The state law that protected doe deer had to be changed, but it was hard to convince hunters that taking female deer could really help the herd and not adversely affect their hunting. Wildlife officials finally persuaded the state legislature to change the 1927 buck law, but hunters were still wary. They would come to the annual regulation meetings to fight any kind of doe season.

The first antlerless hunts were planned with great care. Only one or two days were scheduled. No one knew how many hunters to expect or how many deer they might kill. It was feared that too many hunters at one time might cause shooting accidents. The Wildlife Commission didn't want to limit the number of hunters that could take part in the hunts, because doing so would likely require either a lottery system or the problem of turning some hunters away. Instead, a rather unusual way of controlling hunter numbers was devised.

Because the first day of deer hunts almost always had the best success, it was also the peak day when most hunters wanted to go, and therefore the most dangerous day for accidents. Someone figured out that making shorter hunting hours on the opening days would make them less popular than later days that had longer hours. Most hunters believe the best hunting is at daybreak. By delaying starting times, it was hoped that fewer hunters would show on days when they could not begin hunting until later in the day.

Thus, the opening for the first day of the antlerless hunts was set for 2 p.m. This provided only four hours of hunting before dark. The second day of the two-day season started at noon. As crazy as this might sound, it worked very well for spreading hunter numbers over the two days. In following years when more days were added, the delayed starting times were relaxed but still used effectively to spread hunting pressure. As you might guess, late starts were not particularly well liked by hunters, but they were effective.

A second safety measure for the hunts was restricting them to antlerless deer. Shooting a deer with visible antlers would be a violation. This made it necessary for hunters to look carefully at each deer before shooting because spike bucks could easily be mistaken for does. Since they had to be very sure of what they were shooting, hunter accidents became less likely.

This rule served its purpose, but it also made a problem for law enforcement. Officers had to decide when a young buck's antlers should be considered "visible." Budding antlers grow under the skin until they become long enough to break through the scalp. These buds can be very short and difficult to see at a distance. It was decided that spike bucks would be considered antlerless until their horns broke through the skin.

Wayne Wiggins watched this first antlerless deer hunt with plenty of anxiety. Many hunters were also worried. These deer had never been under the gun, and they were noticeably less wary than the antlered bucks. Would it be so easy to kill the does and fawns that future hunts would suffer?

"A lot of our regular hunters didn't show up today because they don't like killing does," Wayne confided at the time. "They think it's unsportsmanlike, and will never, ever kill anything but a buck."

His statement would prove prophetic.

Even though many long-time hunters did not take part in these hunts, there were plenty of others who did. As expected, success on these first antlerless hunts was very high -- compared with earlier "modern-era" hunts. On that first day at North Mills, one out of every six hunters was successful and I checked out over 100 deer.