# Deer Bag limits....?



## Hardtop (Nov 24, 2004)

Does anyone else think the new color coded county by county deer bag limit information page is confusing..........? I was looking for my county this morning and I find that I am in a three deer county in SE Ohio where I can purchase and use three "either sex" permits. To me, that suggests that I can harvest three deer of either sex, and I can't find anything on that page or the " Do & Don'ts" page for deer hunting that mentions harvesting only one buck....? Did I miss a major rule change or did big brother just mess this up too.....?


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## tOSUSteve (May 30, 2007)

The Deer Hunting Permits section states it pretty clearly

Either-Sex Deer Permit: This permit is valid for an antlered or antlerless deer and is valid Sept. 27, 2014 through Feb. 1, 2015.. No more than one (1) antlered deer may be taken per license year. This permit may be used during any of the deer hunting seasons and controlled hunts. It may be purchased individually throughout the entire deer season.


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## bobk (Apr 30, 2004)

It is confusing with the 2 different color shades of counties that can shoot 3 deer. I don't find it confusing though about how many bucks you can shoot. Pretty clear you can only shoot 1 buck in ohio. The state seems to feel the need to take extra money from some counties by making you pay extra for the either sex tags though. Just another cash grab by the odnr. 


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## Hardtop (Nov 24, 2004)

If they only want hunters to harvest one "antlered" deer then they should sell "antlered" permits ( one per hunter per year) and "antlerless " permits. Why on earth would a responsible agency confuse hunters by selling an "either sex" permit that only allows a hunter to harvest a doe..? I think I know a couple attorneys who would make DOW look like really silly losers in court....!


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## bobk (Apr 30, 2004)

What's so confusing about an either sex permit? You can shoot a buck or a doe with the permit. Some people want the meat and don't care about the rack. For those people just having to buy 1 tag makes sense. Its pretty clear what either sex means. 


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## Hardtop (Nov 24, 2004)

It only gets confusing when DOW decides it isn't really an either sex permit when their description says it is....! ....why have an either sex permit and and "antlerless " permit... ( rather than buck/doe). And even if one can figure this out, why should hunters have to pay an extra $9 for the privilege of shooting an antlered deer if they can not do that with the permit......?


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## tOSUSteve (May 30, 2007)

Your over thinking this...

You want all tags to be $24 to help the confused cats that can't figure out which tag to use?


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## mickeysdad (Mar 10, 2010)

Hardtop said:


> It only gets confusing when DOW decides it isn't really an either sex permit when their description says it is....! ....why have an either sex permit and and "antlerless " permit... ( rather than buck/doe). And even if one can figure this out, why should hunters have to pay an extra $9 for the privilege of shooting an antlered deer if they can not do that with the permit......?


They're keeping the price a little higher to discourage taking extra deer. 

You think Ohio is complicated? I recently moved back from Washington state, where the regs book is twice as thick, and season dates and bag limits are set by Game Management Unit (GMU). GMU's do not follow county lines, and furthermore, some GMU's have "spike requirements" for the number of points a buck must have in order to be taken. 

Seriously - we got it easy, at least when it comes to easy and clear rules.


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## Hardtop (Nov 24, 2004)

"What's so confusing about an -EITHER SEX- permit..? "...........there's your sign man....... it's the "either sex" part that doesn't apply if you already killed one buck.....Duh..........! I guess that's the DOW "logic" I don't understand...!


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## MassillonBuckeye (May 3, 2010)

How would you proposed it to be worded Hardtop?


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## G3guy (Feb 21, 2013)

Since I have been hunting I'm fairly certain that all deer tags have been either sex tags ( with the exception of the reduced cost doe tags) with a 1 antlered deer bag limit for the entire season. All you need to know is that you can only shoot 1 buck but have the option of shooting 3 deer all antlerless or 2 antlerless and 1 antlered. ( in certain counties) I would not want to have to buy a "buck tag" only to have it go to waste if I don't shoot a buck. Not that hard of a concept to grasp especially since it has been that way for a long time.


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## ezbite (May 25, 2006)

tOSUSteve said:


> Your over thinking this...


I agree.. It's been ONE antlered deer in Ohio as long as I can remember.. I don't see that changing as long as I'm alive. You can kill many doe, just one buck... Nothing confusing about that.


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## Lundy (Apr 5, 2004)

Hardtop said:


> "What's so confusing about an -EITHER SEX- permit..? "...........there's your sign man....... it's the "either sex" part that doesn't apply if you already killed one buck.....Duh..........! I guess that's the DOW "logic" I don't understand...!


The ODNR and hunters do not want a "antlered deer tag"

If a hunter purchases just one tag and it is an antlered tag, they have no option of shooting a doe with that tag.

They purchase a "either sex tag" and shoot either, with a license limit of one antlered deer per year.

