Fellas, I've got an interesting situation going on at my property. I have a 22 acre plot that has mature timber, small fields (grass), and thickets/bedding areas, a creek and a pond. Since September I have over 1,000 pics on 2 different trail cams of multiple different bucks, from spikes to monsters. Sounds great right? The problem is that out of all of those pics, I might have 10 pics of does. I'm afraid that the lack of does will drive the bucks out of the area when the rut hits. This is my first year hunting this property because I just bought it. Property is surrounded by acres and acres of woodlands. What do you guys think?
All Bucks and no Does...problem?
- Thread starter Smokey Vanes
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Fullbore
Senior Member
Gordo
Senior Member
22 acres is a small part of of any deers home range. Dont think too much. Just hunt hard/smart and dont burn the property out.
Gordo
Senior Member
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That's what happens when you're a 1 buck state that has concentrated heavily on reducing the doe numbers quickly. The does take the impact first. Next you'll see a decline in bucks. Not because they'll leave. But because they'll be killed off also just at a slower rate. And there aren't enough does to replenish them. Ever buck at one point fell out of a doe. Like the others said don't kill does and try to attract in every doe you can.
customizer1000
Member
I have had the same problem for the last couple years. Full bore hit the nail on the head dont shoot a single doe period. And when rut comes all your deer will vanish looking for does
Gordo
Senior Member
Some areas I hunt, or at least keep tabs on, no does(or more preferablly less does), would make the rut alot more interesting. Im living in a bubble for the time being. Hope it doesnt pop. Shit tons of bucks including monsters, no does, 22 acres, sign me up.
**more info would put a better perspective on things;going off the limited info and it being 22 acres leads lots of variables****
**more info would put a better perspective on things;going off the limited info and it being 22 acres leads lots of variables****
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Lot of good info here already. We don't shoot does off our 80 acre farm any more and we are seeing a lot more. That's the biggest thing you can do IMO.
Big_Holla
Senior Member
The last couple of years we had the same problem. Once late October hit most of the bucks disappeared and didn't come back much until late season. Don't shoot does is your best bet at least until you have a decent population to keep the bucks interested and sticking around. We were a little heavy on bucks this year but did notice a slight increase in does so we are optimistic that this will be a good season. Good luck to you and perhaps consider filling your tag with a decent buck this year.
sv, i have the same problem, only i have 197 acres to hunt, 3 tracks all connected to each other, seven trail cams out, the best i can tell i have about 8-10 grown does(not counting fawns) on all the property,i hope after crops are gone some will move back in, i do have way more bucks than does, did not take any deer off this property last year,only looking for something that will score 150 or more, this is in se Ohio also, i think numbers are way too low to even consider killing any does, i,m willing to eat another tag if needed, i think if managed right it will come around in a couple years, saw 2 does with triplets so far this year, also saw a couple does that were so skinny you could see every rib they had, we,ve just got to be patient good luck on your hunts, i think we need it
I had 3k pics two years ago across the connecting farms including ours. 4 of those pics were does... that is 700 Ag acres with almost no doe population. I shot one last year because she was already injured badly. Will not be shooting any this year again.
I'm on the other side of coin here in SW Ohio. I have does all over the place and no bucks to speak of. But with a good food plot out and does in it every night the bucks should show up.
Lumber head 75
Member
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I have many opportunities for does on my property but have held off. Prime time is almost here and it's going to get crazy!
Fullbore
Senior Member
I don't claim to be a wildlife biologist, but a good buck to doe ratio is needed to have a healthy deer herd and trophy count. I think a 1 to 3 ratio is descent start. You may want to cull a couple does out this year.
Joel
Senior Member
Sounds like my situation. I have does all over the place but bucks are few and far between. Killed 2 does this year on one property and they are still swarming the place.
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It doesn't start to impact until the deer population is at or above carrying capacity for the property. Only when it's beyond capacity does it start to impact buck development. I haven't seen anywhere in ohio where that's truly a problem. Even when I would see 15 does a sit up here there was still a couple P&Y and a booner or two running around. I don't buy in to this myth that you need a low ratio. Even the QDMA foundation is backing off this claim for deer outside high fence ranches. Inside a high fence sure it makes sense. You're managing both the bucks and does. You can't really apply that same logic to wild deer where there are 1,000 other factors outside your control.
Every buck that's ever been killed and put in a record book fell out of a does hind end. Breeders are finding out that a good doe is just as important as a good buck when it comes to big buck genetics. Leave the does, gather as many as you can, if you want get others like kids to shoot the inferior bucks.
It makes sense that if you have less does then bucks have to travel more to find one and therefor it looks like a better rut. The reality is the less does you have the less bucks you'll produce. It's a double edged sword. If you kill too many does you'll have less bucks, if you have less bucks you'll see less bucks. And don't forget you need to have a good population of shit bucks to give your indiscriminate neighbors and the orange army something to kill an hopefully enough slip through to make it to 4 or 5 years old. Having less does, and thus less bucks, is bad news in wild populations.