Feb 10, 2018 4 min read

What the heck is going on?

I’m talking about the Sports Show, which was held last weekend, and where I have been measuring deer antlers for Boone & Crockett, Pope and Young and the state record book for 27 years. Every year I spend Saturday and Sunday measuring big game during the Sports Show at the Washington Crown Center. Anyone with half a brain would look at the figures acquired at such a session over so many years and come to the same conclusion and opinion. Of course, the early shows were held at the Washington Mall and had many more attractions. But also antler restrictions were not in effect then. If you look at the numbers over this period of time it creates doubt. The reader can come up with his or her own conclusions.

First, the average score has dropped a bit over the years. When checking the average final score one must first remove those deer from other states along with the occasional Mule deer. My figures show that we have dropped approximately three inches of antlered final score. That is not very much but it still is not a higher score created by antler restrictions.

Do my lower scores represent the drop they appear to or are they simply an anomaly?

Remember, if antler restrictions do indeed mess with the genetics of the wild herd it would take some time for it to show up, perhaps as many as six or seven generations for the watering down of the genetics to become evident. So deer A breeds with deer B passing on the genes of both. If the female is from a pairing of a small deer, then the fawn is subject to half its genes from the small deer. Now, the half small deer bred to the small buck and we get the small deer gene into the pool. We are watering down the big buck we started with and the gene goes on and on. After a number of generations it starts to show. At least, that’s what I think.

There certainly is another problem. Over the early years, we measured anywhere from 25 to 30 deer on Saturday and around 15 on Sunday. Recent years have seen a decline in numbers. It has been more evident in the last couple of years and last Saturday we measured 10 deer and 2 on Sunday. This can be explained by a reduction in license sales and antler restrictions. If the hunter can’t shoot spikes or fork-horns then the number of deer taken has to be smaller. There are some who might get the idea that I am opposed to fewer but better deer, but that is not so. What I am seeking is the truth, be I right or be I wrong.

Looking at the methods used by many who pay for the right to hunt places with big deer, maybe we should be protecting the larger bucks and taking the smaller ones every so often. These hunting preserves do just that, calling them management bucks and the survival of these places depend on a good solid herd of deer. Remember, the larger the buck the more money that comes in, and money talks. I am not saying that it is the only answer but it is one idea. After all, if it cuts in to the license sales it won’t work. While the quality of the bucks might be questioned, there is no question about the number of bucks being scored for the record books. The figures that are given each spring on the number of bucks taken in Washington County will be interesting. If the number is high, then the quality must be low for the owner isn’t curious about the score of the buck, or it appears that way.

On a happier note, a big congratulations to my first recipient of the George Block Conservation Scholarship, Elska Hoesken. The young lady did a great job with her application and we all enjoyed presenting her with the check and the award Feb. 3. I think this money is well spent and hope it helps her on her way to being a great conservationist. We had a great crowd at this presentation. My thanks to all who helped me with this award, which I hope to expand this year to include Greene and Washington Counties. I will be looking again for applicants for this years’ scholarship recipient.

Finally, in last week’s column I made a mistake. The final check-in for the Canonsburg Sportsman’s Club rabbit hunt will be 4 p.m.