Tags for deer, what a great discussion topic. Some of the earlier posts have me thinking about how many people want tags in order to have larger deer. I am no biologist but I do know that you can not make chicken salad out of ....... JWilliams mentioned it in another thread, how many others will admit that it is nearly impossible to have 140+ class deer in SC? Jess how many acres do y'all have and how many years have y'all been selective with harvest? I can assure you that area has some GREAT genes. Yes there are 140+ class bucks killed each year in SC but they are few and far between. How many on here "manage" for big bucks and can consistently have 140+ class deer? Anyone? Why would tags make it better?
Ruth himself stated at the Florence meeting that a young buck will leave his home area after 1 1/2 years. The study DNR used in their presentation stated that the bucks left the property at 1 1/2 and were killed on OTHER property. They are NOT coming back whether they are shot or not. Believe it or not, but I am actually raising deer for my neighbors. If my neighbor shoots it as a basket 8 point, why should it matter to me? That buck is not coming back because I have X number of more mature bucks on my property and the property can only "carry" so many deer.