Multiple "either sex tags" is easier on everybody, including hunters, than "antlered tags and doe tags"


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## PapawSmith (Feb 13, 2007)

I don't understand why no one understands the absurdity in the license nomenclature that Hardtop is talking about. We all understand and agree that only one buck is allowed per hunter per calender year. The question is, with that being CLEARLY the rule, if a hunter wants to kill an allowable total of four deer in his/her county why does the ODNR require they purchase three "either sex" tags and one "anterless only" tag when the law is clearly understood to allow only one antlered deer? Reason would say that the ODNR would require a hunter to purchase ONE "either sex" tag and three "anterless only" tags since if they take four deer total, three of them MUST be "anterless". That is his question, I believe, and I agree with him. It is purely semantics but it is stupid and I can see where new hunters, or hunters new to Ohio, could easily be confused by the tag descriptions into believing they could shoot multiple bucks. Once again, I know we cannot shoot more than one, but I believe the ODNR's poor choice of tag naming is misleading. 

Is this what you are saying Hardtop? If so, I agree and fail to understand why others do not see the opportunity for confusion.


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## buckeyebowman (Feb 24, 2012)

What mickeysdad said! Although some won't believe it, it's a sneaky, subliminal way to reduce harvest. I know some guys who simply WILL NOT burn a $24 either sex tag on an antlerless deer! Just won't do it! So, when gun season rolls around, for all intents and purposes it is "buck" season for them.

As far as changing the nomenclature from buck and doe to antlered and antlerless it goes like this. Way back in the day some guys, not many but some, got thin pinched for shooting an antlerless deer in "doe" season that turned out be a buck. Maybe the antlers got knocked off, maybe they fell off, maybe they never grew, but the deer had testicles! Thus they were guilty of killing a "buck" during "doe" season. The other side of the coin were the guys who shot an antlered doe (again rare, but they do exist) during the "buck" season. After much legal wrangling, and I have to think that these various fish & game departments wound up losing too many cases and were forced to pay the hunters' lawyer bills, they changed the wording to the less ambiguous antlered and antlerless.

And all I can say about the regs is that they don't confuse me in the least.Just read the book.


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## Snakecharmer (Apr 9, 2008)

PapawSmith said:


> I don't understand why no one understands the absurdity in the license nomenclature that Hardtop is talking about. We all understand and agree that only one buck is allowed per hunter per calender year. The question is, with that being CLEARLY the rule, if a hunter wants to kill an allowable total of four deer in his/her county why does the ODNR require they purchase three "either sex" tags and one "anterless only" tag when the law is clearly understood to allow only one antlered deer? Reason would say that the ODNR would require a hunter to purchase ONE "either sex" tag and three "anterless only" tags since if they take four deer total, three of them MUST be "anterless". That is his question, I believe, and I agree with him. It is purely semantics but it is stupid and I can see where new hunters, or hunters new to Ohio, could easily be confused by the tag descriptions into believing they could shoot multiple bucks. Once again, I know we cannot shoot more than one, but I believe the ODNR's poor choice of tag naming is misleading.
> 
> Is this what you are saying Hardtop? If so, I agree and fail to understand why others do not see the opportunity for confusion.


What I think they should have is "1" Either sex tag and "Two" Does Tags. That would end the confusion!


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## crappiedude (Mar 12, 2006)

Snakecharmer said:


> What I think they should have is "1" Either sex tag and "Two" Does Tags. That would end the confusion!


So if you buy just one either sex tag and the 1st deer you harvest is a doe, you have to use the either sex tag. That would leave you with only doe tags for the rest of the season.
The existing regulations are very clear and the tags are fine just the way they are.


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## chadwimc (Jun 27, 2007)

tOSUSteve said:


> Your over thinking this...
> 
> You want all tags to be $24 to help the confused cats that can't figure out which tag to use?


That would work for me. Do away the convoluted expiration dates also.


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## Snakecharmer (Apr 9, 2008)

crappiedude said:


> So if you buy just one either sex tag and the 1st deer you harvest is a doe, you have to use the either sex tag. That would leave you with only doe tags for the rest of the season.
> The existing regulations are very clear and the tags are fine just the way they are.


 No I would use a doe tag and save the "either" tag for my third doe or first buck.


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## Lundy (Apr 5, 2004)

Snakecharmer said:


> No I would use a doe tag and save the "either" tag for my third doe or first buck.


Providing you purchased two tags from the beginning.... the vast majority of hunters only purchase one tag per year.


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## Mad-Eye Moody (May 27, 2008)

Lundy said:


> The ODNR and hunters do not want a "antlered deer tag"
> 
> If a hunter purchases just one tag and it is an antlered tag, they have no option of shooting a doe with that tag.
> 
> ...


Tags for different sexes would make you buy more tags. Sort of like WV. So I am with Lundy, it's for the best. You can buy one tag and hunt all year with it if you don't harvest anything. In WV to hunt all year I need a bow tag, an antler less tag, a muzzleloader tag, etc....


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## kernal83 (Mar 25, 2005)

Antlered tags are a terrible idea in my opinion. I hate that about PA. If my only choice is to shoot a deer with horns, well then first legal deer I see I'm shooting. I feel no need to do that in ohio because I can always harvest a doe with my "buck" tag near the end of the season. I do think making some counties pay the extra $10 for an either sex tag vs anterless only is a little strange. 


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## crappiedude (Mar 12, 2006)

Lundy said:


> Providing you purchased two tags from the beginning.... the vast majority of hunters only purchase one tag per year.


Yep, that's the point I was trying to make.


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