinct. Plus it will help the depredation the does are inflicting due to their high numbers and implement a more balanced ecostructure. The changing of the antlerless permit will also help manage the smaller bucks or button to grow and become more mature deer rather than killing them off before they get the chance to grow. Indiana is just now stepping up to what alot of other states have had in place for a few years now. There are alot of hunters that like the OBR as they have the mind set that it will make all the bucks bigger, in turn it will help to produce more record class bucks but it will more so balance the herd and that in turn will create a much more stable herd.

[michihunter]

No brainer? Not exactly. Here's the counterpoint Hoosier-
How many hunters actually take more than one buck per season? Find those numbers and get back to me. I already know MI's and I can tell ya that an OBR would have little if no effect. As for changing the antlerless to doe, it seems that Illinois and WI have no problem with that setup (having antlerless as opposed to doe). Now if you study a bit further, you will also see that both WI ande IL have morethan one buck available to most hunters. The need for a better harvest ratio is indeed a great idea. But limiting bucks by rule will not change the end. INCREASING antlerless permits can and will succeed in doing that though. But be VERY careful what you wish for. In the end, deer will frequent this earth as long as man does and nothing we do will change that.

Another thing you may have to consider when referring to a MARS program is the inferiority of some genetics that may have you increasing the numbers of said by not allowing for them to be harvested with MARS. Another 'careful what ya wish for' issue.

[hoosieroutdoorsman]

Well for starters MI and WI are a little different than IN, their herd numbers and sex differentials out class the hoosier state. As for how many people actually follow the OBR? I know of 5 right now that every year they take 5-7 bucks and never touch a doe so that shows right there that the buck herd HERE is getting reduced. The DNR is fully aware of this aspect and one of the CO`s told me that they can`t be everywhere at one time and stop this taking more than 1 buck, they wish they could but they can`t. The point you made on the antlerless permit was pretty good outside the fact of gentics?? If that particular deer with inferior genetics doesn`t grow so that its inferior gentics will show how can we know by taking buttons and small spikes we aren`t taking a record class bucks genetics over a "retard" genetics? I think that was IN`s biggest problem for a long time they tried to follow other states that allowed more bucks to be taken and didn`t look at the overall numbers that differ from state to state. The old saying what works for 1 may not work for another holds true to that issue. Indiana could turn everything around in the next 5 years but with so many hunters that are willing to take bucks and not tag them so they can take more it will be an uphill battle.

[michihunter]

No offense but you obviously know little about the state of affairs here Tracy. This state ENVIES Indiana and the rules already implemented. The sex ratio here is nowhere near even and is purported to be anywhere from 5:1 to 8:1(Doe to Buck). Now lets go one step at a time here. You tell me how a poachers doings are going to change their ways due to written law? If they're currently taking 5-7 bucks a year illegally now, what law is going to change that? If you manage a herd through law with poachers in mind then you are already losing your battles.
Next, spike horn bucks and buttons that are taken will always be a part of the equation when it comes to kills. There is no way you can enforce a law that says "doe only". That was the reason for the word change in the first place. Button bucks are rarely going to show their penus to ya to let ya know they are bucks. Spikes under 3" make up a very large amount of those kills too. But they had to have a limitation somewhere so 3" was it. And if you look at 3", that's truly about as short as you could readily tell a buck from a doe.
Genetic makeup is one thing that is still not completely understood. There are way too many factors involved in antler growth to say that a spike will be an inferior deer or not. (Unnfortunately for most hunters, inferiorority and superiority are somehow equated to antler growth :. But if indeed a geneticly inferior deer never sports 3 points a side, and then he is protected from being killed, which deer is more likely to pass on those gennes? The live inferior deer or the dead superior deer? Just food for thought Tracy. And I for one feel that what works for one should indeed work for all. It ain't subjective by state. Only by opinion. A deer needs 4 things no matter where they are locate to provide for health. Ample food. Ample habitat. Ample genetics. And of course ample opportunity to evade it's predators.

[hoosieroutdoorsman]

You are right Ted, I don`t get into the politics of this state as we have about 60% morons trying to run it and the other 40% trying to clean up what the others have fouled up. Then we have the political parasites that are in lobbying for the dollar that aren`t helping either side and that has gone on 100 years and will continue on for another 100. As will the back porch prophets that can`t make it in general assembly and have to stick to doing what they do best. There are 100 reasons to support and to dispute all sides of this subject for the working men and women like us all we can do is try to follow the rules the best we can. After all if working class guys like us actually knew it all about this we would be biologists and politicians in there changing it to the way it would be best.

[michihunter]

You're more astute than you give yourself credit for Tracy!! ;D ;D