Image: three_points

Possible new legislation would require second bucks taken by West Virginia hunters to have at least three scoreable points on one side. (Photo by Tom Reichner)

Members of West Virginia’s House Agriculture, Commerce, and Tourism committee advanced House Bill 4504, which would require a second buck taken by a hunter in West Virginia to have at least three scoreable points on one side before it would be legal.

According to wvmetronews.com, when Delegate John Hott of Grant County presented the bill to members of the committee last month, he said, “Many other states have put forth horn restrictions with one intention and one intention only, to increase the size of the antlered deer.”

He said many states have experienced success by implementing the restrictions, and pointed to Ohio’s track record of producing trophy whitetails. Ohio only allows hunters to take one buck per season. Hott said the regulation encourages hunters to be more selective.

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West Virginia’s only current restriction regarding antlers is that they must be at least 3 inches above the hairline to be considered a legal buck. The Natural Resources Commission recently adopted new regulations which reduced the bag limit from three to two antlered deer per year.

Bill 4504 advanced to the markup and passage stage.