Great to hear Milt. Glad you are having success.

 

I'm not sure how many regulars to this forum know me, but a few do I'm sure. I rarely come on the site these days, but was a long term moderator of this forum and am very familiar with the various issues that are debated in here and the raucous discussion that can go on. For a few years now the NW portion of the Lower Peninsula has had a 3 pt. on a side antler restriction regulation. My wife and I built this house in 1974 and we've lived here ever since and I have been an avid deer hunter and deer observer for all of those years. I know what's been going on in this area of N. Manistee County.

When antler restrictions were first brought up in the old QDM Forum (yes, I know that ARs are not the same as QDM) I was not in favor of them for reasons that are not worth being brought up. The bottom line was that I didn't like the added restrictions of new regulations. Since NW Michigan went to a 3 pt. per side I have seen a marked improvement in the age structure of the deer in my neighborhood. While I had taken my share of decent bucks over the years, the biggest measuring 111+, and the number of decent 8 pt. racks are too numerous to remember. I am not a neophyte in taking decent bucks. Last year, the evening after I took a 2.5 yr. old 8 pt. buck I had the pleasure of watching three other 8 pt. bucks move in and out of my hunting area off and on for over an hour. I can assure you that I do not own a vast track of perfect deer country, but rather a mere 25.5 acres most of which consist of pine trees of various sizes plus other trees. Yes, I have worked on the property to improve its deer holding capacity, but not to the point of overcrowding. Most of the property I consider to be a sanctuary into which I rarely trod.

It is now the norm to see a variety of age classes among both bucks and does, but of course it is more noticeable with bucks due to those antlers.
Yes, I know that you can't eat antlers and I am not what could be called a trophy hunter so please spare me these and any other names/types that you might think apply. I'm 72 years old and I have much experience. Certainly I am no deer biologist, but rather a lifetime learner of things that interest me and deer ares one of those.

The bottom line is that I've found that antler restrictions do work as advertised and are not a regulation that restricts or hinders hunters.....of any age....from taking deer. By the way my friends who hunt public land to the east say the same thing. Have a find day and a fine deer season. Remember it's not about the kill, but rather about the experience.

Good to hear from you Milt and good to hear from someone who has lived the entire spectrum of APR's in the NWLP. Many of us that have been here since the beginning knew they would work and knew that hunters like yourself and others would be convinced after experiencing them for a few years.

Thank's for an honest appraisal of APR's in the NWLP and how they have made everyone's hunting experience more exciting and rewarding.

Still better things are yet to come.

 

Thank you for a honest evaluation of what your experience has been living there for so many years!

 

Whit, great to see you on the site! Remember the good ole days with the campfire on this site? Fun times!

 

Glad to see you back for a visit Uncle Milt! Thanks for your "take" on the MARs in the NW12!
On a side note....The wife and I bought a place in Zephyrhills, maybe we can connect and you can introduce me to all the "cool" kids in the neighborhood!

 

I am believer in the changes that APR brings! I am one person but can speak for close to 30'ish hunters that i know in the area. The antler size and quality of deer has significantly improved. The hunting experiences have all grown as well. We own private but prefer hunting public due to all the new areas and challenges it presents. In fact i pulled a big 12pt. Off public land yesterday that i have been after since oct. It was an awesome experience that i say is a direct result of APR. I am guessing 5.5 to 6.5 years old. We are seeing more and more big ones like this. On a negative point i feel APR's need to be expanded since hunter pressure has significantly increased most likely do to the knowledge bigger healthier deer are available. Very pleased with APR

 

Congrats on the buck, got any pics of the monster?

 

Yes i will be posting soon...

 

 

Wow! Saw pics of a really nice Buck from Antrim taken during archery. It's paying off, just need the rest to follow suit to even out the pressure

 

Would like to see the picture if you can find it. If not no big deal. I like to see pics of deer from my county.

 

That's my thoughts as well. It allows for some true whitetail hunting experiences rather than the lotto experience.

 

What county?

 

I'm fairly cautious about putting that out...its in an APR county. I would not mind saying if there were a lot more counties with same regulations. I have seen a surge in hunting pressure because the word is getting out.

 

Its definitely adding pressure to the APR counties.

 

Milt, my experience was similar as I initially did not believe in APRs, but after experiencing them first hand in the U.P. during the early 2000s, I changed my mind big time and now support them fully.

 

QDacker, APR does not just help first year deer. It also helps with deer that can not be fully determined having 3 points on one side. I have let some slide due to that. Hunting thick cover where the big ones often times hang or if they are moving thru quickly... It allows more bucks to survive to older ages.

 

Nice to see you on board again Milt. Anybody who has a testimonial should post it up on the Let em go let em grow testimonial page as well as on this thread.

 

Thank-you for sharing, Mr. Whitmore!!! Very cool story story! It's great for some of us to be reminded why it is that we are working so diligently to initiate change.

 

Like hearing the stories in the NW 13. Hope i live long enough to see the regs expand to the east in the northern lower.

 

I hunt in Newaygo county and would hunt with a friend on private property in Mason County a small percentage each year. For years Newaygo was the place to hunt due to the ag fields and the amount of deer. When the APR's were introduced to Mason co. I thought well that really wont change anything. The piece of woods we hunt only produces small bucks the genetic pool is horrible. Now that the APR's have been going strong I have more confidence in hunting in Mason co. The family has taken better bucks and there hunting experience is better. They have confidence that a good buck could walk by. I hope Newaygo is added to the APR's. I do agree with the pressure issue that has come with the APR, because I am one that when I have the chance I hunt the APR counties.

 

Great post, thanks for the positive feedback.

 

I

Nice to see you on board again Milt. Anybody who has a testimonial should post it up on the Let em go let em grow testimonial page as well as on this thread.

https://www.facebook.com/Northwest12Testimonials/?ref=br_rs

It doesn't look like there are many guys posting on there. Any ideas why ?

 

I

It doesn't look like there are many guys posting on there. Any ideas why ?

Maybe many are realizing we don't want the attention in our county?

 

I am all for that Believe me.

 

Smile if you hate face book, I won't succumb to the pressure

mywife puts her phone or iPad in my face all the time ,did you see this dog did you see this girl,see this joke and I say you don't know any of those people or haven't talked to them in years, who cares,whose dog is that, she says I'm not sure.

Then you have friends and relatives ,they don't speak to each other anymore because they said something political or offensive on FB and I really care less how many likes you have!

I text people I want to talk to and I like Michigan Sportsman because it's just people with the same passion as me in the same state as me.

There I'm done that's why I hate Facebook rant!

 

Facebook is a tool like a telephone or television set. You have complete control over how you participate and what you see.

Yes, people are crazy about how they use FB, just like people are crazy about how they use their phone or TV.

You have complete control over who can post to your FB page just like you have control over what phone calls you answer or what you watch on TV.

On the plus side, it provides an awesome means for like-minded people to interact, or for people with different opinion to express them, just like this site does (only better in some ways, worse in some ways, but just a different way of doing what we do here).

 

I

It doesn't look like there are many guys posting on there. Any ideas why ?

It gets overshadowed by the Michigan Hunters Let em go let em grow page.

A lot of guys post their NW12 pictures on that page.

 

Oh ok. T

It gets overshadowed by the Michigan Hunters Let em go let em grow page.

A lot of guys post their NW12 pictures on that page.

Oh ok. Thanks for letting me know. I don't look at that one but I will check it out.

 

I have tried to see it, but they won't let me in. It must be some secretive cult lol.