Results of 3 point or better rule

[Loup Loup]

Who takes pictures of spikes, two points? They are uninteresting.

[hunter399]

Who takes pictures of spikes, two points? They are uninteresting.

It's true ,I didn't take any pics .
Those spikes I was seeing,was clearly visible from the road .
On a daily basis.

The point I was trying to make on genetics is .
Doe harvest , poaching effects the gene pool way more than an APR.
Up here in NE ,we have very small herds of mule deer.
One mountain top may have 30 muley,while another mountain may have a dozen or less.
Every harvest,every predation,every poached deer ,make a huge difference in gene pool.

[ShedHead20]

I’m still having a hard time understanding this based on the 2pts people post, they’re just young deer… yes you do occasionally see a brute of a mature one but that’s generally not the case. I’ve hunted all over the place and plenty of 3 and 4pts and typically young 2pts, and a few nice frame 2x that are just young when you get to looking at them.

I agree. I think there's a lot of guys on here that don't know how to age a deer on the hoof. Lots of old school theories that just don't hold up floating around out there. Just because the deer is a spike or a 2-point when you see them has absolutely no bearing on what antlers that deer will throw in his lifetime. There's so many factors that go into antler growth and to say he will be a two point forever because you saw him for one minute of that deer's life is preposterous. Do all these guys supporting this claim follow that deer around for its whole life? I extremely doubt it.

[ShedHead20]

Another point to add is the claim that one single biologist for the region is to blame for the lack of big bucks is a very uninformed opinion. We have a commission problem and not a bio problem. The commission is who has the final say to EVERY CHANGE MADE TO HUNTING AND FISHING REGS. Bio's can only recommend things to the commission, they cant just go wilily nilly change the regs to whatever they want.

We saw this example for spring bear and cougar harvests. The bios said there's plenty of those bears to kill and the commission said too effing bad. It was a real slap in the face to a lot of bio's.

But yes, the three point or better rule does not work for mule deer. Hell, I heard that straight from the Game Division Manager's mouth at a bar one night, but he also said his hands are tied because of the commission.

[Loup Loup]

Shedhunter20: At WDFW it’s the beancounters that run the machine when it comes to Big Game (with the exception of cougar/bear) management and license, tag, and lottery ponzee scheme structure.

[Longfield1]

I really wish that WDFW was not part of the state general fund. That way atleast the money we pay for tags and such goes back into the DFW. What would be the process to get that back besides an Act of God?

[ShedHead20]

Shedhunter20: At WDFW it’s the beancounters that run the machine when it comes to Big Game (with the exception of cougar/bear) management and license, tag, and lottery ponzee scheme structure.

Who are the "beancounters"?

[hunter399]

Another point to add is the claim that one single biologist for the region is to blame for the lack of big bucks is a very uninformed opinion. We have a commission problem and not a bio problem. The commission is who has the final say to EVERY CHANGE MADE TO HUNTING AND FISHING REGS. Bio's can only recommend things to the commission, they cant just go wilily nilly change the regs to whatever they want.

We saw this example for spring bear and cougar harvests. The bios said there's plenty of those bears to kill and the commission said too effing bad. It was a real slap in the face to a lot of bio's.

But yes, the three point or better rule does not work for mule deer. Hell, I heard that straight from the Game Division Manager's mouth at a bar one night, but he also said his hands are tied because of the commission.

I'm just guessing....
I believe 1994 was the merger, WDFW was created with the commission.
Pretty sure the 3pt mule deer rule came soon after.
Another guess here.
Biologist recommendations to the commission where taken more seriously then,I'm guessing.
Something influenced that decision in the late 90 's.

Maybe guys where stacking up spikes and forkys like cord wood....lol

It would be interesting to hear what the history really was behind it,who recommend it.

[Kingofthemountain83]

Another point to add is the claim that one single biologist for the region is to blame for the lack of big bucks is a very uninformed opinion. We have a commission problem and not a bio problem. The commission is who has the final say to EVERY CHANGE MADE TO HUNTING AND FISHING REGS. Bio's can only recommend things to the commission, they cant just go wilily nilly change the regs to whatever they want.

We saw this example for spring bear and cougar harvests. The bios said there's plenty of those bears to kill and the commission said too effing bad. It was a real slap in the face to a lot of bio's.

But yes, the three point or better rule does not work for mule deer. Hell, I heard that straight from the Game Division Manager's mouth at a bar one night, but he also said his hands are tied because of the commission.

I'm just guessing....
I believe 1994 was the merger, WDFW was created with the commission.
Pretty sure the 3pt mule deer rule came soon after.
Another guess here.
Biologist recommendations to the commission where taken more seriously then,I'm guessing.
Something influenced that decision in the late 90 's.

Maybe guys where stacking up spikes and forkys like cord wood....lol

It would be interesting to hear what the history really was behind it,who recommend it.

Mule deer became 3 pt min in 1997...

[Humptulips]

I really wish that WDFW was not part of the state general fund. That way atleast the money we pay for tags and such goes back into the DFW. What would be the process to get that back besides an Act of God?

It's not. Your license money stays within the Agency.

[hunter399]

What would inbreeding in mule deer do.
Would that cause some bucks to never grow a third point.

I'm asking for a friend....... 😂

[Kingofthemountain83]

What would inbreeding in mule deer do.
Would that cause some bucks to never grow a third point.

I'm asking for a friend....... 😂

  I'm betting family trees don't have many forks in some families!

[Loup Loup]

My hunting Buddy’s and I hunted coyotes in Douglas county when deer season opened every year. We had a rule, if you shot a spike or two point deer you had to head shoot it. None of us ever shot a small buck early. The last week of the season, Nov, we hunted Slide Ridge mostly. We had a four point or better rule hunting late, Cause none of us wanted to pack anything less out of those holes.
I remember Slide Ridge was the FIRSt! Three point or better unit in the state.
That first season there was two hunting camps in therewith motorhomes!! For crying out loud. Other hunting camps also. Many hunters. We found two two points laying on the bank of the road that had been shot and left.
We quit hunting Slide Ridge and started packing into the high country after that as we had, and still do, have little tolerance for other hunters around.
I complained to the area Bio that all that three points or better unit did was advertise the area so that hunters came from all over because of the advertisement. They thought it was a good place to find big bucks pretty much from the road.
And that the two points that were safe before, were now being shot and left lay by these nimrods.
He agreed. Saying that was a drawback of this new management.
I don’t remember when it went EWa wide.

[Kingofthemountain83]

3 pt min for MD started in the Blues in 1991... Region 1 areas I believe... It wasn't implemented in the rest of eastern WA until 1997...