Managing big bucks on your property

[MK111]

If I understand this article it's not really possible to manage big bucks on your property. Bucks are just too mobile.
Comments? The jury with me is still out on this one.
http://www.deeranddeerhunting.com/a...-on-your-property?et_mid=779501&rid=238402390

 

[Bigcountry40]

I didnt read read the article but I can only assume, it calls all of us average Joe's into question with our current harvesting standards. All these articles are under the impression that each of us are millionaires that own 1000's of acres. Here is my property management, try not to shoot does with young' ens (even though its proven they can survive by themselves in September), shoot whatever makes you happy, because unlike the rich people that have destroyed the great sport of hunting, I do not have the land or the time to wait for each deer to grow into a beautiful specimen, then get hit by a car! Rant over, please don't take any of this nonsense I wrote serious.

 

[Fullbore]

I didnt read read the article but I can only assume, it calls all of us average Joe's into question with our current harvesting standards. All these articles are under the impression that each of us are millionaires that own 1000's of acres. Here is my property management, try not to shoot does with young' ens (even though its proven they can survive by themselves in September), shoot whatever makes you happy, because unlike the rich people that have destroyed the great sport of hunting, I do not have the land or the time to wait for each deer to grow into a beautiful specimen, then get hit by a car! Rant over, please don't take any of this nonsense I wrote serious.

Truth.....good points for sure!

 

[MK111]

Truth.....good points for sure!

Basicly that's what he said in the article. Shoot what you want, waiting for the buck to get bigger is chancy as they are mobile and maybe shot somewhere else next year or move away.

 

[Hortontoter]

I think deer management is somewhat of a farce for the average Joe. To start with it is near impossible to keep trespassers off a large tract of land. Also the deer go where they please whether we like it or not. Most of us hunt small tracts that have other hunters hunting near by in every direction. The only thing I try to do is limit doe shootings on my property. Without does there are no fawns.

 

[bowhunter1023]

I didn't read it either. I'm sure I've read it before since all hunting articles are rehashed versions of previously written articles. That said, I agree with Big on this. I'm in control of 130 contiguous acres right now, a drop in the bucket to the local buck population. I've only drawn on one buck in 10 years in an effort to kill a book buck, or one that's 4.5 or older. I've lost deer to cars, poachers and neighbors. I practice the same restraint on my 11 acre honey hole. You can't kill big ones if you shoot small ones, that's why I let deer walk. I don't do it under some grand illusion that they'll be there for me next year.

 

[giles]

Who cares? If I own 2 acres and choose to pass on a buck, that's my choice. Same chance if I own 2,000 acres. Same idea if I decide to shoot a spike, who cares, that was my choice. The idea behind "managing" a wild animal has always boggled me.

Obviously if you want more deer, don't kill the breeders.

 

[hickslawns]

Who cares? If I own 2 acres and choose to pass on a buck, that's my choice. Same chance if I own 2,000 acres. Same idea if I decide to shoot a spike, who cares, that was my choice. The idea behind "managing" a wild animal has always boggled me.

Obviously if you want more deer, don't kill the breeders.

I agree with you guys. If by "don't kill the breeders" you mean does, then I agree with your entire statement as well Giles. They say does are responsible for a least 50% of the genetics if not more. I still shoot one for the freezer but if I can avoid shooting the doe popping triplets every year, I will pass her hoping the neighbors do as well.

 

[giles]

I agree with you guys. If by "don't kill the breeders" you mean does, then I agree with your entire statement as well Giles. They say does are responsible for a least 50% of the genetics if not more. I still shoot one for the freezer but if I can avoid shooting the doe popping triplets every year, I will pass her hoping the neighbors do as well.

That's exactly what I meant. And for the reasons you listed.

 

[finelyshedded]

I'm on board with everyone's post up till this point.

 

[Boarhead]

Yep Hicks the old doe with triplets,i would never shoot her and just hope she continues to survive,she is old and smart and all the pics i have of this group she never works the mineral just always circles around watching everything as her fawns eat.
This is her 3rd season of having triplets.

 

[themedic]

That article is very short and though I agree with some it ......the fact is this. If you pass a buck he has a chance...shoot im...zero chance of getting bigger. Pass them if you think they will get bigger and hope he stays around. Some bucks, like Winkies split g2 buck, he says lived in about a 30 acre core area. I also think this is how Shorty ,a deer I killed in 2011 was. Many times I've read as a deer matures, his range shrinks. Not all buck will do this but some and if you pass that deer you may be able to grow a giant. Another buck that fits this mold was Eskers last...Yardy.

