There was talk of them changing this to just a number quota for both instead of male/female but i dont know if it will happen. It is pretty much set up for hound hunters generaly because it's not too often people shot them without help of dogs but it does happen. The easiest way to tell is buy the nuts of course but the males look bigger and huskier in the head and in the body than the females. The trouble is telling apart a young male from female. you will know when you are looking at a big tom. If you get a chance to look at the track the male is also a lot bigger and if you follow it for a while you will see the males always have scatches and they scratch often. I like the idea of the changing the male/female quota but at the same time i like it because there are less females shot which helps the population.