Small game taken go into the "bag." The bag has come to mean the total game taken, and the "bag limit" has come to mean the maximum number of animals that can be legally taken in a year.
In the early days, the bag limit was set to be very small. The populations were being managed-many were increasing. The population growth exceeded the harvest under the limit.
Large bag limits on deer are now commonplace. Every deer population needs to be managed carefully and specifically within each area. The bag limit -- set large or small -- is a powerful tool in the kit of the population manager.
The larger bag limits tend to achieve the following:
- increase recreational opportunity (people, hours, success...many categories)
- allow population pressure on forage and the range to be reduced
- increase control of (reduction) of female and young male portion of the herd
- allow intensive control in select areas
- reduce losses of crops
- increase data about the deer and herd
- increase data about the deer hunter.
The bag limit is only one among many techniques available to the deer population manager. Along with others, there are thousands of combinations from which skillful managers may select an optimum set of practices.
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This Web site is maintained by R. H.
Giles, Jr.
Last revision January 17, 2000.