 

[hickslawns]

Fair statement. I have read this as well in regards to home ranges shrinking as they mature. Even so, very few on this forum (myself included) have access to the kind of ground to "manage" for mature bucks. I don't think there are many who will knock these guys if they want to shoot a buck that is 2 or 3 or 4yrs old. If they do, the TOO community will kick them in the balls. lol

Personally, I have been fortunate. I can go years without killing another buck and be okay with it. I accept past success is past success. I don't have any magic properties which could be managed to hold mature deer with any consistency. I will simply continue to hunt what is available and hope for continued success. If I pass on a deer because he is "only 3" and he is killed by a car or another hunter. . . or if he simply vanishes. . . it is a chance I take. I wouldn't blame the guy on the next property over if he shoots the buck I pass anymore than i would blame one of the TOOzers for shooting a 2 or 3yr old they were happy with.

 

[Jackalope]

That article is very short and though I agree with some it ......the fact is this. If you pass a buck he has a chance...shoot im...zero chance of getting bigger. Pass them if you think they will get bigger and hope he stays around. Some bucks, like Winkies split g2 buck, he says lived in about a 30 acre core area. I also think this is how Shorty ,a deer I killed in 2011 was. Many times I've read as a deer matures, his range shrinks. Not all buck will do this but some and if you pass that deer you may be able to grow a giant. Another buck that fits this mold was Eskers last...Yardy.

The Eskers shoot neighborhood pets in Columbus.. I wouldn't put much stock in comparing the animals they shoot versus the deer other people hunt. Whole different animal.

 

[Bigslam51]

The Eskers shoot neighborhood pets in Columbus.. I wouldn't put much stock in comparing the animals they shoot versus the deer other people hunt. Whole different animal.

That's what I was thinking.

 

[hickslawns]

The Eskers shoot neighborhood pets in Columbus.. I wouldn't put much stock in comparing the animals they shoot versus the deer other people hunt. Whole different animal.

Basically what I deleted from my post prior to posting. lmao

So true. Just wasn't going to poke that hornets nest.

 

[themedic]

The Eskers shoot neighborhood pets in Columbus.. I wouldn't put much stock in comparing the animals they shoot versus the deer other people hunt. Whole different animal.

I'm not friends with Eskers but you can not simply discredit what they have done. Hunting pressure many times from my experience is heaviest just outside city limits. Cities have a higher population and the hunters density fan out into the burbs with pressure getting less and less the farther out you go. And even if you have a neighberhood deer in your radar, you have to have the fortitude to let him get of age. It's about letting a buck grow.....that is the heart of management IMO. I'll re-read the article but if it reads like I took it after the first read...it says to many factors say he wont...so shoot him...that's simple math.

 

[themedic]

I didn't read it either. I'm sure I've read it before since all hunting articles are rehashed versions of previously written articles.

I have to comment on this also, I've learned a lot in the last few years from listening and reading stuff from guys like Eric Long, Jeff Sturgis and Jim Barker. If you have property you can manipulate and you're not looking into the new age thinking of extreme deer habitat......I think youre missing out on some great info. Add to that the GPS studies and data that we have ability to harvest from new technology. ....read as much as you can, their is lots to be learned.

 

[Bigslam51]

From what I've read, the eskers will spot a big buck feeding in someone's field and then secure permission on the property. I would assume that they just hand them a bunch of money. These are the same guys that rent a chopper to search for an arrowed buck, correct?

 

[Jackalope]

I'm not friends with Eskers but you can not simply discredit what they have done. Hunting pressure many times from my experience is heaviest just outside city limits. Cities have a higher population and the hunters density fan out into the burbs with pressure getting less and less the farther out you go. And even if you have a neighberhood deer in your radar, you have to have the fortitude to let him get of age. It's about letting a buck grow.....that is the heart of management IMO. I'll re-read the article but if it reads like I took it after the first read...it says to many factors say he wont...so shoot him...that's simple math.

Lol. Trust me buddy. I can more than simply discredit what they've done. There's a lot of skeletons and expungements in those closets. A couple years ago a buddy of theirs shot a big one in Columbus and posted it here bragging his butt off about the buck and being friends with them. I asked him if he cared to share the story about how he got busted hunting in Gahana metro park and why is he trying to get his record expunged. Or how Scott lost his license for trespassing on limited brands property. Also later expunged. That guy disappeared quick like a bunny. He must not have wanted to talk about it. Lol.